Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Raiders finding out Antonio Brown is exactly as advertised
By Mark Madden
https://triblive.com/sports/mark-madden-raiders-finding-out-antonio-brown-is-exactly-as-advertised/
August 12, 2019
(AP)
It took time, but Antonio Brown finally did right by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Forget about his statistics. Brown compiled those for himself, not the team.
The Steelers never won a Super Bowl with Brown. (Told you so.)
But upon departing for Oakland, Brown immediately proved the turmoil that enveloped him in Pittsburgh was every bit his fault. Brown did so by creating comparable bedlam with the Raiders that is, again, totally his doing.
It wasn’t Ben Roethlisberger causing problems in Pittsburgh, like Brown and many agenda-serving members of the national football media claimed.
Brown’s teammates in Oakland don’t yet know him well enough to sabotage him, if he’s considering similar fabrication.
Brown let the Steelers off the hook. Roethlisberger is awaiting lots of apologies.
Brown rarely has practiced this summer. He hasn’t been seen at Raiders training camp in more than a week. He’s late for meetings, inattentive during. He bullied his bosses in Pittsburgh. He’s doing the same at Oakland. You knew that the minute Brown brought his kids onto the field for practice. Brown is running roughshod.
That’s meant figuratively. Frostbitten feet prevent Brown from literally running.
For someone with a rep for working hard, Brown misses a lot of practice. Dedication isn’t juggling a brick on video, then refusing to pay your personal trainer. Dedication involves pulling the same rope as your teammates. Dedication includes jelling.
Brown long has benefited from excuses made on his behalf. The latest barrage cites the potential for CTE. Or perhaps Brown is troubled, and needs therapy.
But it’s more likely Brown is a jerk and has been since tumbling out of the womb. He dropped to the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft because of character issues.
Brown’s personality shortcomings have been exacerbated by money and notoriety. Brown doesn’t care about winning, his teammates, his “friends,” or his family. His lone concern for any situation is how it benefits him. The world exists for Brown’s gain.
Being stupid doesn’t do much to dilute Brown’s narcissism.
The acute frostbite his feet absorbed during cryotherapy could only have occurred had Brown not worn the proper protective footwear. Maybe he wore his $1,000 loafers. You need to be fashionable inside that cryotherapy chamber.
If the notion of Brown refusing to protect his body properly during cryotherapy rings dumb, consider he’s campaigning to wear an unsafe helmet.
That’s Brown’s latest crisis: He’s worn the same helmet since beginning his NFL career. Now it’s been deemed unsafe. But Brown said other helmets impede his vision.
There are dozens of approved helmet options. But Brown threatened to retire or take legal action vs. the NFL if he can’t wear his old helmet. It’s been an issue since May. On the rare occasions he practices, Brown tries to sneak his old helmet onto the field. He even applied a makeshift silver-and-black paint job once. Can’t believe that didn’t work.
Thirty-one other players have switched from their old helmets this season, including Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.
Brady doesn’t like it. The NFL doesn’t care. So Brady made the change.
Brown bullied the Steelers. He’s bullying the Raiders. But he can’t bully the NFL. His appeal was denied Monday.
This is terrific for Steelers fans. You get to witness the uproar, but the Raiders have to clean up the mess.
They won’t be able to.
The Raiders aren’t a very good team to begin with. Brown is making coach Jon Gruden and GM Mike Mayock look like bigger fools with each new eccentricity. The Raiders were 4-12 last season. They needed a workmanlike camp, not an excrement storm.
But Brown has been exactly as advertised.
It will get worse, not better. Between his feet and residue from the helmet drama, it’s easy to imagine Brown not playing in Week 1, or performing poorly if he does. When Brown struggles, the finger-pointing starts. Agitation ferments. Manure rolls downhill. Brown no-shows, or dreams up an injury. He goes in the tank.
The Raiders will be sorry they ever thought of trading for Brown.
They’re probably already sorry.
Categories: Sports | Mark Madden Columns | Top Stories
Monday, August 12, 2019
Pirates GM Neal Huntington’s ‘shelf life’ has expired
By Tim Benz
https://triblive.com/sports/tim-benz-pirates-gm-neal-huntington-has-hit-expiration-date/
August 12, 2019
General manager Neal Huntington warned that changes could be coming to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Gee, Neal. Don’t threaten me with a good time.
Sunday’s latest come-from-ahead defeat — an 11-9 debacle in St. Louis — was the club’s eighth straight loss.
