Stillers
14, Browns 3 ��. Dec. 8, 2011 ����Game #13
Stillers-Browns Postgame Analysis and Grades
The
Stillers appeared to be in complete control of the 4-8 Brownies early in the
2Q, with a 7-3 lead and a 2d & 1 on the Clev 21. But Ward fumbled on the
play. A few moments later, after a Pola
INT, Heath Miller fumbled away the ball on the Clev 8. And later in the 2Q, Big Ben ran a designed
rollout, had eons of time to literally eat a sandwich and toss the ball away,
but instead took a sack and was injured to boot. The Stiller limped - literally and
figuratively -- into the locker room at halftime clinging to a 7-3 lead. They ended up scratching and clawing with
the Browns most of the 2H, and held on for dear life for a nail-biting 14-3
win.
Due to the late-night
nature of this game, this report will be a bit abbreviated.
Grades:
QB: Ben had a decent evening, especially in the
2H when he came back from the gruesome-looking ankle injury.
Good
pocket-shuffle, and strike to Cotch for TD, 1st
series. Eluded sack near the 5-yard
line, 2nd drive, and then hit Brown for 18 yards. On a designed rollout right in the 2Q, Ben
had literally ALL DAY -- literally 7 seconds -- and then flat-out refused to throw the
ball, even a throw-away. Pressure
finally caught up to him, and he was sacked.
Worse, he was injured on the play when a D-lineman rolled on his ankle. It�s just flabbergasting how in the living
hell a veteran QB doesn�t get rid of this ball on a rollout
that had such EONS of time. Late in the
game, Ben hit Brown on a back-shoulder out, and Brownie took it to the house
for a 79-yard TD to seal the deal.
Batch
relieved Ben and went 0-2 in the 2Q, with a drop by Miller.
Ben
started the 2H, limping on a heavily taped ankle. EARly in the 4Q,
Ben shuffled in the pocket, and then threw slightly on the run to Brown for a
huge, clutch 25-yard passing play. In
the 4Q, again with EONS of time in a comfy pocket, Ben badly underthrew a seam route to Miller for an INT. I understanding his leg hurt. So should he, and floating a deepish seamer like was just
plain foolish in these circumstance. Ben: A
Batch: C
RB: Mendy : Ran upright, first carry, and blasted by Gocar after 3-yard gain.
Too high !!
Good spinning, churning run from his own 2, good for 11 yards. In the 2nd half, with Ben hobbling like
Willis Reed, Mendy ran like a man possessed, showing the kind of urgency,
tenacity, and energy that has rarely been seen this season. But Mendy reverted to his old self, and again
ran too upright on a 1st & goal and again got drilled -- and nearly legally
decapitated -- by Gocong. He then followed this with 3 more
giraffe-like plunges, all of which were stopped well short of the goal line
against a shit run defense that gave up 300 yards on the ground last week by Balt,
Redman
had a nice 9-yard run early in the 2Q around right end. Nice burst. Superb plowing run
early in the 3Q, good for 11 yards. Red
finished with 6 rushes for 35 yards, indicating superb production. We can only guess why Redman wasn�t fed the
ball at least 8 more times, including near the GL.
Moore
had a nifty RAC on 3& 11 for 13 yards, but it was negated by a Foster
holding flag. Redman:
A Mendy: B-
FB: Johnson saw some work at FB. Not great, but he blocked ok. Lined up as a RB, Redman ran a plunge on 3d
& 1 for 2 yards in the 4Q. This was
negated by Kemo�s needless hold. Inc
WR: Wally had a good burst on a short dumpoff
early in the 4Q, and then plowed like a fullback near the GL. The play was initially ruled a TD, but was ruled
down at the 2 due to Wally�s knee scraping down, even thought it his FOOT, knot
his knee, that scratched up large bits of gras. .
Brown
- Nice RAC, bubble screen, 12 yards, opening series. Brilliant �cup-cradle� catch
of low throw, late 1Q, good for 17 yards.
