Year End Awards

Happy New Year to all PF faithful readers. Let's hope that your day is filled with feasting, libations, and another PSU Jan 1 romp. For those that were befuddled at Pitt's lackluster outing last night, well, let's hope it was one of those "out with the old..." things.

Anyway, I'm well overdue for some partying of my own, so I want to get rolling on my first 2009 post. Today's article is the 2008 Year End Steeler Team Awards. Once again, I realize that opinions are like assholes, and everyone has one. Feel free to offer comments, but these awards are strictly my opinions, with careful consideration taken from the numerous knowledgeable voices around me.

TEAM MVP: This award has numerous candidates, but after eliminating Paul Ernster, Max Starks, and Limas Sweed, the field got a lot tighter. Ultimately, I'm a big #7 fan, as I've been since week #2 of 2004. His leadership and big game poise helped carry this team through that difficult stretch of the 2nd half of the season and now has it postured for a big January run. Moreover, Big Ben's presence regularly injects his team with the confidence that any comeback can happen at any moment, and as Mike Tomlin always says, this is a mental game. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can be taken away from the efforts of the great James Harrison. Lastly, lest we forget that this defense had it's epic season largely due to the rejuvenated health of Troy Polamalu. Hmmm...

WINNER: Roethlisberger/Harrison/Polamalu (co-winners)

BEST NEWCOMER: Take nothing away from the acquisition of Justin Hartwig, who was a major improvement over Sean "Open Door" Mahan, but this award is a clean sweep. The unflappable Mewelde Moore was the typical minor free agency acquisition that Kevin Colbert loves to execute, one designated as a depth move. Despite a very sluggish start, the ex-Viking amassed almost 1,000 of total offense, scored 6 touchdowns, and anchored the backfield when every other Pittsburgh running back, sans Franco Harris, was sipping cocktails in the trainer's whirlpool. The very fact that the team called Najeh Davenport back from his Chik-Fil-A fryer station - not once, not twice, but thrice, - should tell you just how desperate they were for a runner. Frankly, if Moore doesn't step up in October, this team very well may have a few less wins in the left hand column in January.

WINNER: Mewelde Moore
HONERABLE MENTION: Hartwig, Keyaron Fox

COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Clearly there should be no mystery on this one. The presence of Ryan Clark this year was yet another major reason for the defensive stiffness. Speaking of stiffness, I'm sure a few Wes Welker types out there are still nursing stiff necks related to Clark's big frigging hits. Clark returned from the loss of a spleen only to install a toughness in the free safety position not seen since the likes of Donnie Shell. Along those lines, #43 doesn't get as many MVP votes without the savvy Clark watching his back. This award leads us to ask the ridiculous questions: so what exactly does a spleen do anyway?

WINNER: Ryan Clark

BIGGEST WASTE OF TIME, SPACE, AND MONEY (The Alonzo Jackson Award): Even a solid roster like the Steelers has it's fair share of clunkers. This particular squad has an oddly excessive number despite garnering 12 wins. To qualify for the Zo Jackson Biggest Waste Award, one must simply demonstrate that the team is spending way too much money for his meager contributions, and his useless presence only helps justify why beer costs $11 a cup in Heinz Field. (detect any bitterness?) Ok, here are my candidates: Jeremy Parquet for his whopping 7 total offensive plays all year; Max Starks for his $7 million worth of slightly below average blocking; Bruce Arians for replacing the full back with that three yards for a loss play that causes us all to experience piercing chest pains; Marvelous Marvel Smith and the only lower back that's more fucked up than Mario Lemieux's; Limas Sweed, yeah, he's a rookie, but come on, you can do a little more; Ernster, he didn't really cost much, but man was he terrible! How many 19 yard punts can one man deliver?; Willie Colon, yes a starter, and somewhat developing, but also the man that has yielded some huge sacks, and two COSTLY holdings that eliminated big Nate Washington touchdowns. (NOTE: if you held Washington in a fantasy league, and you wish to send Colon a "special" holiday gift, just email me for his home address...)

WINNER: Parquet
HONORABLE MENTION: Arians, Starks, Ernster

UNSUNG HERO AWARD: Formerly known as the Larry Foote Award, given to the player who consistently does his job, and does it well, enabling others around him to play the superstar role. This year, we had our fair share of candidates. After long thought, we cast our ballots towards Deshea Townsend, the guy who consistently plays a solid CB position while staying under the radar. One exception to Townsend's silent existence: his pick off return for a TD against Tony Romosexual and the Cowboys was clearly the biggest play of the year, thus far.

WINNER: Townsend
HONORABLE MENTION: Chris Hoke, Ike Taylor, Chris Keomatu, William Gay