How About That Willie Gay?

Eric is creepy.

I also think it’s ridiculous to have this “pack mentality” where, if a player makes a few mistakes early or late in his career, people want to run them out of town on a rail. As one prime example, Terry Bradshaw never would have led the Steelers to 4 SB championships if his detractors had their way. Not all players develop at the same rate. Also, you’re absolutely correct that culpability for a blown coverage in the secondary isn’t always as clear cut as it appears.

I’ve always felt that William Gay had lots of potential. I’m just glad to see him finally starting to put it together. He might never be an Ike Taylor, but that doesn’t mean he’ll never be good enough. You’re also right about BA; we’ll still have him to kick around if things get slow during Bye Week.

I’m still hesitant to purchase a jerzey.

was tempered this year when I learned he was a low-round (5th I think) draft choice. I was comparing him to 1st and 2nd round guys which was and is totally unfair. I have been very pleased with his performance this year and even voiced my displeasure of leaving him on an island on that last play against the rat-birds. (Is it still OK to bash them?)

William Gay, cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is grounded solidly. He’s okay, and we need not worry about the naysayers, the critics, the less-than-informed about football. He’s got his life and his game in order. He’s not Deion Sanders, but he’s a Steeler, and a capable defender.

If there are players, there will be critics. They know the media – public and social – rules. As long as their coaches and teammates are good with them, they’re good. Gay is good.

but disagree that a lot of the sentiment was not valid.

In Gay’s defense, it was not entirely his fault, as our level of coaching changed from Ray Horton to Carnell Lake, the production from our DB’s has also risen to levels not seen in many years. That is not just with Gay but Taylor as well. I am sorry, but much of the heat was coming from performance and the criticism was due – how he may have been criticized is a different matter entirely. People were off the deep end which tends to happen frequently in our modern age, people feel that that can act like complete asses because they are anonymous online, it gives them the bravado they wish they had in real life. Online I can say whatever I like because you are not here to punch me in the face if you don’t like it – let’s be honest, the internet gives folks a “Napoleon Complex”, things that they would not entertain saying in person, flow with ease online.

So in short, Gay deserved the criticism – but he DID NOT deserve the way it was being delivered.

…and rightfully so. I too was one who faulted Gay while forgetting the previous plays on the scoring drive. It tends to be forgotten that the players in the NFL are the best of the best.

Gay has been a convenient scapegoat on a TEAM. He’s not great but as Wozzle said, “he’s good”. I’d rather have a team of good players than a team with one or two great players.

Oh, and after reading an article on Gay and what he went through and the work he does away from football, I know he’s aware of what life’s about. I believe he gives the game his all and does the same off the field. He has the proper perspective and is well grounded. Better grounded than myself.

People expect too much of Gay.

He’s a very good nickel back, and always has been. Stick him in as a starter and he’s way out of his depth, it really is as simple as that.

for saying what needed to be said so eloquently.

I can’t beleive Y’ALL ever doubted Willie Gay. I knew he was gonna be a great one!

On another note.

I have some beach front property in AZ for sale? It has lots of potential.

I’m a junkie for redemption. Go Willie!

CBs take an unfair amount of heat when they play badly, even if badly would be defined as minimal errors. Ive seen non-existant pass rush, LBs over-pursuing, and even safeties make bone-headed blunders only to see someone write how bad a particular CB missed on one or two plays. That has to be the toughest position aside from QB.

On a team of Polamalu clones, the one with the short hair will always be the worst player ever.

We will always have a weakest link. Good teams will target that weak link. QBs like Brady and Rodgers can and will find those little missteps that separate the good from the great. It makes a player like Gay look even weaker than he is. After all, we have Ike on the other side of the field. Ike makes it very hard for the other guy to escape the eye of a good QB. Our weakest link is exposed because QBs are rarely going to give Taylor’s receiver a second look. Heck, he may not even get a first look. When you shut down the “#1” receiver, the QB is going to make a game of passing #2s.