Speaking prior to first pitch on his weekly 93.7 The Fan radio show, Huntington refused to rule out firing manager Clint Hurdle when play-by-play man Greg Brown broached the topic.
He also left the door open to significant roster retooling.
“I think we recognize that changes are needed,” Huntington said.
However, he couched that quote by adding, “Emotional decisions are rarely good decisions, whether things are going really well and you make an emotional decision because they’re going well or things are not going well, and you make an emotional decision.
“We recognize that, as we evaluate this in the big picture and we look to take into account as much as we can, as much relevant information as we can.”
Well, here’s some relevant information: The Pirates have lost 24 of their last 28, and they are en route to one of their worst seasons ever.
And, boy, they have had a lot of those.
The truth is, if changes are to occur with these Pirates, they should start at the top with owner Bob Nutting.
Since Nutting is unlikely to fire himself, though, whatever changes come as a result should include Huntington.
Given that he and Hurdle are signed through 2021, my guess is neither will be fired. Nutting barely wants to pay people to work for his team. He sure won’t want to pay those two to no longer work.
Unfortunately, his fanbase has gone from disappointed and dismayed to angry and vengeful. They want a few heads to roll.
They should.
A pitching coach or a few scouts won’t do it.
Firing Hurdle makes plenty of sense. The fundamentals of his team are atrocious. Baserunning, base-coaching, throwing, fielding and decision-making are all abysmal.
Plus, this is the third season as Pirates manager where Hurdle’s team has gotten in a bad stretch and utterly collapsed in the second half. Look at 2011 and 2012. Those teams — more talented than this one — were contending until hitting death spirals after the All-Star break.
So, yeah. Go ahead. Fire Clint Hurdle. But if you expect that act to fundamentally change the outlook for 2020, you’re nuts.
Connie Mack dipped in Joe Torre and rolled in Tony La Russa couldn’t manage a team like this to a winning record.
So if Hurdle goes, Huntington should go, too. After all, it’s his motley collection of “talent” that is 21 games under .500.
“We recognize the players on the field maybe don’t have enough talent because of the players I’ve put on that field,” Huntington said. “Maybe we’re not teaching them the way we can or need to. Maybe they’re simply not executing.”
I’d say A, B and C are all true.
Does Huntington have the means to buy better players for a quick fix? Of course not. He’s under the weight of Nutting’s financial restrictions. But it’s his charge to field a competitive team despite those constraints.
That’s something he has done in the past. But it’s also something he’s been unable to accomplish in the last three years.
Unless 82-79 without a playoff berth turns your crank.
Come to think of it, that sounds like nirvana right now.
“These positions, whether it’s the general manager or manager, they are hired to be fired,” Huntington said. “Everybody has a shelf life, whether it’s the general manager, the manager or coach.”
I think Huntington and Hurdle spoiled on the shelf a long time ago.
It would be intellectually dishonest to keep one and not the other. It’d be unexplainable to bring back both men in their current jobs.
So don’t expect an explanation. But expect that result to happen anyway.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@tribweb.com or viaTwitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
Categories: Sports | Pirates | Tim Benz Breakfast With
Sunday, August 11, 2019
Steelers need James Washington to build on preseason performance
By Kevin Gorman
https://triblive.com/sports/kevin-gorman-steelers-need-james-washington-to-build-on-preseason-performance/
August 10, 2019
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
James Washington knows what you’re thinking, even shooting a side-eye to the suggestion that his performance in the preseason opener was exactly what he needed.
That the second-year receiver had four catches for 84 yards and a touchdown in a 30-28 victory over Tampa Bay on Friday night at Heinz Field was just what the Pittsburgh Steelers needed.
Not only did Washington catch the Steelers’ first pass of the game — for a 43-yard gain — but he also pulled in a pivotal 22-yarder on a third-and-long from Josh Dobbs and scored their first touchdown on a back-shoulder throw from Mason Rudolph.
Washington caught everything thrown his way, even when he officially didn’t. He almost scored another touchdown on a Santonio Holmes-inspired tiptoes catch at the same spot of the end zone as the Super Bowl XLIII winner, if not for Washington’s front foot skimming the white line.
The performance wasn’t so much a boost for Washington as it was for those watching and wondering whether he would live up to his billing as a 2018 second-round pick who the Steelers would like to become their No. 2 receiver.
“It does (give) a lot with confidence, just to get people off your back,” Washington said. “There’s times I’m walking around and people will say, ‘You better do good this year.’ I don’t even know you and you’re talking to me like that?”
