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Rod Woodson: The Steelers’ Game-Changer · Pittsburgh Sports Memories

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to another better than your average podcast, Pittsburgh Sports Memories.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: And Tim, um, I'm Steve Wirt, and I'm joined by my co-host Tim Hannon.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: And uh we're definitely better than all those other podcasts, right, Tim?
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: Most of them.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: Most of them.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: And we're humble too.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Always.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: That's well, well, that's why I said 90%.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: Saying 100% would make us not humble.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's that 10% that makes the difference.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: That's absolutely right.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: So uh on this episode, we will cover someone who uh doesn't need to be humble.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: I think he kind of is.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: I never never remember him bragging too much.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um we're gonna one of the greatest defensive backs of all time.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: He single-handedly could turn the outcomes of game.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: He also made this miraculous recovery in season to play in a Super Bowl.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, we're talking about the one, the only, Mr.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Rod Woodson.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: So uh to begin with, um, Rod Woodson, where did he play college at?
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: He played at a school called Purdue, which I guess I mean, who else came out of Purdue football-wise?
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: Than somebody else?
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: Drew Brees.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: Drew Brees, yeah.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Brian Greasy?
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Bob Greasy, I don't know.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: One of them.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um he had 11 career interceptions and he returned three for touchdowns, and that's kind of like gonna become Rod's thing.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's like he when he gets an interception, he seems to return it for a touchdown.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um track and field, um, he did a lot of track and field.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: He actually qualified for the 1984 Olympic trials, and he held the records in the 60 and 110 meter hurdles at Purdue, and he had a NCAA record for the 55-meter hurdles.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know why there's like a 60-meter hurdle and a 55-meter hurdle.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: That extra five meters just makes a big difference.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: So I I don't know what all that's about, but he was really fast, apparently.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um so coming into the draft, uh, Rod Woodson's highly rated.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: He's not like a very there's not much secret.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: He's gonna go pretty high in the draft.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but the Steelers are drafting 10th overall, which for the Steelers that's kind of high.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they've they've you know not been drafting that high.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: And the team expected Woodson to be drafted before their turn.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they figured one of the other teams would take him.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: So Chuck Nolan, defensive coordinator Tun Tony Dungey, didn't even they were like, we're not even gonna get bothered with a scouting report on Woodson because you know, we're probably not gonna get him.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: So however, what happened was the Browns traded for the San Diego Chargers' fifth overall pick and used that selection to pick Mike Juncan.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Who have you ever heard of Mike Juncan?
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: Nope, but if it was the Browns, I'm not surprised.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, this was in the Browns in the 80s, they were kind of competent.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: That was that's true.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the St.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Louis Cardinals, uh, yes, the baseball team.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: No, this would be the St.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: Louis football cardinals.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: Is that how I have to say it?
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh they drafted Kelly Stoffer.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: I remember him.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, quarterback.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: He never played for the Cardinals due to a contracts of dispute, so that was a great pick by the St.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Louis football Cardinals.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they should have drafted him to play baseball, I don't know.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um The Bills were the last likely team to draft Woodson, but they drafted linebacker Shane Conland.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: That's hard to believe.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like, that's like three top linebacker picks before him.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I think Brian Bosworth went earlier than him, too.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: So um they fall to him and they draft him even without a scouting report.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: I guess he was so good they didn't need one.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um and actually the 1987 draft ends up being one of the best drafts of the 1980s because they also drafted Hardy Nickerson, Merrill Hodge, and Greg Lloyd.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_07: Oh wow.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: So they actually got two very good linebackers way later in the draft.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe the Browns should have taken Hardy Nickerson, I don't know.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: Or Rod Woodson.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, um, coming into this year, now you gotta remember that 1987, there's no free agency.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: That doesn't happen until the 90s.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: And um, there was still like it was weird.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: The NFL, remember when the NFL used to go on strike, Tim?
