Is this where I can say A.Smith was the absolute best yet the MOST under-rated???? Just checking........and YES I said it.
Salute the nation
Aaron Smith was way underrated and no doubt our best DE in history. I agree with you
1. Aaron Smith
2:Joe Greene
3wight White
4:Kimo Von Oehlhoffen
5:Ray Seals
Lebeau felt Smith was his best player.
I liked Seals but he was only on the team for two years.
Anthony Smith?
Aaron Smith was way underrated and no doubt our best DE in history. I agree with you
Greene was a tackle, not an end.
I should have clarified this better.................. A.Smith in his ERA
......................................................................J.Greene in his ERA
BOTH defensive linemen in a different "D"
Salute the nation
Considering the era's in which they played. During Greene's time it was tough, blue-collar, minimal rules football. Not taking anything away from Mean Joe. The man is legend, but the lineman in Aaron Smith's era were much bigger, players have better training programs, facilities, etc. So yes, I stand by my statement about Aaron Smith
I don't try to determine how good old guys would be today. Lambert and Greenwood couldn't excel today unless they could carry more weight, which we don't know if they could or not. They were dominant in their era. Greene was dominant in his era at a level which Aaron Smith never approached in his. Greene, at his absolute peak, from 1972-74, was the best defensive player in football, and many experts have him on their all time first team. From this era, only Troy would even be in the discussion for such an honor.
Aaron Smith is a big part of why the Steelers were able to do what they did defensively for so long. He just quietly ate up blockers and let the linebackers get all the glory. And every now and then, if a linebacker wasn't available to finish a play off, Aaron went ahead and did it for him.
That dude was a complete stud. He never had the sexy numbers that made him look like an all star, but he was doing everything that made the guys around him look good and make the plays. Hell, Smith nailed down half the offensive line by himself.
And he was a man among boys doing it.
Thank you! The only Steeler defender even in the same zip code with Greene is Jack Lambert.