What Washington wants to prove is that he’s gaining confidence, not so much in himself as that of his coaches and teammates, especially those throwing him the ball.
“It’s real important because it shows the coaches and gives them a true evaluation of you,” Washington said. “It builds trust with the quarterbacks, as well, and that’s a big factor.”
Where Washington caught passes from both Josh Dobbs and Mason Rudolph, it was the attention he received from starter Ben Roethlisberger that made the greatest impression on him.
“With No. 7 sitting there watching you and evaluating you at the same time, he can tell you things that, say if he’s at quarterback, how he would prefer it or if you did it just right,” Washington said of Roethlisberger, who did not play but watched from the Steelers sideline. “It helps having him being on the sideline and watching you and helping evaluate you and helping you out. He congratulated me on a few routes I ran. He said it was a good route that I ran but if he was out there, to tweak it this way if the corner did this. He was always giving me advice and staying in my ear.”
Roethlisberger has had Washington’s ear since criticizing his diving drop at Denver last November on a pass he should have run through and caught in stride. Washington learned his lesson in that game. Soon enough, he earned Big Ben’s trust by catching three passes for 65 yards against New England — including a 32-yarder — and three for 64 yards (with a long of 47) when Antonio Brown went AWOL against Cincinnati.
If there appears to be a distinct difference in Washington, he’s willing to admit the game has slowed down now that he knows the playbook and is more of a well-rounded receiver instead of one who can only stretch the field.
“There were obviously ups and downs last year for him, but he’s focused and he’s excited to learn, always building and trying to get better,” Rudolph said. “When you put yourself in that position, when you have that type of work ethic, it’s eventually going to roll your way.”
That was evident from the start, when the Steelers saw an opportunity to throw downfield. The Bucs had a safety playing low and their corners playing outside leverage, which allowed Washington to get behind cornerback Vernon Hargreaves for the 43-yarder. If Dobbs hadn’t slightly underthrown the ball, Washington could have taken it for a 94-yard touchdown.
“I’ll take it over nothing,” Washington said. “That’s for sure.”
That’s the difference with Roethlisberger. The 16th-year veteran sees the entire field better than Dobbs or Rudolph, who are relatively inexperienced. It’s the kind of play that should motivate Washington to move into the starting lineup opposite JuJu Smith-Schuster and ahead of Donte Moncrief.
But Dobbs found Washington on a third-and-21 throw to jumpstart the offense. And Washington joked with Rudolph to “take it back to Oklahoma State,” and the teammates connected on that back-shoulder throw for a touchdown.
“It was almost like that take-me-back-home feeling,” Washington said.
It was almost like a take-me-back-to-last-preseason feeling for Washington, who had seven catches for 158 yards (22.6 per) and two touchdowns in the first two preseason games last year. He followed that with 16 catches for 217 yards and a touchdown in the regular season, pedestrian totals for a player of his pedigree.
“Obviously, last year we saw him make contested catches from the preseason throughout the season,” Dobbs said. “Everyone grows from your rookie year to your second year. He was out there making plays over the top of the defense, making contested catches on third down. He’s doing a good job. He’s had a great camp, and we look for him to build on that. I think he’ll be a big key for us this year.”
The key for Washington is to make these types of catches with consistency, to open the eyes of Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner and to gain the trust of Roethlisberger. That’s what Washington is thinking, no matter what you think of him after his preseason opener performance.
“You can’t think too highly of yourself right now,” Washington said. “This is the first game, the first preseason game. I’ve got to keep building off of this.”
It’s a must to gain the Steelers’ trust. If Washington is going to do better this year, he’s off to a good start.
Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email atkgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter .
Categories: Sports | Steelers | Kevin Gorman Columns
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Saturday, August 10, 2019
Friday, August 09, 2019
Best in Steelers camp so far?? An obvious, but important, answer
By Tim Benz
https://triblive.com/sports/tim-benz-whos-had-the-best-camp-so-far-an-obvious-but-important-answer/August 9, 2019
At the end of the first week of Steelers training camp, I get the same question every year.
Friends, family, acquaintances, emails, tweets.
“So, who looks good up there?”
That. And, “How they gonna be?”
I better have a prediction ready. And it better not be off. Not by one game.
So, here it is: 16-0. See you in Miami.
If not 16-0 and a Super Bowl win, probably 0-16Now, as far as who looks good, that one is easy.
