Tag: Joe Greene

Steelers’ DT to make history in Week 8 matchup

Steelers DT Cam Heyward will make history on Monday Night Football when his team hosts the New York Giants in Week 8.

No Pittsburgh Steelers defender bleeds Black and Gold quite like DT Cameron Heyward has in his 14 seasons with the Steelers. Heyward represents the Steel City honorably and continues to show younger generations of Steelers players exactly what it means to represent the city of Pittsburgh.

Teammate and 2022 Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt cemented his name in history this year when he became the second-fastest player to reach 100 career sacks, and now it is Heyward’s turn to make history.

Heyward will play in his 202nd game on Monday Night Football when his team hosts the New York Giants in Week 8, and that is more games played than any Steelers defender before him.

Heyward has played more games for the Steelers than all-time great Pittsburgh defenders ‘Mean’ Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Mel Blount, Troy Polamalu, Jack Ham, and L.C. Greenwood, just to name a few.

While Heyward will forever have his name in Pittsburgh sports history, he will look to accomplish for this city what all-time great Steelers’ defenders have done for Pittsburgh before him—bring a Super Bowl to the Steel City.

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Is this the Mount Rushmore of Steelers players?

The Steelers have had so many great players over the decades, it’s hard to narrow it down to just four.

Over the decades, the Pittsburgh Steelers have seen a massive amount of team success and have a long line of players either in the Pro Football Hall of Fame already or will be soon. But if you were creating your own personal Mouth Rushmore of former Steelers, which four guys make the list?

NFL Throwback did their Mouth Rushmore for all 32 teams and for the Steelers, they went with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and Terry Bradshaw along with linebacker Jack Lambert and defensive tackle Joe Greene.

Roethlisberger and Bradshaw are the two best quarterbacks in franchise history and the source of endless debate about which one is actually No. 1. Bradshaw won four Super Bowls but many look at the numbers Big Ben put up with far less talent and rank him higher.

The one guy you just can’t debate is defensive tackle Joe Greene. Greene was the guy who turned the defense around and was the centerpiece of the Steel Curtain. Many consider Lambert on the same level as Greene while others consider former teammate Jack Hamm the better player.

Personally we have no qualms with this group of four. If we were only going with one player from a particular position, I’d probably replace Bradshaw with one of the great defensive backs this team has had. Troy Polamalu, Mel Blount or Rod Woodson all are worthy of consideration.

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8 Steelers among ‘best player to wear each jersey number’

Several former Pittsburgh Steelers were selected as best to wear their respective numbers.

Eight players from the Pittsburgh Steelers past made CBS Sports’ list of “best players to wear each jersey number in the NFL,” half of whom were career-long Steelers.

The list combed through each jersey number, and CBS Sports selected the best player to wear it.

Denver Broncos former quarterback John Elway beat out Ben Roethlisberger as the best player to wear No. 7. Since it’s a league-wide list, that’s an easy mistake to make. But CBS really lost me when they also considered former Cincinnati Bengals QB Boomer Esiason.

Here’s what CBS Sports had to say about the four players who spent their entire careers in the black and gold:

No. 43: Troy Polamalu, DB
Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers

Polamalu had an instinctual feel for the game. Images of him timing the snap to hurdle the offensive line and sack the quarterback were common on Sundays. The Pro Football and College Football Halls of Fame inductee recorded 32 interceptions, 14 forced fumbles and three touchdowns. The California native won two Super Bowls in addition to being named a six-time All-Pro and an eight-time Pro Bowl selection.

He was the No. 16 overall selection in the 2003 NFL Draft.

No. 58: Jack Lambert, LB
Team: Pittsburgh Steelers

Lambert won four Super Bowls as a member of the Steelers. The NFL Defensive Player of the Year recorded 1,479 tackles, 28 interceptions and 23.5 sacks. He has been selected to nine Pro Bowls and is an eight-time All-Pro. Lambert was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.

No. 59: Jack Ham, LB
Team: Pittsburgh Steelers

Former Steelers are dominating yet another list. The same happened with our Ultimate NFL Draft last month. Ham has recorded 32 interceptions and two touchdowns. The Pro Football and College Football Hall of Famer went to eight Pro Bowls and was an eight-time All-Pro. Like Lambert and Blount, Ham was named an honorable mention to the CBS Sports Steelers Franchise Five.

