Steelers' four-time Super Bowl-winning, Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Ham joined the 93.7 the Fan's Cook and Joe Show on Friday morning to chat football. He happily said he's never been involved in any game as bad as the 38-3 loss Pittsburgh suffered against the Buffalo Bills but recalled one time when legendary Head Coach Chuck Noll accused the team of throwing the game.
“He (Noll) said 'If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you threw that football game.' Because we were playing so bad at halftime. That was the first time I was ever accused of trying to lose a football game on purpose,” Ham said with a laugh. “It was funny many years after the fact but, it wasn’t funny at the time.”
Credit: Pittsburgh Steelers
The game Ham was likely referring to was a 34-10 loss by Pittsburgh in Week 7 in 1979 at the hands of the Cincinnati Bengals. The team was 5-1 entering the matchup and the Bengals were 0-6.
Steelers kicker Matt Bahr opened the scoring with a 46-yard field goal but that was all the team's offense could muster in the first half. They lost seven of nine fumbles in the game as the Bengals built up a 27-3 halftime lead. Terry Bradshaw found John Stallworth for a 33-yard score to help Pittsburgh make the score look a little more respectable.
Ham's Thoughts on 2022 Steelers D
When it came time to talk about the current iteration of the Steelers, the six-time All-Pro who patrolled the left side of the Steelers' defense from 1971-1982 had lots of praise for another potential all-time Steeler great on the left side, T.J. Watt.
Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher, TJ Watt (#90) participates in the 2022 training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA. | Credit: Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
“First of all, if I’m T.J. Watt I’m going to get my contract renegotiated because he’s more valuable than even he thought he was," Ham said after host Ron Cook asked about the Steelers 0-8 record without him. "What I love about him, he’s got from Wisconsin and coming here to Pittsburgh, he continues to work at getting better each and every game.”
Steelers great Jack Ham sounded off on the team with the #CookandJoeShow today!
— 93.7 The Fan (@937theFan) October 14, 2022
Check out the full interview here: https://t.co/yigmiDpu55 pic.twitter.com/wKLIzSfBZpHam elaborated on how teams might change things with their offense going up against Pittsburgh without the 2021 AP Defensive Player of the Year.
"Obviously, teams will turn protection towards Watt. The running back or tight end might chip him which means they’re in the passing game. There’s a domino effect but it shouldn’t be this much," he said.
COMING TO THE STEELERS BUCS GAME? COME TO THE TERRIBLE TAILGATE - GET YOUR TICKETS HERE
The other issue that is plaguing the Steelers' defense according to the Johnstown, PA native is their depth. The team is struggling mightily to get to the quarterback since Watt went down.
"What we’re talking about here is depth. You’d better be deep and so the drop-off is not huge when you insert someone else in there, who can maybe not play as great as Watt but can be manageable in there. It’s more of personnel issue right now."
So far Malik Reed, acquired in a trade with the Broncos to give the Steelers some insurance at linebacker, is listed as the starter on Pittsburgh's depth chart and has yet to make much of an impact with just a pair of quarterback hits in five games. Alex Highsmith is on track for a career year statistically but, has struggled to be as effective with offenses not having to worry about the monster of Watt.
A myriad of injuries to the secondary through five weeks mixed with nagging injuries to Cam Heyward has really put the pressure on the Steelers' depth to perform.
Ham pondered that the loss of one player shouldn't affect a defense this much. For the Steelers so far in 2022, it was one giant gash to lose Watt but the defense continues to suffer lots of cuts with each and every injury report.
So, Steeler Nation, what do you think of Ham's comments? Is it really fair to say the defensive struggles are all on Watt? As always Steelers fans, let us know in the comment section below or on our social media feeds.
#SteelerNation
