Still crazy after all these years

Lest they forget la-la land noun \ ˈlä-ˌlä- Definition of la-la land 1 : a euphoric, dreamlike mental state detached from the harsher realities of life Merriam-Webster Dictionary I remember seeing this comment after one of the eight games the Pittsburgh Steelers won in 2019: That defense is awesome! They are as good as the Steel Curtain. Anonymous Steeler fan in La-La Land My reaction? The person who wrote that obviously never saw the Steel Curtain. They have a Joe Greene? Or a total package of Greene, L.C. Greenwood, Dwight White, or Ernie Holmes? Duh. Do they have any linebackers who are like Jack Lambert or Jack Ham, both of whom are now NFL Hall of Famers? Watt is good, and Bush looks like he could be good, too. But, Hall of Famers? And yes, Joe Haden and Minkah Fitzpatrick both had five interceptions. Fitzpatrick had some very good games for a rookie. But, are they comparable to Mel Blount and Donnie Shell, both Hall of Famers? Granted, some of these players are youn...

Mean Joe Greene Photo: Getty Images The way Chuck approached it, I think, made all the difference in the world. The time he gave us, the responsibility he gave us, to me was a wonderful was to approach it. Running back Franco Harris, “America’s Game, 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers,” YouTube All football coaches should learn from the pain of defeat. Chuck Noll, the winner of four Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers, certainly did, and he used it to his advantage in the first Super Bowl in which he was head coach. Before Noll was hired as Steelers coach in 1969, he was the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Colts. In his final game with the Colts, the team suffered one of the most humiliating defeats and upsets in Super Bowl history. The New York Jets were prohibitive underdogs in the game, but they used the leadership and play of quarterback Broadway Joe Namath to upset the Colts. It was the worst defeat of Noll’s life, according to his biography “Chuck Noll: His Life’s Work...

Joe Gilliam, Oct. 1974 at Three Rivers Stadium Photo by Getty Images … Gilliam’s sad demise In the preseason games of the 1974 season, the Steelers were 6-0, and Coach Chuck Noll was so impressed by his young quarterback that he decided to bench the guy who had been the team’s first draft pick in 1970. Joe Gilliam also had a rifle arm, but he possessed two things that Terry Bradshaw struggled to find in his first five years in the NFL: A tremendous knowledge of the game, and the confidence in himself to believe that he could be a great NFL QB. Unfortunately, when he was given the opportunity to start for the Steelers, he did not come through for Coach Noll. Joe Gilliam His father had been a college football coach at what is now Tennessee State University, so he had learned the rudiments of football from some very knowledgeable people. When he arrived, even the Steeler players were impressed, and he put up some big numbers as the Steelers scored 65 points in the first two...

Commissioner Pete Rozelle with Art Rooney, Sr., the Lombardi Trophy, and Game Ball Jan. 12, 1974 Photo: Associated Press … first championship in 42 years [First in a three-part series] The 1974 season did not begin propitiously for a Pittsburgh Steelers team that everyone felt would be a Super Bowl contender for the first time. However, it ended well in Tulane Stadium on Jan. 12 when the Steeler defense and a fabulous running game simply ran away from an overmatched Minnesota Vikings squad. That team now has ten players who are in, or who shortly be, the NFL Hall of Fame. They were that good, but that game was not an easy one for the Steelers. I am writing a series of stories on this Super Bowl Sunday about the game itself, about how Terry Bradshaw did not become a starting QB that year until week 7, and about how an off-the-field decision by Coach Chuck Noll showed how much better a coach he was than Bud Grant — and perhaps why he won four Super Bowls. First, the game....

Troy Polamalu with son, Paisios, now 11, after Super Bowl win ... humility the key to his character You cannot have an experience of God without humility. Troy Polamalu on what he has learned spiritually The joy that I have upon learning that former Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu has been elected to the NFL Hall of Fame is tempered by the fact that I not just like him, I respect him. Respect has to be earned. It is not something that you give just because of tremendous physical talent on the football field. What I learned about Troy perhaps a decade ago has just deepened my respect for him. I wrote this about him a few years ago, The Pittsburgh Steelers have a very devout religious player. His name is Troy Polamalu, and he is a fervent Orthodox Christian. However, he does not go through his pre-game ritual on the field. He does it alone in a private space off a hallway where he can have some peace and solitude. He has a regular religious ritual that is important for hi...