Hoorays and Boos for the WC Win vs Cincinnati

This is without re-watching the game yet.

Hooray!

Ryan Shazier - Holy sh**. A forced fumble - fumble recovery - return for touchdown. And a forced fumble when all hope was lost and the running back knows the only way his team loses is if he fumbles. That's not an easy fumble to force. And 13 tackles, two for loss, a pass defensed, pressure on the QB, speed all over the field... Who is glad we drafted him instead of Dennard?

Martavis Bryant - Holy sh**. I can't believe one of the greatest catches of all time is being overshadowed, but it is. I played receiver in high school, and I wasn't big or fast (not even as fast as slow college receivers) so I had no real future, but I could catch very well and had perfect body control. I'm a snob about it, I'm not gonna lie. I'm usually underwhelmed by highlight catches, and very few really stand out to me. ODB's did, of course, and this one is right up there with it. The flip at the end was incredible. Not just for style - he knew that the catch would be lost if it even wiggled while he was out of bounds, even 5 yards out of bounds - he needed to land in a way so the ball would remain secured, while holding it precariously. The flip got him into a comfortable enough position, and he stuck it. Even after standing up, he held it tight. And (here I go being a snob again) often times "great" catches would have been mundane catches if the receiver hadn't messed it up in the first place. They bobble it, and atone for their mistake, and get more credit than if they'd done their job properly. But that wasn't the case here, with the defender prying him away from the ball. Martavis had to do all that, and he did it. That was incredible.

Chris Boswell - 4 kickers this year. I never thought I'd say it, but it was worth it. Even Scobee. A rookie kicker, in the rain, less than a season under his belt, away in the playoffs. 4 for 4, right down the middle, no wiggle to them. Perfection. And almost nothing but touchbacks, too. I am a big Suisham fain, but I think we are set for the next 10 years or so.

Fitzgerald Toussaint - Clutch. Good running, and I loved the Bell-like move before the catch out of the backfield. I liked Todman, so I wasn't so sure about this move. Now I like Toussaint.

Jordan Todman - Clutch. Love the vision and the quickness. I can't believe both these guys played as well as they did.

Alejandro Villanueva - Did you guys see him today? What about Michael Johnson? Me neither. And this guy was a receiver? Then tight end? Then defensive end? Now he's shutting down solid pass rushers in the playoffs, protecting the blind side of a QB that likes to hold the ball forever.

Marcus Gilbert - Not a fan of smack talk, but at least he backed it up. You know Dunlap was fired up. The stats will probably say he allowed the sack that injured Ben, but that was Ben. Through all the talk about his contract, this year Gilbert is playing at a level that makes him underpaid.

David DeCastro - I haven't rewatched the game yet, but my hunch is DeCastro didn't play as well as he usually does, and probably not well enough to make this list. I'm putting him on here anyway, mainly for one play: doing his best Willie Colon impression and putting Burfict on his back after driving him into the end zone. Also, our first play after the Bernard injury, when everyone was so crazy, especially Burfict (according to the sideline reporter). DeCastro and Burfict had a mini-showdown, and David got him pretty good.

Willie Colon - For the memory. Does anyone have that gif? And can we make it a permanent fixture on this site?

Jarvis Jones - Gotta give some love for an OLB whose "growth area" is pass rushing and comes up with a sack/fumble against one of the best LTs in the game. Huge. Too bad Cam Thomas had to find a NEW way to mess up, by not fumbling in time. Just kidding Cam. Nice scoop. Sorry about all the exercise you had to do once you got it.

Antwon Blake - What's that cliché about the blind squirrel and the stopped clock? Nice game, Blake. He wasn't perfect, but my standards for him are low enough that it's a "Hooray" just for him to not be on the "Boo" list. In honor of your making the list, I won't say what I'd do with you next week.

Keith Butler - We should expect our defense to hold against a rookie, but 0 points through 3 quarters is great against anyone. They got 7 on a PI that wasn't Keith's fault. The other TD was a busted coverage, so he might be to blame, partly. But overall, this was a great game for Keith.

Everyone - For not being as bad as the Bengals. Even at our dirtiest (Cody Wallace), we are not monsters looking for prey, trying to end careers and risk lives.


Boo!

Hmm... I do have a short list, but it's not that big a deal. I don't feel like bashing right now. Maybe I'll just try to keep things positive.

Markus Wheaton - You had a great catch that got us 3 points, and you won't fumble next time, Markus!

Landry Jones - You did a great job in a couple games earlier this year, Landry!

Shamarko Thomas - It's hard to not run into guys that are just standing there.

Michael Vick - Uhh... Maybe there isn't a hell after all? You better hope not. I'd like to put this guy in a locked room with Vontaze Burfict and a hacksaw and see who comes out (and then run over whoever does with a cement mixer) ...Sorry, that's as nice as I get on Vick.

 

Haha I'd forgotten about Shamarko's penalty.

Shamarko is putting the "special" in "special teams."

 

LOL I was in another thread asking if we could give Boswell a 10 year contract.

And totally agree with everything else.

 

Props to Shazier for being a playmaker, which is what we have been waiting for him to be.

 

I agree 100%. He also missed a tackle early in the game which allowed Effert to get two extra yards for a first down. However, as it turned out last night, I'm glad he missed the tackle on AJ; otherwise the Steelers would not have had enough time remaining to mount a comeback.

 

Not stopping Green actually helped us in the end. Had he been stopped short, bungles have 1st and goal and run it a couple times and run some clock. Odds are they still get a TD and we end up getting the ball with 30 seconds or less and maybe one timeout. While I agree that Mitchell was horrible over the top on that play, it actually played in our favor.

 

Shazier looked like Chad Brown last night. Great speed and intensity.

 

Getting to see Pacman cry made it all worth it.