There were 3 great defensive lines in the NFL when I was growing up: the Minnesota Vikings Purple People Eaters, the LA Rams Fearsome Foursome and of course the Pittsburgh Steelers Steel Curtain. They were the dominant defenses of the era with Steel Curtain probably the most formidable. The Steel Curtain included:
No. 75 "Mean" Joe Greene – defensive tackle 1969–1981, 4-time Super Bowl champion (IX, X, XIII, XIV), 10-time Pro Bowl selection (1969–1976, 1978, 1979), 2-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year (1972, 1974), NFL 1970s All-Decade Team, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team, NFL 100 All-Time Team
No. 68 L. C. Greenwood – defensive end 1969–1981, 4-time Super Bowl champion (IX, X, XIII, XIV), 6-time Pro Bowl (1973–1976, 1978, 1979), NFL 1970s All-Decade Team, Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team
No. 63 Ernie Holmes – defensive tackle 1972–1977, 2-time Super Bowl champion (IX, X)
No. 78 Dwight White – defensive end 1971–1980, 4-time Super Bowl champion (IX, X, XIII, XIV), 2-time Pro Bowl (1972, 1973), Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team
If you ask most Steeler fans they would probably tell you that all these players are in the NFL Hall of Fame. But they are wrong. Only one member exists in that hallowed hall and it's Mean Joe Greene. As I stated previously in the Danny Murtaugh article there is little justice and fairness in the Sport's Whoredem including the NFL. The sports scene is now the providence of D.I.E. (Dickheads, Idiots, and Entertainers). Mindless statistics from areas that have little or no connection to the real game are the standard fare served up by over bearing announcers, influencers, and supposed writers.
Perhaps one of the finest moments of the "new breed" of sports experts was when Brady decided to leave New England for Tampa Bay. I remember it clearly. Two young women were analyzing the situation for one of the major networks. They basically stated that Brady was too old and that he would embarrass himself. Furthermore, he lacked any arm strength. Brady ended up winning another Super Bowl. These are the same suckulators who think Kaepernick can read a presnap and the only reason he's not playing is because everyone is racist.
I have family members and friends who knew Greenwood and White and from their conversations these players thought something was amiss on why they were slighted by the NFL Hall of Fame. They never got their due. A defensive line is like a band or orchestra. If someone doesn't play right then it goes south in hurry. If you don't have a nose tackle who can stop the run (Holmes) then the edge rushers are limited. What most of the young sports idiots of today don't understand is that these guys played almost every down. That's right they played most of the game without specialty players coming in on different defenses.
Does Harry Carson of the Giants make the Hall of Fame if there is no Lawrence Taylor? Defenses played two guys on Taylor in many games. Did that make Carson more effective? Would Bradshaw win 4 Super Bowls without this shut down defense? Many of the statistics of that era are nonexistent because they didn't keep them. The analytical subterfuge that vomits out this nonsense to equate players and teams from different eras is nothing more than children who have never played or understood the game.
It reminds me of PhD Economist I knew who worked for the EPA. He had this newly minted PhD from an Ivy League University working under him. The youngster worked 12 weeks on a paper and model on farm pollution. The Ivy Leaguer presents the paper to him for review. He sits and reads it for 30 minutes. He finally turns to the young PhD and asks, "have you ever been on a farm? No, why?" "Put this in your drawer and don't let anyone see it." The Ivy leaguer is dismayed. "But, But...…...Do as I say. Trust me."
It's still hard for me to believe that these guys are not in the NFL Hall of Fame. What it says is how bad the sportswriters, analysists and sports media are all about. The Steel Curtain played in an era where the game was extremely physically challenging as compared to today. The game was much rougher and had fewer rules of protection. It also upsets me that more ex Steeler players and coaches have not forced the issue.
These guys made the Pittsburgh Steelers --an almost impenetrable wall on defense. They beat my Vikings and I hold no grudges against them. As I said before what is due is due and it's time these men were enshrined with Joe Greene in their rightful place as one of the greatest defensive lines in the history of the NFL.
