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

[StillMill Profile]

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

[Crosby4Life Profile Website]

Funny, I was watching the Stillers D absolutely manhandle the Skinnies last night, thinking, there is NO WAY "Mr. Mill" can possibly present this performance as yet another fortunate circumstance of a sub-par DC facing yet another overrated (injured) offense. Well, I give you credit; you certainly delivered...

I don't usually care enough to pat myself on the back when I guess something correctly, but I did predict in the gameday thread that Mill would use Moss' injury as an excuse to degrade Lebeau's performance. Because, you know, Lebeau is the only DC in the league facing an offense with an injury...

As I also mentioned in the gameday thread, I'm planning on writing one of Mill's articles before the game is even played, then posting it right before he posts his. Other than my alias appearing next to the article, I'd bet you'd have a hard time telling which is his and which is mine.

[acewhiplash Profile]

To rehash the flaws in Lebeau's system-- refusing to play rookies (woodley, timmons); favoring aging veterans (foote, townsend) at the expense of talented younger players (Bryant McFadden); creating an "aaron smith D lineman" development template that really has only worked once, with Aaron Smith (okay, one and a half with Kiesel);

But it all comes down to this: when Aaron Smith got hurt, the Lebeau "system" crumbled.

This year, we were able to sustain injuries to 2/3 of the D line, as long as they weren't named Aaron Smith.

The Steelers have had success this year because they now have a consistent pass rush, which they haven't had, really, since 01. Why? because they didn't have the PLAYERS.

Some observations: IF the Steelers throw the ball on 1st down, they WILL run it on 2nd down...ESPECIALLY if the ball was incomplete. I could almost set my watch to it.

Hampton waddling downfield was funny, but he let up, thinking that the guy in front of him would make the tackle, and when he didn't, he couldn't make up the space. If he had hustled he would have made the tackle.

Farrior is the new Bettis: he doesn't make that many mistakes, but when he does, they're usually huge.

[Jeemie Profile]

Some observations: IF the Steelers throw the ball on 1st down, they WILL run it on 2nd down...ESPECIALLY if the ball was incomplete. I could almost set my watch to it.

Last night- until about the 12th or 13th play, I was 100% in calling, just from the formation, whether the play was a run or a pass.

Whsienhunt at least would mix up different playcalls from the same formation. Arians does not do that.

[Field General Ben Profile]

Bruce Arians could very well be the stupidest person on the face of the earth. Perhaps we should shoot him.

[Jeemie Profile]

Bruce Arians could very well be the stupidest person on the face of the earth. Perhaps we should shoot him.

Great flick!

Bill Pullman's first big movie role- he was awesome in it!

[Leo Profile]

I disagree with most of you; I think Mill's recaps are normally right on the money. A few other comments:

-- I was glad to see Campbell exposed. I was born and raised in Pgh, but now live in DC, and I see this guy every week. Mill is correct that this kid is way overrated. His pick-free streak is (was) largely attributable to the fact that he almost never throws downfield. Hell, all of us can throw 100 consecutive 3 yard dump offs.

-- Agree on Berger. Hey dick, don't be a hero if you can't help the team. Wince and limp on your own time. Sign a punter if he is still hurt.

-- Always agree ref Arians (he ain't good); almost always disagree ref LeBeau (he is).

-- TV dudes always comment on the number of Terrible Towels at Stiller away games, followed by some incisive observation about how well our fans travel. This is mostly BS; most of this is not because of all the travelers, it's because of Stiller Nation.....the fact that we have fans who live everywhere. But you all know that.

-- and finally, to show you how very observant I am: the Redskins cheerleaders are unbelievable. This is one area that the NFC East has an absolute lock on. Make sure you look into this, boys. Eagles, Cowboys, and Skins have the best cheerleader squads (and uniforms) in the league. How's that for some serious football talk?

[Nel Profile]

Leo, I hope the Steelers never hire cheerleaders. 30-year-old women in hot pants is kind of gay. This is football, not Project Runway.

Mill, thanks for the 4 or 5 chuckles that generated in me while reading your superb analysis and your hilarious one liners and characterizations.

I know that everyone loves the Grandfather of Football, Dick LeBeau, but I love you ragging on him. It's a nice counterbalance.

[Leo Profile]

Nel -- I got ya -- I'm not proposing that the Stillers get cheerleaders. (Or get them again, I should say...I think they had 'em back in the 60s....'Steelerettes' I think).

While not in favor of the Stillers getting a squad, I can't help but appreciate the ones that are out there. It's a weakness........

[Crosby4Life Profile Website]

I disagree with most of you; I think Mill's recaps are normally right on the money.

Most of the stuff he says are pretty obvious any one who knows anything about football. Arians sucks, the line can't block, Ben holds the ball too long. That's not hard to see. The problems I (and several other posters) have with him is he can't get past his personal bias versus some players and coaches.