(Somehow, this CATCH was over-ruled by the replay challenge official, which was abhorrently wrong.) But Brown came back the next play and snared
a deep crosser for 20 yards. Dropped a perfect pass on 3d & 13 on the first drive of the 3Q,
which would have netted 15 yards and the 1st down. Very poor. But Brown made a clutch snare on a 3d &
20 crosser, good for 25 yards. Late in
the game, with the Stillers clinging to a thin 3-point lead, Brown snared a
back-shoulder out, and then took off down the sideline. A few moves later, Brown crossed the goal
line for a game-clinching 79-yard TD.
Ward
grabbed a bubble screen early in the 2Q, but coughed it up on the RAC for a
foolish turnover at the Clev 15. This
was his lone reception of the evening and he was never even thrown another pass
thereafter.
Cotch: TD
grab, opening series. Also
had a key grab early in the 3Q.
Sanders
did not dress due to injury. Brown:
A Wally and Cotch:
B+ Ward: C+
TE: Miller coughed up the ball on the Clev
8-yard line like a complete dumbass in the 2Q
He then dropped an out late in the 2Q.
Saunders: Good block on Mendy�s
11-yard run.
Johnson : good block on end-around by Wally for 21
yards. On the play Ben was injured, ShitBag Johsnon initially had DE Jabaal Sherad on the ground,
but instead of jumping atop Sheard and keeping
him there, Johnson just stood there and allowed Sheard
to get up. Worse, Johnson was standing
on the wrong side of Sheard, so he was entirely
unable to slow Sheard. Sheard missed Ben,
but it was his pressure that forced Ben to the inside and ultimately to take
the sack and the injury. Johnson had
a lil� nifty RAC late in the 2Q, good for 16 yards,
and on the next play snared a pop-pass over the middle for 6 yards. C+
OL: The line struggled for far too much of the
game in running the ball against a pitiful run defense that had been savagely gouged
last week by Balt to the tune of 300 yards. To their credit, when Ben returned in the 2H,
they stepped up their pass pro and kept an immobile Ben clean and neat,
although Clev helped a bit by not running any jailhouse blitzes.
Starks
did a solid job of keeping Ben�s blind side from harm. Leggo moved to
center when Pounce injured an ankle late in the 2Q. Foster returned to the starting lineup and
did ok, although he had a hold on 3d & 11 that negated Moore�s 13-yard
play.
Gilbert
had a long nite.
On a 3d down play deep in PIT territory, he foolishly blocked the
outside man rather than the more-inside rusher, Jackson, who stormed in for an
easy sack of Batch. Gil also had two false
starts.
Pis Kemo came in at LG when Leggo
had to go to Center. He quickly was
flagged for a hold on pass play to diffuse the very-promising drive. He then went on to commit 2 more penalties,
both of which were crushing, drive-killing kind of flags and both of which
wiped out converted 3rd downs. This
included: He was called for a needless hands
to the face on a pass play in the 4Q, wping out
Miller�s catch for a first down. He then
committed a jackassed holdon
a 3d &1 plunge
that Redman gained 2 yards. The next
play, Ben tossed the INT. This is exactly what dumfuk
penalties do to an offense.
Overall,
the line was just adequate against a weak defense. C+
DL: Keisel good stop with Timmy on draw play,
1Q. Tipped a pass, 2Q.
Hood
wasn�t dominated, but he finished with a whopping 1 solo and was to quiet. Hampton did a solid job of clogging and
tackling.
McClendon
saw a lot of PT at NT. Had a half-sack of McCoy in the 2Q. Overall, the line got gashed on too many
ground plays. B-
LB: Harrison dove and stopped McCoy a foot
from the GL on the opening series. On
the next play, he totally blew up the TE, Moore, and blasted him onto his back
on the key 3d & G plunge from the 1-yard line on the 1st drive, which the D
stopped. In the 4Q, Harry lowered the
boom on Dolt McCoy with a brutal hit just as Dolt dumped the ball off, which
was flagged for a roughing-the-passer penalty.