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's right.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: That was a strike season.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: I think they only missed one game.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: Well, they they there were three, so that year, so so there was a strike earlier in the decade where they just canceled games.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: 82.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: That was like ended up being like a nine-game season.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: 87, the owner said, We're not canceling games, we're gonna play with scab players.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's right, yeah.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: So so like Steve Bono was our scab quarterback for the Steelers, and then all these other guys that you would have never seen ever again.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: It was like it was the guys you cut like in the first preseason game.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_01: That's who played, and there there were like three weeks of that, but but what ended up happening was a bunch of guys crossed the picket line.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: So so I think Mike Webster might have been one of those guys too, if you look at his stats from that year.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: So there were guys that did play in 15 games or 14 games or whatever, and then there were other guys that didn't.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: So Rod Woodson and you know, I guess this was just kind of on brand for that time.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: They thought they weren't getting paid enough.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they were, maybe they weren't.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he ends up being a draft holdout.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: So what he does is he goes and runs track in Europe while holding out.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: He ended up not going to training camp or anything.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: And um he also said, and I don't know if this is like legit or he was just negotiating, he said he wanted to compete in the 1988 Olympics.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: So that would have been the following summer in South Korea, I do believe.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_07: Yep.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um his holdout actually lasted to October.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't he he didn't debut until November 8th.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: I think uh he signed on October 28th.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um and his agent said the it was the biggest, well, at that time it was the biggest contract in team history.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: And his agent said it was it was a little less than Vinnie Testaverdi and Brian Bosworth.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: So boy, the 87 draft is a weird one, huh?
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Vinnie Testaverdi, I guess Vinnie had a successful career.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: He wasn't terrible.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: Not really for the team that drafted him, though.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was Tampa Bay.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: And and I remember when he I actually remember that when he was holding out.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: Because everybody was like, oh, well, that was a bust of a pick.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I didn't find much fan reaction in the papers, but yeah, I was wondering about that.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: How did people feel back then?
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: Were they kind of were they mad at Rod Woodson or were they just kind of like, oh, he's a bum?
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: Or I I think I think it was more, and I was, you know, I was young, I was a kid at the time, but I I what I remember was it wasn't so much they were mad at him.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: I think I think we get more mad at like the Levy on Bells, like the players that were already here that we knew that hold out.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: This was like a draft pick, and then he was the fact that he was running track in Europe, because remember, this was also the era where like Bo Jackson told, was it Tampa Bay, like, nope, I'm I'm gonna go play baseball instead.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: John Elway told the Colts he was gonna go play baseball instead.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: So this was the era where if you drafted somebody and they didn't really want to play for you, that you would just go play another sport.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: That kind of seemed like a thing.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think the what I remember was the thought process was more just people were mad at the Steelers, because the Steelers really kind of stunk at this point.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: And they had they had made kind of personnel mistake after personnel mistake for a couple of years, and it was like, oh, here we go again, another wasted draft pick, just like Daryl Sims and John Ringstra and Walter Abercrombie and all the guys that that had preceded Woodson.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: That like the it was more like the Steelers screwed up, I think, was the reaction.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it and um it's kind of weird, like you just you don't see holdouts per se.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like TJ Watt kind of did like a in-camp holdout, like he went to camp but he didn't participate or something weird like that.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: And and doesn't this break the Dan Rooney?
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, Dan Rooney had that rule that he never negotiates during the season?
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Was that not a thing at this time?
