Bill Cowher Names His Top 5 Steelers Defensive Players Of All-Time

Well, we’re not talking about players from two different franchises. We’re talking about Steelers players.
Lambert bumps white off this list because not only did he have great success in the regular season. He was also an impactful player in the postseason.
Plus, I’m looking at it more from the fact that I believe Lambert overall was a better linebacker.
Again, it’s just my opinion.

 

Woodson did have some playoff success with the Steelers. Much more when he left.
Another guy I love is Cameron Heyward But he has totally disappeared when he’s been in the playoffs.

 

Cowher's a smart man! Although I'd pick Rod Woodson #1! Lil' biased but there have been some absolute studs on that side of the ball for the Steelers over the past 5-6 decades or so!

One thing about Woodson, is that he was a key defender but he also helped a lot, early in his career in the return game (Punts/KO).

 

It's an interesting debate to have, but putting that onus on players like Watt (and Woodson) is a different proposition than for the guys of the 70s. After the current system of free agency was established in 1993 it became more difficult to keep good teams together than in previous eras.

 

Sorry, those were just examples, and they were supposed to help make what I was saying more clear, but it looks like they added to the confusion. And I wasn't trying to debate about Lambert. You're not alone, seems like most people agree with you that Super Bowl rings are the primary consideration for what makes a player great. I've just never gotten an answer as to why before. Can you speak to the logic that Player A can be objectively better than Player B at the same position, but Player A deserves to be considered worse because his teammates and coordinators weren't as good as Player B's?

 

I think Dan Marino may be a good comparison. For a long time he led in most QB stats, but QB’s that were great In the the post season and won Super Bowls were held in higher regard. It may not be fair, but postseason and Super Bowls seem to matter more.
I definitely get what you’re saying though. It’s hard to find a better LB In Steelers history than Watt.

How long does it take Bettis to get into the HOF without that SB victory?

 

I get that and it’s hard to argue against Watt as much as it’s hard to argue against Lambert.
IMO the tiebreaker is that Postseason success.
How often do we see a highlight of Lambert’s big plays in the post season as opposed to Watt’s? Interesting question no?

 

Also I’d like to say I appreciate the nice debate without the normal nonsense. Very nice. Same applies to @Thor

 

This is the list I had in my head before I opened the post. Except I had it:
Joe
Mel
Troy
Jack
Rod

 

lol you got the wrong guy, I'm like 99% nonsense.

I'm not making a case for Watt or any individual player, just the concept that ranking individual performance should be based on individual performance, not uncontrollable external factors. Now if Dan Marino threw a Neil O'Donnell-style INT to make his team lose the Super Bowl, then of course his "lack of hardware" should be taken into consideration, because it was his fault, his performance. If he has a perfect game and then throws 2 would-be TDs that were dropped by the receivers on the last 2 plays of the game, and they lose as a result, I wouldn't hold it against him at all.

It sounds like you're talking about it from the perspective of other people, like, "Hey this is just how people think." But the conversation at hand is about each individual's personal opinion: how would YOU rank these players? So this is your chance to make it fair, and just choose based on how well they played and weed out all the stuff they can't possibly control. Yes, you could come up with examples where Super Bowl wins/losses fairly contribute to an individual's legacy, but I was asking specifically about the opposite - why would you assess someone's individual performance better or worse based on things completely removed, like if his team's punt returner fumbled three times? I'm playing by your rules here, you said in your opinion they need hardware to make it onto a list of top individual players.

 

I would respectfully disagree with ranking Mel ahead of Rod. Now mind you, I am not saying you are wrong, merely that in my opinion-as someone who saw them both during their entire careers- I rank Rod a tad higher.

And here is why.

Everything great that's been said about Mel Blount is true- his 1975 season is probably the greatest season by a cornerback in NFL history, and yes they did change the rules because of the way he played.

However, I also - and again, not trying to say anyone is wrong, this is just my opinion- look at Mel's entire career with the Steelers v. Rod's and come out with Woodson ahead.

There are three phases to Mel's career- the first part -1970-1974 in which he became a starting CB for the Steelers, the second part from 1975-1979 in which he was the best DB in the league- and the final part, 1980-1983, in which his play declined considerably. Unfortunately in the end changing the rules against him did work, and he was burned a bunch of times at the end of his career.

