Vince Williams is Week 14’s Pittsburgh Steelers Z-Factor
The Pittsburgh Steelers sit at 10-2 for the first time in their illustrious franchise history, and the mood around the city is all over the place. 10-2 is an amazing record to have in the highly competitive beast that is the National Football League.
However, it’s hard to be genuinely excited about the success of the team with Ryan Shazier going through the hardest time of his life. The star linebacker (and even better person off of the field) suffered a spinal injury early in last week’s game with the Bengals and has since had surgery. No one truly knows if Ryan will ever be able to play again and to be honest, that’s the last concern we all have for Shazier. Hopefully, the young father can regain full health again, and live his life to the fullest.
So it is with heavy hearts that this week’s Z-Factor is going to need to step up. It’s Ravens week, and there’s no room for mistakes versus the team that always plays Pittsburgh the hardest.
I’m not going to lie to you guys, this week’s choice was an easy one. I say that because I believe that this man is going to pour everything he has into this Sunday night matchup.
This particular player was very visibly shaken in light of Ryan Shazier’s injury, while tears formed in his eyes as he watched Ryan get carted off the field.
This player calls Shazier his brother, and even wore his number 50 jersey at practice on Wednesday. This player is the “Bake” to the inside linebacker duo, “Shake & Bake” fifth-year linebacker, Vince Williams.
Williams was basically hand-picked by the Steelers front office and coaching staff to be the successor to longtime Steeler, Lawrence Timmons. Timmons, Mike Tomlin’s first-ever first-round draft pick, had left some big shoes to fill.
At first, the initial reaction was split from fans on the “promotion.” Some seemed rather excited and happy for Williams, while other screamed from the rooftops and feared as if the defense would be playing with ten players.
I think it’s more than safe to say that Vince has surpassed all expectations, as he is on his way to easily his best season as a professional. Williams has racked up 49 tackles this season and is currently second on the team in the sack category with 7. (Williams only had 2.5 sacks the past four years COMBINED.)
I really do not think that his impact getting to the quarterback has been talked about enough this season, from national or even local media. Getting pressure on the quarterback wins football games in the NFL, it’s as simple as that.
To put the numbers in perspective, Timmons’ single-season career high is 7 sacks, and there are still four games left to go for Williams. I would bet my hair that Vince Williams gets at least one more sack within that span. (And I love my hair!)
It’s not just Williams’ ability to get to the quarterback that has been impressive, but also his readiness and willingness to take on a leadership role. Sunday night he will be assuming the duties of getting the defense set in the right positions before the play, usually Ryan Shazier’s job.
This week’s Sunday night matchup will be filled with big hits, trash talking, and emotions running even higher than the usual Steelers/Ravens games. I expect Vince Williams to have an immense impact on the outcome of this one.
By the end of the night, the Steelers can essentially win the AFC North, and number 98 is going to help them achieve that goal.