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: Or that's a good point.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I was thinking because like in the paper it literally says Dan Rooney was negotiating with his agent.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: So it wasn't his brother was there, I guess, but his father was still alive at the time, too.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I doubt I doubt, you know, the chief was doing anything with local operations.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's that's true.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a good point.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: I w I I maybe he had not instituted that role by that point.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: But they've broke it now since he's not longer, you know, no passed away and not running the team anymore.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: But so um a fun thing happened.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: We'll do maybe some fun facts here.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um in 1988, they had uh remember they used to do these fastest man's and most accurate quarterback confident.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: They you know what they should replace whatever they're doing at the poop Pro Bowl with this kind of stuff.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'd rather see this than dodgeball.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I guess you could still keep the dodgeball, but it'd be fun to see who's the fastest man.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: And um actually uh Ron Woodson, if you we have we'll have video, we'll post it to our uh website and our link.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: And he uh he gets all the way to the final and loses to Darryl Green, who's another defensive back.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: He actually beats Wally Willie Gall and uh some running back from Denver, I think.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't recognize him, but Willie Gall was pretty fast.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um in his first game, he plays against Kansas City.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh he actually replaces Lupi Sanchez, the immortal Lupi Sanchez as nickel corner.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um he played mainly, they were only putting him in on pass plays for real pass plays.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: And um he has a solid year.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: He he has one interception, he referred returns for a touchdown, and uh, I do believe we have video of that.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_05: Syerson being chased out of the pocket, throws and it's nearly intercepted and finally is picked off.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_05: Luper Rod Woodson, the rookie from Purdue.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_05: What an athlete.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_05: Woodson brings it back for a touchdown.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_05: It's first NFL touchdown.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_05: And Tony Dungeon said last night, the defensive coordinator, we want to work Woodson in there.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: Who is that announcer with the really New York accent?
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: Do you know, Tim?
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was Sam Ratigliano, who who was what the one time Oh, Red Wright eighty eight Sammer.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: Coach of the Browns, yeah.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: That that's I I that's who it sounded like to me.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: It sounded like Sam.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: That that's pretty awesome.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: So uh if you for the people on the podcast that aren't watching, um Boomer Oson throws a pass.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: It deflects off another defensive back, like literally threw it like that.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't throw it to the guy, the other guy cut in front of the receiver, and there was like three other stealers there, but it pops right to Rod Woodson, who runs back for a touchdown and then taunts it.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: It looks like Riverfront Stadium, Tim.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: That looks like in Cincinnati.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: He taunts like some high school kids that were apparently gonna play at halftime or at the end of the game or something.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: So it was pretty cool.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um at the end of the season, um, the Steelers are pretty mediocre.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Tim says they stink.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: They went eight and seven.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, nowadays that's celebrated.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's a non-losing season, Tim.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the the a couple of those wins were the scab team.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: Ah, okay.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: So and just uh just another fun fact, at the end of the season, uh Rod Woodson blocks a Matt Barr punt or a Mack Barr extra point on the last game of the season, but they still lose.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um Dalton Hall, ironically enough, is voted rookie of the year, not Rod Woodson.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: So um they do play in the playoffs, he does 92 through 96.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the infamous third and Sammy game in 92, I think.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: Rod Woodson what broke his wrist and had to go out in a season.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: The Steelers were like 12-4, and the Bills came back, and I think it was Jim Kelly.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Was it Jim Kelly?
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: It was Frank Reich.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: It was Frank Reich still that game.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and and they had a guy named Sammy Walker who was Rod Woodson's backup, and every time he got the third down, they just like okay, put James Lofton out there on Sammy Walker, and it was a total mismatch, and the Bills kind of blew out the Steelers.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: So and in '96, he does leave the team for free agency.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's kind of weird.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: He has his own little workout in Purdue when he leaves.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: I forget how much he signed for, but he only went for San Francisco for one year.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: And um he f finishes up his career, what, in Baltimore and Oakland.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: In Baltimore, he's actually I think they move him to safety, right?
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: And he they he's part of one of the greatest defenses of all time outside of the Steel Curtain, that 2000 Baltimore Ravens.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: And then he's really good in Oakland, too.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: He's pretty good with um, you know, uh playing safety in Oakland, and I think he makes another Super Bowl with Oakland, doesn't he?
