Stillers-Giants Postgame Analysis and Grades

Giants 21, Stillers 14 ���. Oct 26, 2008 ����Game #7

 

Stillers-Giants Postgame Analysis and Grades

 

The 5-1 Stillers hosted the 5-1 and defending NFL Champ Giants.� The 2 teams staged a ferocious battle, with the Giants coming back from a 14-9 4Q deficit to win, 21-14.�� 3 huge plays determined this game in its final 20 minutes, with the Stillers on the short end of each play:

 

-          Ben hits Nate for a 58-yard TD, but Colon is flagged for a hold.

-          On 4th & 6 from the Stiller 34, Manning hits Toomer for 30 yards, setting up a FG that makes the scored 14-12 Pit

-          After the ensuing 3 & out, James Harrison -- subbing as the long snapper for injured Greg Warren -- sails the snap over Berger for a safety that tied that game.�

 

Grades:

 

QB:� Ben had a rock, shoddy outing.� He wasn�t helped much at all by his dimbulbed offensive coordinator, but nonetheless he was shabby.� He started from the very first play from scrimmage, triple pumping before dumping a short incompletion.� He triple pumped at 3:26 2Q, and then was sacked.� Starting the 2H, on 3d & 11, Ben double-pumped and then took the sack.� This continued nearly the entire game, with plenty of time provided by the O-line but Benji playing the role of the meek, timid college freshman.��

 

����������� On paper, Ben threw 4 INTs, but only 1 was of consequence and directly his fault.�� That was the 1st one, in the 1Q, which Ben threw way behind Ward for a foolish, totally unforced INT.�� The 2nd INT was off a bobble by Nate after a big hit; the 3rd INT� was a forced pass on 4th & 5;� there wasn�t anything there and the INT actually resulted in a 2-yard gain of field possession.�� The 4th INT was a 4th down desperation bomb with less than a minute remaining.�� On the other hand, 13 of 29 for 189 yards isn�t all too good.��

�

����������� Much worse were the poor underthrows on deep balls.� He underthrew Nate in the 2Q, which should have been 6.� The TD to Nate in the 3Q was actually underthrown.� (The other TD to Nate was thrown right on the money, but the holding flag by Colon negated it.)� The 90 MPH screen pass to Moore in the 3Q wasn�t too good, either.�� In the battle of Eli vs. Ben, Eli clearly won.����� C-

 

RB:� Moore had a very strong game, rushing 19 times for 84 yards and a quality 32-yd. TD run in the 1Q.� Moore ripped off several other nice gainers of 5, 9, and 10 yards.� Moore did alligator-arm a wheel route in the 2Q and dropped it, but drew a 15-yard flag for un. roughness by NY.� Moore had a terrific catch on a low pass to set up the 4th & 4 in the 4Q.�

 

����������� Russell had a strong run on a draw play in the 2Q, good for 8 yards.��� Russell cost the team 15 yards after Kehl�s INT return, committing a horsecollar penalty by making the exact same type of tackle that Joey Porter did on Sean Alexander without penalty in Sup Bowl 40.� (It�s amazing, by the way, the number of idiot yinzers who still actually cling to the belief that Porter should not have been flagged on that blatant, obvious horsecollar�.)�� This gave NY golden FP at the PIT 29, which they parlayed into a chippie FG.����� A��

 

FB: McHugh played sparingly at FB.��� Inc

 

WR:� With Holmes out, this crew was marginally productive.�� Nate had a 65-yard TD catch and had another 53-yard TD, but it was nullified by a hold.� Nate had no other receptions.� He dropped a 3d & 2 crosser after a rugged hit, and the ball was INT�d by Kehl.�

 

Ward was far too quiet, finishing with 3 grabs for 30 yards.� He also committed a false start in the 1Q, and an entirely jackasses illegal formation penalty on a 3d & 1 in the 3Q in which Moore gained 7.� Ward simply failed to line up on the LOS.� To his credit, he made a strong catch in traffic on the ensuring play, good for 14 yards.� He also had a drop on a late 4th & 4, although he was well short of the sticks.�

 

