Steelers “Grown A** Man” award winners for Week 12 against the Broncos
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.
Even in a loss (like the one to the Broncos) some performances stood out, and warranted the label of Grown Ass Man! So, who rose above and elevated their level of play to the status of Grown Ass Man? Let’s find out in this week’s GAM Awards.
Alejandro Villanueva
How can you not give a 6’ 9” 300+ lb man a GAM! Especially when he’s out there running patterns and catching touchdown passes on fake kicks! If that was his only contribution, he might have had to share the award with Chris Boswell (who threw a perfect spiral!) However, he also had to take on Bradley Chubb and did a solid job of pass protection.
Alejandro Villanueva is a Grown Ass Man!
Juju Smith-Schuster
I guess it was so nice that he just had to do it twice! What am I talking about? Of course it’s the 97 yard touchdown pass from Ben to Juju! It was long enough to tie his own franchise record, and also makes him the only person in the history of the NFL with two 97 yard touchdown receptions.
To top it off, Juju put up a monster game – 13 receptions, 189 yards and a touchdown. So for the second week in a row…
Juju Smith-Schuster is a Grown Ass Man!
Ryan Switzer
I keep thinking we’ve had the smallest GAM every week, and every week some little guy comes along and says “Hey – look at me! I’m a GAM too!” This week that guy was Ryan Switzer. Why? Well, Switz is becoming a trusted part of the offense, and a go to guy for Ben. He put up a decent game (6 catches, 67 yards) but that’s not why he gets the nod.
It was taking that nasty hit over the middle, one that I thought for sure should have drawn a flag for helmet to helmet on a defenseless receiver (so of course it didn’t). Switz took the hit and got right back up and said “Thank you sir, may I have another?”
In addition, he turned a Twitter feud into a fund raiser and that’s pretty damn cool in and of itself!
Ryan Switzer is a Grown Ass Man!
Chukwuma Okorafor
You wake up on game day, and you realize you are getting your first start in the NFL. You’re probably psyched, probably juiced, then you realize Von Miller is going to be your assignment all damn day.
That’s what Chuks Okorafor was looking at, and to quote Mike Tomlin “He didn’t blink.” Miller was held to just 2 tackles and half a sack all day. Yeah, I know they gave Chuks a lot of help, but you know what, that’s still a damn solid job in your first start against a future Hall of Fame linebacker.
Chuks Okorafor is a Grown Ass Man!
Honorable Mentions
Javon Hargrave, Cam Heyward, Vince Williams all had moments of GAM-hood. Just not quite enough to earn the prize this week. They are all going to have stand up strong next week to bring home a victory against the Chargers though!
Tell us what you think? Who do you believe should have been given a “Grown-Ass-Man” award?