However, I apologize. The answer is going to be really boring.
It shouldn’t be. This should be the best possible response. And it should be exciting.
The answer is JuJu Smith-Schuster. No one has been more impressive in camp than he has.
He looks bigger, faster, stronger and more flexible than in his first two seasons.
As if they weren’t excellent enough.
But it’s true. On a daily basis, Smith-Schuster makes at least one body-contorting grab, often down the sideline on deep routes in — dare I say it — ”Tony Toe Tap” fashion.
It doesn’t seem like a sexy thing to say, “Hey! JuJu looks great.”
He’s been wonderful in his first two seasons as a Steeler. The Southern Cal product totaled 2,343 yards over his first 30 regular-season games. He also snared 14 touchdowns in that time.
This offseason, though, Smith-Schuster’s job got more difficult. He’s gone from being the complement to All-Pro Antonio Brown to replacing Brown as Ben Roethlisberger’s top target.
So far at Saint Vincent College, he has done nothing to dissuade those who feel he is capable.
“I’m coming in to work,” Smith-Schuster said on Day 1 of camp. “JuJu came in to work. It’s not about me. It’s about the team.”
Annually, when training camp starts, most folks like to find a name that no one knows. A perceived “camp darling” that blossoms from obscurity to fight his way onto the roster.
Saying that a reigning Team MVP is standing out as your vote for camp darling is no fun.
However, when that Team MVP may have the most daunting task in front of him, and he appears to be up to the challenge, it’s worthy of praise.
On Day 1 of practices, Smith-Schuster adjusted to a slightly underthrown ball and dragged both feet just along the sideline for a completion while falling to the turf. It was a tricky catch, yet somehow never in doubt.
On Tuesday, he snatched a perfectly threaded ball from Big Ben between two defenders in the end zone and maintained control while getting both feet down.
A dive on a slant here. A spin around on a tough back-shoulder fade there. Smith-Schuster’s camp has been one long session of “can you top this?” against himself.
To a degree, Smith-Schuster’s ascension was anticipated. He’s a second-round pick with a good track record. But there is a difference between doing a good job in his heightened role and potentially making us all forget Brown was ever here.
I always thought Smith-Schuster was capable of the former. I’m somehow starting to believe he’s capable of the latter, too.
Given my appreciation for how good Brown is, I never saw that coming.
“The one constant was always Antonio for eight or nine years,” offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said. “You could guarantee that he was the X (receiver). We never moved Antonio from that position.
“We’ve moved JuJu to some of those (X-Receiver) spots.”
I’m not someone who falls into the all-too-easy habit of gushing over any little thing that Smith-Schuster does.
Nothing annoys me more than the constant media fawning over every social media post from JuJu. I don’t care at all about his prom photos, his gender reveals, his snappy commercials, his bike or his dog.
Especially when his social media persona is a heckuva lot more friendly than his personal, local media interactions.
But I’ll freely heap praise on what I’ve seen from Smith-Schuster this summer on the field. He appears ready for an extra helping of responsibilities, then asking for seconds.
And the Steelers are best served if they keep feeding him every bite he wants.
So, yeah. Matt Feiler continues to be a rock at right tackle. Ola Adeniyi is opening eyes rushing the passer. Kam Kelly keeps batting balls away at safety. Trey Edmunds is going to be a hard cut at running back.
But if you are asking me who is the most pleasant surprise of training camp so far, it’s Smith-Schuster.
Surprising, only because I thought the standard set by Brown was out of reach.
Now I’m wondering whether Smith-Schuster may be closer than I ever had a right to expect.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@tribweb.com or viaTwitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
Categories: Sports | Steelers | Tim Benz Breakfast With
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Thursday, August 08, 2019
In rare podcast appearance, Penguins’ Sidney Crosby tells shaggy dog story
By Jonathan Bombulie
August 7, 2019
By the time he was 18, Sidney Crosby was already a world-class NHL player.
A world-class pet owner? Not as much.
During an appearance on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, a Barstool Sports production hosted by former Pittsburgh Penguins players Paul Bissonnette and Ryan Whitney, Crosby told a story from his first pro season when he lived with Mario Lemieux and his family.
They convinced him to get a dog.
“I was like, ‘I don’t know if I need a dog right now,’” Crosby said. “I can barely do my own laundry.”
One night, returning home after a game, his nose let him know something had gone wrong while he was at work.
“I come back after the game and I smell something. I’m like, ‘What is that?’” Crosby said. “The puppy definitely (pooped) somewhere in the house. I’ve got to find out where this is.
