Aug 12, 2017 6 min read

OK, I’ll play along.

The Steelers announcing that they will be inducting players into their new “Hall of Honor” at Heinz Field later this month has spurred a lot of discussions about who belongs and who doesn’t, and about which players should be in the first class.

It’s also given columnists an easy column.

I was planning to write about the Steelers’ first exhibition game, but I literally fell asleep watching it Friday night. I did catch it on DVR and was impressed by linebacker T.J. Watt and quarterback Josh Dobbs.

Watt just looks like a natural pass rusher who’s going to make an immediate impact and Dobbs, after a pathetic start, showed that he has a big arm with the confidence to use it and can make plays out of the pocket.

Mostly, the DVR just showed me why I fell asleep. And why the game was played in front of a half-empty stadium. NFL exhibition games just stink.

So, now I can get to my list of the 10 greatest Steelers:

1. Joe Greene – He’s No. 1, not necessarily because he was the best player in Steelers history, but because he was a great player who took the cue from coach Chuck Noll and played a major role in changing the culture of losing. He just refused to accept it and his teammates learned early on that he wouldn’t accept it from them.

2. Mel Blount – Every modern quarterback can thank Blount for those fat statistics they’re putting up. A 6-3, 205-pound cornerback, whose bump-and-run coverage was so effective it led to the NFL changing the rules in 1978 to allow receivers to run free after five yards. It was a seismic change that eventually resulted in the dink-and-dunk pass-happy NFL of 2017.

3. Terry Bradshaw – I have yet to see a human who can throw a football better than he could. He was erratic early in his career but was playing on some bad teams in a time when it was universally accepted that a quarterback needed five years before he was ready to be a starter. He started as a rookie for a team that was 1-13 the year before and was more important than any defensive player in the Steelers’ wins in Super Bowls XIII and XIV. Called his own plays.

4. Ben Roethlisberger – Not as good as Bradshaw but without him the Steelers would have gone as long as the Pirates without winning a championship. Super Bowl XIV in 1979 would have been the last one.

5. Jack Ham – Still considered one of the best linebackers of all time. Would he be athletic enough to play against the five-receiver sets in 2017? Maybe not. But he was a huge part of the defense that changed the game forever.

6. Jack Lambert – Tough, athletic and smart. Might actually be better suited for the modern game because of his athleticism. Might have hated losing even more than Joe Greene.

7. Troy Polamalu – Could have played on the great teams of the 1970s. Was ridiculously athletic, instinctive and smart. Was Better than Donnie Shell, the strong safety on that Steel Curtain defense, who, by the way, should be in the Hall of Fame.

8. Jerome Bettis – How can he be ahead of Franco Harris? Because I think, while he didn’t have the breakaway speed that Harris had, he was just a better back and would have been even more effective as a fourth-quarter clock eater playing with the Steelers’ great defense in the ’70s. As great as Bettis was, I still think he’s somewhat underappreciated by too many Steelers fans.

9. Ernie Stautner – If free agency had existed in the 1950s, he probably would have escaped Pittsburgh as soon as he had the chance. Stautner played on some terrible teams but was always recognized as one of the best and toughest defensive linemen in the NFL. I was 14 years old when he retired, so I’m basing this pick mostly on hearsay, but he’s a Hall of Famer and I know my dad, who was a Steelers fan long before it was cool, would vote for him. And how about that name? Ernie Stautner. Doesn’t that just sound like a name that epitomized Pittsburgh in the 1950s?

10 (tie) John Stallworth and Lynn Swann – Sorry, I cheated, but the only edge Stallworth has is that he played longer. I actually think Swann was a little better. Both are Hall of Famers and both played major roles in the Steelers’ third and fourth Super Bowl wins. The 10th pick is the toughest because it’s when you have to decide who gets left off.

Rod Woodson didn’t make my list for two reasons. He played for multiple teams and, as great as he was, I think he was a tad overrated. He made lots of big plays but in his last few years with the Steelers he seemed to get beat a lot.

I think Franco Harris would be No. 11.

Antonio Brown has put up monster numbers and might make a Top 10 list in the future, but passing and receiving statistics are inflated now because of how receivers and quarterbacks are protected by the rules.

Could he have played for the Steelers of the 1970s? Of course. In a two-receiver formation would he have put Swann or Stallworth on the sideline?

Doubtful.

If you really want to start some arguments, stretch the list to 15 or 20. There are five or six no-brainers for the Top 10, but it gets a lot trickier after that.

Heath Miller probably won’t get much consideration for the Hall of Fame, but he’s the best tight end in Steelers history and played a key role on some very good teams. Where would you rank him?

I don’t have offensive linemen on my list mainly because I would only be picking them based on reputation, not as a result of observing them play.

So, that’s my list. Have at it. Pick it apart. Make your own list.

It’s fun.

A lot more fun than watching an NFL exhibition game.