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: Correct.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: And that's how he finishes up his career.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he was a member of the 75th anniversary team in '94.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he's made the Pro Bowl 11 times, and in 2009, he's a Hall of Fame inductee.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: So that's kind of an overview on his career.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we're gonna get into the uh Tim did a pretty cool list on his old website, and he did a top 10 Ron Woodson games.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: So instead of like, you know, me reciting every stat and everything that's pretty boring, we'll go through uh some of the games, and I think some of these games all have highlights for some not.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: But um, are you ready, Tim, for the top 10 list that you created?
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I did that list.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_01: I think you said 2009 was when he got inducted into the Hall of Fame.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: So that's when I made that list.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: And and so this list is over 10 years old.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: Not that Rod Woodson has played a lot of football since 2009.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, it probably doesn't does not need updated.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: But but the the thing about Rod Woodson, you know, I I've said on the show before he's he's probably still my all-time favorite stealer.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: And the thing that was special about him was he he you said at the beginning, his impact on games for for that position, a cornerback.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like if you're a quarterback, or even like a wide receiver or a running back, or or maybe like a Joe Green or TJ Watt, like so some you know, those guys have a huge impact, can can have a huge impact on a game.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: Usually a cornerback can help, you know, shut down a player uh that's a threat, that kind of stuff.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: But usually they're not that you're not gonna point to the cornerback and say that's the reason we won the game.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: And Rod Woodson had a bunch of games where you could say, man, he like won us that game.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought that's what made him so special.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll start with number 10 versus Houston.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: We're playing the Oilers in 90.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's a tight early season contest.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's at Three River Stadium, so we're at home.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: It had already been a wild game.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: The Steelers offense is struggling.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: Joe Walton, we can call it the Joe Walton effect, had not been able to get in the end zone.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um the offense actually did not score a touchdown until week five of that season.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um Greg Gloyd got himself ejected for jumping on an official's foot.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: What the heck?
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: Was he like Yosemite Sam?
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what the flabbed?
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: He was arguing.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_01: He was arguing with a ref.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_01: We posted that on our Facebook page at one point, that clip.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_01: He's arguing with a ref, he's sort of jumping up and down angrily, not meaning to jump on the guy's foot, but he did, and then the ref was like, nope, okay, you're gone.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so the Steelers, they hold a suddenly late in the fourth quarter, and they needed to get some more points on the board.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: Fortunately, Woodson came through with a clutch.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_06: They really have got nothing going.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_06: There's just no sense of rhythm.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_06: End over it.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_06: What's in Mexico He did that one all by himself.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_06: Usually a punt returns you get one or two blocks.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's right.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: He was a great punt returner, too.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: And they used to put him on reverses, too, on offense.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: And he raced 52 yards for a touchdown, giving the Steelers a two-scored lead.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then he uh made some big plays in the defense at the end, holding off Houston's potent passing game, securing a big divisional victory.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: I remember Cower played him a little bit on offense, and then didn't he almost get hurt?
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: Cower's like, nope, you're not playing no more.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: The the uh he the that was very short-lived.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: But special teams, I mean, he was a really good kick returner.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: And that was a Sunday night game against Houston at the River Stadium.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_01: I was at that game, Steve, and it was so miserable.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, like our offense, this was the like you said, the Joe Walton couldn't do anything offense, and then he just says, Okay, I'll do it myself.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: That's Rod.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: All right, another this is only nine.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: I can't believe there's only nine.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: But this is a great moment.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: Although he didn't play a huge role in Super Bowl thirty, he did play, which is amazing.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, in the season opener, he was trying to tackle Barry Sanders, and Barry Sanders is tough to tackle, so he kind of faked Rod Woodson out of his ACL.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: And that was a big blow because the Steelers almost missed the playoffs because of that.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: They ended up because they had uh, I think it was Alvoid Mays, who was his backup.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so they were just terrible.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: So they ended up having playing Carnell Lake at the corner, and they got some guy named Cordell on offense and they were able to score some points.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so they kind of saved their season.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: And Rod, the whole year, Rod Woodson's saying, if we make it to the Super Bowl, I'm gonna play.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I would be like, Yeah, yeah, right, sure, sure, sure.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: Sure enough, the whole year, you know, they get to the Super Bowl, and there he is.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: He's dressed and he played.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I think he only played like one play, maybe two, but he did knock a pl pass away from Michael Irvin, and then he pointed to his knee, you know, just kind of talking trash to Michael Irvin.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it wasn't that he played a big role in that game, it was just the significance of him playing in that game.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: Meant a lot.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: And also, again, I we can't say it enough times, just makes the Neil Neil Adoro interceptions that much more painful because everything about that yeah, everything about that season was storybook.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: So moving on to number eight, um, 96 versus the Ravens.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Woods' final season with the Steelers had a tumultuous beginning.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: The open at Jacksville, the team lost all pro big Greg Lloyd for the year.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: Jim Miller um won the starting job and then wasn't the starting.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: They they started all three quarterbacks, and all three quarterbacks looked horrible.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: I remember that.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and as they entered week two against the Ravens on the first two, first ever meeting between the two franchises.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: But that was the first ever game and the first ever pass in the history of Steelers Ravens.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: And it's an interception by the aforementioned higher draft pick, Vinny Testaverdi.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I is that did we have I think you sent me video of this, Tim.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we have video of that if you want to play it.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a real floater.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: He throws like an out route that just absolutely floats for Vinny Testaverdi because he's Vinny.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_02: And a second down play for the Ravens.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_02: Second and eight.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_02: And Cestaverdi kicked off.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_02: Intercepted by Ron Woodson and he is in for the touchdown.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the beginning of the Steelers um Ravens rivalry, huh?
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, that's how it starts.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_01: That's how it all begins, is with the Rod Woodson pick six.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: I think the the Steelers definitely win that game.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they do.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, great Rodwoodson moment, you know, and Vinny was always good for an interception, a game against the Steelers.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: For whatever reason, he did not play well against the Steelers.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: And he kind of floated, and it was an out route.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then it's great that Marv Albert, and that was so loud, the crowd, like my my headphones like buzzed when the when he got that interception, and then Tad Marta Marchabrotto as the coach.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, what a what a what a scene, man.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: In three of the stadium.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: Nice.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh number seven, Rod Woodson moment um versus the Chargers in '89.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the Steelers were four and six.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: They've been shut out two of their previous four games.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: I think they make the playoffs still this year, don't they?
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, remember we just did it.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: We did it in a whole podcast, yeah.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: They come home, face the Chargers at week 11.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: Things didn't appear to be getting any better.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: All the team could muster was is this still the Joe Walton offense?
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_01: This is no, this is the um um Tom Moore offense in 89.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we're making progress.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh two Gary Anderson field goals, trailing 10 to 6 in the third quarter.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: Wouldn't decide to provide the offense all by himself.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: He took a kickoff back 84.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, he did kickoffs too.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't remember that.
• 21:53
  unknown: Yeah.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: Or a touchdown.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it was key because the quarterback, the Chargers, and quarterback Jim McMahon.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: Jim McMahon was the quarterback for the Chargers.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, I didn't know that.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: We're dominating time possession.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: They only had the ball for four plays during the third quarter.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: The kick return absolutely deflated them.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: The play not only helped those Steelers to a victory, but also got them back in the playoff hunt.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: They won five on the six five out of the final six games, the qualifier of the postseason, like we said.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: You can go back and listen to that podcast.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: That is quite an amazing season.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I didn't realize Jim McMahon played for the Chargers.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: I remember playing for Green Bay and getting didn't he get a Super Bowl ring with Green Bay in the 90s?
