• Please be aware we've switched the forums to their own URL. (again) You'll find the new website address to be www.steelernationforum.com Thanks
  • Please clear your private messages. Your inbox is close to being full.

Watt Ju talking about? Mean Joe Greene rookie performance award goes to.......

slashsteel

slashsteel

Thank you for everything Franco, R I P.
Contributor
Joined
Apr 9, 2014
Messages
40,463
Reaction score
49,675
Points
113
Location
Pittsburgh
Last year we had a three headed monster for the award arguably. Burns, Davis, and J Wobble all had their show of promise , a future glimpse perhaps of good things to come. In their second year we can see signs of all three's improvement on the field.

Fast forward to this years draft and we have a two headed monster in the race for the Mean Joe Greene performance award given to the teams outstanding rookie(s).Sorry Conner, Bell doesn't give you enough looks to qualify. But I do like what I have seen, in a limited body of work. But I must terminate yinz from this years award in the running.

Which brings me to TJ Watt and Juju - I found my bike-Smith-Schuster, the exciting dynamic duo up for this years rookie award. They easily lead the race as of now, the midway point of the season. As a fan I am excited to think what they could bring to the field in the second half of a season. One that hopefully ends with a ring full of bling, nothing else really means a thing.

As of right now:

DMx2LyAU8AAS5dy.jpg


TJ Watt: 28 tackles, four sacks, four passes defensed, and an interception. Statistically a good showing. TJ is showing run stop, pass coverage capable. Besides showing some pass rush promise. No easy task keeping Deebo off the field. His solid play has contributed to that happening. As he took the starters job out of training camp and ran with it. Only a small injury has held him back.I expect in the second half of the season we will see good things, stay tuned.

image.jpeg


Juju Smith-Schuster: 24 catches for 424 yards. A 17.7 yard per average.4 TDs. Juju was slower out of the gates, but has picked up steam. Statistically he is peddling himself towards a pretty fine looking season. Not bad for a rookie some draft experts saw as slow out of his breaks. Draftniks throw too much emphasis on those 40 times. 4.54 40 doesn't scream slow at 6'1 215. Despite what some would lead us to believe.

Both are blue collar try hard type players, which bodes well for the Steelers future. Perhaps they will share the award in the end.


But if yinz had to choose

who will end up deserving the award end season ?

who gets your nod as of right and now?
 
jujus effect hasnt yet been felt.

He might be the impetus that drives Martavis to excellence. He MIGHT be Martavis' replacement. Either way,, hes doing great.

So is Watt.

But i think the ceiling for Watt is higher. Nobody is going to supplant AB as the #1 receiver anytime soon. So juju is the #2.

But Watt has Deebo sitting on the bench and playing every down. He has a few sacks, and isnt a liability.

But i think he will get even better. What if he starts putting up 2007 /2008 Deebo numbers?


Juju is more impressive so far because we expected less.
 
Juju is more impressive so far because we expected less.
Click to expand...

Do we? Maybe initially as we know he had some growing to do, hell they both do(did).

But when you show glimpses of solid field performance. Doesn't the expectations rise with it?

As far as what the team expected of Juju he was a second rounder. I think those high of picks you expect a certain amount of now.

As far as who has the higher ceiling, wow what a question to answer. Yinz can look back on picks and expectations and I bet your initial and end impressions changed significantly and often.

As a receiver I see Juju as being a well rounded player. He can run block, pass block. His hands are valued if he is given opportunities on ST's to return the ball, And he can get open, as he is quickly showing route running capable.

Watt I touched on how rounded a player he is. As we have all witnessed.

I could see the notion of Watt having the higher upside. Perhaps the more explosive of the two.

But what a good debate for here and then.
 
Watt should be our ROY. He is dropping quite a bit into pass coverage and doing things that aren't getting his name called. Juju is doing a good job with blocking and is starting to carve out his niche with some nice catches. There is still a lot of football to be played but with Watt starting and getting more reps than Juju its only natural that he will have more opportunities to stamp is impact on the team.
 
The Amazing thing is both Watt and JU-JU would have won in most past years.

Datign back from 2000, here are the past winners.

2000
FB
Dan Kreider

2001
LB
Kendrell Bell

2002
OG
Kendall Simmons

2003
S
Troy Polamalu

2004
QB
Ben Roethlisberger

2005
TE
Heath Miller

2006
WR
Santonio Holmes

2007
P
Daniel Sepulveda

2008
LB
Patrick Bailey

2009
WR
Mike Wallace

2010
C
Maurkice Pouncey

2011
OT
Marcus Gilbert

2012
OT
Mike Adams

2013
RB
Le'Veon Bell

2014
WR
Martavis Bryant

2015
LB
Bud Dupree

2016
S
Sean Davis
 
Coach said:
The Amazing thing is both Watt and JU-JU would have won in most past years.

Datign back from 2000, here are the past winners.

