View topic - New Article: Stillers-Titans Postgame Analysis and Grades

[StillMill Profile]

Stillers-Titans Postgame Analysis and Grades has been posted by Still Mill at Stillers.com.

[d_iris Profile]

bravo, mill. bravo. spot on, man. i couldn't stop laughing about "Spike Roethlisberger"!!!!

[Nick79 Profile]

Bingo on that analysis of the goal line play calling, run-run-3rd and 8 under heavy pressure! I was so pissed that they ran the ball twice, straight ahead! That was so stupid! Didn't our TEs catch 11 short range TD passes last year? What happened to that?

[BenStiller Profile]

Spike Roethlisberger may be the best nickname Mill has ever coined. Very funny. Incidentally, if you look closely at the spike against the Ravens last week, it appears that Arians was the one telling Ben to spike it. You only see it for a split second but I've looked at it several times now and feel sure it was Arians. So, that's why Arians didn't correct Ben for this game--he was the one urging him to spike it against the Ravens last week.

Kudos on the analysis on Parker. The OL is so bad for the most part that you need a back who can run through at least the first defender this year (who most times is already in the backfield)--that ain't Parker right now.

Really glad you weren't urging Tomlin to play the starters next week either like a lot of the yinzer he-men out there.

[steelslep Profile]

Mill- outstanding as usual...team was pig vomit all day...best line of the post was..."On goal-to-go sequences, there is no one in the entire league more dull and unimaginative than Bruce Arians, who apparently uses a box of Crayola’s and large sheets of construction paper when he draws up his goal-line plays."

Pissed myself I was laughing so hard...

[Bomberman Profile]

I don't disagree with a lot of the "analysis" except the second spike just before the FG try at the end of the half. The spike was done instead of the time out because it negated the review of the Ward catch/fumble/Holmes recovery. Had a T/O been called there, a review of the play would certainly have been done. Not that the outcome would depend on the ball spot but there was a legitimate reason for spiking the ball at that time instead of the T/O. Other than that, the "analysis" was not bad.

[rifraff Profile]

Emtpy backfield, QB under center = SACKED, told ya Next up intercepted, wait for it, wait for it!

Seemed like we played kinda vanilla schemes today??? Last coupla games were biggies for the guys. TENN looked up for this game.

3 slow shotgun draws, all losses, 4th time gain a few yards, ok check that one off, no more of those
No huddle, its workin, ok check that one off!
If it works, keep doin it till they show they can STOP IT! Seems like a plan to me?

If were #2 does this mean there is no way we have to play Ravens, unless at heinz in championship game?

[BenStiller Profile]

If were #2 does this mean there is no way we have to play Ravens, unless at heinz in championship game?

Yes.

[zapunto Profile]

This is not to write in to disagree with much you've said, but of late it's been quite disappointing to read these. Your analysis is week-in week-out slanted in all the wrong places.

Listen, I get it. You hate Farrior, and Big Joey Porter and the Gilded Dong. I don't disagree with your analysis of any of these players. You're quite adept at imposing your will and your opinion on the readers of this board, and quite good at the funny innuendo that makes me laugh.

I guess some of us (read: me) want more out of your analysis. More breakdown into why the running game sucks. More breakdown into what formations we tend to run out of more often. More analysis into why Spike audibled into that pissant shotgun draw. More analysis into why the Steelers allowed Justin Gage to run untouched down the middle of what looked like a ugly version of a Cover-2. There was so much fodder from that game on the line blocking, the high school stunts run by Jones and Ford that worked with regularity on our line, the lack of footwork continually displayed by Starks and especially Colon, etc. etc. I watched Foote play and as bad as Farrior played, there's no WAY he was worse than Foote. I would love to know what the heck Foote is doing if he's garnering 2 solos in 60+ plays for the Titans. You used to do this back in the day when you broke down how many times Gildong would rush and how often he'd drop back into coverage. You don't go that indepth anymore.

Please, please don't go the route of our dear beloved Bruce Arians, and give us the same slanted slop each week. Dig a little deeper, and take your time to another level. Thanks.

[acewhiplash Profile]

The whole "vanilla scheme" excuse has to end...I'm pretty sure we didn't see anything exotic out of the Titans, and they still kicked our butts.

I'm scared of the Titans in a rematch, because Kerry Collins has a strong arm, he makes all the throws, and he's playing without ego. Kerry is like Tom Brady, maybe they have huge egos off the field, but on the field they take what they are given and execute with precision and accuracy. Which allows them to make the big play when they have to.

Big Ben plays with an ego like Favre, so he makes critical mistakes at critical times, and even though he's a proven winner, he often gives fans heart attacks...the game becomes a personal drama that often ends in redemption, but not always...plus, it doesn't help that a hack like Arians is writing the scripts...

[btd343 Profile]

This team is just incapable of playing a game as the favorite. They need to have some chip on their shoulder in order to be effective. Not that Arians will take anything away from this game. There were a lot of things that went wrong in this game... but the inept play calling once again stood out among the rest. YOu have a chance to take a 7-0 lead in the 1st qtr and set the tone for the game... but instead you call 2 dumb ass dive plays in a row and get stuffed... only to be left with a 3rd and long situation in the red zone. That 1st down situation couldn't have been more perfectly set up for a play action... after two big run plays to pick up the first and get into the redzone. Sh*t for brains Arians has called enough 1st down plunges inside the red zone that opposing defenses are now expecting it. It's really tough to watch them march down to the red zone and start playing for field goals. I could go on all day about the play calling... gutless and predictable to say the least. Who does he think he's fooling w/ those lame ass draw plays???? You need to have a threat of a pass in order for a draw to be effective... The O-Line got abused by a couple of back-up rookies who were only rushing 4 all day... rarely blitzing. Spike (great nickname) doesn't help matters w/ his indecisiveness and multiple pump fakes.

