2022 Steelers Season Thread

As for Noll, I think you may be looking at him with rose colored glasses as far as player discipline is concerned.

Let's not forget this episode: "He was convinced the trucks were after him. He pulled a shotgun from the floor and started shooting at the tires of passing trucks. He stuck his shotgun out the window, already blasted open by his own bullets, and kept shooting. The state police were on his tail now, chasing him at ninety miles an hour. He veered off the main road, blew out a tire, and jumped out of his car, running into a nearby forest. He carried his shotgun with him.

A police helicopter swirled overhead and Holmes, surrounded by state police, began shooting at it, hitting an officer in the ankle. Moments later, surrounded and exhausted, he was finally in cuffs. Said one officer afterward: "We could have killed him a dozen times.""

Holmes didn't miss a single game due to this. Today he would have likely been killed and certainly would have been sentenced to jail time if not.

Then there was the Super Bowl in Miami where some of the starting offensive lineman were doing something illegal that would keep you up all night in Miami.

Those were different times. If those teams were under the same scrutiny as the teams today are, I think there would have been more reported incidents. Originally Posted by 1pittsburgh

true story about Ernie Holmes. you also need to consider that he was diagnosed with acute paranoid psychosis after this incident, almost certainly why it happened. add to that the real possibility Holmes was already suffering from effects of then unknown CTE from playing football.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernie_...her_activities


Prior to his third season in 1973, Holmes had an emotional breakdown while driving on the Ohio Turnpike on March 16, firing shots at a police helicopter as it pursued him.[8][9][10] He was charged with shooting at a Highway Patrol heli-pilot. Holmes was found in a field near his abandoned car in Goshen Township, Mahoning County, Ohio.[11][12] When apprehended, he threw his gun away and put his hands up. He was given five years' probation. Diagnosed with acute paranoid psychosis, he was believed to be depressed and having marital troubles.[13]

As for Noll, I think you may be looking at him with rose colored glasses as far as player discipline is concerned.

Let's not forget this episode: "He was convinced the trucks were after him. He pulled a shotgun from the floor and started shooting at the tires of passing trucks. He stuck his shotgun out the window, already blasted open by his own bullets, and kept shooting. The state police were on his tail now, chasing him at ninety miles an hour. He veered off the main road, blew out a tire, and jumped out of his car, running into a nearby forest. He carried his shotgun with him.

A police helicopter swirled overhead and Holmes, surrounded by state police, began shooting at it, hitting an officer in the ankle. Moments later, surrounded and exhausted, he was finally in cuffs. Said one officer afterward: "We could have killed him a dozen times.""

Holmes didn't miss a single game due to this. Today he would have likely been killed and certainly would have been sentenced to jail time if not.

Then there was the Super Bowl in Miami where some of the starting offensive lineman were doing something illegal that would keep you up all night in Miami.

Those were different times. If those teams were under the same scrutiny as the teams today are, I think there would have been more reported incidents. Originally Posted by 1pittsburgh

Not rose colored glasses, that incident was off the field, not on.
Different style of coaching, different attitude between the two. Noll was business, Tomlin is more player friendly. Different styles
You can like Tomlins way more if you like. A matter of choice

But I agree with u in the fact that everything today is under a microscope

Well, back then, you could pretty much do whatever you wanted on the field. LOL Johnson's penalty certainly would not been one back then, and I'm not sure that Allen's would have either. The ref probably would have just said "get back to your own team."

But what about partying with the _______ cowboys all night in Miami when the SB was the next day? Can't really chalk that up to mental illness. Luckily it didn't affect their play. Must have been the prototypes for LT.


I like all three of the Steelers coaches of my lifetime, and it's remarkable that there have only been three.

Did anybody else hear the rumor a minority owner wants Tomlin to at the least come down on the stupid unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. This happened before with a different minority owner.

I haven't heard anything this time but I remember in the past that one of them was calling for Tomlin to be fired. Luckily they don't have any say in the matter. They can sell their stake if they want, but that's about it.


As far as discipline, Tomlin usually keeps that in house, so we don't know what the discipline was, and the minority owner may not know either. Even in Super Bowl years, players have gotten unsportsmanlike penalties. They got them under Cowher and Noll too. I remember Joey Porter got kicked out one time before the game even began. He played the next week.