2000
FB
Dan Kreider

2001
LB
Kendrell Bell

2002
OG
Kendall Simmons

2003
S
Troy Polamalu

2004
QB
Ben Roethlisberger

2005
TE
Heath Miller

2006
WR
Santonio Holmes

2007
P
Daniel Sepulveda

2008
LB
Patrick Bailey

2009
WR
Mike Wallace

2010
C
Maurkice Pouncey

2011
OT
Marcus Gilbert

2012
OT
Mike Adams

2013
RB
Le'Veon Bell

2014
WR
Martavis Bryant

2015
LB
Bud Dupree

2016
S
Sean Davis
Click to expand...

Big Ben and Bell stick out to me. (Kendrell)

Ironic that their careers went in different directions. But at the time both brought for me the wow factor.
 
Bell was the first player i started to record games and go back to watch again . The way he used to blow up OL was crazy
 
antdrewjosh said:
Bell was the first player i started to record games and go back to watch again . The way he used to blow up OL was crazy
Click to expand...

I think it was the ankle injury that was his bug a boo if I remember right.
 
slashsteel said:
I think it was the ankle injury that was his bug a boo if I remember right.
Click to expand...

And Shoulder injuries too. Probably from into players 70 pounds heavier like a kamikaze lol. But it was a beautiful
 
Kendrall Bell was for a short period of time, a man amongst men. He was so explosive but again ONLY for a short period of time. I loved watching him blow people up.


TJ Watt gets my nod at this point. He is handling full starter responsibilities and keeping a past Pro Bowler off the field. NICE to have both doing so well.





Salute the nation
 
slashsteel said:
Last year we had a three headed monster for the award arguably. Burns, Davis, and J Wobble all had their show of promise , a future glimpse perhaps of good things to come. In their second year we can see signs of all three's improvement on the field.

Fast forward to this years draft and we have a two headed monster in the race for the Mean Joe Greene performance award given to the teams outstanding rookie(s).Sorry Conner, Bell doesn't give you enough looks to qualify. But I do like what I have seen, in a limited body of work. But I must terminate yinz from this years award in the running.

Which brings me to TJ Watt and Juju - I found my bike-Smith-Schuster, the exciting dynamic duo up for this years rookie award. They easily lead the race as of now, the midway point of the season. As a fan I am excited to think what they could bring to the field in the second half of a season. One that hopefully ends with a ring full of bling, nothing else really means a thing.

As of right now:

DMx2LyAU8AAS5dy.jpg


TJ Watt: 28 tackles, four sacks, four passes defensed, and an interception. Statistically a good showing. TJ is showing run stop, pass coverage capable. Besides showing some pass rush promise. No easy task keeping Deebo off the field. His solid play has contributed to that happening. As he took the starters job out of training camp and ran with it. Only a small injury has held him back.I expect in the second half of the season we will see good things, stay tuned.

image.jpeg


Juju Smith-Schuster: 24 catches for 424 yards. A 17.7 yard per average.4 TDs. Juju was slower out of the gates, but has picked up steam. Statistically he is peddling himself towards a pretty fine looking season. Not bad for a rookie some draft experts saw as slow out of his breaks. Draftniks throw too much emphasis on those 40 times. 4.54 40 doesn't scream slow at 6'1 215. Despite what some would lead us to believe.

Both are blue collar try hard type players, which bodes well for the Steelers future. Perhaps they will share the award in the end.


But if yinz had to choose

who will end up deserving the award end season ?

who gets your nod as of right and now?
Click to expand...

these are awesome pics
 
Very though call at this point. Watt has been solid this year and has done everything the Steelers ask from their outside linebackers and he rarely looks overwhelmed. JuJu had a breakout game, but has been doing a lot of quiet work in terms of blocking all season. I give Watt the edge so far because I think he had a bigger role from the start, but there's still eight games left and a lot for both of these players left to offer.
 
Nice find Coach. Nice to see the Steelers selected Davis as their top rookie last year with so much good rookie talent that season!

JuJu has been very impressive. He's playing a position that is harder to grasp the nuances, and he was initially projected to be the backup slot receiver to Eli Rogers.

By the end of training camp, the team saw enough that they started him in the slot week 1, and he split time with Eli.

He performed so well in running routes and blocking that Eli was an afterthought, and inactive by week 4.

Solidly as the #3 slot receiver, he started earning snaps in 1WR and 2WR running sets.

Then has his first game as the #2 receiver and nearly rips off 200 yards receiving, and gains the longest play ever by a Steeler.

JuJu is continuing to show he can handle any load given to him. He may be 20, but his football IQ is way beyond his years. He's intuitive, loves to hit, and will work to make plays on turnovers. He's quickly becoming a favorite of mine to watch.

Not saying he's better than Watt. Watt earned the starting OLB slot in preseason, and that is HUGE. I don't know of a Steeler rookie that ever started OLB week 1. ILB, sure, but not OLB. He instantly showed he can get to the QB with 2 sacks in his debut. As weeks progressed, he got much better at shedding and tackling in the running game. He also keeps his eyes on the QB in the passing game, and fills up the lane and jumps to deflect, just like his brother. He's also picking up the coverages pretty quickly as well.

When Williams says, Watt is the most NFL ready player he's ever seen, it's not lip service. He's spot on. Watt was built for football, and his motor is infectious. Love watching Watt play as well!

Who's better? JuJu or Watt? What a great problem to have!!
 
