Tag Archives: Keith Willis

Steelers 2024 Hall of Honor Class Celebrates the Cowher Era

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Congratulations to Dick LeBeau, Casey Hampton, Willie Parker and Jason Gildon for their induction into the Pittsburgh Steelers 2024 Hall of Honor Class.

While induction into the Steelers Hall of Honor represents a tremendous individual honor, the class of 2024 is a testament and tribute to the Bill Cowher era, with each man offering his own distinct contribution.

Let’s look how each man fits in.

Steelers 2024 Hall of Honor Class, Dick Lebeau, Casey Hampton, Willie Parker, Jason Gildon

Who was Casey Hampton?

The Steelers drafted Casey Hampton, aka “Big Snack” in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft after trading down with the Dallas Cowboys. Casey Hampton would go on to appear in 174 games and start 164 games for the Steelers over 12 years, winning two Super Bowls along the way.

How Hampton Embodies the Cowher Era

In an on-line chat Ed Bouchette once observed that the nose tackle’s knees are the fulcrum that the success or failure of the zone blitz rises and falls upon. (Or something like that.) A central tenant of the Zone Blitz was to stuff the run, thereby setting third and long situations.

  • While this is less important in today’s game, in the ‘90’s and for the 00’s this was critical.

And with Casey Hampton in the middle, the Steelers effectively shut the middle of the field down, forcing opposing coaches to abandon any hope of “running through the tackles.”

Who was Jason Gildon?

Every era of Steelers defensive football seems to have star that was even unknown in his own era. In the 1980’s it was Keith Willis. In the 1990’s Jason Gildon occupied that role.

The Steelers drafted Gildon in the 4th round of the 1994 NFL Draft and even as a rookie he got reps in the rotation behind Hall of Famer Kevin Greene and legend Greg Lloyd. In his first two years, Gildon only started one game, but amassed 5 sacks. During the Steelers 1995 season Kevin Greene himself said that Gildon was ready to go.

Gildon took over as the starter in 1996 and kept a strangle hold on the position, holding off challengers like Mike Vrabel. By the time he left the Steelers after the 2003 season, he’d amassed 77 sacks, which stood as a team record until James Harrison broke the record in 2016.

How Gildon is Representative of the Cowher Era

In the 1990’s the concept of “Next Man Up,” was a bit different in Pittsburgh. Before Heinz Field opened Steelers struggled compete in free agency. So they’d have to draft with any eye towards replacing starters whom they knew they couldn’t afford. Such was the case with Jason Gildon and Kevin Greene.

Who was Willie Parker?

Dan Rooney Jr. saw Willie Parker in college and urged the Steelers to give him a chance. They did. He finished his rookie year by authoring his first 100 yard game, closing the Steelers 2004 season with a win over the Bills.

A year later Jerome Bettis was almost literally passed him the torch in the season finale. Next Parker was seen galloping for 75 yards in Super Bowl XL, setting a record that stand today. Parker played through the 2009 season, earning another Super Bowl ring along the way.

How Willie Parker Represents the Cowher Era

When you think of Bill Cowher’s Steelers, you think of Jerome Bettis, Rod Woodson, Carnell Lake and Ben Roethlisberger first. But think a little deeper and you remember guys like Darren Perry, Yancey Thigpen, Orpheus Roye. Guys that were either late round picks or undrafted who nonetheless rose to play critical roles on their teams. Willie Parker is one of those players.

Who was Dick LeBeau?

Dick LeBeau joined Bill Cowher’s inaugural staff in 1992 and served for three years as his secondary coach, working in unison with Dom Capers and Marv Lewis to perfect the Zone Blitz scheme.

Dick LeBeau, Troy Polamalu, Hall of Fame, Larry Foote

Dick LeBeau and Troy Polamalu in December 2012. Photo Credit: Jason Bridge, USA Today.

LeBeau rose to defensive coordinator in 1995, helping guide the Rod Woodsonless unit through to Super Bowl XXX. A year later in 1996 he’d again lose his best defensive player, Greg Lloyd, on opening day but the Steelers still fielded a dominant defense.

