The Pittsburgh Steelers must accept a simple fact: the modern NFL is all about offense. Rules change to help the offense score points. Rules are misinterpreted to keep star quarterbacks on the football field. Any brutal hit by a defender is much more likely to draw a penalty flag in 2023 than be celebrated as an excellent defensive effort. Defenders are forced to adjust to an ever-shrinking zone where you can hit offensive players, and the game is suffering for it.
Associated Press
Steelers' Najee Harris absorbs huge hit by 49ers' Fred Warner in 30-7 loss.
Fantasy football is a fun game, but it should not affect the on-field product. Analytics has declared that running backs and off-ball linebackers are not essential and shouldn’t be paid big contracts. Tell that to Najee Harris and the San Francisco 49ers' Fred Warner, who almost single-handedly beat the Steelers with one big hit early in their Week 1 matchup. Warner’s hit was on the only offensive player allowed to absorb punishment at this point, a running back.
The Eddie Mata Show / YouTube
Steelers legend Greg Lloyd joins The Eddie Mata Show on YouTube.
Greg Lloyd joined The Eddie Mata Show on Thursday. Eddie Mata is an actor who has now done 50 episodes of the podcast that has an impressive guest list of former athletes and Hollywood actors. The duo covered multiple topics over a marathon session. Lloyd demonstrated that he had not lost the intensity that helped carry the Steelers to Super Bowl XXX and shared his goal on the football field.
“I’m really trying to make you quit playing football,” Lloyd stated. “I’m trying to hurt you and hit you and do things to you that I want you to go to the sideline and say to the coach, 'I’m done.'"
Lloyd played for the Steelers from 1988 until 1997. The outside linebacker was one of the scariest men ever to put on the uniform in the NFL. Lloyd ’s career was cut short by injury, but from 1991 to 1995, he was simply incredible. Lloyd made five straight Pro Bowls, three First Team All-Pro selections, and came in third and second in the 1994 and 1995 Defensive Player Of The Year voting. He also savored his reputation as an intimidating force on a dominant defense.
“It’s like a wide receiver trying to crack you,” Lloyd said. “He’ll try that s*** one time on me. He’ll go to the sideline and say, 'Don’t you ever run that f****** play again. Don’t ever run it again.'”
Steelers' Greg Lloyd Once The Most Feared, Now The Forgotten
Lloyd’s reputation as a physical player was legendary, but it pales compared to his actual play. It is hard to imagine what he would look like in today’s game. Dick LeBeau said near the end of his 33-year coaching career that looking back when asked what player he would start a defense with, he quickly answered "Greg Lloyd." It is the highest compliment a Steelers defensive player can get.
"If you are not playing like that, you’re not thinking like that, and the other guy is," Lloyd concluded his thought. "Then you are going to always be prey. I’m never going to be prey out there. I’m going to always be the predator.”
Lloyd gained a reputation as a dirty player during the height of his career. Much like Hines Ward, Lloyd was beloved by Steelers fans. If you had Lloyd and Ward on your team, you loved watching them play. If your uniform was not black and gold, you hated both with every fiber of your being as an opposing fan. It could be why both have had difficulty making the cut for the Hall of Fame.
If #Steelers legend Greg Lloyd played today, he would probably get ejected every game the way he played the game and the way he would tackle you. Most feared player in his days. Here’s his story. Full interview, link in profile @SteeIerNation @SteelersUnite @SteelersNetwork… pic.twitter.com/LEV3Hq0dJS
— Eddie Mata (@EddieMata) September 14, 2023
Lloyd's prime was short, but so were Terrell Davis and Tony Boselli's. Compared to the 2022 veteran's committee induction Joe Klecko, the former Steelers linebacker had a much more significant impact on the NFL for nearly two and a half times as long. Spotlighting players like Lloyd, Ward, and James Harrison is outside the new NFL's interest.
Steelers.com
Steelers Head Coach Bill Cowher in a heated argument with outside linebacker Greg Lloyd.
The league wants to forget that their popularity was built on the backs of hard-nosed players with a nasty streak a mile long. The focus is on quarterbacks and wide receivers who look good on television. It would be interesting to see what the league would be forced to do to cope with a player like Lloyd in 2023.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? The league nearly fined Harrison into retirement. What would they do with Lloyd? Please comment below or on my Twitter/X: @thebubbasq.
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