Stillers 31, RatBirds 24���. Jan. 15, 20111 ����Div.
Playoffs
Stillers-RatBirds Postgame
Analysis and Grades
The
Stillers stunk up the joint on both sides of the ball in the 1st half, and with
a Suisham missed FG to add moldy mayo to a shit sandwich, they trudged to the
locker room down 21-7 at halftime.��� 2 fumbles,
shoddy special teams play, and 68 yards of penalties low-lighted a grisly, pitiful
1st half. ��To their credit, the Stillers stormed back in
the 3Q, and ransacked the PoeBirds.�� The
pesky Woodpeckers tied it up, but Ben hit Brown downtown on 3d & 19 to set
up the winning TD.��� The Stillers
prevailed over the hated Rats, 31-24 !!!!�
Grades:
QB:�
Pumper Roethlisberger had a shit-laden 1H, punctuated by an assaholic
play deep in his own territory, in which he pumped twice and clutched the ball
forever, before being stripped of the ball by Suggs.�� With everyone on the field assuming it was an
inc. pass, Balt recovered and ran it in for a TD.�� The fault on the play lies with Pumper Ben,
who assaholicly pumped like a complete asspump.���
��� Later in the 2Q, Ben seemed to be running a
hurry-up offense, and rushed to the LOS on a 3d & 6....only to diddle-fuk
around calling plays in Swahili, and then had to waste a timeout because the
playclock had run down.�� Very, very stupid��
���� Ben rebounded in the 2H, with a perfect TD
strike to Ward and an easy TD lob to Miller.��
He also had a perfect deep strike to Brown on 3d & 19 to set up the
winning TD.�� He finished 19 of 22 for
226 and 0 INTs.�������� B�
RB:�
Mendy had a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs.��� Ever the anti-Marcus Allen, he enraged me
when he got stood up by Fred Reed at the 1-yard line on a TD plunge.�� But, on the next play, he showed good 2nd
effort to punch it in for a TD.��� In the
2Q, he coughed up the ball when a body part of Kemo�s jarred the ball
loose.� Very poor.� ���He
had a superb 2nd effort on the game-winning TD plunge late in the game.��
����� Redman, long mired on the bench ever
since his game-winning TD vs. the Ravens in Dec, was only allowed to touch the
ball once.�� On a key 3d & 1 on the
1st series, he eluded Ray Ray and sliced ahead for a 4-yard gain.�� After that, he was marooned and planted
firmly on the bench.���
�����
����� Unbelievably, the RBs combined for 1
catch (Mendy) for 13 yards.������������ B
��
FB:�
Rarely used, although LeGursky played some FB in goal-line.�� Inc.
WR:�
Almost unbelievably, the 2 rookies led the way.�� Sanders led all WRs with 4 grabs.�� He had 2 clutch grabs, and a nice weave on a
WR screen in the 3Q.� Brown had 3 for 75,
none bigger than the 3d & a mile bomb that he hauled in for 58 yards, doing
a David Tyree-like pinning of the ball to his helmet after he hauled and almost
juggled the ball loose.��
Wally drew
a PI flag on the 1st series for 41 yards.��
He was held to a measly 20 yards on 3 grabs.�� He utterly enraged me on the end around early
in the 4Q, in which he had a BEVY of blockers and mis-read the blocking,
getting stopped for 4 when he should have scored walking in.��� (We settled for a FG 2 plays later.)�
Ward was unfairly
given a personal foul flag on the 1st play on offense, which should have
been off-setting.�� He didn�t catch his
1st pass until early 3Q.� He made a
superb TD catch amidst tight coverage on 3d & 6 late in the 3Q.� Then, in the 4Q, amidst smothering coverage,
he caught a huge, clutch grab on 3d & 10 to move the sticks.� (3 plays later, Ben hit Brown for 58
yards.)��� ��There were no dropped passes by the WR corps (Sanders
had one jarred loose by 2 defenders), which was impressive.�� ���A+�
TE:�
Miller, as usual, was totally ignored early on, not thrown a pass until
1:12 1Q.�� His1st catch came at 4:56
2Q.�� Go figure.�� He had 5 grabs for 39, and would have had
many more if he wasn�t marooned in the backfield doing pass-blocking.��� Fortunately, Spaeth was never thrown a
