Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety, Donnie Shell arrived in the Steel City as an undrafted free agent from South Carolina State in 1974. He remembers being very impressed with 1970 first overall pick, Terry Bradshaw, almost from the moment he arrived. The teammates won their first of four Super Bowls in Shell's rookie season. The three-time First Team All-Pro defensive back very quickly recognized one trait that set his starting quarterback apart from others in the league.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers safety Donnie Shell runs with the ball during a game against the Chicago Bears.
Shell joined current Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson and his cousin, Bryant McFadden on their podcast All Things Covered on Tuesday. The three defensive backs reminisced about some of the legends to wear black and gold that Shell got to share a locker room with. Peterson and McFadden were particularly interested in his observations of Bradshaw who they'd only seen in highlights, as McFadden was a year old in 1982 when the Hall of Fame quarterback played his final game, and Peterson wasn't born until 1990.
Shell told them that it was on the practice field where he realized that Bradshaw was truly a class above the rest in terms of his arm strength and ball placement. He talked about going up against him and being certain that he could get a pick when Bradshaw lined up to throw 15-20-yard out routes.
"I said, 'You know what, I'm going to intercept this ball,'" Shell proclaimed. "But you know what, I never could get there. I saw the break, I saw his arm lining up and he'd throw the ball on a line. He'd throw it out to the sideline where you [as a defender] couldn't get to it. I knew then that he was special."
Shell said that he was incredibly impressed with Bradshaw's ability to throw the ball down the field 70 yards without any kind of struggle. He added that while he's not really known for it, Bradshaw was a great scrambler. While his scrambling was often used to buy time to make a throw downfield, he was a fairly effective runner throughout his career. He finished with an average of 5.1 yards per carry and in 1974 was averaging 28 yards per game.
Bryant said that he doesn't feel like that arm strength is mentioned enough in conversations about the 1978 AP Most Valuable Player. He said the greatness Bradshaw displayed in his career is not talked about enough and said he's "one of the most underappreciated quarterbacks to lace up his cleats."
Steelers' Shell Has Bradshaw In A Tier Almost By Himself
Peterson asked Shell if there were any quarterbacks in the past or in today's game that reminded him of Bradshaw and the list was very short. Shell said that there were plenty of opposing signal-callers he went up against in his career from 1974 until 1987 that had strong arms, but only one truly matched Bradshaw.
Tony Tomsic / USA TODAY NETWORK
Steelers' Terry Bradshaw scouts the defense before a snap in Super Bowl XIII.
Shell said that in the 1970s, Bradshaw's arm strength was pretty much unparalleled. It wasn't until 1983 when a Port Angeles, WA native from Stanford was drafted first overall by the Baltimore Colts that Shell saw a signal-caller that reminded him of Bradshaw. John Elway famously never played a down for the Colts as he was traded to the Denver Broncos where he would go on to become one of the greatest to ever play the position and capture two Super Bowls.
AP Photo
Steelers' Terry Bradshaw gets ready to hand the ball off against the Dallas Cowboys in the Super Bowl.
Peterson quickly pointed out another 1983 draft pick, Dan Marino as another potential comparison to Bradshaw, but Shell said the two were different. He said that the key for the Miami Dolphins superstar quarterback was his quick release, which made it tough for defenders to react. Whereas Bradshaw was just lining up and zipping passes by helpless defenders.
McFadden may think of Bradshaw as being underappreciated, but Shell certainly doesn't. To have him and Elway alone in a class when talking about arm strength and he can't even fit Marino into the same tier says a lot. The fact that he helped Shell win four titles probably doesn't hurt either.
Is there a quarterback you would put on the same level as Bradshaw in terms of arm strength? Do you think Bradshaw is underappreciated? Comment below!
#SteelerNation