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_01: He did.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: He was Brad Fires back up.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: But wow.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: So a big win on their way to a pretty remarkable season.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: In 92, uh the Lions were 2-7 because they're the Lions and that's how they roll.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: They came to Pittsburgh for a mid-season game with the Steelers, and they sure didn't play like a 2-7 team.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: Detroit overcame a 10-0 deficit, thanks part to Barry Sanders.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: He scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter with Gage the Lions a 14-10 lead.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: On the other side of the ball, the Steelers offense was sputtering.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: Neil O'Donnell had left the game with a pooled handstring.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: And bring in the Bubby, the Bumpster, who has to mop up.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: The game appeared to be over when Detroit got the ball back with over three minutes left in the game.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: And the worst case was they were just going to punt and watch Brister go haplessly go four and out.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: But Woodson made sure that wouldn't happen.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, Eric Kramer.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: Oh boy, there's another crappy quarterback, huh?
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_00: Didn't he play for the Bears at one point?
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: A Bears and a Lions quarterback.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: Eric Kramer forced to he actually blitzed Eric Kramer, forced him to fumble the ball in the zone three.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: And when it was recovered by Carnell Lake, that led to a short touchdown pass from Brister, the Tim Jordan, the immortal Tim Jordan, which won the game for the Steelers.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, again, like the the the Stewarters weren't going to do anything on offense.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: Like that Houston game.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_01: So it's like, okay, I'll take matters into my own hands and get you the ball back at the three-yard line so you can you can win it.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, here's the Cincinnati game we were talking about before.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: He returned the touchdown.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, hey, Chuck Null, when they drafted him, said, I am in love with that guy.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: And like we said, when the draft holdout happened, maybe that love was on the rocks.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: Love on the rocks.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: But he gets a 55, 45-yard pick six off of Boomer, and they go on to win the game.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: And we got a glimpse of Steeler greatness by Rod Woodson.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: Here's a game that we've talked about a couple of times.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_00: At Houston in 89, Jerry Glanville leaves his tickets for Elvis.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: We're not sure if Elvis was in the building.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: But after this play, I think he left.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: So that was this 89.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_00: Boy, what a magical season 89 was.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, this was the playoff game in Houston.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: And the Oilers got great field position inside the Steeler territory thanks to subpar Harry Newsom Punt.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I think they're in overtime at this point.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, this was in over.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_01: So they're in they're tied in overtime.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: Houston has the ball.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: Lorenzo White, and like literally Woodson comes in like a freaking ball-seeking missile and just knocks the ball out.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: We will play this one for you.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's a great clip.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: More Marv Albert.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: Boy, we got a lot of Marv Albert on this episode, don't we?
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_02: Woodson.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_02: for Pittsburgh 45 and it's to the ground for Lorenzo White and he's hit for the loss.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_02: He fumbled, and the Steelers recover.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_02: Rod Woodson on the recovery.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_02: Woodson makes the
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: That's just an amazing thing.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: You don't realize like he just came in there like a heat-seeking missile man and just destroyed Lorenzo White.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_01: And then he recovers it too.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and it's like he didn't even realize the ball.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like if he watched, he's laying there and the ball's laying beside him, he doesn't even realize the ball's loose.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's like and they were lucky they tackled him.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: That was like a shoestring tackle because if he he almost like it looked like he was gonna go out the score on that.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, the only thing he didn't do was kick the field goal.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_01: Jerry Anderson had to do that.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, man, it's just once again, and that was such a big deal.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_01: And again, we we did a whole episode on that um season, but that was such a big deal because the Steelers weren't weren't even supposed to be in the playoffs, much less win a game at the Astrodome.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, Astrodome was a tough place to play back then, the House of Pain, as they called it.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: So uh moving away, we're moving up the list, number three, the Saints in '93.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the Saints were the best team in football.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_00: What?
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: In '93?
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: Really?
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_01: When they came to Three River Stadium in '93, they were five and oh.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: I did not remember that.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: The offense was nearly 30.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: Who was their quarterback?
