NFL: Selecting the best player in each franchise’s history

Pittsburgh Steelers – Joe Greene

The list of all-time greats who wore the black and gold of the Pittsburgh Steelers is impossibly long. That makes this decision an extremely difficult one. However, with all things being equal, “Mean” Joe Greene made perhaps the greatest impact on the franchise.

Greene was the building block of the Steel Curtain defense in the 1970s, and he was selected to ten Pro Bowls and five All-Pro teams during his 13-year tenure in Pittsburgh. He was the first draft pick of the Chuck Noll era with the Steelers, and Greene went on to help lead the team to four Super Bowl victories. Of course, those teams were stacked with all-timers including Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, and others, but it was Greene who was consistently dominant and the picture of excellence at his position.

In terms of statistics, his impact is tough to quantify, given the lack of sack statistics kept by the league at this time. Still, Greene was a consistent detractor to the opposition in both the running game and the passing game, and the Steel Curtain was anchored by his presence in the middle of the defensive line.

Arguments can be formed in about ten different directions with this franchise, but Joe Greene certainly can’t be discounted as a Pittsburgh Steelers legend.

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