A great example is how he downplayed Farrior's pass break up towards the end of the game because the intended receiver was a backup DT. Farrior looked to be in zone coverage on the play (I could be wrong, only saw the play once), so what difference does it make what position the intended receiver usually plays? Farrior was in his spot and would have broken up that pass whether it was a DT or Randy Moss in that position. So what reason did Mill have for discrediting that play? He was responsible for a zone (again, assuming it was zone) and made a fantastic, diving play to knock down the pass. The fact it was thrown to a DT is completely irrevelant.

And it's the same with him saying Lebeau caught a break because Washington's only deep threat (Moss) was out. Campbell didn't have time to throw 5 yards downfield and the D was all over the short passes, why would Moss make much difference? Furthermore, why does Mill seemingly think Lebeau is the only D coordinator that benefits this?

Why doesn't Mill downplay other performances when a key play on the other side of the ball is out like he does Lebeau. Shawn Springs was out, why didn't he mention that in Leftwich's analysis? Surely he benefited from that injury, right?

Why wasn't Jason Taylor's absence mentioned in the analysis of the O-line?

The bottom line is that Mill finds excuses to bash the players and coaches he doesn't like and ignores those same excuses when it's anybody else.

[blackbrown&gold Profile]

i can't believe mill let arians off the hook for the most ridiculous fucking play (run 3 times) where nate literally saunters towards ben during the count, ben snaps the ball, and then ben nate and willie all look confused, run into each other, and we lose yards. first two yards willie gets hammered at the line, third time nate loses 10 yards. fucking assinine.

[Steel_Buckeye Profile]

I agree with most of Mill's observations, although your analysis is usualy extreme in it's nature for good or bad. But downgrading Dicky's grade due to Portis not being healthy is not accurate. Portis seemed to be running pretty good all game and catching passes right up till the end. This was the best rushing attack in the NFL and they got stuffed. End of story.

[StillMill Profile]

I realize most of you yinzers don't read, or study, anything outside of the Pittsburgh media or outside of coverage on the Steelers. This point is pounded home when you see daft ponderings such as, "And it's the same with him saying Lebeau caught a break because Washington's only deep threat (Moss) was out. Campbell didn't have time to throw 5 yards downfield and the D was all over the short passes, why would Moss make much difference? Furthermore, why does Mill seemingly think Lebeau is the only D coordinator that benefits this?

Duh-uh, gee, what, uh, good would a healthy Moss do? In week 2, he grabbed 7 balls for 164 yards & a 67-yd. TD, along with a 27-yd. run. In week 4, he grabbed 8 balls for 145 yards. Last week, 9 passes for 140 yards and a long TD. Moss and Portis are the Wash. offense. BOTH were clearly hobbled before and during this tilt.

For some PERSPECTIVE on the Skin offense and what Moss means to it, along with a rundown of the plethora of O-line woes and injuries they are dealing with, read this article:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/redski ... learn.html

This is why we founded Stillers.com .....to provide thorough analysis, assessment, and evaluation on the Pgh. Stillers, rather than publishing the rah-rah pablum that can be found at most media and fan sites.

[Jeemie Profile]

I realize most of you yinzers don't read, or study, anything outside of the Pittsburgh media or outside of coverage on the Steelers. This point is pounded home when you see daft ponderings such as, "And it's the same with him saying Lebeau caught a break because Washington's only deep threat (Moss) was out. Campbell didn't have time to throw 5 yards downfield and the D was all over the short passes, why would Moss make much difference? Furthermore, why does Mill seemingly think Lebeau is the only D coordinator that benefits this?

Duh-uh, gee, what, uh, good would a healthy Moss do? In week 2, he grabbed 7 balls for 164 yards & a 67-yd. TD, along with a 27-yd. run. In week 4, he grabbed 8 balls for 145 yards. Last week, 9 passes for 140 yards and a long TD. Moss and Portis are the Wash. offense. BOTH were clearly hobbled before and during this tilt.

For some PERSPECTIVE on the Skin offense and what Moss means to it, along with a rundown of the plethora of O-line woes and injuries they are dealing with, read this article:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/redski ... learn.html

This is why we founded Stillers.com .....to provide thorough analysis, assessment, and evaluation on the Pgh. Stillers, rather than publishing the rah-rah pablum that can be found at most media and fan sites.

That's why stillers.com was founded.

But now that only you are left here to do analysis, that's NOT what we get anymore.

Anyone who spends a paragraph to rag on Farrior in the midst of a superb effort by the defense ought to have his head examined....if said person thinks he's providing objective analysis.

[StillMill Profile]

That's why stillers.com was founded.

But now that only you are left here to do analysis, that's NOT what we get anymore.

Anyone who spends a paragraph to rag on Farrior in the midst of a superb effort by the defense ought to have his head examined....if said person thinks he's providing objective analysis.