I can�t fault Harrison, as McCoy had the ball TUCKED and was running
well out of the pocket, and nearly over the LOS, just a split-second before the
hit occurred. Late in the game, Harry
relentless pursued McCoy across the field, and then got an ankle-nip sack just
before McCoy tried a throw-away, good for a 10-yard loss. A huge play by a huge
player.
Farrior
had an immensely quiet evening. I mean,r eally,
how does a starting INSIDE LB in a 3-4 defense, who rarely comes off the field,
finish a game with ZERO solos ?? He got
a Dong INT late in the game, which was correctly over-turned as an inc pass because Taunto made a �Basket� catch and allowed
the ball to hit the turf. Taunto, who
picked up his nickname versus these same Brownies when he got a needless,
asinine taunting penalty late in the 4Q a few years ago, againg got a stupid-fuk
personal foul penalty. This one occurred
in the 3Q, when he assaholicly ran into McCoy after
the QB was a good 8 feet OOB after a scramble.
Timmons
was abused by TE (Moore), 33-yards, 1st series. Good stop of Hillis
on draw play, late 1Q. Good hole-fill
and wrap on ground play, 2Q. He had a solid game, with 5 solos and 3 As, but it would be much nice to see this man make a big
play -- just one -- this season.
Worilds
had yet another stellar game starting in place of Big LaMarr. He stuffed a run in the 2Q for a meager 1
yard. Never stopping his motor, he
chased down and then drilled McCoy on the final play of the 1H, forcing a
fumble that Clev recovered. Worilds
had a good stuff on a Clev run at 5:30 4Q.
On the game�s final play, he ended the game by dropping the QB. With his non-stop pursuit, Worilds finished
with an impressive 8 solos and 2 sacks.
Quick, someone call Colbert and see if this guy will accept a $32M extension !!
Foote: Foolishly tackled Hillis
HIGH on the early 3d & G plunge; luckily the bruising FB had already been
tripped up some, and was stopped short of the GL.
Woodley
did not dress, due to his hamstring injury.
Harrison and Worilds: A+ Timmons:
B+ Farrior: C
DB: Ike beaten by a double-move by Massaquoi, 2nd series, 25 yards.
Gay
stumbled himself out of a deep ball to Massaquoi in
the 1Q, but Mass failed to haul in what should have been a fairly routine TD
catch. Gay had a nice bustup in the
2Q. He was beaten deep late in the 2Q,
but the rush caused McCoy to delay a second, and by the time Dolt threw the
deep ball, Gay was able to close and then bust up the pass in the EZ. Gay somehow INTd
the late 3rd down pass in the EZ, when he LOW-pointed the ball at nearly its
lowest point. This was a play where the
receiver (Massaquoi) sucks worse than the CB. Gay had a good hustle play late in the game,
tripping up Little before he could get OOB. He made a similar tackle still later in the
4Q to keep the clock running.
Pola had a good read and big
INT in the 2Q. Troy slashed in on a
draw play on 1 & G at the 5 late I the 4Q for no gain. On the next play, Pola blized
and took a foolish, too-inside angle at McCoy, who easily skirted Troy and
nearly got off a legal throw-away.
Luckily, Harrison tripped up McCoy for a 10-yard loss.
Clark
made a tackle on a 3Q draw play. He also had numerous hits on ground plays, and
finished with 9 solos. Gay: A-
All others: B+
Spec
teams: No
bad boners, and solid coverage.
Cromartie-Smith had a solo on Cribbs,
opening KO. Curt Brown had a big lick
and stop in punt coverage late in the 2Q.
Will Allen had a good solo in KO cover late in the game.
Kapinos:
boomed a 54-yard punt, although not really good hang time, and it was
returned 14 yards.