Sweed grabbed 3 passes for 28 yards, although he fumbled (just like last week) on the 1st grab.� (He recovered.)��� Baker did nothing, aside from committing a dumbassed offsides penalty in the 2Q on the same play that Russell was flagged for the horsecollar.����� B-

 

TE:� Miller sparked the first drive with a RAC good for a 22-yard gain.� He had 2 other grabs for an additional 30 yards, but was clearly underutilized.� Clearly the 3rd best receiver available for today�s game, Miller spent much of the day staying in the pocket as an extra blocker.�� Miller had a nice pancake of Tuck on Moore�s TD run.� He had some struggles in blocking, such as on the 2d & 5 plunge from the PIT 5 in the 2Q in which Miller whiffed on his block and got Moore plastered for zero yards.� Spaeth, as usual, was never once involved in the passing game.���� B

 

OL: Some good, some bad.� The line opened up enough fissures for Moore & Russell to gain well over 4 YPC against a stout front 7.� And Ben was given plenty of time of numerous pass plays that finally broke down when Ben held the ball seemingly forever.� There were some gaffes and leaks, of course.�� Starks had a weak outing.� He barely got a finger on Kiwanuka on 3d & 14 in the 4Q, resulting in an immediate sack.� Kemo wasn�t much better, getting shoved to the ground by a rusher on 2d down with 2:58 remaining in the game.� He also committed a foolish roughing penalty in the 3Q, hitting a defender near the pile well after the play had ended.��

 

The turd o� the game award might very well go to Willie The Colon, who committed a stupidassed hold on a Nate�s TD bomb late in the 3Q.�� Not satisfied with that act of stupidity, The Colon, on the 1st play of the 4Q, committed a false start on 3rd & 8.� The ensuing play netted 9 yards, and the Stillers, instead of possibly having earned a 1st down, had to go for it on 4th down.� Thank you, Colon, you sorry turd.�������� Colon: D���� Rest of O-line:�� C

 

DL:� The D-line had a stout effort, holding the vaunted NY ground attack to� 84 yards on 31 rushes.� They also held off a 3 & G and 4 & G sequence in the 2Q.�� Keisel and Aaron Smith both had strong, stellar games.�� Keisel seemed to be all over the field, knifing in to drop Jacobs for a 1-yard loss in the 2Q; moving down the LOS on a sweep and stopping it for a 2-yard gain in the 3Q; and blasting Ward on a 1 & G in the 4Q for a 2-yard loss.�� Smith was 1 of the main stalwarts on the 4 & G stop, and showed great hustle on a 3Q screen pass, stopping it for 9 yards on 3d & 14.� For a man who�d missed most of practice this week dealing with a personal issue, Smith had a very strong game.�

 

The Big Snack, Fat Casey Hampton, finally returned to action after his long layoff.�� He was credited with 5 solos.�� The Big Waddler was actually blown off the ball on the 4 & goal plunge in the 2Q.�� Eason had a good stop in the 1Q, and Hoke chipped in some.���� The down note was the total lack of pass pressure and pocket push from this crew.�� A-

 

LB:� Far too quiet a day from the LB corps, in a tight game where the team needed a big play from this crew but got none.��

 

Woodley had some solid stops in the ground game and had a few pressures, but that was about it.� He had an asinine offsides flag on a 2 & G inc. pass in the 2Q, which gave the Giants an extra stab at the EZ.�

 

Harrison was quiet all game long; he helped bottle a few runs, and had a couple half-decent bulrushes, but that was about it.� His biggest contribution was on the 1st play of the long, methodical FG march that started early in the 4Q.� Manning, under heavy pressure, threw the ball left-handed to a back in the flats, who was standing at the LOS with no hope of gaining any yardage.� Harrison barged into the intended receiver with no purpose or sense whatsoever, giving the Giants a 1st & 10 instead of a 2nd & 10.�

 

Larry Foote started and got most of the PT over Timmons, and did very, very little.�� Timmons saw some limited PT.�� Frazier got a rather inordinate amount of PT in the 2H, presumably due to an undisclosed injury.��

 

Leading the way in clumsiness and dereliction was the team captain, James �Taunto� Farrior, who had a wretched game by any standard.��

 