pass.����� B+
OL: The line was nicked and hobbled,
but held together.�� There were 6 sacks,
at least 4 of which were attributed to Ben clutching & pumping.��
� ���Piss
Kemo played like a complete assfuck.�� He
got away with a blatant, LATE pile-cleanup in the 1Q, but on Mendy�s late TD,
he was correctly flagged for a totally stupid, needless pile-shot well after
Mendy had crossed the goal line.� What a
complete assfuck.�� If I�m Tomlin, I
start Legursky, if only for 1 play, next week.��� There�s simply no place for this kind of
assaholic stupidity by a veteran player.��
�
���� Foster was closest to the Ben �fumble�,
and wandered away from the ball.�� Stupid,
given the fact that no whistle had blown, but 4 Ravens were perched nearby and
none made a move to the ball, either.��
���� Pouncey fared ok vs. Ngata, and had a good
block on a RB screen �(the only 1
of the game) for 13 yards.� ��������B-��
�
DL:�
Leading the charge was Brett Keisel, who had a monster of a game.�� He stuffed Rice for 1 yard on the 2nd
series.� He helped force the
����� Piggy Hood chipped in very well.��� He stuffed Gay Rice for a 1-yard gain in
the 2Q.� He applied some harassment.��� �Dick
Eason was in at NT on the key 3d & 7 in the 2Q, and was too slow and
lumbering to corral Jacco before he dumped to Rice for 9.�� Very poor.�
���� Fat Casey had a good stuff of Rice for 0
in the 2Q.� But in the 1Q, he got totally
manhandled� on Rice�s 14-yard TD
run.� Very piss poor.�� ���
���� Keisel��
A,� Hood� B+,�� �all others, B-��
LB:�
Timmons led the way with 7 solos and 2 A�s.��� He had a brilliant hustle play on a screen
in the 1Q, racing over to nab Rice for 5 yards.��� You have to re-watch this play to truly appreciate
it.��� In the 4Q, he vaulted over Gay
Rice and applied the pressure that led to a Jacco sack.�� This is the kind of ferocious athleticism
you simply cannot teach.�� He also had a
good stuff of Rice for 0 yards in the 3Q.��
���
��� Taunto Farrior did little.��� He chipped in on some slop tackles,
finishing with 3 solos and 2 A�s.� He got
sealed by McClain in pathetic fashion on Rice�s 14-yard TD run.�� Taunto had coverage on Boldin on the 3rd
down DROP of a SURE go-ahead touchdown pass late in the 4Q.��
����� Big LaMarr Woodley did little, finishing with
1 solo and 2 A�s despite NEVER leaving the field.�� His lone solo came on a sack in which the
Ravens went with an unbalanced line to the left, and brought in backup tackle
Tony Moll as a tackle-legible to play RT.���
Moll moved extremely LATE at the snap, and barely grazed
Big LaMarr, who got a cake-easy Dong Sack.��
That was IT from the big he-man.��
He applied very little other heat, and obviously finished with no
other solos.�� ����
������ Timmy and Harry:�� A+����
Farrior and Woodley:��� C-� ���
DB:�
Leading the way was Ike Taylor, who had a very, very strong game.��� He had 2 bustups on Mason (holding Stiller-killer
Mason off the stat sheet, no less) and gave up next to nothing.��� He was flagged for a hold, but this came
the 1st play after he re-entered the game due to injury, thanks to dumfuck Ryan
Clark, who led with his helmet and hit
���� Ryan Clark surprisingly had a half-decent
game.�� He caught a Dong INT when Jacco overthrew
Heap by about 19 feet in the 3Q.�� He
flashed up and nabbed Boldin on a bubble screen for -2.�� He busted up a pass to Heap on 3d & 7
early on.��� He tackled McGayboy for -2
on a run.�� He also forced a fumble by
Gay Rice, although Rice was foolishly holding the ball like a loaf of
bread.� His main boner -- aside from launching
himself, helmet first, at Ike and injuring Ike -- was getting picked by Gay on
the TD pass to Heap.��
���� McFadden had a hip injury and went out
early.��� Gay filled in and did ok.���� His bump into
����� With all the talk and praise, Troy Pola
went out today and shit the bed with a wretched effort.� He had a cheesy cut tackle that did NOTHING