Thanks you very much for proving my point, Creamster. The average, pablum-fed fan will oooh & aahhh over Farrior last nite. The intelligent fan sees the play in which Farrior's jock-strap was left on the field on a routine, basic pass pattern by Cooley, which produced a key 14-yard gain on 3D when the game was still very much in doubt. This occured 3 plays after the "team leader" committed an entirely jackassed penalty that negated a 4D stop and gave Wash. the ball back in a tight ballgame.

Again, thanks for proving the point. This is why Stillers.com was founded and why Stillers.com remains the definitive source for anlaysis on the Pgh. Stillers. We here at Stillers.com appreciate your thoughtful help in that regard.

[Crosby4Life Profile Website]

I realize most of you yinzers don't read, or study, anything outside of the Pittsburgh media or outside of coverage on the Steelers. This point is pounded home when you see daft ponderings such as, "And it's the same with him saying Lebeau caught a break because Washington's only deep threat (Moss) was out. Campbell didn't have time to throw 5 yards downfield and the D was all over the short passes, why would Moss make much difference? Furthermore, why does Mill seemingly think Lebeau is the only D coordinator that benefits this?

Duh-uh, gee, what, uh, good would a healthy Moss do? In week 2, he grabbed 7 balls for 164 yards & a 67-yd. TD, along with a 27-yd. run. In week 4, he grabbed 8 balls for 145 yards. Last week, 9 passes for 140 yards and a long TD. Moss and Portis are the Wash. offense. BOTH were clearly hobbled before and during this tilt.

For some PERSPECTIVE on the Skin offense and what Moss means to it, along with a rundown of the plethora of O-line woes and injuries they are dealing with, read this article:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/redski ... learn.html

This is why we founded Stillers.com .....to provide thorough analysis, assessment, and evaluation on the Pgh. Stillers, rather than publishing the rah-rah pablum that can be found at most media and fan sites.

Congratulations, you can throw around numbers. Guess what? In week 1, he had 37 yards. In week 3, he had 75 yards. In week 6, he 22 yards. Weeeee! It's easy to make the numbers say whatever you want them to, isn't it? My point was that, the way the D was playing, there's no guarantee he would have made any difference. Campbell didn't have time to throw the ball deep, and they were all over the short routes.

Regardless of that, you still didn't tell me why you didn't point out that Jason Taylor was out of the game when analyzing the O-line, or why Springs' absence wasn't mentioned in Leftwich's analysis. THAT was my other point, that you made the "Player X was missing" argument when it applied to Lebeau and Lebeau only. You conveniently left it out when going over the other areas. The obvious reason being that you can't be unbiased in your analysis.

What are you going to write next week? That Lebeau benefited from not having Eric Dickerson in his prime lining up in the Colts' backfield?

It would kill you to write a good thing about Lebeau without bringing him back down with some asinine argument.

[StillMill Profile]

I realize most of you yinzers don't read, or study, anything outside of the Pittsburgh media or outside of coverage on the Steelers. This point is pounded home when you see daft ponderings such as, "And it's the same with him saying Lebeau caught a break because Washington's only deep threat (Moss) was out. Campbell didn't have time to throw 5 yards downfield and the D was all over the short passes, why would Moss make much difference? Furthermore, why does Mill seemingly think Lebeau is the only D coordinator that benefits this?

Duh-uh, gee, what, uh, good would a healthy Moss do? In week 2, he grabbed 7 balls for 164 yards & a 67-yd. TD, along with a 27-yd. run. In week 4, he grabbed 8 balls for 145 yards. Last week, 9 passes for 140 yards and a long TD. Moss and Portis are the Wash. offense. BOTH were clearly hobbled before and during this tilt.

For some PERSPECTIVE on the Skin offense and what Moss means to it, along with a rundown of the plethora of O-line woes and injuries they are dealing with, read this article:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/redski ... learn.html

This is why we founded Stillers.com .....to provide thorough analysis, assessment, and evaluation on the Pgh. Stillers, rather than publishing the rah-rah pablum that can be found at most media and fan sites.

Congratulations, you can throw around numbers. Guess what? In week 1, he had 37 yards. In week 3, he had 75 yards. In week 6, he 22 yards. Weeeee! It's easy to make the numbers say whatever you want them to, isn't it? My point was that, the way the D was playing, there's no guarantee he would have made any difference. Campbell didn't have time to throw the ball deep, and they were all over the short routes.

Regardless of that, you still didn't tell me why you didn't point out that Jason Taylor was out of the game when analyzing the O-line, or why Springs' absence wasn't mentioned in Leftwich's analysis. THAT was my other point, that you made the "Player X was missing" argument when it applied to Lebeau and Lebeau only. You conveniently left it out when going over the other areas. The obvious reason being that you can't be unbiased in your analysis.