See, I had myself all "easied out" on the answer but Cope brings up a very good point. (But then I argued myself back in to my original answer.)

I like Watt better as ROY. His 4 sacks alone put him in what would have been elite company quite often with the Steeler's defense. Lets' face it, that defense hasn't been producing a ton of sacks for some time. He's got 4? PLUS a bunch tackles PLUS some hurries, PLUS some passes defensed PLUS an interception and it's only halfway through his first season AND he's causing the coaches to spell SILVERBACK? (I can't even type "Bench"... I can't.)

Is this even a question?

JuJu (as Cope mentioned) does have a great deal of intricacies to learn regarding his position. He needs to learn the route wheel, he needs to learn the playbook and how to apply the route wheel to the playbook. He needs to learn to read the CB, Linebackers and Safeties to determine on the fly how to apply the wheel for the called play now and then. (Sometimes he just runs the route regardless...) He needs to block downfield, he needs to run reverses etc. etc. So yes. JuJu has quite a bit of responsibility. On the other hand, so does Watt. He's got to know HIS coverages and HIS blitzes and HIS responsibilities on a given play and coverage too. They may not be quite as complex as JuJu, but he also needs to be much more reactionary and instinctive.

Sorry man. JuJu is impressing the heck out of me, but Watt - Well hell... He's doing just fine... I'm going to give him my vote at least at this mid-season point.
 
Who cares about team award, they are both in the running for NFL offensive and defensive ROY.
Texans Watson was on his way to winning offensive but he got hurt. Hunt probably in lead, but
JuJu is still within catching distance.
 
Cope said:
Nice find Coach. Nice to see the Steelers selected Davis as their top rookie last year with so much good rookie talent that season!

JuJu has been very impressive. He's playing a position that is harder to grasp the nuances, and he was initially projected to be the backup slot receiver to Eli Rogers.

By the end of training camp, the team saw enough that they started him in the slot week 1, and he split time with Eli.

He performed so well in running routes and blocking that Eli was an afterthought, and inactive by week 4.

Solidly as the #3 slot receiver, he started earning snaps in 1WR and 2WR running sets.

Then has his first game as the #2 receiver and nearly rips off 200 yards receiving, and gains the longest play ever by a Steeler.

What did James Harrison do in the Super Bowl.....................+3


JuJu is continuing to show he can handle any load given to him. He may be 20, but his football IQ is way beyond his years. He's intuitive, loves to hit, and will work to make plays on turnovers. He's quickly becoming a favorite of mine to watch.

Not saying he's better than Watt. Watt earned the starting OLB slot in preseason, and that is HUGE. I don't know of a Steeler rookie that ever started OLB week 1. ILB, sure, but not OLB. He instantly showed he can get to the QB with 2 sacks in his debut. As weeks progressed, he got much better at shedding and tackling in the running game. He also keeps his eyes on the QB in the passing game, and fills up the lane and jumps to deflect, just like his brother. He's also picking up the coverages pretty quickly as well.

When Williams says, Watt is the most NFL ready player he's ever seen, it's not lip service. He's spot on. Watt was built for football, and his motor is infectious. Love watching Watt play as well!

Who's better? JuJu or Watt? What a great problem to have!!
Click to expand...



I do hear what you are saying and YES appreciate Ju Ju all the way. He is way above his years and growing. I just added a footnote because I don't want to forget about one of our all time greats. Great problem to have that is the two rookies battling it out and YES maybe we land a RDPOY and a ROPOY.




Salute the nation
 
I know I made a case for both of them, and if I'm selecting now, I have to go with Watt. I still think they are very close and this is a 1A vs 1B scenario, but Watt gets the nod, since he has been there since the beginning and is growing as a starter. JuJu started his first game Week 8. That is the only difference. I think in the final 8 games, JuJu can overtake Watt. But then again, Football runs in the Watt family gene pool. The best may yet come from Watt's game in the second half of the season!
 
Kendrall Bell was for a short period of time, a man amongst men. He was so explosive but again ONLY for a short period of time. I loved watching him blow people up.
Click to expand...

Bell I remember but..

2008 ....LB....Patrick Bailey ??

I don't even remember this guys name.. Oh, No wonder.

Pittsburgh Steelers

After spending the first two games of the 2008 season on the Steelers' practice squad, Bailey was signed to the active roster on September 20 after the team waived running back Gary Russell. Bailey made a solo special teams tackle against the Philadelphia Eagles in his first NFL game, and followed that up with two solo tackles on special teams against the Baltimore Ravens. He injured his hamstring playing against the Ravens, and was listed as questionable for the week 5 game.

Bailey was waived on October 4 when the team signed practice squad defensive tackle Scott Paxson to the active roster.[1] He was re-signed to the practice squad the following day, rejoining the active roster soon after. Bailey earned the Steelers rookie of the year award for his play on special teams.[2]

He played special teams and registered a tackle in the Steelers victory over the Arizona Cardinals in lwoB repuS XLIII on February 1, 2009.

He was cut on September 4, 2010, during the Steelers' final roster cuts.
Click to expand...

Musta been proud to beat out Spindenfall and Limas LOL. What a great draft that year was.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top