Willie Gay...

[Slapstick]

Yeah, who cares if the Steelers start all of their drives at or inside the 20 - yards don't matter.

On the other hand, when the Steelers offense puts up a lot of yards and no points, the narrative changes...

[Slapstick]

He's the tallest midget. Plenty of other guys to pick on. He was the patsy when we had Troy and Ike and Ryan Clark.

He's the tallest midget (classy, BTW!) who has scored TDs on 5 consecutive INTs...something that no NFL player has ever done...

[BradshawsHairdresser]

He's the tallest midget (classy, BTW!) who has scored TDs on 5 consecutive INTs...something that no NFL player has ever done...

Let's hope he does it a couple more times in the near future...

[feltdizz]

Let's hope he does it a couple more times in the near future...

but what if he dances after he scores a TD?

[Oviedo]

Hopefully, in time, he'll be remembered more like Deshea Townsend around here- a very solid, reliable player that did his job, and did it well.

I think he has already proven to be a solid, reliable player to most reasonable observers. No one ever said he was Mel Blount or Rod Woodson, but he has a knack for big plays and is a solid contributor on the defense year in and year out.

[RobinCole]

He was never as bad as the bashers here make him out to be. The hell started to rain down on him in 2010 when he got toasted by some rookie Pats TE named Gronkowski. It took another year or two before people realized that the "DBs toasted by Gronkowski" club was quite a large group that would grow larger every year. Oh, yes, he got run over by Adrian Peterson during a game. Yawn. Truth is he has been a solid DB. Deshea Townsend is a good comparison.

If you look at the passing yardage stats, a lot of CBs around the league are getting beat every week. They don't all play for the Steelers. A lot of them play AGAINST the Steelers and they haven't fared well.

[feltdizz]

The Adrian Peterson hit was brutal...

but I have always been a Gay supporter (ha!)

every year the board picks a player and rides him hard... so of course it would be the one with Gay on his jersey.

[RobinCole]

Yes, the AP hit was brutal but that was a physical mismatch that few CBs can win. As I recall, Peterson burst through the line so fast that Gay was caught flatfooted and upright. Went down like a bowling pin. Bettis ran over a lot of defenders too, including Brian Urlacher. I doubt Urlacher's career will be defined by that one play, even though the photo of it is pretty well-known.

[RuthlessBurgher]

I'm going to compare Gay to Willie Williams instead of Deshea Townsend because of the leaving for another team but then coming back again factor.

[WindyCitySteel]

On the other hand, when the Steelers offense puts up a lot of yards and no points, the narrative changes...

The Steelers are a top five scoring offense despite having a defense ranked 23rd in yards allowed. The top four scoring offenses have defenses ranked 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 10th. Seattle is the 6th scoring offense, their defense is 2nd in allowing yards.

In other words, those offenses don't have the field flipped on them nearly as much as the Steelers. If you are always asked to go 80 yards, you're not going to score as much.

[flippy]

I've always been a Gay fan and thus the reason I like to call him Big Play Willie Gay. He's smart, he puts in the effort, and all around he's a solid player that makes plays cause he's headsy.

Re: the celebration after the pick 6, I'm not a fan of the big celebrations, but that one went on so long and it was so over the top, I actually started to enjoy it. I was kinda hoping it would go another 5 minutes.

[feltdizz]

Yes, the AP hit was brutal but that was a physical mismatch that few CBs can win. As I recall, Peterson burst through the line so fast that Gay was caught flatfooted and upright. Went down like a bowling pin. Bettis ran over a lot of defenders too, including Brian Urlacher. I doubt Urlacher's career will be defined by that one play, even though the photo of it is pretty well-known.

but you remember the Urlacher play...

Gay won't be defined by that hit because it wasn't on a big stage but it was comical. It happens to the best of them but sheesh, Peterson wiped his feet on Gays jersey.

[RobinCole]

i remember the Urlacher play because I'm a Steeler fan. And it was a great photo, snowy day, and the first of the eight straight "must-win" games that resulted in a Super Bowl win that year. Maybe a few Bears fans remember it. Fans of the other NFL teams? Not so much.

[phillyesq]

For some perspective on William Gay, based on salary vs. productivity, he's been an incredible value. Especially when compared to a guy like Cortez Allen.

[URL="https://twitter.com/IanWhetstone"]Ian Whetstone @IanWhetstone [/URL] [URL="https://twitter.com/IanWhetstone/status/676826590697926658"]6m6 minutes ago[/URL]
I don't think the Steelers have enjoyed a better value in recent memory than Will Gay. Total of $7,557,400 for eight seasons. [URL="https://twitter.com/NealCoolong"]@NealCoolong[/URL]

[RuthlessBurgher]

Philly, from a legal perspective, isn't it considered to be discrimination for the Steelers to pay a Gay less than everyone else?