As a longtime Pittsburgh Steelers fan, I’ve grown to appreciate many of their legendary players. From the current lineup, I appreciate both their top running backs, Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. I’ve cherished the super-sacking combo of T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward and Alex Highsmith. And Chris Boswell is one of the best field goal kickers in the National Football League, without question.
But there’s this one rookie that’s absolutely blown me out of the water.
Let me introduce you to Shannon “Beanie” Bishop, Jr.
Or, better yet, let me introduce Aaron Rodgers to Beanie Bishop.
This happened last week. The Jets were driving down the field, the Steelers trying to hold their opponents back … and … well …
Beanie Bishop was balling that day. Two interceptions off of a former Super Bowl winning quarterback.
Okay, you might be thinking … he caught two INT’s in the same game. Good for him. He won’t catch another errant INT in a million years.
Well, time does fly … because the very next week, when the Steelers hosted the New York Giants, QB Daniel Jones lofted what could have been a game-tying TD pass a little high … and guess who snagged it.
Yeppers.
So you might be wondering … the Steelers must have really scouted the hell out of Beanie Bishop in college. Probably drafted him in the upper rounds.
Nope. Beanie Bishop was a walk-on. An undrafted free agent. A UDFA, in NFL parlance. Kid probably just showed up with a pair of cleats and a ton of determination.
And he played his way into the starting lineup. He now has three INT’s in two games. And the sky’s the limit for this young man.
And listen to the enthusiasm in Beanie Bishop’s voice. After his two-interception game against the Jets, a sideline reporter asked him what he planned to do with those intercepted pigskins.
Aw, man, that’s so cool.
As the Steelers enter the bye week, let’s look at Beanie’s other stats. In eight games for the Black and Gold, he has 20 tackles, half a sack, and four pass deflections to augment his three INT’s. And he’s probably also caused a spike in BISHOP 31 jersey sales at the Steelers souvenir shoppes.
Let me just say this. The Steelers right now are 6-2, sitting atop the AFC North division and entering into a bye week before a nine-week crucial run with two tough NFC North opponents (Washington and Philadelphia), a Christmas Day game against Kansas City (oh, they’ve got Taylor Swift? Well, we’ve got Styx), and six games against our AFC North opponents that will take place as part of HBO’s in-season Hard Knocks TV series.
It won’t be easy. Football is not an easy game.
But Beanie Bishop makes it look fun.
And I’m totally down with that.
Chuck The Writer 