Were there any Steelers “Grown A** Man” award winners against the Raiders?
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.
I skipped giving out GAM awards last week (after the Chargers loss) because I just wasn’t in the mood to celebrate individual accomplishments. Truth be told, I’m not much this week either, but there were a couple of guys who simply warrant the call out regardless of the outcome of the Raiders game.
So, let’s look at the Grown Ass Men from last week’s game.
JuJu Smith-Schuster
8 catches for 130 yards and two TDs. But the stats in and of themselves don’t do justice to the performance Juju put in, not just in this game but for the season. In just his second season, Juju has improved to the point where it’s fair to say that he’s become Ben Roethlisberger’s primary target. Yes, a lot of that is because of the coverages being thrown at the Steelers designed to take AB out of the game. However, Juju still has to take advantage of that, and he’s done so!
Top that off with one of the most amazingly athletic catches we’ve seen in a long while and what else can I say but…
Juju Smith-Schuster is a Grown Ass Man!
Ben Roethlisberger
Ben had a very solid performance overall (25/29, 282 yards, 2 TD, 130.2 rating) but again, it’s not really the stats that make the Grown Ass Man! There is no one who really questions Ben’s toughness. He’s played with injuries known and unknown throughout his career. So it’s really not a surprise that Ben would continue to play hurt. In fact, I know that while Ben was sidelined in the third quarter, there probably wasn’t a single fan who didn’t think he wasn’t going to come back in to try and win the game.
Moreover, he nearly did it. He certainly did everything he could do.
Ben came in, drove them down the field to take the lead. Even after the defense failed to hold the lead, he had them in position to tie the game, despite being given only 15 seconds to get the ball in field goal range.
It didn’t work out, but that shouldn’t take anything away from what Ben’s performance.
Ben Roethlisberger is a Grown Ass Man!
Honorable Mentions
Javon Hargrave, Stephon Tuitt, Bud Dupree – all did some things that might have earned them a GAM. Just not enough this time around. I even considered Jordan Berry, who planted 2 out of his 3 punts inside the 20. Unfortunately, this time around, the game probably was more notable for the guys who didn’t step up, rather than those who did. Let’s hope next week there are a few more contenders for GAM awards!
Tell us what you think? Who do you believe should have been given a “Grown-Ass-Man” award?
