Most underrated Steeler.

Hollywood Bags, L.C. Greenwood. Deserves to be in the HOF but has been penalized because of the dynasty that he was a part of.

Another underrated Steeler was Jim Smith. I always said that if he’d played somewhere else he would have been a superstar receiver. Playing behind Swann and Stallworth when there wasn’t many receptions to go around was a hindrance to his career.

 

Barry Foster was a beast when healthy. Just retired too abruptly.

 

Carnell Lake for me.

 

Lawrence Timmons was a beast. I'll add Jeff Hartings.

Let's not forget the forgotten Kreider and Lester paving the way for the BUS!

 

Probably Jason Gildon … held team sack record for quite a few years. Doesn’t really get his due.

 

For all of the same reasons Aaron Smith.

Heath should have been more of a weapon and better stats on his career like Dallas Clark.

Could we say TJ right now with his DPOY snubs?

 

Dennis ‘Dirt’ Winston

How many mid draft picks get a nickname?

 

A lot of good names given. Here is mine Lynn (not Swann) but Chandnois

 

Mike Merriweather

 

Aaron Smith should be at the top of the list. He was the perfect lineman for their scheme at the time. Part of the reason he didn't get enough respect was that they weren't really using pressures and win rate like they are now. He was constantly in the backfield, constantly creating opportunities for others to make plays.

 

James Harrison's peak was only five years, not long enough for the Hall of Fame, but he was an absolute monster. Other than Lawrence Taylor, there aren't many outside linebacker's I'd take over Harrison in his prime. He was an unstoppable pass rusher, dominant against the run, and he could make plays in coverage. He also made arguably the greatest play in Super Bowl history.

 

Louis Lipps. He gets buried in obscurity with all the great WRs Steelers have had over the years.

 

Randy Grossman TE his Jewish mother told him if a ball comes your way you keep it

Steve Furness DL sports illustrated listed him as the 5th best DL in the league and said he sat on the bench because he was behind Greene Greenwood Holmes and White

 

Jim Smith might have been the 3rd best WR in the league but didn't get much playing time behind Swann and Stallworth. There were no 3 or 4 WR sets back then, the offense had one receiver that was the split end and the other one was a flanker. There were always a TE and two RB's in the game in that era.

 

Andy Russell for me. Yes he made numerous Pro Bowls, but he was so overshadowed by Lambert and Ham he became almost invisible and forgotten by the fan base. Most here will say LC Greenwood is our biggest HOF snub, but I think Andy is an even bigger snub.

 

Mike Wagner or Carnell Lake or Aaron Smith

 

You aren't kidding. NOD was Master of the button hook completion - rarely if ever did he hit a receiver in stride downfield. That's why even with his defects, I liked Mike Tomczak because he could hit the occasional bomb vs NOD.

 

BIG SNACK! Steelers were at top of the league in run D when he was in his prime but haven't found that success since his departure a long time ago.

 

I was a big fan of his in the '80s, but the guy never caught more than 59 passes in a season. He was one of the top few receivers in the game in 1985, but poor quarterback play suppressed his numbers and he flamed out relatively young.

 

Lipps was born too late... too young for the 70's dynasty. Born too early and missed out on 90's Blitzburgh, Cowher, etc. He got caught up in 80's Steelers purgatory.

 

I thought of him but he was a 5 time pro bowl

That doesn’t seem to fit “underrated “

 

Louis’ wife and Cajun friends do a really nice tailgate once a year that I got invited into last October

Louis kind of stood back in a corner away from people so I left him alone although he kept looking at me strangely probably because in the middle of a bunch of large black ex football players there was one little white guy

His wife and friends are excellent people and one guy made fantastic fried catfish

 

Lipps was a guest at the party after my Bar Mitzvah. This was right after the 1985 season, his best as a pro. My father decided that because I was such a big Steelers fan, he wanted to get one of them to show up at the party. He tried going through the team and was told they don't do stuff like that. Somehow, he got a hold of a number for Lipps, who had never met any of us, and talked him into it. (My father was a hell of a salesman.)

Lipps congratulated me, signed some autographs, and had my cousins bring him drinks from the bar and updates from the Browns-Dolphins playoff game. He hated the Browns. His date actually said more to me than he did. She asked me who was better, Frank Pollard or Walter Abercrombie. After I told her Pollard, she told me she was Abercrombie's sister.

 

There are so many that can be added to this list, but for me, the number one underrated player is easily Keith Willis

 

Mike Wagner and Donnie Shell