The Pittsburgh Steelers have long been known for their incredibly tough, smashmouth style of playing defense. The saying, "Defense wins championships" might have well been written for the Steelers. Starting in the '70s with the "Steel Curtain," each era of the Steelers defense seems to have its own unique moniker that describes that tough group. In the early '90s, that group was called "Blitzburgh." The founding father of Blitzburgh was Defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau and his henchmen included Greg Lloyd, Kevin Greene, Carnell Lake and Rod Woodson.
AP
Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin, left, and Defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau, right, talk on the sideline during a 2010 preseason game.
During his 12 seasons in the NFL, Lloyd experienced all the highs and lows that come with playing professional football. He took his challenging childhood experiences and channeled them into the anger he needed to be able to go out and hit people as hard as he could for a living. However, his path to being a leader on the best defense in the NFL wasn't an easy one. Lloyd recently gave an interview where he discussed some of those challenges.
Lloyd played college football at Fort Valley State University, a small, historically black university in Georgia. He wasn't getting a lot of attention coming out of college and wasn't even invited to the NFL Scouting Combine. However, he did play in the Heritage Bowl, which was the championship game for historically black universities. He had a stroke of luck that Pittsburgh has one of the only scouts in Bill Nunn who recognized the value of watching these players. He was invited to work out for the Steelers and they selected him in the sixth round of the 1987 NFL Draft. The adversity that Lloyd would experience didn't go away once he made it to the pros.
Steelers' Greg Lloyd Reminiscences About The Time Merril Hoge Cut Him
Recently, Lloyd appeared on actor Eddie Mata's podcast, The Eddie Mata Show, where he took a walk down memory lane detailing his time in the NFL. Mata asked him about his trek to the league and his first few years in the black and gold. Lloyd shared that he didn't even get to play right away after being drafted. During his first training camp, he blew out his knee, which caused him to have to sit out his entire rookie year. Then unbelievably enough at the start of the 1988 season, he injured his other knee and missed the first seven games of that season.
Don Juan Moore / Associated Press
Pittsburgh Steelers legendary NFL scout, Bill Nunn poses next to his award for being in the Black College Football Hall of Fame.
Lloyd shared with Mata that he was certain that his career would be over before it even started when he got injured the first time. He was after all only a sixth round pick from a small school. He had impressed the coaches and owner Dan Rooney with his work ethic, but they hadn't gotten to see him on the field against real competition.
"I was at Divine Providence Hospital in Pittsburgh right there on the North Side. I was laying up there, they done cut my knee open and did whatever they're going to do and nobody came to see me. The first person to come into my room to see me was The Chief [Art Rooney Sr.]. I didn't think he even knew me. He came into my room and called me by my name and said, 'Lloyd, you're going to be ok.'"
After the second knee injury, Lloyd said it was only about nine weeks after the ACL tear and the team called him up and told him he was ready to come back. He said he had rehabbed, but wasn't sure the knee was ready. But Head Coach Chuck Noll knew the only way to tell was to get him back out on the field and have him test it.
"They did this funky tape job on me and they asked me 'was I ready to play', and Coach Noll sent Merril Hoge to cut me in practice to see if my knee was ready."
Merril Hoge was a running back who played for the Steelers for seven seasons in the late '80s and early '90s. When Lloyd says that Hoge was told to "cut" him in practice, he is referring to a cut block or a chop block. This is when an offensive player, usually a lineman, but sometimes a running back or tight end, hits the defensive player in the knees in an effort to knock him down. This is now illegal in the NFL and is generally considered a dirty play.
Lloyd said he was in immediate and immense pain. He said that it hurt so badly, it caused him to throw his helmet from one end zone to the other end zone. Then he said he got a stern talking to and some words of advice from one of his idols.
"That was my reintroduction to Joe Greene. Greene walked over to me, he walked up and grabbed my shoulder pad and he was like, 'Hey, go get that helmet.' I almost said, 'Yes sir!' I almost did because he commanded that. He goes, 'Hey listen, we don't throw helmets out here. Listen, some of these guys are taking the temperature off of you.'"
According to Lloyd, Greene cautioned him that the coach was just trying to determine if his knee was really ready for him to play or not. He told Lloyd that he understood that it probably hurt, but it was worth it because now he knows. Lloyd said he went back in and never looked back, never thought about his knee again.
"Mean" Joe Greene, the legendary defensive tackle, played for the Steelers from 1969-1981. After retiring as a player, he returned in 1987 as a defensive line coach.
Lloyd never did look back, he went on to be a three-time First Team All-Pro, a five-time Pro Bowl player and the NFL forced fumble co-leader in 1994 and 1995. He was known throughout the NFL as one of the most feared and nasty pass rushers out there.
Associated Press
“Mean” Joe Greene was a cornerstone of Pittsburgh’s Steel Curtain defense and a team that became a dynasty in the ’70s.
Lloyd is one of the greatest linebackers the NFL has ever seen. Dan Rooney said that Lloyd was so good, he could play in any generation, including with the 1970s Steel Curtain gang.
Do you remember Lloyd? Do you recall Pittsburgh drafting him? Why do you think Lloyd has been shunned from the Hall Of Fame? Click to comment below.
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