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: Wade Wilson.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_01: I believe it was Wade Wilson.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: Not Abear, not Bobby Abear.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um when New Orleans came to Three Rivers to face the Steelers, Pittsburgh knew they would need a big defensive effort to stop them.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: They got one for the best player in the first quarter alone.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: Woods intercepted two passes in the first quarter.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: Ran back the first interception 63 yards.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: The second pick occurred deep in Saints territory, set up another score.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, prior to the game, oh, there he is.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: Wade Wilson had not been picked off in 107 pass attempts.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: Woods intercept two of his first four passes, just like the Steelers were up 14-0.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: Then they would cruise to a dominating 37 to 14.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that year, uh, Woodson would be named Defensive Player of the Year, an award which he practically clinched in this game alone.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't realize he was defensive player of the year in '93.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_01: That was his.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's kind of a down year for the Steelers, too.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_01: It was.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_01: We did an episode about that season too.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_01: It was it was we called that the um the roller coaster season.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because that was the Mark Royals punt and all the ups and downs they had that year where it's like, oh, they're going to the Super Bowl.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, they stink, they're not even gonna make the playoffs.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_01: That was kind of a week-to-week thing that year.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_00: But DJ Johnson kicked the guy in the head.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, a lot of weird stuff that season, but he was real good.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, number two, the Oilers again.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Bill Cower's first game as head coach.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, they had the fake punt, speaking of Mark Royals.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was Mark Royals who threw that pass.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_00: It was.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: A few people despite the Steelers still troyed the Oilers, trailed the Oilers 24-19.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Houston's powerful run and shoot offense was driving and had a first down at the Pittsburgh 43.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's when Woodson steps in.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_00: On a first down, he jumped over running back Lorenzo White, and then he knocked down a Warren Moon pass.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: On third and two, he hurdled an offensive lineman and ran completely across the field and tackled White.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: Boy, Lorenzo White really uh didn't have a great career against Rod Woodson, did he?
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_01: No, he didn't.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_00: He wasn't bad.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_00: He was a decent running back.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_01: He was very good, yeah.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Woodson was far from finish halfway through the fourth quarter.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: He picked off Moon in the end zone.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: Another game clinching drive.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: It set the Steelers up for the go-ahead.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, he returned to 57 yards to set up the go-ahead score.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: So they're literally about to score.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: Then Woodson picks it off, and it's like a total reversal for fortune.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, two interceptions, three deflected passes, seven tackles, and two driving killing stops.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um went in oh, by the Woodson.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: Wait, Woodson wasn't even supposed to be playing.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: He had a knee injury, they've been slowing him down.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, the Pistias Restones to add some French to the podcast.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: This is first the Bills in '94.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: And anytime the Steelers played the Bills in the early 90s, it was bad for the Bills.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's kind of like a row reversal now, now that they have Josh Allen, huh?
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: Anytime the Steelers play the Bills, this is like a streaky series.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like one team always dominates the other.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_01: That's a good point.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: Woodson jumped the Kelly pass and returned at 70 37 yards for a Steelers.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_00: Touchdown in the second half, the Bills mounted a comeback and Charled by only six points.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_00: When Woodson struck again, he nailed Kelly on a blitz.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_00: And first of him, the fumble in the end zone were Gerald with a G.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_00: Williams fell on the ball to give the Steelers a 23-10 lead, which it ended up being the final score.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: The Steelers offense never sniffed the end zone.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_00: The defense had to deal with four-time defending AFC champions.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: Rod Woodson single-handedly accounted for the team's only touchdowns.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: This is why he's so feared.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I think, do we have video of this one?
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we do.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, we have both of them.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_00: A double treat for all the folks listening.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna hear Rod more Rod Woodson greatness.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_00: You can never get enough of it, right, Tim?
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_04: Now the crowd starts to come into him.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_04: Second and four.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_03: And it is picked off by Ron Woodson.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_03: Goodbye.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_04: Touchdown, Pittsburgh.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, he told you he would gamble.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_04: If that would have been a hits and go, it would have been six the other way.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: But he will take the But it wasn't Frank Gifford.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_03: Gerald Williams with a T D.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_03: Ron Woodson created it.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's pretty awesome.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_00: And that that fact that another game where they literally had no offense.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that was it.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_01: That was the the neither team scored a touchdown on offense, and he scored two.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_01: I mean that like again, but what what who does that as a defensive player?
