Clark going to Pro Bowl

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2012/01/st ... bowl-team/

Go for him...if anyone deserves it its him. Even with most of the voting/etc a joke...still he played his ass of this year. Congrats Ryan!

 

He did deserve it. He took a lot of crap from people on this board, but had a great season. I believe we'd have won the Denver game with him in it.

 

i fully agree.

 

Uh-oh, time to stock up on water and canned food.

 

x3

 

okay, i'll bite.

i thought he stunk. i thought he was late in coverage, missed assignments, and cost us the baltimore game at heinz which, in essence, prevented us from having the 1 seed.

with that said, i like to see him go from a 'lifetime achivement' award perspective because i do believe that he has been an underrated player throughout his career.

he also happens to be, far and away, the nicest, friendliest person on the team.

 

Sometimes I wonder how things would have panned out if we had kept Chris Hope...

I was quite ambivalent about Clark when we first got him - though he was a stop-gap guy until we drafted someone special. But there were games this season where he seemed to be the only guy on the team tackling. (Don't ask me which ones... I just have a memory of thinking that at one point).

 

I think we couldn't afford Hope. Tennessee signed him to a pretty big contract, where he has thrived.

I think everyone thought what you thought, including the team. Oh, some guy to start the first half of the season until Anthony Smith takes over... then of course Smith stunk and Clark was fantastic. I don't know how he's getting all the blame for the Ravens loss. The whole team blew it if you ask me. Yes, he didn't make it in time on the last touchdown, but Gay was the man in coverage who A) blew his good coverage by slowing down for no apparent reason, and B) was interfered with.

And Clark is and always has been a tackling machine. He doesn't JUST make tackles, he often does it at the line of scrimmage. He flies up like a linebacker, or like Troy, all while having the responsibility of being the last line of defense. He doesn't have the freedom Troy has, and still gets it done. I know everyone drools over Ed Reed's field coverage, but watch him for a full game and ask yourself what would happen if it was Ryan Clark? Ed looks like a total pansy compared to Clark. People think he's a big hitter, but when it's not a free shot at a defenseless player, he looks like Deion Sanders. Ryan has spoiled us with his tackling. We just expect it of him and forget that it's incredibly awesome.

 

Congrats to him. Maybe time to draft Mark Barron the safety from Bama though to replace him in a year or so?

 

I remember not being too upset about losing Hope at the time, and thinking Ten overpaid for him (similar to Nate Washington). In hindsight, I probably should have noticed him more. We often tend to underrate the FS because of Troy, but it strikes me that while Troy gets all the attention for his roaming instincts, he does really need that very good FS quietly mopping up behind him.

 

In my opinion, Chris Hope was one of two players that were the "missing links" to our SB XL win. The other being Ike Taylor. Secondary play is what has plagued us as long as I've been a fan. 1st and 10, 2nd and 12, 3rd and 17, first down... That had always been the story of our amazing yet frustrating defenses, until they finally put it together in 2005 with two good corners (at the same time!) and a FS. I was very worried when Hope left, because I thought he was good in run support, but more importantly, great at stopping the long ball. He didn't really get burned and could go up high for one. But Clark filled in well, and to my surprise actually improved things, not to mention becoming the biggest enforcer I've seen from the FS position since... well I don't know. But that Wes Welker hit is still the biggest I've ever seen.

 

I like it. He definitely deserves it after all the work he put in. I very happy for him.

 

congrats clark...always glad for steelers to earn something like this

 

again, i fully agree.