Pittsburgh Steelers: MVP, Rookie of the Year, and Other Awards
It seemed like only yesterday that the 2009 season ended with the New Orleans Saints winning the Super Bowl. At that moment fans around the league begin to anxiously await free agency, the draft, and training camp.
When it comes to the Steelers, tens of thousands of fans annually travel to Latrobe to Saint Vincent College to watch the Steelers practice. Yes, practice.
Whether it was to check out the rookies or to watch the ‘backs on ‘backers or goal line drill, fans love the close up action that they can get of their favorite team.
Then came the preseason games where the position battles played out. Keep in mind fans projected these battles back in April as soon as the draft was over. The late round picks were steals and the early draft picks busts, of course, before even stepping onto the field.
The roster battles played themselves out leaving the fans wondering what the heck the coaches were thinking and questioning as to how this team would win seven games let alone the division.
It was a tail of two regular seasons for Pittsburgh: One without Ben Roethlisberger and the other with Ben Roethlisberger.
Both were successful.
Pittsburgh began the season 3-1 without their quarterback and went on to go 8-3 with him with one game to play.
And that is it. That leaves us sitting with one game to go in the regular season and a team that many experts picked to finish third in the AFC North is one victory away from winning the division and securing the second seed in the AFC.
Now that the season is about over, it is time to look back on the season and to select the award winners.
Rookie Of The Year
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As though there is any doubt with this selection, Maurkice Pouncey was far and away the Steelers best rookie this season and it was not even close.
Pouncey, a first round selection from Florida, was expected to challenge for a starting spot along the line at guard, not center.
Once training camp began it became apparent very quickly that Pouncey was too good at his natural position to not have a chance to start at center. Not only did he beat out Justin Hartwig for the starting job, he beat him out easily.
Pouncey carried himself like a five-year veteran on and off the field this season, dominating many opponents. More importantly he secured an unstable offensive line, making the players around him better.
His efforts did not go unnoticed as Pouncey was selected to the Pro Bowl as a backup.
Pouncey’s presence helped improve both the ground game and pass protection and is poised to grow into the league’s best center, continuing Pittsburgh’s proud tradition at the position.
Breakout Player Of The Year
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Pittsburgh banked a lot on two first year starters. Lawrence Timmons, the former first round selection, was expected to take hold of a starting role in his fourth season while second year wide receiver Mike Wallace was expected to take over for Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes who was traded away in the off-season. Though both players were outstanding, Wallace gets the nod.
Following up his outstanding rookie campaign in which he had 756 receiving yards with a 19.4-yard average and six touchdowns, Wallace has 1152 yards and nine touchdowns with a 20.2 average with one game to play.
Wallace has grown to be more than just a deep route runner as he has demonstrated the ability to catch a short pass and turn it into a big play. He has 24 receptions of 20 yards or more.
Already one of the best playmakers in the league, Wallace has the look of a perennial Pro Bowler.
Offensive Player Of The Year
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Pittsburgh had three pretty good offensive players this year with Ben Roethlisberger, Rashard Mendenhall, Wallace and even Pouncey.
When it came down to it, Roethlisberger was there week in and out after his return and has been the key offensive component in putting the team in position to win the division after missing the playoffs last season.
Since his return, Roethlisberger has thrown for 265.5 yards per game and has 15 touchdowns and only five interceptions.
Roethlisberger’s 8.0 yards per attempt ranks him fourth in the league and his 94.3 quarterback rating is good enough for eighth.
Beyond the stats, Roethlisberger has played through injuries, including an injured foot and a broken nose. Remember that both injuries occurred on plays that should have resulted in penalties but did not.
Roethlisberger made one of the best plays of the season when he was able to escape Terrell Suggs to avoid a sack and threw the ball away. Avoiding this sack allowed the Steelers to stay in position for the eventual game-winning touchdown pass against Baltimore.
It is plays like this that Roethlisberger makes every week that makes him the Offensive Player of the Year.
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Defensive Player Of The Year
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James Harrison was a force nearly every week this season despite being under the watchful eyes of NFL officials both on and off the field.
No other player was as scrutinized, penalized, and fined like Harrison was for his hits this season. He became the poster boy of physical football, in a bad way.