No. 75: “Mean” Joe Greene, DT
Team: Pittsburgh Steelers

The former No. 4 overall selection played 13 seasons in the league. He won four Super Bowls and was an eight-time All-Pro during that period. His No. 75 jersey is one of two — Ernie Stautner being the other — to be retired by the Steelers franchise. Greene also made 10 Pro Bowls and has been inducted into the Pro Football and College Football Halls of Fame.

Others appearing on the list include defensive backs Rod Woodson (No. 26) and Donnie Shell (No. 31), running back Jerome Bettis (No. 36), and linebacker Kevin Greene (No. 91).

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Can North Texas’ LaDarius Hamilton be Cowboys next UDFA find?

2020 UDFA LaDarius Hamilton was a star at UNT. Can he make the leap and become a productive edge rusher for the Cowboys?

For 2020 UDFA LaDarius Hamilton, joining the Dallas Cowboys was a dream come true. A proud product of Corrigan, Texas, Hamilton is accustomed to grinding out opportunities, and represents yet another potentially intriguing option for a loaded Dallas pass rush.

Coming in at 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds, the North Texas alum seemingly has the requisite size and length to play DE in new DC Mike Nolan’s scheme. His performance in school seems to indicate he has a chance to be another in a long line of Dallas UDFA success stories.

Similar to 2020 fifth round DE Bradlee Anae, what Hamilton lacks in athleticism he makes for in sheer production and and technique that shines through on the field. He finished sixth in school history in both sacks (17) and tackles for loss (28.5) over his four years at North Texas.

Hamilton’s 2019 senior season was especially productive, in which he recorded 39 total tackles (10.5 for loss, 8.5 sacks), and one forced fumble. Nicknamed Hambone, he was a three-star recruit coming out of high school who emerged as a truly impressive edge rushing prospect. Said Hamilton to his local KTRE news station after he became a Cowboy:

“I had to work hard at Corrigan. Going into North Texas I wasn’t the best player heading into there. I had to put in work to be the player I am today. It has to be the same thing when I step on the Cowboys practice field. I am ready to prove I belong.”

He now has the chance to add more polish to his game working under defensive line coach Jim Tomsula, for the team he grew up rooting for. Hamilton seemed especially receptive at the prospect of playing in Dallas while speaking at the combine. He faces a long journey to make the roster, considering how the Cowboys have loaded up on DEs in search of an answer opposite DeMarucs Lawrence.

Hamilton will have to wait for and earn his opportunity, but Dallas does have both an immediate and long-term need for another edge rusher. He currently stands to be competing for a roster spot amongst former draft picks like Joe Jackson and Jalen Jelks, but it’s possible Hamilton one day becomes a quality contributor.

At UNT, he was known for his character, a three-year member of the team’s leadership council. Hamilton’s play on and off the field earned the admiration of his coaches and teammates, and eventually earned him one of the most unique and special honors in college football history.

For a single game in 2018, Hamilton wore No. 75 for the Mean Green. It the first time anyone since Joe Greene himself wore that number on the football field for UNT, truly signaling how much Hamilton meant to his school.

If Hamilton can channel his own version of Mean Joe for the Cowboys, he should have no trouble fulfilling a role for his favorite team.

This is part of our Countdown to the Regular Season player profile countdown. With 75 days remaining until the NFL’s first game, up next is rookie defensive tackle Neville Gallimore.

| Antwaun Woods | Tyrone Crawford | Trysten Hill | Jalen Jelks |
| Dontari Poe | Randy Gregory | Gerald McCoy | Dorance Armstrong |
| L.P. Ladouceur | DeMarcus Lawrence | Blake Jarwin | CeeDee Lamb |
| Cole Hikutini | Dalton Schultz | Noah Brown | Sean McKeon |
| Ventell Bryant | Jon’vea Johnson | Blake Bell | Justin Hamilton |
| Cody Wichmann | Tyron Smith |

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