Now granted 14 years in the league as a corner is great, and he still made the Pro Bowl on rep a couple times at the end. However, as late as 1974 he was considered to be the weak link in the Steelers secondary- you can read as much in the Super Bowl IX program preview. In the 1974 AFC championship game Cliff Branch absolutely roasted Mel, setting a playoff yardage record that lasted for many years, to the point where Bud Carson pulled him from the game and replaced him with- wait for it- Jimmy Allen #45- who shut out Branch the rest of the way. I believe that game motivated Blount, who was given his starting job back for the Super Bowl in which he had an awesome game, and the rest was history. (This also motivated Jimmy, whom I knew the last 10 years of his life, to run his mouth about his playing abilities and eventually right off the team- which was too bad, because he became a great safety for the Lions and the Steelers certainly could have used him in the early 1980s. But I digress...)

The other thing about Rod was that he was a Pro Bowl caliber return man, perhaps the best punt returner in team history, and he was an excellent pass rusher. It is this last that elevates Rod for me- he hit a ton, I think he had 7 sacks from CB one year which is crazy, and I recall him absolutely pancaking Warren Moon in a memorable Steelers win in 1992. Now Rod did benefit from a position change late in his career (after leaving the Steelers) which made his end phase more productive than Mel's.

So, again I know you can't totally go by career declines- by that measure you could rank Bradshaw ahead of Ben because Terry retired before he started to go downhill. But, like I said, this is just one fan's opinion, one who had the immense pleasure to watch them both for his favorite team.

 

I agree with this list with Watt #6 and Ham #7.

 

I like the list but..............................

Jack Lambert forever sealed the #1 spot with me back in 1980? Vs Earl Campbell and the Houston Oilers.
58 was on him all day.... Never got close to 100yards.
I love all the other guys on that list too.
TJ is a wrecking machine, he just ruins every OC's day.

 

It is. Of course Lambert played in 18 postseason games; Watt currently has three. They also keep track of more stats now than then, so if you haven't seen both play you don't have much to fall back on for comparison.

Hopefully TJ get more chances to make some highlight reels of his own.

 

This 199%

 

The only SB we reached while He was on the team.....he was injured on the sidelines the whole season.

 

Mel Blount is My number 1. Always.

 

I think you have to look at a little bit different.
It's just impossible to have a top 5.
So then figure out who absolutely must be on the list, no matter what.

For me, it's Mean Joe, Troy and Mel Blount. I just don't think the list is complete without them.
The other 2 spots, who knows. There's 10 guys that could take those spots. But the 3 I mentioned, they have to be there. They were truly game changers and opposing QB's had to obsess over those guys.

Mean Joe is who he is. One of the greatest defensive players ever. He turned around our team. He's #1 on almost every list for a reason.
The league changed the rules because of Blount. He took half the field away. He beat up on WR's, and when he wasn't doing that, he was picking off the ball. Even after the rule change, he was a stud.
Then there's Troy, easily my favourite defensive player of all time. Truly a game changer, maybe more than anyone else ever. He did so many little things that didn't really show up on the stat sheet. Sure, tackles are counted, but show me the category that tracks him jumping over the Oline and sacking the QB. Or showing blitz then dropping back 30 yards and getting a pick. He was a lineman, a linebacker and a cornerback all in one, sometimes all those things on the same play. The dude is an exception to almost every rule out there. I miss watching him play.

 

I can't argue with that.

Personally, I've stopped trying to compare different eras altogether. I used to think it was fun, but now it kind of bums me out for some reason. Like I'm trying to do a puzzle with no solution. I guess it's because I like to be right, and I have very strong opinions, but it's straight up impossible to be right sometimes when you're comparing eras. It's practically like different sports. Different rules, different levels of competition, different everything. Who's to say that guy from the 70s would have been able to hang with the competition of today? Who's to say that guy from the 2020s would have survived more than a year with the more violent nature of the 70s? I think there are only a select few who really transcend generations, where it's really clear they would have been all-time greats at any point. They are usually the ones who are physical freaks and also gifted in every other way. I'm thinking Barry Sanders, Jerry Rice, Troy Polamalu, for starters.

I think Barry and Jerry are clear-cut #1s for the best players at their positions all-time, and for just about everyone else, I can't say, because the eras are so different. I'm having a hard time imagining a better SS than Troy though.

I do like doing this kind of thing within eras, though.

 

I don't know how you can't have Lambert and Ham in a Steelers all-time top five. They both made the NFL's 100th Anniversary Team!!! Greene, Blount and Woodson also made the NFL's 100th Anniversary Team but I give a bit more credence to true lifetime Steelers which Woodson wasn't.