Hard Hat Award (Game #16, @
Stillers RB Willie Parker and WR Hines Ward 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.
Parker, playing in what in all likelihood was his final game with the Stillers, responded superbly in the clutch. With the Stillers clinging to a flimsy 4Q lead, Parker ran like a man possessed, gaining 7, 4, and 4, and then ripping off a 15-yarder and then a 34-yarder to seal the deal. Parker will long be remembered in Stiller lore as the undrafted FA who came out of nowhere, initially rotting in the shadows of Fat Jerome Bettis before finally being permitted to carry the ball. Fast Willie will certainly be missed, in large part because of his toughness and Hard Hat spirit.
Ward, meanwhile, gamely fought thru 2 bad hamstrings, snaring 8 grabs for 61, including a few clutch grabs in the 4Q. It would have been easy for Ward to either sit out this game or limit his workload, but gritty to the end, Ward toughed it out.
Kudos to Parker and Ward for winning the Hard Hat Award. Wear the Hard Hat proudly, fellas !
Previous 2009 Hard Hat Winners:
Game #1, vs.
Game #2, @
Game #3, @ Cinci: Mike Wallace (honorable mention to Alice Cooper bassist Chuck Garric)
Game #4, vs.
Game #5, @
Game #6, vs.
Game #7, vs.
Game #8, @
Game #9, vs. Cinci: No one
Game #10, @ KC: Rashard Mendenhall
Game #11, @
Game #12, vs. Oak: No one
Game #13, @ Clev: No one
Game #14, vs.
Game #15, vs.