LC Greenwood, Donnie Shell...WHEN?

[rhickok1109]

Never.

I think both would set the low bar for their respective positions.

Don't think She'll and Blount were comparable, both were 5/3 PB/AP guys, but Blount 1st team 80's and 75 D POY versus none of the above for Shell. Certainly a little bit of lore around it but a Mel Blount rule doesn't hurt and Blount's peak much more strongly concise with the strength of the Steeler D versus Shell's later peak. Watching on film, Shell looked very HOVG to me, though I would second John's view that he had a knack for being well positioned.

LC was a fine run defender for his size and build, but was really only average here, and his pass rush just wasn't where the best of his era were, pass rush only Hardman, Gregory, Bacon, etc would all rate out higher and I'd probably place him more with Bill Stanfell. He did flash some on film, but boy Joe Greene attracted a lot of attention. His most productive years he was the third best lineman behind Greene and Ernie Holmes, who was a monster for a short window.

I'm voting with you on this question.

[JWL]

I have not been convinced by anyone that Greenwood or Shell was truly great.

[JeffreyMiller]

I have not been convinced by anyone that Greenwood or Shell was truly great.

Thank you!

[NWebster]

I kind of break in into three tests for greatness, not in any order, The Numbers, The Accolates, The Eyeball. I suppose you can still argue about threshold levels on any of these, but if you check all three you're great if you check 0 or 1 you're average (maybe) or good (maybe), what's interesting are guys with 2 boxes checked, they're probably very good, but why didn't they check the third box, seems to me it's actually hard to check 2 and not some third. I feel like these two check 1 maybe 1.5.

[Bryan]

I don't think LC Greenwood is a HOFer, but I will say that he played up to the competition. He faced HOF opposition in all 4 Super Bowls (Yary, Wright 2X, Slater) and played well each time. Maybe its just because of the number of postseason games Greenwood participated in, but he seemed to make big plays in the playoffs.

[74_75_78_79_]

His most productive years he was the third best lineman behind Greene and Ernie Holmes, who was a monster for a short window.

This is true. Not sure if it was Greene himself who said he thought 'Fats' was the best DL of the four during that brief period. It wouldn't mean he's right but still.

[L.C. Greenwood]

Never.

I think both would set the low bar for their respective positions.

Don't think She'll and Blount were comparable, both were 5/3 PB/AP guys, but Blount 1st team 80's and 75 D POY versus none of the above for Shell. Certainly a little bit of lore around it but a Mel Blount rule doesn't hurt and Blount's peak much more strongly concise with the strength of the Steeler D versus Shell's later peak. Watching on film, Shell looked very HOVG to me, though I would second John's view that he had a knack for being well positioned.

LC was a fine run defender for his size and build, but was really only average here, and his pass rush just wasn't where the best of his era were, pass rush only Hardman, Gregory, Bacon, etc would all rate out higher and I'd probably place him more with Bill Stanfell. He did flash some on film, but boy Joe Greene attracted a lot of attention. His most productive years he was the third best lineman behind Greene and Ernie Holmes, who was a monster for a short window.

The postseason will really help Greenwood, along with his talent on that defensive line. Yes, Ernie Holmes was terrific for a short time, but it was Greenwood who did it for a longer period of time. Like Jason Taylor, folks thought you could run on Greenwood because of his slight build, but was a false idea.

[NWebster]

Totally agree on the perception / reality gap on LC as a run defender. Performing that way with that size and build shows excellent technique and he rarely got to high and over-powered.

As a real question - and the Steelers are literally my team - how many Hall of Famer can you have on one team? They did lose games too. 4 defensive HOFers, the 85 Bears have 2, 80's 49ers 2, 60's Pack are right there, but if you add Shell and LC it's 6 just on D and would be what 11 total, 12 with coach.

[bachslunch]

Totally agree on the perception / reality gap on LC as a run defender. Performing that way with that size and build shows excellent technique and he rarely got to high and over-powered.

As a real question - and the Steelers are literally my team - how many Hall of Famer can you have on one team? They did lose games too. 4 defensive HOFers, the 85 Bears have 2, 80's 49ers 2, 60's Pack are right there, but if you add Shell and LC it's 6 just on D and would be what 11 total, 12 with coach.

If memory serves, the '85 Bears have three HoFers on defense: Singletary, Dent, and Hampton.

To answer your question, the numbers can vary as it's an individual award. Otherwise, how could the early 70s Cardinals have any HoFers, never mind four: Larry Wilson, Jackie Smith, Roger Wehrli, and Dan Dierdorf, all deserving? But it happens.

[JeffreyMiller]

You mean there are Steelers NOT in the Hall of Fame???? Wow!!