Most teams usually keep their discipline in house. For example, Jakobi Meyers made on of the worst decisions of the entire NFL season, and we haven't heard anything about him being disciplined.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/mike-to...211415550.html

sad day in SteelerNation and sports. my condolences


the immaculate reception is possibly the greatest single play in football ever.


Legendary Steelers RB Franco Harris dies at 72


Nick Bromberg
Wed, December 21, 2022 at 6:32 AM CST


Former Pittsburgh Steelers running back and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Franco Harris has died. He was 72.


Harris’ death comes just days before the 50th anniversary of the Steelers’ celebration of the “Immaculate Reception.” Harris made one of the most iconic plays in NFL history on Dec. 23, 1972, against the Oakland Raiders when he swooped in and grabbed a pass from Terry Bradshaw intended for John Fuqua before it hit the ground.


After grabbing the ball, Harris ran it in for a game-winning touchdown with just seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Steelers won that divisional playoff game 13-7 before losing the AFC title game to the undefeated Miami Dolphins.


Harris’ son, Dok, told the Associated Press that his father had passed away overnight and that a cause of death was not immediately known.


With the Raiders visiting Pittsburgh on Saturday night, the Steelers are having a ceremony to honor Harris’ play at halftime of the game. Harris’ iconic No. 32 is also set to be retired by the team.





Franco Harris made one of the most legendary plays in NFL history. (via the NFL)
Harris was a rookie in 1972

Harris’ legendary play immediately made him a member of Pittsburgh Steelers lore as a rookie. He rushed 188 times for 1,055 yards across 14 games in his first season with the team in 1972, though hardly anyone remembers those rushing yards or his 10 rushing touchdowns from that season.


Harris would rush for more than 1,000 yards in eight of his 11 seasons in Pittsburgh. He averaged 5.6 yards a carry as a rookie and scored a league-leading 14 rushing touchdowns in 1976. After one season in Seattle after 12 years in Pittsburgh, Harris finished his career with 12,120 rushing yards and 91 TDs. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.


Before he was selected by the Steelers with the 13th pick in the 1972 NFL draft, Harris played collegiately at Penn State. Harris rushed for over 600 yards in each of his three seasons on the field for the Nittany Lions and scored 25 total touchdowns while pairing with Lydell Mitchell in the backfield.


Franco Harris of the Steelers runs with the ball on Sept. 10, 1978, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/RCG)

Steelers emerged as a powerhouse in the 1970s

The Steelers went 11-3 in 1972 after drafting Harris 13th overall. It was Pittsburgh’s first winning season since a 7-4-3 campaign in 1963 and the third straight year of improvement after the Steelers bottomed out at 1-13 in Chuck Noll’s first season as head coach in 1969.


That 11-3 season set the standard for what the Steelers became in the 1970s. After losing to that immortal Dolphins team in the AFC title game, the Steelers went 10-4 the following season before the Raiders got revenge in a 33-14 divisional playoff game a day shy of the first anniversary of Harris’ catch.


With Harris as a central figure of Pittsburgh's rushing attack, the Steelers went on to win four of the next six Super Bowl titles. The Steelers beat the Vikings 16-6 to win Super Bowl IX in January 1975 and then beat the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 in Super Bowl X. Harris rushed 34 times for 158 yards in the win over the Vikings and had six rushing touchdowns in the playoffs that season.


After beating the Cowboys again in Super Bowl XIII, the Steelers then capped off their 1970s Super Bowl run with a 31-19 win over the Los Angeles Rams.


Harris played in 19 postseason games with the Steelers and finished with 400 carries for 1,556 yards and 16 rushing TDs to go along with that one receiving TD against the Raiders. The Steelers were 14-5 in the playoffs when Harris was on the field.


Since that Super Bowl after the 1979 season, the Steelers have had just eight losing seasons and two more Super Bowl victories. The Steelers enter Saturday’s game at 6-8 and must win out to avoid their first losing season under coach Mike Tomlin.

Franco was a very good football player and a better human being. I just heard he was on Cam Hayward’s podcast hours before he died. Nobody gave more of himself to represent Steeler nation from that era anymore or unselfishly.

