The last two games by Antonio Brown brought this subject to my mind. That and it's a bye week and I wanted something besides another Boykin thread to occupy my SU posting time.
Anyway where I want to go with this thread is I want nominations of the most dominant Steeler individual performances for a single game from your perspective. Offense, defense, special teams. Old school, modern, somewhere in between, wherever you want to take it. I give this thread over to the board. Maybe at some point we can make a list and vote? Ok that's kind of corny,
but regardless let's kick this thing off.
Since I'm old I'm going old school. The most dominant game I ever saw by a Steeler was a 1972 regular season game by Joe Greene against the then Houston Oilers.
In a Dec. 10, 1972, game against the Houston Oilers in the Astrodome, the Steelers clinched their first division title under Chuck Noll because of the dominance, greatness and willpower of Greene, the cornerstone of the Steel Curtain defense that would dominate the 1970s.
In a game in which the Steelers were ravaged by the flu and injuries, including the loss of quarterback Terry Bradshaw, Greene single-handedly shut down the Oilers with a club-record five sacks, a blocked field goal, a forced fumble and a recovered fumble in a 9-3 victory.
"That performance was truly outstanding," said former linebacker Andy Russell, one of the few healthy players in that game. "Joe Greene, at any time, could rise to a level that was incomprehensible to all of us."
Greene put on one of the greatest one-man shows against the Oilers, who were 1-11 and trying to prevent the Steelers from winning the first of their seven division titles in the '70s.
Defensive end L.C. Greenwood and guard Sam Davis did not play and tackles Jon Kolb and Gerry Mullins had the flu. Bradshaw, wide receiver Ron Shanklin, guard Bruce Van Dyke, guard Jim Clack and defensive end Craig Hanneman, Greenwood's backup -- were injured in the game and did not return.
Defensive end Dwight White and defensive tackle Steve Furness were injured during the game, but they kept playing because the Steelers were running out of bodies. It was so bad tight end Larry Brown, who would eventually grow into an offensive tackle, had to play flanker against the Oilers.
"We needed the game to keep us in the race for the division championship," Greene said the other day. "We were definitely in dire straits because we lost Bradshaw and some of our offensive lineman. And we were having a terrible time of trying to score."
But there was Greene, a No. 1 draft choice in 1969, making sure the Oilers didn't score.
After sacking quarterback Dan Pastorini twice in the second quarter, Greene blocked a 25-yard field-goal attempt by kicker Skip Butler at the end of the first half to keep the score tied, 3-3.
After kicker Roy Gerela gave the Steelers a 6-3 lead with a 39-yard field goal in the third quarter, Greene tackled running back Fred Willis for a 12-yard loss, causing a fumble. Greene recovered at Houston's 13, leading to Gerela's third field goal.
"What I remember is Joe came in the huddle and said, 'I'm taking the ball away from them on this play,' " Russell said. "No one ever said anything like that in a huddle. Then, there's a bang and a crash, and he's holding the ball. That's why I always said he was the player of the decade."
The performance was so dominating it was almost as if Greene picked up his injured, ailing teammates in his arms and carried them to victory
"We were all aware of the defensive urgency," Greene said. "You have the state of mind to do whatever you can to win the game."
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/s...s/200711100202
To save keystrokes I copy and pasted a related article, but I do remember this game very well. I was just 12 at the time and I was living in Ocala Florida at the time, so I didn't get to see many Steeler games on tv. But because of Franco the Steeler became relevant that year, and I'm guessing either the Dolphins played on Monday night that week or were facing an NFC visiting team. ( living in Florida that was always the game televised on NBC the AFC's network of the era) But for whatever reason the game was on in Florida. And as the story states the Steelers playoff hopes very much stll up in the air at the time. Anyway Joe Greene just dominated that game like he was a man playing against school children. I've never seen a defensive player take a game over like Joe did that day, before or since. Every play he would beat a double team and be waiting for Pastorini to hand off or drop back. I'll bet Dan still has nightmares about that game.
OK now I want to see some good nominations by you guys.
And even though I'm not a moderator here I suggest a month ban for the first person who nominates Charlie Batch's all time QBR record setting game against the Bucs.
The threads yours.....