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A serious question for long time fans.....

CoolieMan said:
so with the rules of today....just how tough would Swann and Stallworth be to cover? and Franco would still be running the ball.....
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The game has changed so much I think the only way to compare is how much better they were/are vs. other teams from the same era.
 
Many changes to help the offense now. The Mel Blount rule, the amount of holding the offensive lineman are allowed to do now, no hands to the face, no head slap, no hitting the qb comapred to then, defenseless receivers, no crack back blocks by the offense. Before you guys get all wrapped up in the present linemen remember the steelers had the two strongest men in the nfl on their line, John Kolb and Mike Webster. The 70s Steelers were the best by a big margin. Rules favored the running game in that era. A young Bradshaw would have tremendous stats in today's game with his receivers not getting mugged the whole game.

Some players could go from this era and play the 70s game but not a lot of them. Pouncey might be the fifth best center the team has had when you consider those that played in front of him, Hartings, Mullins, Webster and Dawson. Dawson was truly great and was likely the best ever who had both speed and power. Possibly being fifth on that list is not a bad thing as all of those guys were fantastic players.
 
this years offense might very well be the best year statistically we have ever seen. that being said, they haven't won anything yet, they are playing in a league that certainly benefits passing more so than the 70s. this era puts more importance on fantasy points than super bowl rings(ok slight exaggeration)

not to take anything away from our current offense because I am sure we will all be excited about it this year, but it just isn't the same as when it was a defensive game. when you could put together a great offense when everything was stacked against you that was when it was special. Nowadays. "great" offenses are a dime a dozen.
 
Max Power said:
The game is different now and there is no way to compare them. The 70's will never be duplicated - we were spoiled for life. Not that I'm complaining...
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They started changing the rules because of how well the Steelers played back then. The other teams couldn't compete and their fans started to give up their season tickets and quit purchasing team merchandise because they knew they did not have a chance to win a Super Bowl.. Thus began the long downhill slide of over regulation in the NFL and football in general. :)
 
Well, I agree that it is hard to compare...
So it comes down to:
It's all about that ring!
 
the game then and now are like night and day. In fact it's not even the same game. It's like tennis vs hockey.
 
I agree with a lot of the above statements. Different rules, eras, condition of athletes, size of athletes, technology and amount of talent is all hard to gauge. Just because they haven't won anything yet doesn't diminish what they have accomplished or going to accomplish down the road. Our O could have played in the 70s and vice-versa. They are all pro athletes and excel/excelled for various reasons, but there are too many differences to say who was better. The rings argument is valid, but it was 30 years ago. That's a long time ago and in many ways the game has evolved and changed.
 
This group has the potential but I agree with coolie the proof is in the pudding so until they get a couple of rings they can't say much.
 
Wingman said:
...Pouncey might be the fifth best center the team has had when you consider those that played in front of him, Hartings, Mullins, Webster and Dawson...
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I think you mean Ray Mansfield, Webster's predecessor.

Mullins was a tackle, and a very good one.
 
Ben is probably a better QB than Bradshaw, but part of that is also that preparation and rules are a lot different. Its too early to tell on the WR corps. the 70's team boasted 2 HOFrs, Brown may be, time will tell. the rest are relative unproven commodities. Likewise while Bell may become the best of his era, Franco was a HOFr and one of the RB standard bearers for a long time. ... I mean its really a lot of potential vs proven stuff... you don't have this debate till at least 5 years down the road when this offensive era is at or near it's end
 
Wingman said:
Some players could go from this era and play the 70s game but not a lot of them. Pouncey might be the fifth best center the team has had when you consider those that played in front of him, Hartings, Mullins, Webster and Dawson. Dawson was truly great and was likely the best ever who had both speed and power. Possibly being fifth on that list is not a bad thing as all of those guys were fantastic players.
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Ghost of Frenchy Fuqua said:
I think you mean Ray Mansfield, Webster's predecessor.

Mullins was a tackle, and a very good one.
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obxsteeler said:
Mullins was a guard.
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LOL...don'tcha just love the offseason.

BTW..Mullins did play tackle a couple years...jus sayin'

http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0LE...Ge21.htm/RK=0/RS=OyDbeZrQkZUu7wfbqz3UPfnN7a4-
 
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