The Steel Curtain...
Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Mike Wagner, on the Steel Curtain playing against today’s receivers: “We played against big receivers like [Moss] before. You know what we would have done against Randy Moss? We would’ve fucked him up. We would have absolutely fucked him up!
Offenses are much more open in today’s NFL than they were in the 1970s, particularly in the diversity of the passing game? How do you feel the Pittsburgh defense would have matched up against today's offensive firepower?
MW: That’s a tough one to answer, and a lot of it has to do with how the philosophy of defense has changed. We would’ve probably done things differently than the way teams are playing now. Mel Blount and J.T. Thomas and Ron Johnson would’ve still jammed the heck out of the receivers then covered them downfield. I think our 225-lb linebackers Ham and Lambert, who both could run, would’ve done the same thing. One of the reasons why Ham is in the Hall of Fame is because he could cover someone like [Bengals WR] Isaac Curtis, all over the field. That would allow the safeties to cover other people or bunch up the middle.
The talent in today’s game has changed. Because of the smaller receivers, the defensive backs have gotten smaller too. They’re quicker and can stay with them. Then all of sudden a big receiver like the Vikings’ Randy Moss comes along. We played against big receivers like him before. We would have hit him on every possible play. I’m not sure that kind of defensive philosophy exists today. But I’m not sure if the rules would permit it.
Quarterbacks? You can’t touch them anymore. There weren’t too many quarterbacks that finished the game against the Steelers, but there are different rules now. You have to be really careful when you get near the quarterback. So it’s really hard to say how our defense would’ve stacked up. But if you look at some of the athletes that we had, we would’ve matched up pretty well.