SCU Awards: Steelers Offensive Player of the Year
Steel City Underground presents the 1st annual SCU Awards. Our panel of contributors all voted on various awards for the Steelers with the player getting the most votes being the winner. Each article will have the list of nominees with one of our contributors stating their case for why that player earned their vote and deserves the award. Comment and let us know if you agree or disagree with our winners and nominees.
The Steelers have one of the best offenses in the league. This is largely because the group of Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell, also known as the 3 B’s, are the best trio in the league.
The Offensive Player of the Year came down to Bell and Brown, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody. These 2 players are both top tier at their position. They’re the type of players that keep defensive coordinators up at night because they are capable of changing a game with a single play.
Even when players on the offense kept getting struck with the injury bug, the 3 B’s helped keep this offense afloat. Both Brown and Bell had more than a handful of highlights and clutch plays throughout the season and both are deserving of this honor. The race was neck-and-neck.
Antonio Brown
This one was a toss up between Big Ben and Antonio Brown for me. Ben was on his way to an MVP season before he was hurt and so was Brown. Antonio Brown though makes being a wide receiver an art form. He is always trying to prove himself because of his 5’10” size and the fact tall receivers like Julio Jones and OBJ are always in the same conversation.
Brown however is as sneaky as he is athletic. He’s not fast, but he’s he quick, meaning his decisions on the field to cut one way or another or when to go airborne for a ball are second to none. Julio Jones has the size and physical presence no doubt, but our best receiver has a mind like no other and the duo of Ben/Brown, when clicking, can’t be beat.
– Terry Fletcher
Le’Veon Bell
I chose Le’Veon Bell for Offensive Player of the Year for obvious reasons. Bell moved the ball up the field when Ben and Co. were struggling. He is capable of turning a 3-yard loss into an 8-yard gain. His vision and patience is second to none. He can catch, block and run nearly every route a receiver could run. Bell is the most lethal weapon on this offense because there is no limit to what he can do.
When the Steelers were on their hot streak, Bell was playing the best football of his career. This was no coincidence either. When Bell is at his best, the Steelers whole offense is elevated.
– Josh Fitzer
Winner: Antonio Brown (5 votes)
Runner up: Bell (4 votes)
AB was as reliable as ever, playing in every game this season while catching 106 of his 154 targets for 1,284 yards and 12 touchdowns. While his catches were down (as were his targets) Brown had his second-most TD receptions of his career. (He had 13 touchdowns on 129 catches in 2014.)
He remains a fixture in the Steelers offense and should continue to be one for years to come.
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