What are you going to write next week? That Lebeau benefited from not having Eric Dickerson in his prime lining up in the Colts' backfield?

It would kill you to write a good thing about Lebeau without bringing him back down with some asinine argument.

Thanks Crosby, for again proving my point.

You're right -- Moss had been limited in a few games.

In week 1, he had 5 grabs for 37 yards, and they LOST to NY.
He did not play vs. Phil, and the Skins prevailed by 7.
Still hobbled, he had 2 grabs the following week (week 6) in the LOSS to StLou.
He regained his form, averaging 19 YPC and a TD the next week in the win over Clev, and then was simply dominating the following week with a mammoth game in the win over Detr.

To say "a healthy Moss wouldn't have made a difference at all" in a game where the score was 16-6 into the 4Q and then Wash. knocked on the door deep in Pit territory in the 4Q, is the height of naiveté and stupidity. Like I said, I realize yinzers like yerself don't read, or study, anything outside of the Pittsburgh media or outside of coverage on the Steelers. You're the kind of fellow that will wail and moan about Tonio Holmes being deactivated by Tomlin for the drug bust, "because Holmes is so vital to our offense", yet you'll sit here and belittle one of THE premier threats in the NFL like Tana Moss. Imbecilic, yet not surprising.

As for Jason Taylor, spare me the laughter. He's a washed up bum. He jaked it last year for the Fish. He hasn't done jack fucking shit this year AT ALL. I'd take LeMarr Woodley, as a ROOKIE, over the 2008 version of Taylor. Get real.

As for Arians, I don't waste time claiming "so and so was injured on the other defense". Obviously with a nuttfuck like Arians, it wouldn't matter if half the defense was injured; he'd still struggle like the stupidfuk that he is.

As for LeBeau, the LAST TIME he faced a quality, AND HEALTHY, offense, was in the playoff game this past Jan. And we all saw how that turned out. See me in Jan. and let's see how Dick fares.

As always, thanks for helping us here at Stillers.com. We certainly appreciate your contributions and your setting the example for others to learn from.

[Jeemie Profile]

You never lack for provision of humor, Mill!!!

I'll give you that!!!

[McLovin Profile]

McLovin posted for the first time during the thread and saw stat after stat by the MNF producers about the Steeler D. The ones that McLovin posted as worthy of a LeBeau backing were the Steelers finished in the top 10 overall defenses in every year Dick's been the DC with this year possibly being his best statistically Def in his tenure. As for the game against the skins you have to like holding a top 10 statisical offense like the skins to under 200 total yds and getting 7 sacks against a veteran Oline. Portis hobbled or not was on a streak of 120 yards + rushing for what like 4 straight games? Only Jim Brown and O.J. had ever done that. The defense held him in check the whole game and Farrior like it or not was a part of it. McLovin told y'all that Woodley would destroy Jansen. McLovin particularly liked a sack where Woodley and Harrison lined up on Woodley's side with Harrison getting to Campbell. Great blitz design by Dick not mentioned in Mill's ANALysis.

[McLovin Profile]

McLovin's fat, balls ugly secretary called off today so McLovin going to make Mill a list of every middle Lb in the NFL and Mill can tell McLovin which ones he'd rather have right now than Farrior under the perameters that most MLBs don't play a 3-4 and would have to convert to Farrior's spot and not Farrior converting to 4-3 middle LB.

AFC East: Puz, Mayo, David Harris, Channing Crowder
AFC North: Ray, Dqwell Jackson, Odell thurman? (who the hell is bengirls MLB?)
AFC South: Mike Peterson, Demico Ryans, Stephen Tulloch, Gary Brackett
AFC West: Stephen Cooper, Nate Webster, Kirk Morrison, and Pat Thomas (Chiefs..McLovin had to look that one up...gawd chiefs suck)
NFC East: Antonio Pierce, Stewart Bradley, London Fletcher, Brady James
NFC North: Urlacher, EJ Henderson, Nick Barnett, Paris Lenon (lions McLovin sloppy had to look up that dude too)
NFC South: Curtis Lofton, Jon Beason, Jon Vilma, Barret Ruud
NFC West: Pat Willis, Gerald Hayes, Lofa Totupu, Will Witherspoon

Ok not as easy as McLovin thought, here are the guys McLovin would take over Farrior to play inside in a 3-4 whose responisibilties include coverage and stopping the run and setting the def.

1. Pat Willis
2. Jarrod Mayo
3. Demeco Ryans
4.Nick Barnett
5. Lofa Totupu

These are the guys McLovin would take right now instead of Farrior who is WAY too harshly criticized by Mill. Some would argue for Urlacher, Ray the knife, but remember a 3-4 MLB has more responsibility to cover. Young guys with potential are Stewart Bradley, David Harris, and Jon Beason but theyre not there yet. Add Larry Timmons to the list of not there yet.