“So I’m like looking everywhere, all over the house. Finally, I come around the corner and he’s cleaning up all this (poop) everywhere in the kitchen. I’m like, ‘Oh my God. I’m so embarrassed.’ Mario Lemieux’s cleaning up my dog (poop). This is so backwards. This should not be happening.”
Crosby still has the dog, he noted.
“Fourteen-year-old Sam,” Crosby said.
Crosby is one of the most interviewed athletes in all of sports, but a long-form appearance on a podcast was rare. Bissonnette and Whitney, as friends and former teammates, got him to open up on a variety of topics.
He discussed his reaction to the Penguins winning the draft lottery, his rivalry with Alex Ovechkin, being injured during Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final, his relationship with Marc-Andre Fleury and his confrontation with P.K. Subban during the 2017 finals.
During a rare moment of actual hockey conversation, Crosby revealed the one part of his game he’s working the hardest on as he gets older.
“Speed,” Crosby said. “That’s just part of getting older is you slow down a little bit. You’ve just got to slow that curve.”
Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jonathan by email atjbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter .
Wednesday, August 07, 2019
Steelers 1st-round pick Devin Bush ‘as advertised’
By Joe Rutter
August 6, 2019
(Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review)
Nearly 30 minutes after the Family Fest practice concluded Sunday night, Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick Devin Bush still was roaming around the south end zone at Heinz Field.
After his first taste of football at his home stadium, Bush spent extra time signing autographs, conducting interviews and showing family members around the facility.
It was almost like he didn’t want to leave.
“It was fun,” Bush said. “Just to get the atmosphere, get the feel of the fans in the stadium, get to know your way around, where your sideline is, where you do your pregame warmups, it felt like home.”
Bush won’t have to wait long to get the next taste of that environment. The Steelers open the preseason schedule Friday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with the stakes taken a notch higher.
For Bush, it will be his first game experience as a professional football player.
“I’m super excited,” Bush said.
He’s not alone. His position coach, former Steelers linebacker Jerry Olsavsky, is eager to see how Bush, whom the Steelers traded up 10 spots to take in the first round, fares in his professional debut.
“That’s the next step you have to take,” Olsavsky said Tuesday before practice at Saint Vincent. “How are you in battle? He practiced Sunday at the stadium, so he got familiar with the surroundings. (Now it’s) ‘Hey, what’s it like when (it’s the real thing).’ ”
Bush is listed as the second-team left inside linebacker on the depth chart the Steelers released Tuesday. Veteran free-agent signing Mark Barron occupies the first team alongside right inside linebacker Vince Williams.
Williams, though, is working his way back from a hamstring injury. Coach Mike Tomlin typically only gives his starters — at least the few who actually dress — a cursory look in the preseason opener, which means Bush could see plenty of snaps.
Thanks to some coincidental scheduling, the game will feature Bush and the other top inside linebacker from the April draft. Tampa Bay drafted LSU junior Devin White with the No. 5 overall pick. Five selections later, the Steelers rook Bush, a junior from Michigan.
“You don’t know how long either one will be in there,” Olsavsky said. “Devin (Bush) is a competitor, I’m sure he knows who he’s playing and stuff like that. Really, all of the guys when you get up here, you’re very competitive and you want to be the best guy on the field at your position.
“The fact they both came out and were high picks will add a little bit more, but they already are high-level competitors.”
Bush has impressed coaches with how quickly he has learned the playbook. Since the beginning of training camp, he has rotated into the first-team inside linebacker rotation with Williams and Barron. Tasked with providing the speed at inside linebacker that has been missing since Ryan Shazier’s spinal cord injury in December 2017, Bush could open the season as a starter, which Shazier did in 2014. Barron could replace Williams in subpackages, which the Steelers play almost 75 percent of the time.
Olsavsky smiled when he was asked how much Bush has grown as a player since he started practicing with the Steelers.
“He’s pretty grown,” he said. “That’s the thing. There’s not a lot. He’s doing a real good job of understanding what we’re doing. Sometimes, we switch from day to day. He’s really adaptable. He can do everything. He’s as advertised.”
Outside linebacker T.J. Watt, who started as a rookie in 2017, echoed that sentiment.
“He takes whatever you put on his plate, and he’s doing a great job with it,” Watt said. “He’s also being very aggressive. I’ve very impressed with him.”
Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe by email atjrutter@tribweb.com or via Twitter .