Very sad about Franco. Definitely a great player and a great human. Very humble too. One of the most beloved Steelers, and he remained an important part of the community in Pittsburgh. I was shocked early this morning when I read of his passing. I heard an interview that he did with Mad Dog Russo on Sirius, hours before his death, and he sounded quite well. You would not have thought that he'd pass away within a few hours. 72 was pretty young for a guy who seemed relatively mentally and physically fit. The timing was also sad in that he did not get to experience being only the third Steeler to have their jersey retired on Saturday. That would have been the icing on the cake for all of the honors that he's received. More rare of an honor than even a HOF jacket. At least he passed on knowing that it was going to be retired, and got to feel some of the love associated with that right up until his death.

I've always thought it was cool to see the level of interaction that Franco had with the players that came after him. Probably the most I've seen, aside from players that became Steelers coaches. Cam had some good things to say about him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uil9u9KOuRI

I was 13 when we played the raiders....as many know the game was blacked in pittsburgh so my dad and uncle took me and we drove I think to ohio, got a motel and watched the game. that play hooked me forever on the steelers.

he was a great player but more than that, he was humble and a giving person who treated everyone he met with grace.

one word can describe franco............ class

I was 20 then. I was helping delivering flowers for my Aunts flower shop. Listening to the game. Pulled over at a stop sign to hear the final play. On that touchdown I stepped onto the street and howled. Unbelievable

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/playing...063052331.html

I couldn’t disagree more with this dude. He’s completely wrong. We MUST figure out if Kenny can play this year. At least know we have something to work with. I guess anyone could call themselves journalists.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/playing...063052331.html

I couldn’t disagree more with this dude. He’s completely wrong. We MUST figure out if Kenny can play this year. At least know we have something to work with. I guess anyone could call themselves journalists. Originally Posted by Charley3

Yea, I don't agree with that either. These next three games are valuable experience and I hope he's able to stay healthy and continue to improve game by game like he has been. I'm glad that he will have had 20 days rest, but if the doctors cleared him, I don't see a problem with him going back in.

I also agree that there are some bad "writers" out there covering the Steelers, even including some of the most well known. Mark Madden for example should just admit that he hates football, hates the Steelers, and stop covering them. Every single article he writes is over the top negative. He's like a Cult 45er of Steelers "journalists." This is obviously an extreme long shot, but even if they won out, snuck into the playoffs, won two games, and lost in the AFC championship, he'd still write an extremely negative article about it. Tim Benz seems to be a bit of a hack too. The PG has some good steelers writers.


I'm glad to see that Kenny is getting a new style of helmet. Humans have achieved so many great technological achievements, we should be able to design helmets that protect these guys heads better, and it seems like they've been moving in the right direction in recent years. The one he's gonna start using is specifically designed for the QB. It's designed specifically to better prevent the type of concussion where the back of the helmet impacts the ground, which is the kind of concussion a QB is most likely to receive, given that the rules for how you can hit them are very strict. It's how both of his concussions happened. They make different helmets for other positions based on which type of impacts they're most likely to suffer, with other positions more likely to have a helmet to helmet than hit the back of their head on the ground.

Ever since I was a kid, the gear always fascinated me. I've payed attention to the evolution of it over the years, from the face masks to the pads, shoes, gloves, wraps, uniforms, etc. Shoulder pads went form small, to huge and with giant neck rolls, and now back to small. Looking at pics and videos of Franco reminded me that they used to wear the hip pads, butt pads, big knee pads and big thigh pads. Over the years that got reduced until guys like Rod Woodson and Greg Lloyd were the first guys I noticed who only wore a helmet and shoulder pads, because they wanted to be as fast as possible. The NFL has recently mandated knee and thigh pads, but guys like TJ Watt will wear tiny ones, and wear the knee pad above the knee, where it's not offering much protection, but also causing less restriction. Helmets remained relatively static for a long time, but ever since there's been a lot of talk about CTE damage, they seem to be doing a lot more development.

The Steelers played their asses off in extreme conditions last night for Franco. Mike Tomlin coached his ass off. I felt for Dok and Dana at half time. That looked to be tough for them. The entire ceremony is on the Steelers Facebook if anyone wants to watch it.