LeBeau returned to Pittsburgh in 2004, helping the Steelers field the NFL’s number 1 defense. In 2005 he got his first Super Bowl ring in Super Bowl XL as his unit held the Seahawks to 10 points and produced a critical turnover that set up the Antwaan Randle El to Hines Ward game-icing touchdown.

How LeBeau Symbolizes the Cowher Era

Dick LeBeau is emblematic of the Cowher era in a number of ways. First he was a key architect of a defensive scheme that dominated the NFL for two decades. He was also someone who left only to “come home again” a tendncy which began in the Cowher era and has continued.

 

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T.J. Watt Is Already the Pittsburgh Steelers Sack Leader – Let that Sink In

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The Steelers victory over the Browns on Monday Night Football was the essence of an “ugly win.” Anytime your defense scores more touchdowns than your offense, you know it ain’t pretty.

  • But Steelers History passed a critical milestone at Acrisure Stadium.

T.J. Watt became the Pittsburgh Steelers all-time sack leader.

T.J. Watt, Deshaun Watson, Steelers vs Browns MNF, Steelers vs Browns, T.J. Watt Steelers all time sack leader

T.J. Watt sacking Deshaun Watson. Photo Credit: Matt Freed, AP via San Diego Tribune-Review

Let’s repeat: T.J. Watt became the Pittsburgh Steelers all-time sack leader. Let that sink in for a moment. We’re not talking about the Houston Texas, or the Los Angeles-Anaheim-St. Louis-Los Angles Rams.

We are talking about the Pittsburgh Steelers.

This is the franchise that has defined defensive excellence for three generations. This is the franchise that gave us the Steel Curtain and a generation later gave is Blitzburgh. This same franchise who had a member of their defense set the record for the longest run in Super Bowl history.

The Steelers were the first, and only, football team to have its defensive line featured on the cover of Time Magazine, back when that meant something.

Effective defense in the NFL goes way beyond getting after the quarterback, but you’d be wise to start there.

So just how does T.J. Watt’s accomplishment stack up in terms of the Steelers larger legacy? Let’s take a look:

Pittsburgh Steelers All Time Sack Leaders

Before diving into the stat sheet above, let’s offer a big shout out to my friend and staff writer Tony Defeo. When the Steelers cut Woodley, Defeo put his accomplishments in context by calling out how Woodley had led the Steelers in sacks per game.

The totals above include Woodley’s full body of work, but if you look at Woodley’s career from his debut to the 2011 win against the Patriots, he averaged 0.8 sacks per game.

  • That was an incredible accomplishment, but Watt is beating him by a mile.

Kevin Greene, a Hall of Famer, is next. After that you get Joey Porter, Bud Dupree and the original Steel Curtain makes an appearance with Ernie Holmes.

What else can we learn from this?

First, the numbers reveal how the modern game has evolved. While each member of the original Steel Curtain makes this list, only Holmes is in the top half. Dwight White, L.C. Greenwood and Joe Greene are in the middle. Jack Lambert and Jack Ham aren’t anywhere to be seen, with Andy Russell only eking his way in at the bottom.

Bud Carson and George Perles’ defense didn’t need to blitz often because the NFL didn’t handcuff its defensive backs before the Mel Blount Rule.

Second, you can see the difference between great Steelers pass rushers and those who were truly special. The great ones sacked the quarterback somewhere between 40 and 50% of the games. Get beyond that, and you’re truly at an elite level.

Fourth, there’s an additional metric for differentiating players on this list, and that’s players with forced fumbles. Sacking the quarterback is critical, but so much more meaningful if you can knock the ball out while doing it. (Just ask Alex Highsmith and Deshaun Watson.)

Unfortunately data isn’t available for members of the original Steel Curtain or 1980’s stalwart Keith Willis. But it does show us that players like Jason Gildon and even Lamarr Woodley weren’t as dynamic, while driving home the fact that guys like Greg Lloyd and James Harrison had innate playmaking ability.

