BALTIMORE’S DERRICK HENRY SCORES ON THE STEELERS, JAN. 11, AT M&T BANK STADIUM. (PHOTOS BY MARLON MARTIN)
:10—They have to be your Steelers, because my Steelers…THE TEAM OF THE ’70s DECADE AND WITHOUT QUESTION THE GREATEST FORCE THE NFL WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN…they didn’t back up, they put up; they didn’t question the rule, they set the rule; they didn’t look for a way into the end zone, they paved a way, and lastly, they didn’t look to their coach (The Emperor Chuck Noll) for motivation, they brought the motivation with them!
:09—Of course I digress and I succumb to the memories, but at this point what else can I do? And for those of you who lived it with me, you know that it still feels good. And here’s why! Four Super Bowls in 10 years! The first AFC team to win 10 division titles! Joe Greene recognized by many as THE GREATEST FOOTBALL PLAYER OF ALL-TIME…no, not just on defense, but the greatest player! L.C. Greenwood—Dwight White—Ernie Holmes and Greene, voted greatest D-Line all-time—Andy Russell, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert…you already know! Terry Bradshaw, four Super Bowl rings and two MVPs! Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Bennie Cunningham, and Randy Grossman…you throw it, they catch it, period! “Iron Mike” Webster, Larry Brown, John Kolb, Sam Davis, Gerry Mullins, and Ray Mansfield would still control the O-Line today…and they would be 75 years old!!! The G.O.A.T. Mel Blount, J. T. Thomas, Mike Wagner, “The Missile” aka Donnie Shell and Dwayne Woodruff, well, you try scoring on them…that’s what I thought! And last but certainly not least, the man who turned the Steelers into champions, the great Franco Harris, joined by the war veteran who never took no for an answer, Rocky Bleier, put all the icing on the cake! But that cake also included “Jefferson Street” Joe Gilliam, Roy Gerela, Frank Lewis and Glen Edwards, just to name a few!
:08—In his opening comments to his new team, Chuck Noll stated with a matter of fact…if you’re not good enough, you won’t be playing here next year!
:07—Mel “Super” Blount was so dominant the NFL had to change the defensive rules of the game.
:06—Say what you want about “Mean Joe Greene,” but Dwight White will tell you that Ernie “Fats” Holmes was a tractor trailer in football spikes.
:05—Terry Bradshaw not only had a rocket launcher for an arm, but showed up no matter what, and called his own plays. By the way, he was once quoted as saying, “If I had Joe Gilliam’s arm, there’s no telling how great I could have been!”
:04—Just in case you’re counting, the team of the decade placed 10 players in the Hall of Fame: Greene, Bradshaw, Blount, Ham, Harris, Swann, Lambert, Stallworth, Shell, and Webster. Speaking of which, the 1974 NFL Draft still remains the greatest ever, boasting of five H.O.F. players in one draft: Swann, Lambert, Stallworth, Webster, and Shell.
:03—That team never needed discipline from the outside, it all came from within. Joe Greene, Mel Blount, Jack Lambert, Mike Webster, and Dwight White provided all the discipline needed. Discipline…aka, a closed door coming to a mutual understanding!!!
:02—It cannot be overstated…and was best said by Joe Greene, “We never won before Franco and we didn’t win after Franco!” The owner of the greatest play in NFL history, The Immaculate Reception.
:01—I hope you privileged fans enjoyed this walk down memory lane, and I know you feel better now than you did 10 minutes ago. And none of this would be special without the memory of the great Myron Cope and the presentation of the Terrible Towel, Yoi…Double Yoi !
:00—GAME OVER!
MIKE TOMLIN CAN ONLY WONDER WHAT WENT WRONG WITH THE STEELERS IN 2024…
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