to slow down Rice on the 14-yard TD.�� Then,
in the 2Q, on 3d & 7, he went after Rice wildly, and totally out of
control, on a dumpoff to Rice, in which Rice was able to easily elude Pola and
gain 9.�� Piss fuking poor.�� He finished with 2 solos and was a complete,
total NON-factor.������
Ike:�� A+������
Spec
teams:� This short-bus crew nearly pissed away the
game.����� They started off poorly
enough, allowing a KO that went to -3 to be returned to the 35 (tackle made by
Suisham, of all people), and with shoddy follow-on tackling, to the 49 before
Tomlin wasted a challenge and had it moved back to the 35.��
��� Suisham missed a 43-yard FG late in the 2Q,
hooking it to the left.� He nearly missed
a PAT in the 3Q, again nearly hooking it left.��
��� Krapinos had a rare, good punt, downed at
the 1.�� It was too good to be true, of
course, as someone (NFL.com does not identify who) was flagged for ineligible
man DF.�� The re-punt was boomed into the
EZ for a TB.���
��� Ike had a good solo stop in KO cover.�� Foote also did, late 3Q, and Allen did in
the 4Q.�� �Redman had a superb pancake block on El�s punt
return in the 4Q.�
��� The punt coverage sucked horse-cock in the
4Q, allowing a TD.�� Lewis missed the
initial stop, and then was followed by whiffs by Warren and Allen.� But a correct holding flag on Balt brought
the ball back to the PIT 29.���
��
���� The penalties were crushing.� Lewis was flagged for a stupid-fuk block to
the back on a punt return in the 2Q, just before Mendy�s fumble.�� Fox had a hold on a punt return in the 1Q,
forcing Pit to start at its own 10.� Sylvester
was flagged for a false start just before the late punt return for a TD that
was called back.���� ���
�
���� �The
late squib KO (from the PIT 15, thanx to Kemo�s 15-yard flag) by Suisham sucked
ass and was woefully short (fielded at the Balt 40), and the coverage was slow
and soft, giving Balt the ball at the PIT 48.���
Piss fuking poor.� ������D- �������
OC:�
Arians had a good 1st drive, moving 10 plays and 80 yards for a TD, even
overcoming Ward�s personal foul & a 2nd & 19 early on.���
��� That was about it.�� Arians shot his wad.��� Problems and boners were immense --
���� - on 3d & 11 early in the 2Q, Heath
Miller was assigned to pass block as a side car RB, rather than, you know,
being in the PATTERN.�� A pass to Wally
was inc.�� �Miller was forced into the janitorial duties
several times in the game.���
���� - after the 2MW in the 2Q (at 1:57), Ben
hit Sanders in a curl.�� Unbelievably,
the offense diddle-fucked for eons of time, and finally, Balt called a timeout
at 1:22.��� Fuking pitiful.�� Sanders grabbed his pass around 1:50.�� After the 2MW timeout, it should not take 20
seconds to get off the next play.���
��� - Arians, the genius, tried ZERO screens to
the RBs the entire 1H, despite facing a defense rushing pell-mell at the QB.�� For the game, he tried ONE, which gained 13
yards.�� Apparently, that wasn�t enough
yardage to quench Arians� thirst.�� RBs
combined for ONE catch the entire game, which given their skills and the fact
that RBs are a perfect tonic on checkdowns and swing passes, is just incomprehensible.�
��� - The offense wasted not 1, but TWO
timeouts in the 2H.� The clock ran down to
0:05 on 3d & 6 at the Balt 8.� Then,
on the 3d & 19, the entire offense looked befuddled and Ben had to call a
TO.��� Very sloppy.�
��� �The
absolute worst, most unforgiving boner by Arians occurred right after Brown�s
58-yard bomb.� With the score tied and
the ball at the Balt 4, the Stiller took over on 1st down with 1:58
remaining.�� All they really had to do
here was KNEEL on the ground 3 times, and worst case, take the FG while forcing
the Ravens to waste all THREE timeouts.���
But in the words of
����� The fact that Arians was totally
unprepared to chip block and help out on Suggs is just incomprehensible.���� C+ ��
��
DC:�
You�ll hear the usual fawning, worship, and glorified adulation of Dick
after this game.�� Never mind that of the
4 (four) 1st half possessions, the Ravens scored TDs on TWO of
those possessions.� And this wasn�t
against Joe Montana and Jerry Rice.�� It
was against Joe Jacco and a weak-assed Balt offense that finished 16th in the NFL in points scored and 22nd in total yardage.��� Supposedly
being the �#1 ranked defense�, forcing a FG would have been nice on EITHER of these
TD drives.���
������
Dick, as is all too often his penchant, shit the bed and was totally
unprepared in the 1st half.��� He got
riddled to death by screen passes.� Worse,
he was constantly a step behind Ravens OC Cam Cameron.��� Cases in point:��
���� - 3d & 5 1st series, screen to a WIDE
open Heap, 18 yards.��
���� - Rice draw run , 14 yards, TD, amidst a
GAPING hole.��
��� �- 3d
& 7 after Mendy fumble,�� Jacco had
ALL DAY, and dumped off to Rice for 9.�
Dick Eason was in at NT on this play for no apparent reason, and slowly lumbered
after the QB.�
��� �- �3 plays later, a 3d & goal at the 4 scored
a TD when Dick, duh-uh, failed to have his DBs prepared for a simple PICK
play.��
���� - after the punt that gave Balt the ball
at the PIT 29 late in the 4Q, Jacco had ALL day -- an ETERNITY -- and hit Heap
for 21 yards.�� A few plays later, Boldin
was covered by Taunto Farrior and DROPPED a cake-easy TD pass that
would have put the Ravens ahead by 4.���
Thanks to the drop, the Ravens settled for a tying FG.�
���� - on the late 4th
& 18, TJ Housemanad dropped an EASY curl pass that hit him right in
the bread basket.�� This SHOULD have
given the Ratbirds a 1st down at the PIT 37, with plenty of time (and 1
timeout) to take 4 stabs at the end zone.���
The worst
contributing factor to the 1st half bed-shitting was Dick�s absurd reluctance
to HARASS the passer.�� Here�s what Dick
did with his 2 best rushers on the 22 1st half passes:
����� �
������ In the 3Q, with
����������� �����
�
����� WHY was Harry shackled the entire 1st
half ???�� Answer: Because his Def.
Coord, is a complete dumbfuck !!������
������ Of course, you�ll hear all sorts of
praise and worship about how �Dick forced 3 turnovers in the 2nd half�.��� Uh, no, he did not.�� The 1st turnover was somewhat forced,
although Gay Rice was holding the ball like a loaf of bread.�� The 2nd turnover was on a totally UN-pressured
pass by Jacco that went 19 feet over the intended receiver�s (Heap) head for a
Dong INT.�� The 3rd turnover was when the
QB, while UNDER CENTER, simply dropped the snap.��� For absolute certainty, neither the 2nd nor
3rd turnovers had ANYTHING to do with defensive influence, pressure,
harassment, or �defensive forcing�.���
NONE at all.�� Of course, any
number of idiots will peruse the stat sheet and will be totally negligent as to
the self-Induced
turnovers and the DROPPED touchdown pass, neither of which will show up on the
stat sheet.��
������ At any rate, it will be sickly, but
grimly humorous, to see Dick get carved up again by the Patsies next week.����� C-�
HC:� Tomlin failed
miserably in having his men ready for playoff football.�� The entire team played a foolish, childish,
spastic brand of football the entire 1H, marked by 1 idiot penalty after
another.��
����� The wasted
challenge on the opening KO was beyond comprehension.�� The difference was 14 or 15 yards, from
midfield to the Balt 35.� Big shit.� �Once
Tomlin correctly challenge the Ben fumble -- which was astute, as you always
challenge an iffy 7-point play like that -- he had NO challenges the rest of
the game.�� That�s precisely WHY you don�t
piss away a challenge on the opening KO over a piddly, meaningless 15
yards.����
���� I applaud the 4th
& 1 sneak call early in the 4Q.�� Ben
is money on those plays, and a piss-ant FG try from the Balt 14 would have been
weak.�� Sure, the team ended up settling
for a FG, but it�s that kind of gusto that wins titles.�� ��
����68 penalty yards in the 1H, and 9 total
penalties, is entirely unacceptable. ���Tomlin must
do a much, much better job of discipline in the AFC title game. ������B- ��
Officiating:�� I don�t often rant about officials, although
I�ve been forced to a few times this season.��
This crew was inept and incompetent from the very beginning of the game
--
���� - On the opening
KO, the Balt returner was clearly DOWN on a tackle by Suisham at the 35.� Thanks to NO WHISTLE and typical clumsiness
that pervaded the entire game, no whistle was blown and the returner continued
on to midfield.� Tomlin had to waste a
challenge to correct this horrific boner.��
��� - Ward rightfully
blocked Reed on the 1st play.�� The two
men wrestled each other to the ground.��
Another Raven came in after the whistle and shoved Ward, but
inexplicably, Ward was given an �unnecessary roughness� flag on this play.�� Total horseshit.��� At WORST, this should have been off-setting
penalties.��
���� - I�m still not
convinced Ben�s �fumble� was a fumble.��
Per the �tuck rule�, his arm was coming forward.�� Furthermore, and WORSE, he was FACE-MASKED (or
struck with a severe blow to the head) by Suggs in this play, with no
flag.��� The worst aspect of this play --
along with the opening KO and the play with TJ Housemanad later in the 1Q -- is
that the fuking NFL refs refuse to BLOW their fuking whistles !!��� Both Tomlin and Bellichick alluded to this
very fact earlier this season.�� 50% of
all NFL plays end with ZERO whistles.��
It�s fuking amateurish at its worst.��
��� - On 3d & 21
in the 3Q, Randle El ran a chair route and was BLATANTLY contacted by the DB
about 13 yards downfield.�� No flag.��
��� -�� After Brown hauled in a slant for 10 yards
to start the 4Q, Ben rushed the offense to the LOS to catch the Ravens off-guard
and run a quick QB sneak.�� Coach
Harbaugh motioned the refs over to supposedly
challenge the spot, and the refs STOPPED the action.��� Then, Harbaugh backed off his challenge (or
was told that he can�t, because you can only challenge the spot of a MADE
1st down), but the damage had been done.��
Balt was able to halt the game and get their defense aligned.��� Total fuking bullshit.��� Technically, it�s legal, and the NFL needs
to OUTLAW this bullshit, un-punished STOPPAGE of play.
�
���� - Late in the
game, on 2nd & goal, the Stillers ran a plunge.��� The Ravens were flagged for def.
holding.�� The ball was spotted, yet the
clock did NOT re-start, remaining stuck on 1:48 until Pouncey snapped the ball
on the ensuing 1st down.�� �I could be wrong, but I thought after a
DEFENSIVE penalty like this, the clock would be started the second the ball was
spotted.�� After all, a D-side penalty
should not be able to stop the clock ad
infinitem on a ground play that was stopped in-bounds.� ����
���� - Woodley was
blatantly held, without flag, on a 1st down play midway thru the 2nd series in
the 1Q.���
���� - About the only
call the bumbling ref crew got correct was the blatant hold on the late PR for
a TD.� I have no clue as to what Shannon
Dull was carping and bitching about after the game.�� What a complete pile of shit.�� He�s supposed to be providing objective
coverage for CBS, yet before and after the game, all he was doing was
being a Raven-humper.�� Fuck
�������� C-���
Synopsis:�
So sayeth The Raven, �Never more, never more.��� Never more, indeed!!�� The WoodPeckers will go home and peck away
at their peckers as the complete losers that they are !!� �Fuk
the PoeBirds!!� The Stillers move on to
the AFC title game, where, unless drastic adjustments are made on defense, they�ll look to be the
pumpkin at the carving table at the hands of the Gaytriots.��� Now that we�ve whupped ass on the RatBirds
and this report is done with, I�m drinkin� Dewar�s to celebrate!!����
(Still Mill
and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the