He had a horrific flail on a 3Q 3d & 14 screen, in which Ward easily hurdled over the flailing, ass-clumsy Farrior in a display so hilarious and jerkwater that you�d swear the Globetrotters had them practice this routine during pregame warm-ups.� As can be seen in this photo, Farrior�s head is DOWN, which is a recipe for disaster when tackling at the NFL level.��

 

Then, on the key drive of the game -- the 14-play march in the 4Q -- Manning hit the TE, Boss, with a piss-ant little dumpoff on 3rd & 9 from the NY 46.� Farrior was right nearby, and had the slow-footed Boss dead to rights for a 5-yard gain, at MOST.�� Instead, Farrior, with absurd technique befitting a 6th grader, flails and whiffs like a complete turd, and Boss gains 16 yards to sustain the march.�

 

Two plays later, Ward trucked Farrior on a 4-yard gain.� On the game-winning drive, on a 1st & goal at the 9, Farrior weakly pawed at Ward�s ankle and allowed an extra 3 yards on a 7-yard gainer.��

 

The next play, Farrior -- supposedly The Winged God of LB coverage -- was lost in No Man�s Land, doing nothing and covering NO ONE, and a wide-open Boss hauled in the winning TD.�� Quick -- perhaps Colbert can add another 3 years onto the rabid extension he gave Farrior just before the season began!!��

 

Farrior:� D-����� Others:��� C

 

DB:� A rocky outing for the secondary, despite the luxury of Plex Burress sitting the bench for much of the 1H due to some punishment by his coach.��

 

Clark spent much of the early going on his back, getting trucked by Jacobs late in the 1Q on a 9-yard run and 3 plays later on a 13-yard run.� He did slip into the BF untouched on the 4 & G plunge and helped disrupt it.� He was slow to help on the deep ball to Smith, but jarred it loose with a big hit.� He was hurt on the play and did not return.�� His replacement, Ty Carter, was slow to help on the 4th & 6 deep ball to Toomer that netted 30 yards in the 4Q.�

 

����������� Townsend had a rough outing.� He was beaten by Smith on a deep flag in the 3Q, and blatantly grabbed Smith�s jersey.� The pass was inc. and no flag was thrown.� He was then beaten badly on the deep ball to Smith that Clark was injured on.� He was tooled badly by Smith on the 3d & 7 play that gained 25 yards, which set up the winning TD a few plays later.�

 

����������� Ike had a big lick on Plex after a short hitch, forcing a punt.�� He also busted up a curl in the 3Q.� He got nicked up at 11:43 4Q.�� Gay replaced him, and was left on an island and burned on the 4th & 6 by Toomer, good for 30 yards.� Gay later had a decent bustup on 3 & G, although, with the positioning and read he had on that play, you�d like to see him go for the INT, as he could have snuffed a FG try with a pick and perhaps the ball could very well have been returned for a TD.����

� ���������

Troy Pola -- the stat sheet says it all.�� 1 solo, 2 assists, and very, very little else.�� He helped Keisel stop a 3d & 1 plunge in the 4Q, but that was about it.�

 

Overall, like the LBs, this group failed to rise to the occasion and make the big play when it counted.���� �C

 

Spec teams:� Another colossal disaster.�� The coverage teams sucked donkey balls.�� After Moore�s 1Q TD, NY returned the KO 35 yards to their 35.�� They parlayed this golden FP into a FG drive.� A 2Q punt was returned by NY 28 yards to the PIT 19, with Berger forced to make the tackle.� Again, NY parlayed this golden FP into a FG.�

 

Late in the 2Q, Berger tweaked a ham on a punt, and was in obvious pain.� He remained in the game and punted ok.�� His best punt of the game resulted in a calamity of sorts; the 51-yard punt was returned 1-yard to the NY 10.�� But longsnapper Greg Warren was injured on the play and carried off the field, and did not return.� Somehow, neither Hartwig nor Stapleton is capable of long snapping, so on the next punt attempt (7:21 4Q), Jamie Harrison, who has never long-snapped� in a game, was sent in to snap.�� I have no idea if Harrison practiced at all on the sidelines while the Stiller offense was on the field; I�m sure we�ll know more by Monday or Tues.�� At any rate, Harrison�s snap sailed 4 feet over Berger�s head for a safety that tied the game at 14-all.�� The resultant free kick had sorry-assed coverage, and the 16-yard return gave NY the ball at their 47.�

 

Neither the KO return nor the punt return game did anything of value.�� Reed�s KOs were good.��� D

 

OC:� Bruce Arians showed the country, on national TV, exactly how inept he is as an OC.� After scoring a TD in the 2nd minute of the game, his offense scored exactly 7 points thereafter.� Sure, The Colon negated a TD with his hold, but the offense did very little after the initial opening march.�� As the game wore on, NY�s defense smothered the Stiller offense and seized control of the game.���

 

Reverses?� None.� End arounds?� None?�� Screen passes?�� One.�� Adjustments to the New York 4Q SELLOUT to blitzing 6 & 7 men?�� NONE.��� The offense essentially had 3 drives in the 4Q, one starting at 8:18 the other at 3:07, and the last one at 1:24.�� Starting with the drive at 8:18, NY sold out with the jailhouse blitz -- the same one employed by Philly in their win over PIT last month -- and Arians, the dumbass, never adjusted to it.� In those final 3 drives, the offense gained:�

 

����������� 1.� MINUS 12 yards

 

����������� 2.�� 6 yards (in 4 plays)��

 

����������� 3.�� 0 yards�� (in 4 plays)��

 

The first drive mentioned above culminated in the fateful snap by Harrison that gave 2 points and golden FP to NY.�� At this point, Arians HAD to know that Warren was out of the game and that the team desperately needed to move the chains.�� The next 2 drives, NY had the lead and was playing a softee, PREVENT defense, meaning they were content to give up 10 and 15 yards passes.� Even with that, Arians, the complete buffoon that he is, was unable to muster more than SIX TOTAL YARDS in 8 plays.��

 

The 3rd down conversion rate says it all --� 1 for 10.�� Oh for 4 on 4th downs as well.��� Perhaps the most glaring stat as this:� the stagnant, refuse-to-adjust Arians Offense produced exactly ZERO (0) first downs in the 4th quarter.�

 

One major reason for the offensive struggles -- with Holmes out, Heath Miller was unequivocally THE THIRD BEST RECEIVER available for this game.�� He�s got far more experience, savvy, and grit-under-NFL-pressure than Baker and Sweed COMBINED.�� Miller has the best hands on the team besides Ward and was wide open every time he was thrown the ball.� Yet he spent much of the game as a chip-blocker in the backfield on passing downs, rather than being DOWNFIELD on a pass pattern.�� Any number of players -- McHugh, Russell, or Speath -- could have stayed in the backfield and blocked.��� At this point of the season, who would you rather throw to --� Heath Miller, Limas Sweed, or Dallas Baker ?��

 

I remain convinced that only a superhuman performance by the offense can win a championship with a total stupidass like Arians as the Off. Coord.������ D-�

 

DC:� After spending the entire season thus far feasting on greenhorns, backups, and stooges, Dick finally got a genuine NFL offense to test him, and he failed miserably.�� Dick�s defense faltered badly in the 4Q, where games at the championship level are won or lost.��

 

On the long, methodical, 13-play FG march in the 4Q, Dick�s defense gave up a 3rd & 9 and a 4th & 6.� The 3rd & 9 was the blatant fault of Taunto Farrior, but remember this -- no one except Colbert is more in love with Farrior than is Dickie LeBeau.�� On the 4th & 6, Dick left his greenhorn, 2d-year QB on an ISLAND, all alone against Toomer, rather than rolling some coverage to help Gay out.�� On the game-winning TD drive, Dick�s defense barely gave up a fight, getting carved up as easily as a Halloween pumpkin in an easy, effortless 7-play march.��

 

Dick actually had the luxury of the opponent�s best WR being benched to start the game, as well as their best RB being benched for most of the entire 2H, yet he was unable to capitalize.����

 

The underneath crossing routes ate Dick alive today in the 1H.�� NY ran these at will and Dick was helpless to stop them.� After the Stillers had taken the early 7-0 lead, the Stillers could have put a stranglehold on the Giants if they�d been able to get some quick stops on NY and create good FP.� Instead, after an initial 3 & out that had netted 9 yards, NY�s offense was basically unstoppable in the 1st half, as follows:

 

-          10 plays, FG

-          12 plays, loss of downs inside PIT 1

-          3 plays, 2 yards, chippie FG� (obviously the fault of the spec teams for allowing golden FP)

-          6 plays, 22 yards, chippie FG.���

 

The overt lack of pressure the entire game was just pitiful.�� Dick didn�t create many free shots and Manning very rarely was harassed and was never sacked.�

 

I don�t want to hear any caterwauling about how McFadden�s injury affected this defense.� Remember this -- McFadden�s ass was stapled firmly to the bench when the season began, and only Townsend�s injury allowed B-Mac any meaningful PT.�� Dick had exactly whom he wanted in the starting lineup today in DeShea Townsend.��

 

On paper, this will look like a solid defensive effort.� However, football games against championship caliber opponents are won on the gridiron, not on paper.� Giving up 10 points in the 4Q on 2 long, methodical, time-consuming marches is nothing impressive and Dick needs to be held accountable.��� C-

 

HC:� Tomlin talks a lot about preparation, but when Warren got hurt, the team was so ill prepared that they best they could do was insert a LB as the longsnapper, and the resultant snap sailed 4 feet over the punter�s head for a safety.� Very, very poor.�� I blame this on the coaching staff for not doing the preparation they so fondly demand.�� Tomlin also preached a lot about how the offense learned from the Philly disaster.� Quite obviously, they did not, as NY went jailhouse midway thru the 4Q and the offense never countered.� Tomlin seems unwilling, or afraid, to slap some sense into Arians.�� Every time we play a quality team, this offense lays a collective egg.�� 14 points??�� In today�s N FL, that won�t win you very many games.��

 

The punt snap fiasco injury begs further questioning & scrutiny.� Remember, not only was Harrison a liability as the snapper, but Berger had clearly pulled a muscle and was hobbling around and wincing in pain.�� A snap to the left or right of Berger, or even a low snap, would have been fraught with danger due to Berger�s very limited mobility.�� You have to wonder if Tomlin had fully considered all other options, including considering it 4-down territory.� Could not have Ben pooch punted the ball from a SG formation on 4th & 10 ?�� Sure, the Giants might have expected something and drifted back a safety, but they would have had to have respected Ben�s throwing ability.�� If not Roth, could not someone else, such as Ward, pooched the ball from a direct SG snap?�� To literally give away a 2-point lead that late in the game -- and all the momentum to boot (no pun intended) off a silly mistake by a �snapper� who has never, ever snapped a football in a live game, is just reprehensible.��

 

����������� The disastrous 3-play sequence late in the 3Q, in which the Stillers were penalized on 3 successive plays, shows poor focus, attention to detail, and� discipline.� Ward was flagged for an assaholic illegal formation on a 3rd & 1 run that netted 7.� Kemo was flagged for a dead ball personal foul after Sweed had converted the 3rd & 6.� Then The Colon was flagged for a hold that wiped out Nate�s long TD.� 3 plays later, the Stillers punted -- when they should have either been kicking off, or kicking a FG, or at worst, pooch punting to the Giants� 5-yard line -- and Warren was injured on the play.�� Tomlin has to find out the root cause of this rash of foolish penalties and rectify it rather quickly.� ���C

 

Playing Surface:�� So much for the bullshit babble by Stooge Rooney that �grass fields are safer�.� Warren ripped his knee in punt coverage.�� Add this to a long list of players who have been injured on this shit field.��

 

Synopsis:� A culmination to a shitty weekend of sports for yours truly.�� Pitt lost; Penn Bate won; the Penguins lost in a shootout after giving up the tying goal to the hated Strangers with 9 seconds left in the game; and now this exasperating, come-from-ahead defeat.� To say I�m royally pissed off would be a huge understatement.� Next up, a MNF road game against the 6-2 Skins in DC, on the nite before the elections.�� Yeah, sure, a really bright idea by the NFL to hold a MNF game in DC on the eve of the elections�..

 

 

(Still Mill and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers, no one else comes close�.)