The Titans also figured out that the underneath passing attack is a good way to exploit a couple of slow assed middle linebackers. Foote is guaranteed to over-pursue when he has to run laterally to make a tackle. Why Timmons isn't starting I have no idea...

[Leo Profile]

Very good analysis by Mill.

-- many of us have stated it on these boards before, but FWP is really becoming a liability. Dude cannot break a tackle to save his life. Yes, he is a home run threat, but only when he gets a 12 yard gap to shoot through. Moore is also not the ideal guy to crash up the middle behind a weak O line, but he has proven that he is a better option than FWP. Start Mewelde. Maybe next year Mendenhall is The Man, but for now, sit Willie. This is not an overreaction to one game, but a reaction to this season. (And I got it that a key root cause is the shitty OLine.)

-- If we lose in the playoffs, it will be because of the inability to run the ball. I think Ben will recover and he will be fine.

-- am tired of the tiptoe-ing in the Stillers return game, both KRs and PRs. All this does is allow the coverage units to close faster. Watch most other returners in the league (except maybe Randle El), and you see a BURST north and south after the catch. I know you have to wait for your wedge, scan the field, etc, but our returners have to make quicker decisions and BURST when they should.

[btd343 Profile]

Yes, FWP hasn't been playing very well... and Moore is clearly the more effective back now. But you have to have some more imaginative play calling. There wasn't a single screen pass thrown yesterday... and the feeble attempts to overload one side of the line were worthless because our TE's were getting manhandled by their D-line.

Can anyone tell me why our FB is returning kicks?

[Teegre Profile]

-- am tired of the tiptoe-ing in the Stillers return game, both KRs and PRs. All this does is allow the coverage units to close faster. Watch most other returners in the league (except maybe Randle El), and you see a BURST north and south after the catch. I know you have to wait for your wedge, scan the field, etc, but our returners have to make quicker decisions and BURST when they should.

Darren Sproles will be a FA after this season...(wink, wink; nudge, nudge).
He should be the second person signed...right after Jordan Gross (who should be the top free-agent acquisition for the Steelers)

[tourosteelersfan Profile]

Mill:

I don't have much to add to your analysis, which was pretty fair and balanced in assigning blame. The most distressing part of the loss was - as you indicate - how easily the Titans exposed the Steelers' weaknesses: combine a dismal offensive line with a crappy qb performance and a defensive letdown and you have a team that would struggle against the Broncos. As wonderful as the winning streak was, the Steelers lack the ability to dominate - in large part because the offensive line is erratic at best and the running game is weak. Almost certainly the four playoff teams in the AFC after the wild-card round will be Baltimore, TN, and Indi; all are very good and playing well. I actually am most concerned about the Ravens, though as you note that game would be at Three Rivers.

That's it from New York.

[jstallworth82 Profile]

Boy we all turn to this report every week as if he says anything of importance. The one thing that you can always look for is once this guy decides he hates a player he rides it like a cheap whore. I'd be willing to bet that if FWP came out 8 weeks in a row and ran fo 200 yards evey week or Farrior came in and had 30 tackle a game and 5 sacks for 8 gams in a rw you would hear the same thing. Farrior is getting older but the one thing you keep hearing from the 2 young LB's is praise of his knowledge and his intensity. But you have seen Timmons burned as well as Woodley and the reason he lists is that they were put out there to die by a dumb DC.
To say that Dick doesn't know how to gameplan for any team just shows how stupid you really are he has had more Defenses ranked in the top 5 than anyone else. Did you ever think that the players did not execute well this week? Seeing that they have kept this team in the hunt ALL year. I keep hearing to get rid of FWP, Farrior, Foote etc etc What about Ben? He is among the highest paid QBs in the league and there are Rookies that are playing better and more consistant than he is. He has made some of the dumbest decisions in the game this year and his arm isn't all that, He can not react well to pressure in the pocket, More often than not he looks lost and unsure of what a QB should do. He goes hot to cold faster than any QB in the game and more often. I used to think he was getting better but in realit he is going backwards. Where the efense has kept us in the top of the AFC Ben has done everything possible to keep us down.. He has got to be in the top 3 at throwing INTs, taking bad sacks,making poor decisions, and just fing up everything. Our Offensive line is amongst the worst ever to play the game

[pinpon Profile]

Love reading your stuff Still Mill!!! You put a good light on everything and it's super funny!! Keep up the good work!!!!!!!!!!!

[pinpon Profile]

Ohh! To solve the return problems in the 2009 draft take!

Jerod Cherry LA Lafayette WR

He can step in right away as a 4th receiver and solve the KR problems day 1. He doesn't return punts in college but has the skills. 4.34 speed and plays in an offense that does not feature the pass! He still managed 61 catches.

[jstallworth82 Profile]

Ohh! To solve the return problems in the 2009 draft take!

Jerod Cherry LA Lafayette WR

He can step in right away as a 4th receiver and solve the KR problems day 1. He doesn't return punts in college but has the skills. 4.34 speed and plays in an offense that does not feature the pass! He still managed 61 catches.

That's just what we need except that after he gets a good return we will be 3 and out again with no O-Line. We have Holmes and we can get others cheaper than this would be. 1st pick must be an O-Lineman period. If they need to trade up so be it. The last thing we need is another bust at WR. His speed and catches mean nothing we have 2 WRs that can already outrun him. Catching a pass is different from returning a kick. Wow 61 catches....against who... yeah not against NFL DB's and 0 kick/punt returns good move right I think NOT.