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

[StillMill Profile]

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

[tourosteelersfan Profile]

Mill,

Thanks for a solid report on a straightforward game that had virtually no surprises. A win is a win, and technically the Steelers are now in a four-way tie for first place in the AFC North. Rejoice! I like the Socrates nickname for Mendenhall - such a thoughtful gentleman. As you note, he needs to be more decisive and plow ahead close to the goal line or first down.

Looking ahead, the Steelers need to stockpile as many wins as possible during the first half of the season to keep pace with or get ahead of the Ravens. It is reasonable to say the Steelers should be 6-1 before squaring off against New England and Baltimore at home. And after those two games, the Steelers should go undefeated the rest of the way. If the offensive line can patch together and the defense can continue to rejuvenate, there is no reason the Steelers should not have a number one or two seed in the playoffs.

Sorry to address the entire season so early, I just don't see that many challenging games on the schedule.

[Steel Holiday Profile]

Here's a plan Get Isaac "Red Zone" Redman more involved down in the red zone. After all, his nick name is "Red Zone". Redman has had some great success in that area --- I'm remembering last year's game at Baltimore where he scored the winning touchdown. Plays specifically designed for him to have an impact would be an outstanding way to boost the offense in an apparent area of weakness.

Not surprising to me that T-Jack wasn't all that effective, as he had no running game. Obviously the Seahawks were inferior competition, but it was good to see that the Stillers never let up.

Next week could be more of the same as far as dominating a hopeless opponent, but the home crowd won't be there to help finish off the game. The Colts have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. There is the potential for them to make a charge if they deem that Pittsburgh is complacent.

[isfry Profile]

good analysis, Mill. Maybe I'm still suffering from the hangover of week one, but I was a little bit surprised at the average grade being like a B- or better. I am not sold on our resurgence until we actually play an NFL team. Until then, a win's a win, I guess..

[deltadweller Profile]

"On a 4th & 8 in the 4Q, Big LaMarr was, twice no less, knocked onto his ass on his feeble rush attempt."

Yes, but he's showing progress. He got up so he could get knocked down again.

I somewhat agree with the Miller thing except maybe once in awhile so that you could set up a throw to him out of that formation. If you're not going to throw to him out of that formation then just put another lineman in the game and have him declare. Then Heath would be free to clear the middle of the field.

While I like Lebeau, as I stated last year I believe he's lost his creativity. I think the defense still works, but you have to come up with some to wrinkles and I don't mean to LeBeau. The youth also needs more PT. I agree with you on Lewis. Maybe Brown deserves a shot as well. Did Heyward even get in the game? I think unless he's learned from last year, and based on the ratbirds game I have no reason to believe he has, any team with a half way decent QB and receivers will just spread us out and throw. We can probably get through until we play the Texans, but that game will be a tell tale as to whether there is any hope against the cheatriots.

[clarioncall Profile]

Mill, great observations, all.
I did not see game (Sun City Hilton Hd) and could not get to local watching spot. What I followed on PC and then saw on hi-lights (more like low-lites) made me disgusted with coaching staff. (Did not see Wally's grabs or AB's or ES's. Did see hi-light of Hines sidelines grab- he still has it!)

Ben has MAJOR short-arm disease at goalline (get stopped an inch short - PUH-LEASE!)
Mendy - bounce the damn thing outside once in awhile. Of course, we have 4 guys that can catch and do things and our crack Mensa Club coaching staff can't devise anything more than a few off-tackle dives? Get TF out!

Tavarious who? And he completes 68% or better? And I thought we were such a difficult D to solve.
Anyone see NE and Brady carve up SD secondary?
We have as good if NOT better receivers and we can't convert 3rd and 3. At least it seems we don't want to.

The bloom is off this staff. Tomlin, for all his bluster, had better get his act together w/ this offense - and get involved or make some damn demands. Waste of talent - especially since we can't stop dry concrete with this O-Line. Maybe some quick hitting slants? Ya think? see Brady move about 40 yds in 15 sec. w/ 2 or 3 sideling hitters and grab 3-pts before half?
I hate those bastards (i lived in NH for 20 yrs) but tell me whose better on offense w/ limited talent.

