Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
October 12, 2008
Peter Diana / Post-Gazette
Ben Roethlisberger is all smiles after he converts a third down against Jacksonville.
It's never too early to hand out awards. Why wait for the halfway point of the NFL season? Let's do it now -- during the Steelers' off week -- and beat the rush ...
Speaking of beating the rush, let's take a moment to wish Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger a pain-free day. He was a much younger man the last time he didn't ache on a Sunday.
Offensive MVP: Roethlisberger, who else? Quite simply, he's the NFL's best quarterback with Tom Brady out, the No. 1 reason the Steelers are 4-1 and in control of the AFC North Division.
Defensive MVP: Linebacker James Harrison, who else? Actually, if you want to make a case for defensive end Aaron Smith -- an absolute beast of a player -- you wouldn't be far off base. But Harrison is virtually unblockable and brings a mean streak that any great defense needs.
Special Teams MVP: Kicker Jeff Reed, who else? I used to think Gary Anderson was the best in franchise history. Now, I'm not so sure.
Best Comeback: Safety Troy Polamalu. What a waste of time in the summer, fretting if he would be able to stay healthy and be productive. The man has never been better.
While we're on the subject of needless worry ...
Most Overblown Story: The Steelers' schedule. How tough can it be with six games against the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens?
Most Enjoyable Moment: Wide receiver Hines Ward marking his spot in the Cleveland Dawg Pound's end zone after catching a touchdown pass to beat the hated Browns.
Best Play: Roethlisberger's 18-yard pass to Ward on third-and-8 and under tremendous pressure to beat Jacksonville. "That's why he's Big Ben," teammate Mewelde Moore said.
Honorable Mention: Harrison's sack and forced fumble and linebacker LaMarr Woodley's touchdown return against Baltimore.
Worst Play: A third-and-16 against Philadelphia. Roethlisberger was chased right by heavy pressure and threw an incompletion in the direction of wide receiver Santonio Holmes, but that wasn't nearly the worst of it. Guard Chris Kemoeatu was called for holding and Big Ben for an illegal forward pass for desperately trying to get rid of the ball past the line of scrimmage. That play perfectly summed up the Steelers' only loss.
Along those same lines ...
Worst Sequence Of Plays: An earlier series against Philadelphia. The Steelers went sack, sack, false start on tackle Willie Colon, interception. That was an ugly day.
Most Underrated Player: Nose tackle Chris Hoke. The Steelers are 14-2 when he starts. Casey Who?
Most Underused Player: Tight end Heath Miller. Guys, can you call his number a few more times? He never disappoints.
Most Amazing Man At Team Headquarters: Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, 71 and in his 50th NFL season. He's every bit as remarkable as the great Joe Paterno.
Lou Gehrig/Wally Pipp: Cornerback Bryant McFadden. Starter Deshea Townsend got hurt and McFadden stepped in to play lights-out football. He -- not Townsend or Ike Taylor -- is the team's best corner.
Best Coaching: Mike Tomlin at Jacksonville. He wouldn't allow his players to use an unbelievable run of injuries as an excuse.
Worst Coaching: Tomlin and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians at Philadelphia. The Steelers seemed surprised by the Eagles' blitzing and never adjusted.
Biggest Bust: The 2008 draft class, at least so far. And you thought I was going to say tackle Max Starks. It's hard to believe the same brain trust that brought the team Lawrence Timmons and Woodley in the '07 draft looks as if it will get virtually no help from the '08 bunch.
Tough Luck: Guard Kendall Simmons. At 29, he's facing a long road back from a ruptured Achilles injury.
Worst Use Of $7 Million: Starks. What? You didn't think I'd get there?
Dumbest Penalty: Wide receiver Nate Washington's unsportsmanlike conduct call on the winning drive against Jacksonville. At least linebacker James Farrior had a good reason when he was penalized for throwing the bird at a Cleveland fan; the fan gave him the middle finger first and was cheering an injury to teammate Ryan Clark. Who wouldn't be tempted to respond in kind? But there's no justification for Washington's foolish, selfish act. It could have cost the Steelers the game.
Say What? Ward's $5,000 fine for what the NFL called his "unnecessary roughness" in the Baltimore game. He wasn't penalized during the game. Maybe Jack Lambert had it right all of those years ago. Maybe they should put 'em all in skirts.
Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com. More articles by this author
First published on October 12, 2008 at 12:00 am
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