Stillers
27, Rams 0 �. Dec. 24, 2011 ����Game #15
Stillers-Rams Postgame Analysis and Grades
The
Stillers played grabass and fiddle-faddle against the lowly 2-14 Rams,
holding on for dear life with a 13-0 lead well into the 4Q and the Rams poised
to kick a chippie FG.�� Luckily, the Rams
missed the short FG and the Stillers managed to tack on 2 TDs to blow open the nailbiter, en route to a 27-0 win.�
QB:� Batch started in place of the hobbled BenRoth.��� On the
O�s 2nd play, Batch appeared to be targeted for an easy strip-sack, but somehow
pulled a Houdini and escaped, and then scrambled and lofted a short pass to
Mendy down the s-line, which gained 35 yards.��
Batch slipped on his drop, and then his curl pass to Brown got picked
off when Brown slipped on his cut.��
Early in the 3Q, on a 3d & 6, Batch eluded a blitzer
and lofted a lil� touch pass to Wally, who gained 20
yards.��
On
a 3d & 3 midway thru the 3Q, Batch uncorked a
horrendously shitty pass on a short out to an open Wally.�� A really awful pass.�� In the 4Q, Batch hit Wally on a 52-yard
bomb, although the pass was underthrown and nearly busted up by the abused
DB.�� Overall, Batch finished with a very
solid 15 of 22 for 208, and perhaps most importantly, just 1 INT.�� Well done.���� A-� �
RB:�
Mendy:
Good running early on, and also a good RAC for 35 yards on the 2nd play of game
for the offense.�� Had a superb 52-yard
cut-back run in the 2Q, which ended on a FACEMASK tackle that somehow was not called.�� Good TD
plunge in the 4Q.��
Redman
- good cut and run in the 2Q, good for 9 yards.�
Good plowing carry in the 4Q, good for 5
yards.� On the next play, he spun,
churned, and plowed for 8 yards.�� Good
TD plunge late in the 4Q.�
Clay
- Right after Mendy�s long run, Clay busted up RT and
barged into the EZ for a 10-yard TD.���
Moore did not dress due to his leg injury.��
A splendid overall effort from this crew.�� ��A+
FB: �Not used that much.�� Inc
WR:�
Wally
- Good RAC on short dumpoff in the 1H.��
Totally abused the CB on a 52-yard catch in the 4Q, and made a nice adjustment
on the underthrown ball.��
Brown
- Ran an end-around gadget play that was designed to be a pass, but with no one
open, Brownie eluded some rushers and juked his way for an 8-yard gain.�� Good sliding grab early in the 3Q, which put
him over 1,000 receiving yards for the season.�
Cotch - played but was rarely, if ever,
targeted.��
Ward
- grabbed a shovel pass for 2 yards in the 1Q.�
Grabbed a dumpoff for 19 yards in the 2Q.� Had 2 short grabs in the 4Q, putting him 5
short of the 1,000 catch mark.� He
committed a false start in the 2Q.��
Sanders
- did not dress, due to injury.�� �������A-�
TE:��
Miller
- terrific grab on back-shoulder pass in the 4Q, his only grab of the day.� The blocking was decent.���� A
OL: The line had a
fairly solid game, giving Batch mostly decent time and opening up some nice
holes for the RBs.�� �
Starks:
Thankfully, he didn�t face a speed rusher and didn�t get abused as he did
versus Aldon Smith last Monday.�
Scott
started at RT in place of Gilbert.� He surprisingly
didn�t commit too many gaffes.��
Gilbert-
did not play.�� Apparently he missed a
team meeting.��
Leggo - injured on the 2nd play.�� Essex moved to Center and Kemo came in at
LG.�
Foster
- committed a false start on 3d & 6 in the 4Q, which enraged me.���
Pouncey - did not play, due to the high ankle
sprain.���
Kemo
- The Human Penalty Machine surprisingly didn�t commit any penalties.��
Overall, a solid day at the office.���� B+�
DL:� The D-line got gashed for huge chunks of
yardage on far too many ground plays.���
Jackson averaged over 4 YPC on 104 yards rushing.� Not good.��
�
Keisel - Had some solid pressures here and there on
the QB.��
Hampton - didn�t hold up the POA well on numerous
plays.��
Hood - Had a quiet 5 solos.��
Heyward jumped atop the QB in the 3Q.��� Had 3 solos, which is probably a career
high.�
This crew must play better come playoff time.���� C
LB:�
Farrior
- helped bottle a plunge at 10:00 2Q.� He
finished with a lowly 1 solo and 3 As, which is unacceptably
paltry for a starting ILB in this 3-4 defense.���
Harrison