Arians is OFFENSIVE. Tomlin better step in. We face a real team, we'll have issues like we did w/ Balt. Hells bells, Detroit hangs 48 on KC and Calvin gets less than 100yds? Other than Stafford, name 2 other offensive players there. We have the best TE in AFC - gets 2 tosses?, Hines, receivers w/athletic ability, Redzone, et al and we couldn't break 30 on Little Sisters of the Poor. Give me a break. Front Office will do nothing with this staff.

[oldschoolhunkie Profile]

Good analysis from what I can tell.. could only some of the game on a horrible connection.

@tourofan, Whatsamatteryou? Haven't you read enough sports pages to know you have to go one game at a time? The hoariest of cliches, but the truest... don't start counting wins and losses.

@Isfry, this must be the first time anyone has accused Mill of being too EASY of a grader. The opponent is the opponent and the analysis is of how the team performed, not how they might have fared against some mythical superior team.

Not that everything is perfect or the game means a ton - but it does mean that they don't suck incredibly badly, which seemed possible 7 days ago.... and you have to say that Arians called a good game.

[Fire Arians Profile]

is there gonna be a woodenDong report every week?

[Still Peon Profile]

So far it seems like the general consensus has the Steelers amongt the living, but not yet the strong. Shutting out any team is something to be happy about, if only the opponent looked like it wasn't playing grabass all day. The Seasucks have fallen a treacherous distance into the basement of ineptitude, that is, if they were even trying at all, which that feeble effort sure didn't look like. Hell, I thought that guy in charge of payroll forgot to direct deposit all of the Seahag's checks, so they all decided to strike. Even Pete Carroll looked like he couldn't give a fuck less about getting anally raped after getting his balls ripped off.........they looked like Madden set on "pussdweeb easy." This was the team that beat the Saints in the playoffs?

I'm also completely on board with the "a win is a win" crowd, and for me it's much more of a relief than anything. It's like finding out that a lump on your balls is just an ingrown hair, and now you ain't gots to say farewell to one of your boys.......that was just an example, btw.......an impotent Steeler team doesn't stack up to losing a testicle........for me, at least.

Without driveling on to excess about the matter, I'll wrap my ramblings up by extending Ben major credit for getting railed hard enough to make every Steeler fan across America stop breathing for a split second, and then getting back at it so fast that hardly anyone can believe it.......helluva sequence of events there dude. Wallace did great, Hines made another Hall of Fame catch, Ike shut his side of the field down, and no one really sucked.......it was an ok day. This game signals the end of constipation, but I'll breath easier when I don't have to use so damn much toilet paper.

You'd think I'd feel a lot better, especially after having my Colon cleansed and all. Get it?.......my Colon got flushed.......you know.......nevermind. Anyone tired of me using my health problems for Steeler analogies yet?

[LenSherwood Profile]

Before we get all excited about their chances this year, it was the Seahawks, not a team with an elite quarterback. When you hit a team like that, Ben shits the bed and the defense gets mauled. Would it be too much to ask for Benji to fucking play a decent game when you know the defense is going to get raped by the pass??

[LenSherwood Profile]

is there gonna be a woodenDong report every week?

Mill can default to Big LaMarr unless Gay, Farrior or Foote wins it.

[clarioncall Profile]

Peon, I agree - it was the freakin' Seahawks! That we couldn't put up "a point a minute" as they say is the goal in every game - every minute of TOP should translate to a point. Ben (and Mendy anyone?) gets to goal line, their heads go over the line but they tuck the damn ball to their stomach that's still 1 yard out. Hell, ALL they have to do is break the plane with the ball.

Where was Redzone when Mendy laid his egg on 4th & 1? Why is front office not calling Ass Arians out?
Our O-line does nothing all day, except provide entrance ramps to the Benji Beat-up Contest and Mr. Mensa does nothing to slow it down? "Hell, boys, jus' go as deep as you can and we'll figger a way to git ya the rock."

Geez, maybe a few quick hitters over the middle, a few in the flat - not those insipid wideout screens (how many did he call Sunday? - I did not see the game - but you know those are a damn staple in this offense). Ben will lose 2-3 yrs off his career with pounding he takes. And no one does crap about it. Maybe some hurry-up offense will slow down opposing D's as well, but this asshat doesn't get it. Gosh, why can't we cut him?