Finally, and not surprisingly, T.J. Watt leads the field here too – by a mile. This guy sacks the quarterback in almost every game and causes a forced fumble in just under 1/3 of his games.

My take away? Man, I’m glad T.J. Watt is a Pittsburgh Steeler.

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Remembering Keith Willis’ Steelers Career and Underrated Contribution to Pittsburgh’s Defensive Line

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As a young Steelers fan in the early 80’s, I often got the two Keiths on their defensive line mixed up.

One wore No. 92. The other wore No. 93. One was the 17th overall pick out of Oklahoma in the 1981 NFL Draft. The other was an undrafted free agent out of Northeastern in 1982. One obviously had the size and pedigree coming out of college. The other, as a 235-pound rookie, didn’t. One would obviously be given every opportunity to succeed–even after deciding to jump to the Canadian Football League for two seasons.

  • The other would have to prove his worth right out of the gate.

The Keith I want to talk about wasn’t the one with the draft pedigree and the big school on his resume. That was Keith Gary, No. 92, the aforementioned 17th overall draft pick who decided to give the CFL a try before signing with Pittsburgh in 1983.

  • In fairness to Gary, he did have a pretty good rookie year in ’83, recording 7.5 sacks for the eventual AFC Central Division champions.

Not too shabby.

Keith Willis, John Elway, Steelers vs Broncos 1980's

Keith Willis arrives a second too late to sack John Elway. Photo Credit: Pininterest

However, that same season, the undersized and undrafted free agent out of Northeastern, Keith Willis, No. 93, nearly doubled the former first round pick by posting a whopping 14 sacks for the Steelers, a record which Aaron Smith couldn’t break nor has Cam Heyward, yet….

While Keith Gary would go on to have a rather disappointing career for the Steelers that included just six seasons, 35 starts and 25 quarterback sacks, Keith Willis played 10 seasons in Pittsburgh, started 88 games and recorded a remarkable 59 sacks.

When Keith Willis left Pittsburgh following the 1991 season, he was the franchise’s all-time leader in sacks. Sure, the quarterback sack was a statistic not made official until Willis’s rookie year (yes Mean Joe Greene and L.C. Greenwood both posted higher unofficial sack totals), but that’s still a heck of an accomplishment for a player who arrived as an afterthought when he arrived to town less than three years after Super Bowl XIV.

While few realized it at the time, in part due to three straight playoff appearances in ’82, ’83 and ’84, the Steelers dynasty  of the 1970’s was fading rather than reloading by the time Keith Willis made his first roster in the strike-shortened ’82 campaign.

  • Although he rarely gets credit for it, in the wake of Mean Joe’s retirement and L.C’s release, Keith Willis really did keep the tradition of the Steel Curtain alive.

Three years after his 14-sack campaign, Keith Willis managed to hit double-digits again, when he recorded 12 for a team that lost 10 games.

While Keith Willis never got to experience the trappings of a championship-level team–the Steelers only made the playoffs four times during his career in Pittsburgh — he certainly got the most out of his undrafted pedigree.

“For certain people, you weren’t anything but a free agent but I never fell prey to that,” said Willis in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article from 2003. “My attitude from the first was ‘Come try me.”

Today, some 27 years after his Steelers career ended, Keith Willis still ranks fourth in franchise history in sacks behind James Harrison, Jason Gildon and Joey Porter. And, again, while Mean Joe Greene and L.C. Greenwood may unofficially have more, Keith Willis is officially the Steelers defensive lineman with the most career sacks.

“A lot of people never thought that a guy from Northeastern would end up leading the Steel Curtain in sacks, but there I was.”

There you were, indeed, Keith….Willis, that is, the undrafted free agent who lacked the pedigree and the size but managed to beat the odds anyway. It’s a shame that Keith Willis is sort of a forgotten defensive hero in Pittsburgh, but that’s somewhat typical of good players (think David Little) who played on some mediocre or worse Steelers teams of the 1980’s.

But championships or not, Keith Willis was one hell player, and its only fitting that we remember him and honor his contributions to the legacy of the Steelers defensive line.

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