Tag: Steel Curtain

Steelers’ HOF safety returning to Pittsburgh in Week 11

2020 Hall of Fame inductee S Donnie Shell has been confirmed to be in attendance for Pittsburgh’s Week 11 contest against Baltimore.

Plenty of familiar faces have returned to the city of Pittsburgh this season to watch their former team and participate in pre-game tailgate activities with fans. Former Steelers such as WR Antonio Brown, RB Le’Veon Bell, and K Jeff Reed have all attended the Terrible Tailgate—an amazing fan-organized tailgate experience for the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

On social media, the Terrible Tailgate has announced that on November 17th, Week 11’s home game versus the Baltimore Ravens, the game will feature an extra special guest for fans to meet—2020 Hall of Fame safety Donnie Shell. 

While initially teasing the mystery HOF guest, the Terrible Tailgate provided fans with exactly who the Steelers legend in question is through the ticket sales information.

Shell was a vital part of the legendary Steel Curtain defense in the 1970s, helping the team win four Super Bowl during his tenure with the team.  Donnie ‘Torpedo’ Shell was one of the hardest-hitting safeties the NFL has ever seen, and is beloved to Pittsburgh fans all over the world.

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Steelers currently rank as number one defense in the NFL

All eyes have been on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense and their impressive start to the season—becoming the number one overall unit.

Three weeks of Steelers football have come and gone, with Pittsburgh holding a perfect 3-0 record and the title for best defense in football.  The offense has struggled mightily through the first two weeks, and while the unit significantly improved for Week 3’s contest against the Los Angeles Chargers, the defense has reigned supreme in every game they’ve played. Some have argued that the success of the Steelers defense has been due to a lack of competition early in the season. However, this 2024 defensive unit is not only beating teams down but also being compared to one of the greatest defenses of all time: the 1973 Steel Curtain.

While this might seem like a stretch to NFL historians, no one can ignore the success of this 2024 unit’s start as the number one overall defense in the game.

The Pittsburgh Steelers defense will look to continue its dominance in Week 4 against the Colts as they take on a young dual-threat quarterback in Anthony Richardson.

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Steelers defense: Historic start through three weeks of football

The 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense is off to a historic start and is drawing comparisons to the legendary Steel Curtain.

The 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers‘ defense is off to an incredible and historic pace through three weeks of football, allowing only 26 points against the Falcons, Broncos, and Chargers.  The defense has allowed 10 or fewer points in each of the first three regular season games, and the last time a Steelers’ defense accomplished such a feat was during the ‘Steel Curtain’ era in 1973.

I would be remiss to think that this defense is comparable to such a terrifying and legendary unit, right?  Kyle Brandt, co-host of Good Morning Football on the NFL Network, doesn’t believe it to be so far-fetched, coining this year’s unit as “historic”.

Steelers’ fans believed the defense would be better than the offense, but not many could have predicted the incredible start defensively to the season. This current Pittsburgh unit also seems to have “11 boogie men” playing lights out defense, and they look to keep the momentum going as they head into Indianapolis to take on the 1-2 Colts, September 29th at 1:00 PM EST.

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The Seahawks defense is off to a historic start in 2024

The Seahawks defense is off to a historic start in 2024

For years now, the Seattle Seahawks have fielded some truly abysmal defenses. In 2020 and 2021, Seattle was on pace to being one of the worst units in the history of football. While they turned it around just enough in both years to avoid such a dubious distinction, Seattle still finished with a bottom-tier unit. Things may not have been on track for historic failure in 2022 and 2023, but Seattle still had the 31st ranked defense to end those seasons.

The Seahawks’ inability to truly fix their defense led to the team moving on from Pete Carroll in favor of Mike Macdonald. So far through three games, the decision appears to be paying off for Seattle. The Seahawks’ defense, which has helped fuel their 3-0 start, is back to making NFL history… but in the way fans would want it. Macdonald’s team has accomplished something not seen in 45 years:

https://twitter.com/DanteKopFlem/status/1837993397556322602

Anytime you find yourself in the same conversation with the Steel Curtain, and you’re the only one standing beside them, you’re clearly doing something right.

Critics of the Seahawks will say this is a result of playing a handful of tomato cans to start the season. While it is true that Bo Nix, Jacoby Brissett, Skylar Thompson and Tim Boyle aren’t going to be confused for Pro Bowlers any time soon, Seattle’s defense is doing exactly what they should be doing against quarterbacks of their caliber. If the Seahawks were 3-0, but they were winning offensive shootouts against these water-gun offenses, we would be having an entirely different conversation.

Still, the teams Seattle has faced to start the year aren’t likely to be legitimately in the playoff hunt by the time December roles around. The first true test the Seahawks will face is coming Monday night against the Detroit Lions. Jared Goff is lightyears ahead of those four quarterbacks I’ve mentioned, and Seattle will have to face several other far more talented signal callers in the coming weeks. We will have a much better idea of how good this Seahawks defense is soon enough.

(Side note: the 1979 Steelers did go on to win the Super Bowl…)

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Must See: Notre Dame in NFL – Chase Claypool’s 10th Touchdown

If it feels like it’s every week we have a post about something ridiculous Chase Claypool has done in his rookie season with the Steelers it’s because we do.

If it feels like it’s every week we have a post about something ridiculous Chase Claypool has done in his rookie season with the Steelers it’s because we do.

And we post something pretty much every week because pretty much every week he gives us another ridiculous highlight or two leave us even more impressed.

Claypool was at it again on Sunday as the Steelers improved to 10-0 on the season, remaining the only unbeaten team in the NFL with a 27-3 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

With the game tied at three midway through the second quarter, Ben Roethlisberger threw a fade to Claypool who went out and got it for 32 yards and a score, which happened to be his tenth of the year.

Through just ten games Claypool’s ten touchdowns tie him for the 70th most in the storied history of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The 10-0 start is also the best start in franchise history as Claypool and the rest of the Steelers will look to make it 11-0 on Thanksgiving night as they host their biggest rival, the Baltimore Ravens.

Former Steelers safety Donnie Shell announces Hall of Fame presenter

Donnie Shell, former DB of the Pittsburgh Steelers, announces his presenter for the Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony.

Safety Donnie Shell, a member of the famed 1970s Steel Curtain, will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame by his daughter, April Nicole Shell.

“The thing I really enjoyed was hearing the comments and advocacy of my teammates,” Shell said to Teresa Varley of Steelers.com. “I will cherish that forever. That is awesome. I told my son keep everything from the websites, save it all for my grandkids. To see how they thought of me as a teammate. I knew some of that, but when they expressed that and it came out in articles, it almost brought tears to my eyes.”

Shell is one of 10 seniors who will be enshrined as part of the Centennial Class of 2020. Shell had a shot to be inducted in 2002 when he was in the top 15 of balloting.

Undrafted in 1974, Shell joins four teammates previously inducted into the HOF from that same rookie class: Wide receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth; linebacker, Jack Lambert; and center, Mike Webster.

To this day, Shell’s career interceptions (51) stand as the most in NFL history for a strong safety. He had at least one INT in each of his 14 seasons. He also had 19 fumble recoveries, one of which he took 21 yards for a touchdown.

Shell enjoyed many accolades during his time with the Steelers. He was a five-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-Pro, and was the Steelers MVP in 1980. He saved several potential six points from being scored in Super Bowl XIII and Super Bowl XIV.

Shell is the 26th Steeler to be inducted into the HOF.

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