[tourosteelersfan Profile]

OldSchoolHunkie - or should I say NoSchoolHunkie - if I wanted to be reminded of cliches, I would have turned to Bob Smizik and the other morons on the Post Gazette sports page. Try to bring something original to Stillers.com. And in case it wasn't clear the first time, I was not counting chickens (or any other football fowl e.g. Ravens, Eagles, Falcons) before they hatch. Instead I was reminding all of us as to why expectations for this Steelers team should be high. Even if they are older and slower, they should be competing for the top seed in the AFC. The last two times the Steelers were in the Super Bowl they benefitted from the week off and having to play only two games to get to the championship game. (Recall also that each year the Steelers defeated the Ravens, who had to play an extra game as the wild card entry.) The Steelers need to be focused on getting that week off in the playoffs.

OldSchool, I have to ask, do you have a problem with high expectations? Check out Amy Chua's "The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" - it will set you straight on what you should expect and demand in order to be the best.

[oldschoolhunkie Profile]

Hey, Touro, did someone steal your Wheaties this morning? Why you so up in my grill? Why you on me? I didn't say nothing to you. But since you want to go...

"The sky is falling! The sky is falling! We're old and slow! They should have listened to me! Colbert is a moron!"

One week later: "My analysis says that we have an excellent chance of winning 12 games this year."

Enjoy the process. Watch the games... And save your analysis for lame books like Tiger Mother. If the Stillerz need the likes of us to tell them to get up for the f'in Ravens,then we're all wasting our breath here.

All I'm saying is, the Seasucks suck so bad that it's hard to take much from that game other than we're not going to be a complete disaster. beyond that, let's wait and see.

[SoCal Stiller Profile]

I would like to see the 'D' experiment with a sort of 2 deep zone look when playing against spread offenses. Clark and Mundy play 10-15 yds off the LOS, Lewis, Ike, and Gay right up in the WR's face, with Timmons and Troy patrolling the backfield creating havoc. Farrior / Foote can ride the pine as long as the likes of Brady, Rogers, or Brees is on the field. Something has to change if we are to get back to the superbowl. We were fortunate last year to not have to play NE or Indy in the playoffs. Anybody have any other ideas? It may be difficult with the DB's we have currently on the roster, except for Ike, of course.

[clarioncall Profile]

Funny you mentioned that "scheme". Thinking the same but not sure who the make up would have included. Timmons would fit that bill! Sort of a 3-3-5 package. Let Troy and Timmy sort out the TE and RB coverage. Definitely need a pas rush though.

Again, hate to say it but NE's offense has a way of finding holes in secondary and our current 3-4-4 would be picked apart and eaten alive. Foote and Farrior too slow to keep up. Maybe op for Worilds and Stephenson to step-in and add speed/youth?

Although no pass rush means Brady has even more time. Frankly, I don't think our staff is up to a challenge like that. We would need a ball control offense to keep Brady off the field.

Yeah, THAT'S gonna happen with this jerk we have as an OC.

[SoCal Stiller Profile]

I remember when we used to be good at disguising corner blitzes to get to the QB. I have witnessed Gay, of all people, being effective at blitzing from the nickel with Troy picking up the coverage for the hot read. We may have to get back to that because from what I'm seeing, the likes of Rogers and Brady are going to torch us. Whether you get to him or not, you have to knock brady on his fucking ass as much as possible. I don't see much pressure when we keep sending blitzes right up the middle. Occasionally, Dick needs to send Troy diving over the LOS on the snap to disrupt plays as well. Our 'D' seems to be in Limbo somewhere in between ineffective blitzing and overly conservative. All I'm saying is we need to send the dogs more often, stop falling back on our heels, and start knocking some of these pretty boy QB's on their arse. Dick needs to do something different or it will be more of the same and we will not be as fortunate this season to dodge Brady or even Rivers in the playoffs. Hell, we made Flacco look like the second coming of Elway and Rice look like Barry Sanders.

[Still Peon Profile]

I remember when we used to be good at disguising corner blitzes to get to the QB. I have witnessed Gay, of all people, being effective at blitzing from the nickel with Troy picking up the coverage for the hot read................Occasionally, Dick needs to send Troy diving over the LOS on the snap to disrupt plays as well.

Hmmm, I seem to remember seeing these things happening before, when was that I wonder? Oh yeah, when we won championships. I guess that stuff was deemed unfair by the NFL, so we're not allowed to do it anymore.