- forced a hurried, incomplete pass on 3d & 1 in the 2Q.� Beat the TE, Bajema,
and sacked Clemens late in the 2Q with the Rams fairly deep in PIT
territory.�� Was a force all game long.�
Foote
- took a bronco ride, hanging on the back of Cadillac Williams for well over 12
yards, and then, to add salt to the wound, he committed a masking penalty at the
end of the lame-fuk tackle.��
Worilds
- After showing some solid promise the past several weeks, this man regressed
with a barf-laden effort that was befitting of Donte
Jones and Carla Emmons.�� His failure to set
the edge was utterly abysmal.� Sealed
inside, 3d & 12, allowed easy wide run on draw play, 15 yards.� Played the Jackson run up RT like total vomit
in the 3Q, which gained 13 yards.�� Was
nowhere to be found on the 3d & 14 running play that gained 14 yards late
in the 3Q.�
�
Timmons
- Led all Stillers with 7 solos and 3 As.� �Actually showed some instinct and wherewithal today.�� He did whiff on Jackson on stuttering play
at the LOS, which resulted in a 9-yard gain late in the 2Q.� Flashed in like a locomotive to team with
Harrison to drop the QB in the 4Q.��
Big
LaMarr Woodley, the $61M Man, did not dress due to his (sniff, sob)
hamstring.��
Overall,
this crew must play better come playoff time.��
Timmons, Harrison:�� B+���� All others:� C-�
DB:� This crew had a fairly cupcake afternoon,
facing a bumbling QB who was hurriedly signed from the unemployment line just
18 days ago.�
Pola
had a truly stellar ballgame.�� Swallowed RB, opening play, -2.� Good hit and wrap of Jackson, 2nd series, 2
yards.� Nearly made a
superb 1-handed stab of an INT in the 2Q.� Despite being held by the TE Billy Bajema, �Pola flashed in and dropped Jackson on
a 3d & 4 early in the 4Q to force a FG try.�
Busted up a short pass in the 4Q.��
Ike
- Good coverage on deep ball, 2nd play of game, then dropped INT.�� Good coverage on s-line lob
late in the 2Q.� Flagged
for a hold in the 2Q, although there were offsetting flags.��
Lewis
- poor angle on 15-yard run by Jackson, early 1Q.�� Busted up a slant pass on
3d & 10 in the 2Q.� Meekly flailed at Jackson on the 3d & 14 run that gained 14
late in the 3Q.�
Gay
- provided solid run support throughout the game, including a chop-down of
Jackson at the STL 5 for -1 in the 4Q.���
Clark - Solid run support.�� As usual, did nothing to defend any
passes.��
This
crew could use a good tune-up going into the playoffs, as they will eventually face
a competent QB.�� Unfortunately, they�ll
have gone at least 4 weeks feasting on cr�me and cupcake.���� B
Spec
teams:� Some good, some bad.��
Shoddy
punt coverage late in the 1Q; allowed a 17-yard return to the STL 43.�� Very poor.��
The
Rams tried a fake punt in the 2Q, in which the punter had 3 seconds to scan the
field while in the �pocket�.� He then
took off running to his right, and had an alley about 28 feet wide to run.� Luckily, Antonio Brown had the sense and
quickness to flash up from his punt-receiving spot, and he chop-tackled the
punter about 2 feet from the 1D marker.��
Very, very fortuitous.��
�
Brown
had a solid 8-yard punt return in the 2Q, only to literally turn around and run
backwards, losing a few of those yards in the process.� Had a good KO return to open the 2H, getting
the ball to the PIT 27.�
Battle,
a man who has no valid purpose for even being on the roster, committed an assaholic hold on a Steeler punt late in the 2Q, helping to
give the Rams comfy FP at their own 46.��
Cromartie and Cortez Allen made a good stop on KO
coverage after the FG in the 3Q.� Cor Allen showed terrific speed and instincts with a solo
tackle on a 55-yard punt that gained only 2 yards.�� Will Allen delivered a good lick in KO
coverage late in the 4Q.��
Kapinos - good 55-yard punt in the 4Q.��
Suisham
- booted a 49-yard FG -- into the open end of the stadium -- in the 3Q to give
the team a 13-0 lead.�� Also booted a 21-yarder in the 1Q.�
Like
other phases, the spec teams must play better come playoff time.��� B
OC:� On the opening drive, the offense marched at
will down the field, but on 3d & 2 at the STL 3, Arians calls a vanilla
slant pass to Wally, which was easily broken up.� A shit playcall by a shit
