Hard
Hat Award (Game #3, @ Miami)
Stiller free safety Chris Hope is the winner 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.
Hope, making his third-ever NFL start after rotting the
bench his first 2 seasons, set the tone for the defense and helped immensely in
the drubbing of the Dolphins.� Hope
finished with 3 solos and 1 assist, but that doesn't even begin to tell the
story of this latest Hard Hat winner.�
On the game's opening drive, Hope drilled Dolphin TE Donald Lee after a short reception,
forcing a fumble and giving the Stillers golden FP, as well as setting a tone
for the rest of the day.� Later in the
first quarter, Hope came up on run support as RB Lamar Gordon broke through a
small crease in the defense and was heading for daylight some 7 yards past the
line of scrimmage.� Turned out the light
Gordon saw wasn't daylight, but rather the headlamp of a freight train named
Chris Hope, who came up and simply knocked the piss out of Gordon with a
bone-crushing tackle.� Gordon lay on the
grass and had to be helped off the field, and as it turns out, Gordie is done
for the season with a dislocated shoulder.�
This, ladies and gentlemen, is what the Hard Hat Award is all
about -- applying brutal, punishing hits.�
The intent of the Hard Hat has never been to promote injury or
flagrant fouls; rather, the award rewards those players who got out and legally
hit and punish and smack opponents with ferocity and tenacity.� That's precisely what Chris Hope did, and
frankly, it's precisely what this Stiller defense has been so desperately missing
since the halcyon days of Carnell Lake and Rod Woodson.� When a defense punishes opposing ballcarriers
and receivers; when a defense strikes fear into an opponent; and when a defense
imposes its will on the opponent, far more often than not that defense will
dominate the opponent.� ����
�
James Farrior, Hines Ward, and Ben Roethlisberger all
deserve mention, and The Committee discussed their merits at length.� In the end, however, a FF and a wickedly
vicious tackle by Hope swayed The Committee. �As we said in this column after week 1, it's a very good thing
when multiple players are considered for The Award, as it shows the team
played with loads of guts and gusto.� On
the other hand, last week's embarrassing debacle had no one win the award,
which is a good litmus test for just how well -- or more appropriately, how
poorly -- the team hustled and hit.�
Kudos to Hope for winning the weekly Hard Hat Award.� Wear the Hard Hat proudly, Chris!�
Past
2004 Winners:
Week 1, vs. Oak: Casey Hampton and Clark Haggans
Week 2, @ Balt.: No one