Steelers “Grown A** Man” award winners for Week 11 against the Jaguars
What is a Grown Ass Man (GAM)? A GAM is someone who dominates. A GAM is someone who, when you watch them play appears to be a man among boys. They can’t be stopped, denied or contained.
That is a Grown Ass Man.
Who stood out in the Steelers contest against the Jaguars? Nation, I admit there was a point in time when I wasn’t sure there would be any point in this article this week. Still, in the span of about 6 minutes boy did things change. So, who rose above and elevated their level of play to the status of Grown Ass Man? Let’s find out in this weeks GAM Awards.
Javon Hargrave
I don’t care if you call him “Gravedigger” or “J-Wobble”, by any name Hargrave had a great game. Hargrave had two sacks and four tackles, from the nose tackle position. Hargrave was disruptive and a force in the interior of the line unlike anything the Steelers have seen since (dare I say it) Casey Hampton.
Hargrave is having a great season overall. “The Professor”, Zach Metkler gives you some idea of what kind of season Hargrave is having:
Just how impressive are Javon Hargrave's (@Jay_MostWanted) 5 sacks so far this season?
That is the most by a #Steelers nose tackle since 1990 when Gerald Williams finished with 6. No Steelers' NT has ever had more than 6 sacks in a single season in franchise history.
— Zach Metkler (@CoachMetkler) November 19, 2018
Javon Hargrave is a Grown Ass Man!
Juju Smith-Schuster
2 plays is all that matter when looking at if Juju is a GAM or not. In fact, after one of those games I had to tweet this:
https://twitter.com/CannonsDontThun/status/1064263066571952128
Juju ended the game with 8 catches for 104 yards, but the two that really mattered happened in the last 5 minutes in the game. Two impressive, athletic combat catches that set the Steelers up for the win. Ben Roethlisberger called Juju out and said he was “the hero”.
Juju Smith-Schuster is a Grown Ass Man!
T.J. Watt
How impressive has T.J. Watt been? Well, the last Steeler to total 10 sacks in the first 10 games of a season was James Harrison. On top of those 10 sacks, Watt has 14 QB hits, 10 tackles for loss and 4 force fumbles.
This is Watt’s third multiple sack game this season and Watt appears to be gaining steam as the season rolls on.
T.J. Watt is a Grown Ass Man!
Ben Roethlisberger
I know, I know. Ben played an absolutely abysmal game through the better part of 3 quarters. In the first half his numbers looked like this:
8/19 for 53 yards passing, 0 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 10.1 passer rating.
However, it all turned around after a 78 yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown. Ben’s second half numbers?
19/28 for 261 yards, 2 passing touchdowns, 1 interception, 106.4 passer rating.
However, none of that is what gets Ben the GAM award for the second week in a row. No, it’s the last play of the game. The Steelers are at the 1, 8 seconds left in the game, and the play is a shovel pass to Vance McDonald. The Jaguars sniff it out, and instead of throwing it away and trying again, Ben sees the goal line and does his best impression of Cam Newton (not a good one, but effective) and scores!
Ben Roethlisberger is a Grown Ass Man!
Honorable Mentions
Vince Williams had a sack, led the team in tackles and blew up Leonard Fournette at a critical time to force a 3 and out and if I had more than 4 to hand out, he’d have gotten one. Antonio Brown had a tough, frustrating game but still came up huge when it counted. Cam Heyward had a sack, Vance McDonald had a huge touchdown catch and both were considered.
They are making it tough to narrow this down to four – and that’s a good problem to have!
Tell us what you think? Who do you believe should have been given a “Grown-Ass-Man” award?
