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ARTICLE
Steelers All-Time
Team Bios Thirty-three players
were named to the Steelers All-Time Team the club announced the members as part
of the Steelers 75th Season Celebration. The squad includes both
former and current Steelers players who make up the official Steelers All-Time
Team. The players will be
honored at the team’s Nov. 4 Gala event at the Throughout this week
www.steelers.com will feature bios of the
players who were voted to the team. Be sure to check back each day for those
bios. DEFENSIVE BACKS
Mel Blount – Cornerback (1970-83)
Mel Blount was walking through the bowels of Three Rivers Stadium in 1982 when he happened upon a group of scouts recording the vertical jump of the latest hot prospect. This time the prospect was Renaldo Nehemiah, the world-record holder in the 110-meter high hurdles. There was a black mark on the wall, and Blount asked what it was. When told that was Nehemiah’s mark for his vertical jump, Blount, in his street clothes, promptly jumped higher and said, “That’s the Steelers’ mark.” At the time, Mel Blount was 31 years old. That’s the level of athleticism Blount, the Steelers’ No. 3 pick in 1970, brought to cornerback, and he also was so big, strong and fast that he helped force the NFL to change its rules on pass defense after the 1977 season. Blount played 14 seasons and 200 games in Pittsburgh, and his 57 interceptions are tops in team history. After being pulled from the 1974 AFC Championship Game and stung by the move, Blount rebounded in 1975 to record 11 interceptions and be voted NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He played in five Pro Bowls and was named an All-Pro four times. Jack Butler – Defensive Back (1951-59)
It is said that defensive backs often choose between making a play on the football or making a play on the receiver. Jack Butler did both. Described by former Pittsburgh Press sports editor Pat Livingston as “having the face of a choirboy and the heart of an arsonist,” Butler played nine seasons with the Steelers and recorded 52 interceptions in 103 games, and the guy who once studied to become a priest accomplished that in a most uncharitable way. “The best pass defense is the respect of the receivers,” said Butler. “If they know they’re going to get hit as soon as they touch the ball, they’re not so relaxed catching it.” When Butler’s stellar career ended, only Hall of Famers Dick “Night Train” Lane and Emlen Tunnell had more interceptions than him. Butler never played high school football, and only tried out at St. Bonaventure College as a lark. Father Dan Rooney, a priest at St. Bonaventure, recommended Butler to his brother, who just happened to be Art Rooney Sr., the founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Butler finished his career with four consecutive trips to the Pro Bowl from 1956-1959. Carnell Lake – Safety (1989-98)
Rod Woodson had torn
his ACL in the opener, and seven games into the 1995 season the Steelers were
3-4 and still hadn’t found a capable replacement. Coach Bill Cowher decided the
last option was to move safety Carnell Lake to cornerback, and defensive
coordinator Dick LeBeau got on the telephone and informed Lake of the impending
move. The next day when LeBeau arrived at Three Rivers Stadium at 6 a.m., Lake
was already there waiting for the tutorial to begin. A linebacker in college,
Lake made the difficult transition to safety in the NFL, and then as a
professional, he twice made the even more difficult transition to cornerback,
and both times he did it at midseason. Lake made four consecutive trips to the
Pro Bowl, including both seasons when he switched to cornerback – 1995 and 1997.
Without Lake playing as he did in 1995, the Steelers never would have advanced
to Super Bowl XXX. Also in 1997, Lake became the first defensive back in
franchise history to lead the team in quarterback sacks, with
six. Troy Polamalu – Safety (2003-Present)
“If you don’t know
where Troy Polamalu is,” said Patriots coach Bill Belichick, “he’ll kill you.”
The Houston Texans got a live example during a 2005 game when Polamalu recorded
three sacks, one of which came when he walked up to the line, then turned his
back to the line of scrimmage in an apparent move to get back into coverage,
only to pivot at the snap of the ball and find a lane to quarterback David Carr.
“I mean, every time I looked up, it seemed like No. 43 was in my face,” said
Carr, who was sacked eight times that afternoon. The 16th overall pick of the
2003 draft, Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed are the first two players named whenever
the subject is big-play safeties in the NFL. In two separate meetings with
Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts in 2005, Polamalu had an interception
in each game, even though the one in the playoffs was ruled incomplete by
referee Peter Morelli. In his four NFL seasons, Polamalu has 10 interceptions,
seven sacks and two appearances in the Pro Bowl. Donnie Shell – Safety (1974-87)
Earl Campbell was a 233-pound running back by trade, and inflicting pain was part of his business. In 1978, Campbell would finish with 1,450 yards, a 4.8 average and 13 touchdowns, but on Dec. 3 with the division title at stake, he met his match in Donnie Shell. In the first quarter, Campbell was spinning out of a tackle trying to get extra yards, when the man nicknamed “Torpedo” came flying up to the line of scrimmage and delivered a blow that could be heard in the upper reaches of the Astrodome. Campbell left the game with a broken rib, and the Steelers beat the Oilers, 13-3, in a season that ended with the third Super Bowl championship in team history. Shell was an undrafted rookie in 1974 because he played linebacker at South Carolina State, but through hard work and dedication he made himself into an All-Pro who finished his career with 51 interceptions, still the most in NFL history for a strong safety. Shell was a five-time Pro Bowl player, who had at least one interception in each of his 14 NFL seasons. Rod Woodson – Cornerback (1987-96)
He had missed the
entire 1995 regular season with a knee injury, and in the 1996 opener the
Steelers lost a game and four linebackers to injury in Jacksonville. The defense
was reeling, and division rival Baltimore was due at Three Rivers Stadium the
next Sunday. On the second offensive play of the game, Ravens quarterback Vinny
Testaverde tried to go right at Rod Woodson. Big mistake. Woodson intercepted
the pass and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown to set a tone for a season
that ended with another division championship in Pittsburgh. One of only five
active players selected to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary Team in 1994, Woodson was
a six-time All-Pro cornerback during his career in Pittsburgh and was named the
NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 1993. Woodson intercepted 38 passes during
his career here, and he set a team record by returning five for touchdowns.
Possessing the ideal blend of speed and strength, Woodson was a world-class
athlete who qualified for the 1984 Olympic trials in the 110-meter hurdles, and
he also finished his Steelers career as the team’s all-time leader in punt and
kickoff returns. During a memorable matchup against Jerry Rice and the 49ers in
1993, Woodson intercepted Steve Young twice and blocked a 47-yard field goal in
the Steelers’ 24-13 loss. |
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