‘Very Close, If Not Better:’ James Harrison Weighs In On Watt/Highsmith Combo Versus Woodley/Himself

‘Very Close, If Not Better:’ James Harrison Weighs In On Watt/Highsmith Combo Versus Woodley/Himself - Steelers Depot

 

pretty impressive.

we have had some great tandems, that is for sure. Greene / Lloyd got it started.

in the 3 - 4, that is........

 

Until the current duo performs a strip sack to seal victory in the Super Bowl Harrison/Woolley are better.

 

Or 99 yard interception return?

 

I figure that’s a feat that’s extremely unlikely to happen ever again so it was left off. A cb might do it or maybe even an ilb, but not an olb

 

Plus honestly, I want to see them shore up their individual run defense. Lloyd and Greene rarely were burned on containment losses. Same with harrison and woodley. They will get better!

 

the 4 year period the article mentions - Harrison had 20 forced fumbles - that's a huge number. Woodley's sack on Warner to finish the game - Woodley was a beast on that play.

 

I thought I remembered Lambert still playing when they started the 3-4, no? What year did they switch over to it?

 

1982 so Ham and Lambert played in a 3-4, albeit briefly

 

Agreed.

 

Team sports....This is possible that Woodley and Harrison duo was better and I have no problem with that since they were great but the supporting cast on both side of the ball is not the same too

 

Or stop giving up contain like Highsmith was doing all almost the1st half of the Ravens game. Hell He was the reason they scored that td run. Although they pretty much fixed it in the 2nd half. Hmmm
I thought our Coaches didn't make adjustments.

 

If Harrison was still on the team and playing we would have beat Jacksonville

 

Not sure who the better duo is. It's a good problem to have, debating who is better

I'll say this though, Harrison was more fun to watch. The dude was just straight up mean and crushed guys. The game has changed though. Can't play that way about.

 

No, they usually make the wrong ones!

 

TRUTH. Sadly Harrison WAS on the team earlier that same season and was denied the opportunity to even compete for pt. We paid for that.

 

I thought Shazier would have made a difference. Now both of them would have been a sheer joy to watch.

 

Woodley was a beast in those playoffs.

 

I highly doubt a part-time situational pass rusher would have turned that game.

My bad. I'm not sure why I responded to an old thread. Maybe the comparison was close two years ago when Watt was still the best defensive player in the game, but I'd still take Harrison and Woodley.

 

I didn’t realize this was a necro post and I was thinking who left the back door open and Silverback snuck back in

 

That was the problem. He should have started with TJ.
THE POSTSEASON BEFORE WE DRAFTED TJ, JH had 20 tackles in the playoffs, these were his last starts as a Steeler. He was WAY BETTER than Dupree. He was the best defender on the field despite being old.

Add the playoff CAREERS of TJ and Highsmith TOGETHER and you do not have 20 tackles (18).

His coverage might not be great which was the stated reason they stopped playing him but HE RETIRED a better run defender than and OLBER on that team that sat him.

His only game with appreciable minutes his last season he played only 28 percent of the snaps.

He led the outside backers in tackles and was the only one with a sack.

He ABSOLUTELY could be the difference maker in Jacksonville a game where we got dominated in the run, QB had all day to throw, and Dupree and TJ did jack squat.

 

Fun fact.
TJ has 8 playoff tackles for his career.
Deebo has 8 playoff tackles as a Patriot the year we benched him.

TJ has 8 tackles and 1 sack in his playoff career.
Deebo had 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks IN ONE PLAYOFF GAME against the Fins, the year before we drafted TJ.
For this we benched him the next year.

 

Woodley had more sacks in 2008 playoffs alone (6) than the Dupree, TJ, and Highsmith has had COMBINED during their Steeler playoff careers.

 

A case can be made that Woodley is far and away the most prolific post season pass rusher in history.
His first 4 playoff games he had 2 sacks each, the next 3 a sack each. He has only one playoff game without a sack, his last one.

He is tied for 10th in playoff sacks, and all of them were between 2007 season and 2010 season playoffs.

He is ahead of the likes of Strahan, and LT. Only one behind Reggie White. And NOBODY did it in so few games.

Criticized for slow starts for showing up fat, he is incredibly underappreciated by fans for being the beast he was in the postseason.

Kevin Greene gets way more love but in 6 playoff games as a Steeler he got 1.5 sacks total. Woodley got more than KGs Steeler career playoff total in EACH OF HIS FIRST 4 GAMES as a Steeler.

 

And two years later Highsmith is still struggling with containing the run.

Wk 14; Ravens rushing yards by location vs PIT: