Young vs old

OK so I just read an article about the steelers players from 2004-2011. It was a well written story I would post it but my phone isn't letting me right now. He was talking about everything they accomplished and some of the players on those team. My question is will we ever view these players in the same way we view the steel curtain. You could make the argument Harrison was our most dominant lber ever. He has the rings and the personal achievements and was not just a pass rush specialist. You don't see many olbs having 10+ sacks and 100+ tackles and that was his average. I would always laugh when people would argue Mathews,and ware were as good as Harrison because you could add their tackles together and they barely reached Harrison solo tackles. Fancy, Ward, Bettis, Troy, Farrior, and so on IMO these guys deserve and have earned the right to be spoken in the same breath with the guys from the 70s. PS I know a lot of you old timers are going to disagree with me on Harrison.

 

Not me
i think the new guys are much better than the old guys

 

Interesting question.

For me, the steel curtain is what it is not just because of their dominance, but also because it was the birth of the modern Steelers as we know it now - there was nothing before that to compare to, so they (for me) really kick off what "Pittsburgh Steelers" means. Any other group - the Blitzburgh of the 90s, or the players you mention, can't be viewed in the same way simply because the Steel Curtain came first, and they were era-defining.

Harrison was certainly a symbol of the team at one point, and deserves to be up there with the best Steelers of all time. However, I'm not sure I'd go as far as most dominant ever. Too many variables to make that call.

 

I believe you will never have the dominant defense like you had with the "Steel Curtain, Blitzburgh or 46 defense". I think it's a thing of the past. Look at the league now. There is not one defense that strikes fear like those mentioned above in the league right now.

I think it's the sign of the rules for the offense and free agency. I think you will see alot of good defenses but nothing that you can count on like those I mentioned. You will need an explosive offense to get anywhere in the league now and that's sad.

Even when we were leading the league in stats defensively, do you think we were actually #1? did you have confindence in our defense like we use to have with Blitzburgh? I did not. I use to love to have our defense on the field. But now, and over the past few years, not so much.

 

Defenders hands have been tied a lot more now than back then. The rules have changed and obviously favor the offense, so it's really hard to compare the days of old to today.

 

No they won't ever be the steel curtain. Free agency and the ME mentality are here to stay, it's just not possible to have that long term impact of a roster like the 70's defenses. Yes you'll have individual stats that look impressive in comparison, but not the same synergies. They were flat out dominant in the 70's. Bears in 85, dominant, our guys from 04-11... good, but not dominant IMHO.

 

Those defenses were every bit as dominant as the ones you mentioned. How many years were they number 1. Teams just gave up and stopped trying to run on us. The steelers defense will go down as the last feared defense.

 

Some of those defenses were dominant but not all. And I honestly don't believe they struck fear like the ones I mentioned. Maybe one year. And even two years ago when we were stat wise number 1, I don't think we were that good.

 

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-01-29/sports/0901281162_1_steelers-steel-curtain-defense

 

Great article. That 2008 Steelers Defense was very good. And I agree. But when we were number one in stats last year or the year before it did not seem we were that great.

 

they were all steelers, what's the big issue? why define it any different?

 

Yeah we were number 1 in yards not yards, points, and pass yards plus second in the league in rushing. All that in the offensive era is pretty nasty

 

How many shutouts did the late 70s defense have? How many did the 04-11 defense have?

 

Different offenses like the article said back then there were basically two offensive formations not the plethora of formations they face today. Also that 08 team faced 5 of the top 11 offenses. Imagine if ike Taylor could jam a wr all the way down the field qb's would never complete a pass against him.

 

I consider the 1976 Defense the best ever... http://www.steelersuk.com/history/seventies/1976 defense.html

 

No doubt about it. Thanks for posting the article. I think you had to live through that season and watch their dominant play week after week starting with the 5th game of the season through the championship game in Oakland to really appreciate how great they were during that span of time. Too bad the two unfortunate injuries in the Baltimore game probably cost the Steelers another SB trophy, which would have been a three-peat.

 

It may be apples and oranges but there is a way to compare. Look through stats, sorry numbers don't lie, and then compare players. It needs to be based on the time in which they played.

As far as the rules and the offensive push by the league. I'm not old enough to really see back as far as the 70s but cOuld it be just a fad? Or a sign of the times?

I guess I think that a strong defense will always win you the Super Bowl. Look at the winners. I guess I just think it could be a fart in the wind. You need a great defense. Could it not be that the offense is changing but also is the defense?

 

So very true, and you will never again see so many hall of famers like like we had with the 70's Steelers. They could have 4 or 5 games in row without teams scoring touchdowns. . But with the rule changes you will never see that again.

Defenses today is a different game, if you can keep a team from scoring 20 points your considered pretty good. If you did that back then you were a lousy defense... Just a different game today..

 

Amen, JAD...
That`s why you can count me among those who want Dick LeBeau back again...
Giving up the big plays we did this year is an anomaly...
I don`t care what players you give him to work with next year...
I can pretty much GUARN-DAMN-TEE- you, it won`t happen again!!!
And this board will still ***** about the "bend but don`t break", play recievers 10 yards off the ball(which bugs the HELL out of me), etc, etc...
It is all designed to limit the inevetibale damage, and make the offense EARN their way down the field...
Usually, there are chances for turnovers(see, Troy dedicating himself to stripping the ball, rather than just making the tackle, the last half of the year), that we weren`t getting last year, or the beginning of this one..
I hate that we aren`t the Blitzburgh, I am used to, but I see it as Dick`s reaction to the rules favoring the offense...
Sure, you want to pressure the qb, but the risk/reward thing of getting to the qb(and getting flagged for a personal foul on said qb), has changed, to where it is better to just cover the recievers...
try to hit `em clean(and hope the ref doesn`t think you hit em too hard),...
And above all else, make sure you tackle them when and where they get the ball...
Unfortunately, we have had more missed tackles, the last 3 seasons, than I have ever seen...
We used to SWARM to the ball... Not sure, where, or how, this changed, but it has...
Used o be, if the 1st guy missed a tackle, 2 more were there to make it...
Now, we seem to be leaving guys on their own to make it, and when they miss... we are screwed...
Not sure exactly what philosophy changed, but sumthin clearly has...
GO STEELERS

 

I make the comparison this way. championships. one has 4 and the other 2. you can also look at hall of famers. the current group will have 3 or 4. if anyone cant remember the 70's defense. find some footage sometime. its amazing how they could just shut you down when they wanted to. I remember a game against the oilers. some guy caught a td pass and celebrated like they won the super bowl. it was a long pass. don't remember the score at the time but steelers were up fairly big. you could read lamberts lips. he said no more. the next few possessions the oilers had negative yards. it was a beating. that group was badazz

 

another thing to point out. craig Colquitt told the story one time at a Tennessee quartback club function one time that he remembers a certain quarterback, he wouldn't name the guy, pissing his uniform at the thought of facing the steelers defense after something ernie holmes said to him on first possession.lol he said ernie wouldn't repeat it to them and he said if he did know he was sure he couldn't repeat it. doubt anyone on the more recent defense has done that

 

I m not going to argue old vs new. As a Steeler fan for 37 yrs, I just love a great defense. But I guess the 70s are my fav. I always loved how they shut a RB down.

Did Earl Campbell ever have a 100 yrd game against the Steelers?

 

The 08 team shutdown 4 of the top 5 rushers. All things considered that was an amazing defense.