I’d just like to point out that I was arguing for caution when judging Willie Gay and the Steelers secondary in general before it was cool. When everyone was losing their heads of “THE LAKE EFFECT” I was pointing out that Gay and Lewis are still young guys, so we should temper our expectations of them.

http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2011/10/30/2525970/who-gets-the-game-ball-after-the-steelers-win#81669486

And after Gay makes a good play, we should continue to be realistic about him. Over the course of the season, the secondary will have ups and downs, and that includes Willie Gay.

Also, reading my comments is like getting BTSC two weeks ealy … (kidding, obviously)

Also the drama on this site this season is getting ridiculous.

Can’t we all just stop judging each other’s comments? Do we have to try and separate the REAL FANS from the rest by the quality of their comments? Can’t we all just coexist? Maybe cut down on the chastising posts about people who made whatever comment is now deemed “wrong” last week?

just my .02….

He’s been the same player his entire career.

He knows the defense, plays smart and 99% of the time is in exactly the right position. That’s some pretty awesome positives. He’s also a great help tackler, and has good form and determination when solo tackling.

His weaknesses? He’s small and not fast for a corner. So yeah, he may have had good form trying to tackle Adrian Peterson, that didn’t stop Adrian Peterson from being that much stronger and bigger. He also plays receivers right, but that doesn’t stop them from being bigger or faster, or both.

I’ll still root for some young corner to take Willie Gay’s job, because it isn’t going to be easy, and that young corner is going to probably be faster and bigger.

Lastly the biggest testament to Gay is that he earned so much playing time as a rookie. More than Ike, B-Mac (if you remember his great rookie campaign), more than anyone going back to Chad Scott’s rookie year. Even if someone beats Gay out of his starting spot, or even both that and the nickle back spot, he’d just end up being about the best 4th corner you could have.

It’s a good argument but written too conclusively.

Neither the media nor the fans were picking on William Gay after the Baltimore game. He was flat-out horrible. He said himself that last series was the worst he ever played. He looked overwhelmed physically – either by Boldin’s strength or Smith’s speed.

That doesn’t change what he did against either the Patriots or the Bengals. It just shows he’s capable of playing well.

Personally, I think Lebeau hung him out to dry against Baltimore when it was clear he didn’t have the physical ability to keep with those guys in man. The Ravens have vastly superior receivers than the Pats to.

The current NFL rules are in place to make the passing game succeed. There is absolutely NO corner who is “shut down”; yes Revis, Woodson, Bailey, Ike Taylor; it doesn’t matter . If you analize closely, they all get beat on a regular basis; the rules are set up for that. William Gay is better than most of you all realize; not great, but better than most. But yes; he will get beat; like all the others.

I think that his effort against the Bengals – breaking up three passes, tipping the first interception, winning the game with the pick in the 4th quarter – says a lot about him. And what it says about him as a person is good.

Gay had to have been miserable last week. Think about how WE felt the Monday after the Ravens loss.

You think Gay felt BETTER than US? The fact is that the Steelers organization did not let him get down on himself, go into defensive back shock syndrome, worked with him for this game, and then put him in a position to feel a hell of a lot better about himself for the rest of the season.

And there is a rumor that this may be important, as it seems there are a number of games yet to be played.

We all get carried away from time to time. We are passionate about our team and the game. The NFL
is by its very nature a zero sum game week after week. Winning is neuphoric, losing – not so much. We are 7-3, in control of our destiny for the most part coming off a great season. Willie does not suck, nor does our offensive line, though there are games where performances are less than stellar. I love the ride, every game, every year, even when I am setting my hair on fire. I would not trade places with fans of any other team for one second! Call me a homer, but, I love all Steelers, great and small – even the ones who break my heart!

I agree with the sentiment completely. I read that article about Gay in the Trib on Sunday, showed it to my fiancee, and we agreed that we would try to be more objective when it comes to William Gay… Even though we have loved to bash on him in the past.