coordinator.�� Wally�s speed does
nothing on this pattern and it�s a cake-walk play for the DB -- and even a LB
-- to bust it up.�� This is a situation
where Ward�s guile, or Miller�s size, comes in handy.�� If, of course, you have a
coordinator with at least half a brain.���
There
was the usage once again of the SG on 3d & 3 (such as in the 3Q), which
just utterly enrages me.�� You have Mendy
running so well, and Batch isn�t exactly Danny Marino, yet Arians totally
dispenses of making the defense at least respect a ground play or a PAP.���
In
the 4Q, with a 20-0 lead and only 8 minutes left in the game, Arians was
calling a WR screen to BROWN, when it was Ward who was only 7 grabs from 1,000
catches.��� What a flaming asshole.� Arians did wake up 4 plays later, feeding a
WR screen to Ward.����
With
Batch starting, iIt was nice to see a more
conservative offensive gameplan, replete with running
the ball and using safe, short passes.��
Too bad this wasn�t used 6 days ago in San Fran.��� B-�
DC:� In his weekly lap of luxury of good fortune,
LeBeau once again lucked out when Kellen
Clemens started in place of injured Sam Bradford.� Smellin� Kellen, a career shitbag, was released
by the Texans just 2-1/2 weeks ago (18 days ago), and made his 11th career
start today.��� Had the Rams pulled a
popcorn vendor out of a concession stand and inserted the man at QB, they
wouldn�t have done much worse.���
Of course, Dick still struggled like a
drowning man holding onto a barbell.��
�
On a 3d & 2 midway thru the 3Q, with the
score only 13-0, RB Steve Jackson was WIDE open on a wheel route, but the pass
was a couple inch out of his reach; otherwise, he�d have run to the house for a
73-yard TD.�� Remember this play come
playoff time, because an opponent is going to run it in a very similar
situation.� ��Only thing is, it won�t be a pile of shit
like Clemens throwing the pass.�
On the opening drive, Dick allowed a draw
play on 3d & 12 to gain 15.� Never
one to learn much of anything, Dick allowed another 3d & long on the
ground, with a 3d & 14 run that gained 14 late in the 3Q.��
Dick lucked out when the Rams� Josh Brown
missed a very makeable 52-yard FG on the final play of the 1H, and then missed
a chippie 33-yard FG early in the 4Q.�� These
FGs would have made it either 13-6 or 13-3.��
Dick, true to his
nature, went soft in the 3Q, allowing a 13-play march that ended only because
Pola made a spectacular play on 3d & 4 to drop Jackson.�� And, once again, Dick�s defense forced zero
turnovers.��
Overall, facing
such a shitbag as Smellin� Kellen, this was a very uninspiring defensive effort.��� C ��
HC:� Tomlin managed to regroup the time from the
awful, ass-ugly loss in San Fran, and then eke by the Rams.�� Lots of slop in this game, which is poor
given the veteran stability combined with a common goal of tuning upf or the playoffs.���
B�
Playing
Surface:�
Another shout out to the superb (sic) playing surface of the /Heinz Cow
Pasture.��� The INT in the 2Q was a
classic example of what a pile of shit this playing surface is, in which both
the QB (Batch) and WR (Brown) slipped on the goose-shit surface of Rooney�s
cheapskate field.�� Batch slipped on the
handoff to Mendy on the 1-yard TD plunge in the 4Q, which could have been
disastrous if the exchange had been fumbled.��
D-� �
Synopsis:� A sloppy win over a weakling opponent.�� We�ll gladly take it, but the slop and
lethargy have me concerned.��� And make
no mistake, the game up in Clev next week is not going
to be a softie exhibition game.�� Clev
fan despise the Stillers, and that team would love nothing more than to hand it
to the Stillers in the season finale and reinforce doubt as the Stillers
venture into the playoffs.�� Tomlin and
the players must take this finale seriously, unless the playoff seeding
has already been determined.�� (The
Stiller game is being flexed to 4:15 PM.)���
If seeding is cemented, then, of course, it would make sense to rest a
plethora of starters in order to get fresh and healthy for the wild card
game.�
Lastly, Merry Christmas to the fans and
readers of Stillers.com !�
(Still
Mill and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the