Suisham: Good KO, 9 yards deep for TB, on KO after
first TD. He was not called upon to boot any
FGs. B
OC: Arians was facing a defense that had been
ravaged on the ground last week, and really, all season. Still, Arians was unable to exploit. He was victimized by the 2 poor fumbles
With
Ben hobbling around like Willis Reed, Arians actually went EB (empty backfield)
a few times in the 2H. Why ?? Stone stupid !!
We�ll
never know why Redman wasn�t given at least 1 carry on the pitiful 4-plunge
sequence from the Clev 2 yard line in the 4Q. Mendy had taken a crushing hit on
the 1st down plunge, and Redman is the far superior short-yardage runner, based
on his ability to get LOW and BURROW.
But alas, Redman remained planted on the bench, and Mendy was stopped
stone cold on 4 consecutive plunges.
Bubble
screen to Wally, 2d & 3, 8:20 4Q -- before the snap, you can hear the Clev
players yell �Screen!� B-
DC: Dick, as usual,
once again got enormously lucky. He
again got to face a greenhorn QB. Beyond that, Clev was tied with ATL and PHIL for
most amount of drops in the NFL this season, and they
kindly added to that total last nite.
Dick allowed the lowly, wheezing, pathetic
Brownie offense to take the opening KO and march 80
yards right down the field like they owned it for a casual, cake-easy FG. .Dolt McCoy went 4 for 4 on this march.
3d & 9 on Clev 10, mid 2Q, and McCoy gets
an easy 17-yard completion to Little. Instead of forcing a punt out of the Cleve
EZ, Dick allows Clev to push the ball out and totally change FP. Then, 2 plays later, after a dead-ball Clev
personal foul flag set up a 3d & 20 at theClev
17, Dick allows a MAMMOTH hole up LG-LT for a draw play, which gained 28
yards. But remember, Dick is such a genius, and he�s in
the Hall of Fame, you know. As it was,
Clev punted and downed the ball at the PIT 5. So, ya went from 3d & LONG (9 yards) from
the Clev 10, to a pooch punt downed at the PIT 5. That�s called FLIPPING THE FIELD, thanks to
the dull stupidity of one Dick LeBeau.
In the 3Q, the Stillers punted to the Clev 10. With a hobbled QB, this was the perfect time
for the defense to force a punt from the EZ and give the offense a short
field. Nope, not Dick. On 3d & 8, easy
completion for 11 yards to Smith.
Clev ended up performing an 11-play march, and their pooch punt pinned
the Stillers on their own 10-yard line. Yet another FLIP of the field.
In the 4Q, the Stillers turned the ball over
on down on the Clev 1. Yet another chance for Dick to close the door on Clev. Clev faced a 3d & 6 from their own 5,
and took a timeout. After the TO, McCoy
hit Little on an easy slant for an easy 1st down, but
Little dropped the cake-easy pass.
Seneca Wallace came in stone cold, and on his
2nd pass of the year, easily completed a 13-yard pass to the PIT 5. C+
HC: Tommy claimed his team was focused coming in,
but I didn�t see it. The
slop, the fumbles, the dumbassed penalties....all
indications of sloth and poor focus.
Sloppy, stupidfuk
reverse on opening KO of the 2H, stopped at the PIT 7. Why even play into the hands of Clev with
such a dumbfuk call, and why put a hobbling Ben into
such a situation? The constant squall of penalty flags was unacceptable
for veteran team playing at home. Very poor discipline and focus. B-
Synopsis: Yet another tight, nailbiter
of a win against a weak, lowly opponent, more or less mirroring the weak wins
over Indy and KC. This one, however, was
at home. Yes, Ben was injured, but
there is more than enough depth, skill and experience to overwhelm a lowly Clev
team. The Stillers now have 10 days to
rest before a MNF at San Fran, and hopefully some key regulars -- particularly Ben
and Pouncey-- will be ready to go in that tilt.
(Still
Mill and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the