I think what many of you in the comments above don’t realize is that Ivan is not condemning constructive criticism. If you want to look at Gay’s physical limitations and occasional lapses in coverage, nobody will harp on you for that. It’s the bashing that gets completely out of hand when Gay has a bad sequence of plays (i.e. last week) that people might want to look at and tone down a little. Not nearly anyone on here, but I agree with Ivan – it was a tad extreme here in the past.

Regardless of what is said, he’s a bum. The only reason he has been doing so well because we’ve been playing crappy QB’s. He’s still slow, simple moves turn him in circles, and he’s to small to try to be physical. Anytime a team needs a first down unless its a sack or a bad pass its always completed when you throw to Gay’s receiver. If anyone on this page thinks that he’s a worthy Steeler, you’ve all lost your mind. A broken clock is right twice a day. If the receiver doesn’t pull up his route the last Int is a catch. The tip ball was a high pass, if its in the bread basket its a catch. Don’t let two accidents fool you, Gay is garbage. Period point blank. If Tomlin has any sense this should be his last year. Don’t hang on to him like we did Deshea Townsend, another bum. We haven’t had a good corner since Rod and Carnell quit, and Nell was a safety that played corner due to injury.

Has always been a great tackler…never afraid to stick his nose in there to make the play. He isn’t good at covering guys 60 pounds heavier, 10 inches taller and nearly as fast. As has been mentioned, coaching is likely a key component to his improvement this year as well. He’s not bad, he’s not great…but he is a serviceable corner that knows his role in a complicated defense and has had a hand in making big plays over the years. He’s like a C student…right there in the meaty part of the curve. Is there room for improvement? Of course…but it’s tough to field All-Pros at every position.

No one who knows anything about defensive football will argue that William Gay is an above average cornerback. Some would say he is average or others below average. In looking at the sum total of his career thus far, one can conclude that he is generally good nearer the line of scrimmage, is an aggressive tackler and blitzer and is better generally in zone coverage. He is not very good when running away from the LOS and when forced to cover man to man, especially on deeper routes. He typically gives a big cushion unless he is in press/man coverage and for good reason – he doesn’t have 5th gear. Guys that can do all of these things are rare and well paid.

Someone about 200 replies back (crosby 87?) mentioned that he gets targetted by opposing QBs and that occurs often. This is absolutely true, it’s called scouting and film study. They pick on him because his skill set is limited. That is no different than any other player – when a weakness is detected the game plan is to exploit that weakness. Gay has played well at times but has also played very poorly for vast stretches of his career thus far.

It doesn’t matter which round you are selected in, which college you attended, what your salary is or anything else. What matters is how you play versus your opponent and how good you are versus your teammates at that position. If you are lacking, you will be identified by the coaching staffs and savvy players of the opposing team and your own team. When that happens, your days are numbered.

Gay played very well in the 4th quarter last week. If you go back and watch the game, you will see him (or the WR he is matched against) targetted numerous times and Cincy had success doing so. He is average at best in the coverage aspect which is preeminent as a corner. He is above average as a blitzing DB, which is nice but not something viewed as essential. He has played well at times and hopefully that continues. His past is filled with burnt toast and scattered highlights. Larry Brown had two interceptions in a SuperBowl and was named MVP. Did that mean he was elite, very good or talented? No, he had a really good game and so did William Gay.

read this: http://www.steelerslounge.com/2011/10/playing-slot-corner-steelers-easy/ and think about being a corner for this D.

I used to think that Will was the worst corner in the NFL. After reading the above, I got a better idea of how difficult his position is to play, and how Dick LeBeau expects A LOT from his corners.

This article has helped me analyze corner and safety play a bit more, and realize that while Gay isn’t the best in the biz, he is still a pretty damn good defensive back, and a lot of his play is “between the ears”.

there are a lot of worse corners in the NFL than Willie Gay. But I’ve always felt that the biggest proble with Gay is consistency. But this year he has found that consistency and if one bad series and a handful of bad plays in 10 games is trash then I don’t know what good is anymore.