The crew at Steel City Blitz has assembled! While we aren’t quite the Avengers we are pretty darn amazing! Anyway, we’ve come together to choose our regular season awards for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Some staff members gave explanations while others chose not. Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments section.
Most Valuable Player Award
Marc – Le’Veon Bell Ben Roethlisberger is almost a given as any starting QB would be in the NFL today. I just feel that without Bell, this offense isn’t nearly as dynamic.
Chris- Le’Veon Bell
Ben – Ben Roethlisberger. Bell’s contributions were great, but this team is sunk without Ben playing or with Ben hobbled.
Cnic – Ben Roethlisberger: Without him, Steelers chances plummet quickly.
Ryan- Ben Roethlisberger
Tay- Le’Veon Bell
Brian- Le’Veon Bell
Offensive Player of the Year Award
Marc – Le’Veon Bell The combination of rushing yards and receiving yards are too much to ignore.
Chris- Le’Veon Bell
Ben – Tough call between Bell and AB but, going with Le’Veon Bell. The impact his play has on the field has draws so much attention that it creates even more opportunities for his teammates than AB’s double cover routes do.
Cnic – Le’Veon Bell: What he brought to this team this year is amazing. Versatility and statistically was great.
Ryan- Antonio Brown
Tay- Ben Roethlisberger
Brian- Le’Veon Bell
Defensive Player of the Year Award
Marc – Lawrence Timmons A complete surprise. I am totally impressed with his work this year. Allows guys around him to do their thing. Coverage skills are still a struggle but overall impact on a young defense has been irreplaceable.
Chris- Stephon Tuitt
Ben – Ryan Shazier. It isn’t close here. Even when Shazier misses tackles he redirects and slows ball carriers giving his teammates better tackle opportunities. It isn’t all about stats but, his are also very good.
Cnic – Ryan Shazier: Causes havoc everywhere on the field. Extremely versatile. In my opinion the best defensive player after Cam Heyward went down.
Ryan- Lawrence Timmons
Tay- Lawrence Timmons
Brian- Lawrence Timmons
Rookie of the Year Award
Marc – Artie Burns I have no issue at all with Sean Davis receiving the award from the writers. My feeling is that Burns came from nowhere to play pretty damn good on the outside. Keep in mind, little was expected this year from him outside of special teams’ contributions. He has improved each and every game.
Chris- Sean Davis
Ben – Artie Burns. I was okay with Sean Davis receiving this award from the Pittsburgh sports media. But, when you look at overall impact, Burns earning a starter’s spot has had a greater impact than Davis has. Both are good. But,…. Burns allowed Gay to move to the slot, where he performs best. That allowed Davis to move from slot to strong safety full time, where he performs best. The result is the strongest defensive backfield the Steelers have had since 2010.
Cnic – Sean Davis: was going to put Hargrave here, but he missed some time. Davis has been a tackling machine who also has been turning the ball over since being inserted into the starting lineup. My favorite guy on defense to watch, he is so fun.
Ryan- Artie Burns
Tay- Sean Davis
Brian- Sean Davis
Assistant Coach of the Year Award
Marc – Carnell Lake While I don’t believe the development of Burns and Davis is all Lake’s doing, I believe he’s had an important hand in their growth. I also think he’s helped Mike Mitchell be a better player as well.
Chris- Mike Munchak
Ben – Keith Butler. The distance this defense has covered from the beginning of the year to now, in terms of impact and overall effectiveness, has been great. They were an absolutely terrible unit in September. While they are not now worthy of any comparisons to the Steel Curtain, they are a more than respectable unit.
Cnic – Richard Mann: Eli Rogers (UDFA), Cobi Hamilton (practice squad) and DeMarcus Ayers (7th rounder) all stepping up this year. Bravo, Coach Mann.
Ryan- Mike Munchak
Tay- Mike Munchak
Brian- Carnell Lake
Biggest Disappointment of the Year Award
Marc – Senquez Golson Probably not fair to the kid because of injury, but his absence for me has been a huge disappointment. His athleticism has been missed in the secondary.
Chris- Anthony Chickillo
Ben – This is an easy one. Ladarius Green. Green was supposed to bring a receiving dynamic to the tight ends unit that created mismatches on a routine basis. His poor health slowed his development, and while he has performed pretty well when he’s played; playing 10 snaps per game, because you don’t know enough of the offense to play more, limits your impact.
Cnic – Bud Dupree: He’s not Jarvis Jones, I promise, but injuries and underperforming for a 1st rounder. Want to see him develop into a premiere pass rusher.
Ryan- Shamarko Thomas
Tay- Jesse James
Brian- Sammie Coates/Markus Wheaton
Play of the Year Award
Marc – Ben to AB on the fake spike vs. Dallas It was so unexpected and so perfectly executed. Should have been the best game-winning play of the year if not for the porous defense.
Chris- Antonio Brown’s “Immaculate Extension”
Ben – Giants at Steelers, 11:42 remaining in the 4th Quarter, score: PIT 21 NYG 7. Eli Manning is intercepted by Sean Davis at the Pittsburgh 6.
Ben had thrown an interception on the previous drive giving he Giants an oppotunity to get back into the game. The defense rose to the occasion for the second time that day with another interception inside their own 10 yard line, denying a good offense two chances at scoring on them.
This play, is the turning point for this defense in 2016. The same unit would have given up scores last season and at the beginning of this one.
Cnic – Agree with Marc, love the fake spike especially because I hate Dallas.
Ryan- Bell’s 33-yard run vs Buffalo to give him 298 total yards
Tay- Antonio Brown’s “Immaculate Extension”
Brian- Antonio Brown’s “Immaculate Extension”
Final Tallies
MVP- Bell
Offensive POY- Bell
Defensive POY- Timmons
Rookie of the Year- Burns
Asst. Coach of the Year- Munchak
Biggest Disappointment- Golson, Green, Dupree, Chickillo, Coates/Wheaton, Thomas and James all receive a vote
Play of the Year- Antonio Brown’s “Immaculate Extension”
