FanPost

Why i like #56

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via blog.mlive.com

#56. He walks with a swagger, a quiet confidence, but when that booming voice arises, you know hes about to go to work. 

 

I cant fathom how we do it, maybe its something we put in the water, but we breed LBs in Pittsburgh. But after having watched so many good and great LBs in the past play in Pittsburgh, such as Porter, Brown, Harrison, Greene, Boyd and so on, not one of them has me as excited about our defensive future than this guy

Lamar Woodley

For a guy picked in the 2nd round, we got a steal. Something about #56 just makes me smile whenever i think of him pulling on the Black and gold for us

I'll admit, i intended to pay little attention to him in his rookie season, as we were well resourced with Harrison and Haggans, who i both loved to watch, but when he played that Buffalo game and grabbed 4 solos and a sack, and the grabbed another sack the next week against the 9ers - all in pretty limited time compared to our starters, i thought gee, this kids got a motor.

As we all know Haggans departed, and the job was Woodleys.

What a season he had. I was so excited about Lamarr at the start of last season and he did not disappoint. GMC player of week one, and he made some massive plays. Sack after sack after sack, as we watched he and Harrison terrorise other teams.

Then he hit the wall.

That wasnt the problem. Everyone hits the wall at some point. Its how you get over that wall that makes you great. I watched him intently as he was blocked (and held but i wont bag any refs) and was getting more and more frustrated. He was stil running that high octane motor of his at full bore, but things weren't working. It pained me to watch, because at this moment he had turned into one of my favourite defensive players, and so much effort wasnt translating into sacks. Mind you he still created a hell of a lot of pressure.

Enter the postseason. Woodley finished with 6 sacks in 3 games, 2 sacks per game, each game. He was lucky not to get more. I had a tear in my eye when it was he who sacked Warner and got the forced fumble that sealed our Superbowl win.

Woodley hasn't reached the ceiling yet. He was so unblockable in the postseason. This was my tribute to a kid who came to Pittsburgh, embraced us and our culture, and in true Steeler style, is turning into one of our best pass rushing LBs, and hopefully we see him run up the sack total for many years to come.

Cheers Lamarr

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