Steelers' Rocky Bleier Detailed Exactly Where Pittsburgh's Teams Of The '70s Adopted Their Tough Identity

The Pittsburgh Steelers are synonymous with greatness and gritty, tough-nosed football. This isn't a persona the team has adopted because of a current coach or player, but rather one that started back with Head Coach Chuck Noll when he was hired by the team in 1969. Noll and the Steelers seemed to absorb the hardworking mentality of the people of Western Pennsylvania. 

Actor Michael Keaton called Steelers football a form of religion in Pittsburgh, and he wasn't wrong. The Steelers are a unifying force in the city. Everywhere you go, on every day of the week, you see people sporting black and gold. The fans appreciate the history of excellence and the way the team and the city are deeply connected. 

Two former Steel City legends recently joined Brian Hess on his podcast, The Brian Hess Show, to discuss the 1970s and tell stories about their teams. Hess asked former running back Rocky Bleier and former offensive lineman Jon Kolb about the franchise's culture of excellence and the origins of the "Steeler Way." Was it from Noll, the Rooney family, or the players?   

"They had 40 years of losing, 1933 until Chuck Noll comes," said Bleier. "The aura of the team took on the aura of its culture. When you think about Western Pennsylvania, I tell people, you think about the coal mines, the steel mills, the barges up and down the rivers. People work six days a week, 10-12 hours a day, to put a roof over their heads and a meal on a plate. It was just tough, hardnosed, just like the team. You come in, you play the Steelers, and they're beating the crap out of you. Not necessarily win; that was not part of the deal, but you knew you played a physical, tough game, and that character carried over. That's how we'd been taught to play the game. It fit our personnel and the people that we had. Our assistant coaches, under Chuck, just adopted really tough, physical things."

The concept of the "Steeler Way" has been passed down through generations from player to player. While the game has changed, the commitment to working harder has not. It's why the Steelers are one of only a few teams that still hit and tackle in training camp. 

Pittsburgh's blue-collar mentality helped the team win four Super Bowls during Bleier and Kolb's era. They played in another four, winning two, one with each subsequent coach, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin. 

The Steelers' Offensive Line Was Just Built Differently

Bleier said it wasn't just their defense that would punch you in the mouth; offensive players like Kolb were also something opponents had to watch out for. He said if you watch many offensive lines, their first movement is a step back, and then they wrestle with the defender, but not in Pittsburgh. 

The linemen who wore black and gold would step forward and punch the opponent, then step back and forward and punch them, and then repeat. Bleier said you could hear the defenders audibly deflate as the wind got knocked out of them. At times, he would just see someone draped over Kolb's shoulder. 

Kolb, who was 258 pounds when he played, could bench 550 pounds. He was also a professional bodybuilder who competed in the World's Strongest Man Competitions; Bleier said defenders had no clue what to do with him. 

The credit for that toughness goes to guys like Ernie Holmes and Dwight White. Holmes and White were part of the famed Steel Curtain defense and routinely challenged the offensive line in practice. Kolb said he always jokes that he played three games a week against the Steel Curtain on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday and then had practice on Sunday against some other guy. 

Why do you think the team has this smashmouth football identity? Click to comment below. 

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