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Tuesday, August 06, 2019
These Steelers could benefit from Hall of Fame expansion
{L.C. Greenwood, Andy Russell and Donnie Shell should be in the Hall of Fame...I don't care how many 70's Steelers have already been inducted...that seems irrelevant. - jtf}
By Mark Madden
https://triblive.com/sports/mark-madden-these-steelers-could-benefit-from-hall-of-fame-expansion/
August 5, 2019
L.C. Greenwood
In 2020, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will induct a one-time-only class of 20 new members to commemorate the NFL’s 100th anniversary. Ten senior-era players will be included.
Nine players from the Steelers’ dynasty in the 1970s are enshrined in Canton.
Does this decision open the door for more?
A survey of my Twitter followers (2,941 voting) suggests defensive end L.C. Greenwood deserves a spot.
A very informal poll of Pittsburgh football media also chose Greenwood.
But one of said media put it best: “None. Seriously.”
I concur. Nine is plenty. Enough already with the Steelers of the ’70s.
It would be better if safety Troy Polamalu made it in his first year of eligibility, or if Alan Faneca made it after missing out the last four years despite being the best guard of his generation.
Receiver Hines Ward will never make it. Ward’s stats don’t cut it, and being football’s best blocking receiver ever adds little. He’s barely in this discussion.
But Polamalu, Faneca and Ward aren’t senior-era players. (Senior-era players are defined are having been retired for more than 25 years.)
It seems difficult to believe that 10 senior-era players legitimately worthy of induction have slipped through the cracks.
But if they have, it’s logical to think that players from that Steelers’ dynasty in the ’70s could be among them. It’s arguably the greatest football team of all time.
My poll included tackle/tight end Larry Brown, Greenwood, safety Donnie Shell and safety Mike Wagner.
Linebacker Andy Russell was left off because Twitter only allows four choices. But he’s an interesting candidate.
Russell first played for the Steelers in 1963. He was with the team when it was terrible. He made second-team All-Pro in 1968, when the Steelers won twice, and in 1970 when they won five games. He was second team again in ‘72, first team in ‘75. He made seven Pro Bowls and won two Super Bowls.
Does Russell’s excellence when the Steelers were bad burnish his case?
Shell has the best raw credentials: 51 career interceptions, first-team All-Pro three times, second-team All-Pro once, five Pro Bowls, four rings.
Greenwood was first-team All-Pro twice. He made six Pro Bowls. He was second-team All-Decade as per the NFL.
Like Brown, Shell and Wagner, Greenwood won four rings. But Greenwood had a standout Super Bowl performance: Four sacks in Super Bowl X, a 21-17 victory over Dallas on Jan. 18, 1976. That’s a Super Bowl record that still stands.
That should help Greenwood. (Ward’s MVP in Super Bowl XL makes his meager chances a bit better.)
But Greenwood is also dead. Does it mean as much to induct someone posthumously, especially all these years later?
Brown and Wagner are minimally qualified, relatively speaking.
Brown made three Pro Bowls. The late Chuck Noll said he was the best of the ’70s Steelers not in the hall.
Wagner got first- and second-team All-Pro once each. He made two Pro Bowls.
Andy Russell
The argument for Russell is a bit different, and thus compelling.
Noll’s first Steelers team went 1-13 in 1969. When the franchise won its first Super Bowl five years later, Russell was one of just five remaining from that ‘69 team, and the best.
But if you put me to a choice, I’d say Greenwood. His exploits in Super Bowl X put him over the top.
Frustration about Faneca is now an annual story. Faneca was first-team All-Pro six times, second team twice. He made nine Pro Bowls. He made first-team All-Decade. He won a ring. How much more qualified could he be?
Polamalu should be a lock in his first year of eligibility. Polamalu was first-team All-Pro four times, second team twice. Eight Pro Bowls. Second-team All-Decade. NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2010. A human highlight reel.
But the selection process involves 48 men debating, so nothing is assured.
It would be funny to see Polamalu make Canton on the first ballot when he missed out on the Steelers’ Hall of Honor in his first crack at that.
Polamalu should get in. So should Faneca. One Steeler from the ’70s could.
But, even in an expanded class of 20, would the hall induct three Steelers?
Canton should have a wing for the greatest teams ever. Maybe one from each decade. It’s a team game, after all. Nobody would argue honoring those ’70s Steelers thusly.
Categories: Sports | Steelers | Mark Madden Columns | Top Stories
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