Hard Hat Award (Game #1, vs. Miami)
Stiller QB Charlie Batch and RB Willie Parker are the co-winners of the weekly Hard Hat Award, given to the Stiller player who best embodies the iron-tough, hard-as-steel attitude of the steel workers inside the blast furnace of a still mill.
Batch was named the starter 4 days prior to the game when Benji Roth had the emergency appendectomy. Thrown into the starting lineup, Batch had to a face a rugged Miami defense in the opener of the NFL season on prime-time TV. Batch met the challenge with the kind of cool, crisp professionalism that has been his trademark as a backup on the Stillers. Batch went 15 of 25 for 209 yards, 3 TDs, and no INTs. Charles did commit a hideous boner, fumbling a snap at the Miami 1-yard line early in the 4Q with the Stillers down by 3. But on the first play of the very next drive, Batch looked off the DB and calmly hit TE Heath Miller with a perfect strike, which allowed Miller to gallop with a full head of steam for the winning TD. This kind of gutty QBing, and coming right back after a horrendous blunder, is what the Hard Hat Award is all about.
Parker picked up where he left off in the Sup Bowl, carrying the offense with 115 yards on 29 carries. Fast Willie also chipped in 3 catches for 13 yards. What impressed me was the churning style of running Parker consistently displayed between the tackles, proving that a running back doesn't have to weigh 265 pounds to be an effective inside runner. Parker's best run of the nite was on quick hitter off RG/RT, in which he easily busted through a tackle by the supposedly great Jach Thomas and then busted it into the secondary. In true Hard Hat fashion, Parker didn't meekly go down at the end of the run; rather, he looked for a Dolphin and then rammed his head down and bowled the poor Fin over for extra yardage. This play, and the 32 total touches, was a Hard Hat kind of effort by Fast Wilver.
Kudos to Batch and Parker for winning the Hard Hat Award. Wear the Hard Hat proudly, fellas!
2005 Hard Hat Winners:
Week 1, vs. Tenn: Willie Parker
Week 2, @ Hou: Troy Polamalu
Week 3, vs. NE: Clark Haggans
Week 4, @ SD: Troy Polamalu
Week 5, vs. Jax: Heath Miller and Ike Taylor
Week 6, @ Cinci: Hines Ward and Ike Taylor
Week 7, vs. Balt.: Andre Frazier
Week 8, @ GB: Duce Staley
Week 9, vs. Clev: Hines Ward and Charlie Batch
Week 10, @ Balt: Aaron Smith
Week 11, @ Indy: No one
Week 12, vs. Cinci: Ben Roethlisberger
Week 13, vs. Chicago: Jerome Bettis and Alan Faneca
Week 14, @ Minn: The entire defense
Week 15, @ Clev: Brett Keisel and Jamie Harrison
Week 16, vs.
AFC Wild Card, @ Cinci: Tyrone Carter
AFC Divisional Playoff, @ Indy: Benji Roethlisberger
AFCC, @ Denver: Troy Polamalu and Brett Keisel
Sup Bowl, vs. Seattle: Antwaan Randle El and Clark Haggans