Harrison did not change his style and it paid off as he still has 11 sacks on the season and ranks third on the team with 94 tackles.
Beyond the typical defensive stats, Harrison had five tackles for loss, five passes defended, two interceptions, six forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. Though they are not on the stat sheet, Harrison also drew several holding calls but more importantly took on double teams all season freeing up other defenders to make plays.
It is this type of physical play and production that the Steelers need from their defenders and they know that they can count on it from Harrison.
Underrated Player Of The Year
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Every year a team has one player who does their job and does it well without getting noticed. For the Steelers, Aaron Smith is that man. In fact, he is discussed as one of the most underrated players in the league each and every year. It has been discussed so much that Smith can no longer be considered underrated as his value to Pittsburgh is understood.
Playing on the opposite side of Smith is this year’s Underrated Player of the Year.
Brett Keisel, often called overrated by some, showed his importance to the Steelers when he missed five games this season.
Smith was already out and when Keisel went out, Pittsburgh’s defensive production was not the same.
Pittsburgh was 3-2 without Keisel in the lineup with two of the wins, Miami and Buffalo, coming by a combined four points.
Part of the reason that the Steelers struggled without Keisel is his ability to occupy blockers not only in the run game, but also to free up pass rushers.
With Keisel out of the lineup, Pittsburgh’s defense only averaged 2.2 sacks per game compared to 3.3 sacks per game with him in the lineup.
Keisel had 32 tackles on the season and two sacks but had one of the biggest plays of the season when he returned his first career interception 79 yards for a touchdown against Tampa Bay.
Overall, Keisel’s pass defense is underrated as he has been credited for six passes defensed and is the best Steelers player at getting his hands up to deflect a pass.
Keisel goes out every week and, like Smith, gets the job done without getting the credit he deserves.
Most Valuable Player
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Pittsburgh has a multitude of players who could be their MVP.
They have one of the best quarterbacks in the league with Roethlisberger and two of the best pass rushers in Harrison and LaMarr Woodley which was aided by Ike Taylor who had one of his best seasons.
Then there was Wallace who had a breakout season, establishing himself as one of the best playmaking receivers in the league while Lawrence Timmons had a breakout season himself as he entered the starting lineup and leads the team in tackles.
While they are all worthy candidates, none of them can match what Troy Polamalu means to this team.
Polamalu made a highlight reel tackle of Kerry Collins preventing him from scoring a touchdown early in the season which was simply outstanding.
For the season, Polamalu had 62 tackles and 10 passes defensed on top of his team-leading six interceptions, including one which was returned for a score. He also had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
The stats do not tell the whole story though as the context of the plays has to be understood. Polamalu was the key factor in three straight wins.
Against Buffalo, Polamalu made a interception inside the Steelers own five-yard line as the Bills were about to score saving the game.
The following week it looked as though Baltimore just had to run out the clock but Polamalu forced Joe Flacco to fumble the ball which was recovered by Woodley to set up the game-winning score.
One week later Polamalu intercepted his college roommate Carson Palmer twice and scored a touchdown. He injured his Achilles on the second interception which caused him to miss multiple games. He could have been the difference against the Jets.
It is the weekly x-factor that Polamalu presents that makes him so valuable to the Steelers and it is the games that he has helped win the makes him the Most Valuable Player.
Pro Bowl Quick Snaps
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James Harrison – His 11 sacks and six forced fumbles put him near the top of the league in both categories. One of the fiercest defenders in the league is also one of the best at wreaking havoc.
Troy Polamalu – There is no player like him in the NFL. He was worth at least three wins alone this season, probably a fourth if he plays against the Jets. That is unbelievable for a player other than a quarterback.
Maurkice Pouncey – The best player on the Steelers line from the first time he lined up at center. This franchise lineman will be one of the NFL’s best for years to come.
Snubs
Mike Wallace – One of the best playmakers in the league had well over 1,000 yards for the season and one of the highest yards per catch average in the league.
Ben Roethlisberger – Will surpass 3,000 yards in only 12 games played. He is a winner and had one of the highest yards per pass in the league.
Casey Hampton – All Hampton did was clog up the center of the league’s top rated run defense.
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