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_01: And and that was a Monday night game that was big.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_01: You s like you said, the Bills were the four-time defending AFC champions at the time, so it wasn't like they were.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_01: No, they weren't a slouch, yeah.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_01: And he and he's he's the he's he's accounts for all the touchdowns in that game.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: So uh Rod Woodson's really good.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_01: This just did this he is, and and like we talked about um we did that episode on Tom Donohoe, and we talked about you know, when he left, it was just unfortunate.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he wasn't I think the he wasn't as good as he was a little overvalued.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_00: That was still kind of like free agency only had been around three or four years, so maybe he got a little more than he should have.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: Or, you know, and the Steelers maybe offered him a little less than they should.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't know.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_01: It it it wasn't it I think what upset a lot of Steelers fans was not that he left for San Francisco, because like you said, he was he had been coming off the injury.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_01: He really he had a really subpar year that last year.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_01: Remember the you didn't talk about the New England playoff game, but I yeah, he got juked out by Curtis Martin.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_01: So so I don't think anybody was like really upset that necessarily the like people were sad that he left, but it was it was whenever things didn't go well in San Francisco, and then he was a free agent in '98, like two years later.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_01: And that's when Baltimore brought him in to be a safety.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_01: And then, like you said, he had this great renaissance to his career, and a lot of Steeler fans wanted us to do the same thing.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_01: And that's when Tom Donahood's Tom Donahoe said, We're not the salvation army.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_01: And that really people never forgot that, and people were really upset by that.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_00: And like they needed a safety too.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_00: They really didn't.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, how many they had Brent Alexander, they had that kid from Wolford, Scott Shields.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_00: They had uh they had Lee Flowers, but he was more of a strong safety.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I don't know.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_01: They they they could have they yeah, he would have been a valuable and and then he would have been on like that 2001 team.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he would have retired a Steeler that that he never would have left the Steelers again.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_01: And he would have been on that 2001 team that lost to the Patriots and the championship game.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_01: He would have been on some good teams.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_00: He probably would have he might have been on the 2000 no, he retired in 2003, so.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_01: He would have been he would have been on that 2002 team that couldn't stop the pass.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_01: That lost to the that gave up 30 points in each of the playoff games.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like again, it it would have been it would have not just nostalgic, like we love this guy, we're nice to bring him back.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_01: It actually would have benefited the team.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I I to this day will maintain that that was a huge, huge mistake.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_01: And it seemed like we did it for petty reasons.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_00: I I will say this, like, I think like they just he he wanted more than they are willing to pay, and maybe both sides should have met in the middle.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I don't know.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know how much money he ended up getting in Baltimore and Oakland, but I I don't I don't think it was that.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_01: I think I think literally Donoho was like just like I'm not bringing back somebody.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_00: He was like a a a scorned lover at that point.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_01: That's exactly right.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_01: I I don't think it had anything to do with figures or numbers or anything.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_01: It was just like, nope, you don't want to be a CEO, we don't want you here.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_01: You left, and so you're never welcome back.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_00: Well that and I like I could see that with a guy with like A B or Le'Veon Bell, or like even like Eric Blunt, but like him, he never caused any trouble.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, besides in contract negotiations, that's the only time I ever heard him ever causing any, you know, they had any drama with him.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: But they had that with Heinz Ward, too, and he's the most lawyers loyal stealer ever.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_00: Mike Webster.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_00: I mean Mike Webster, another guy who was a lawyer, you know, you said, you know, went on strike for a couple games.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_00: So uh well, we'll get to his legacy.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_00: Let's go with the fun part here.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_00: Let's argue sports talk radio arguing, Tim.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think I'm gonna get much of an argument from you.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um Woodson finishes with 71 interceptions.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_00: He returned a total of 1,483 yards, 12 of them for touchdowns.
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's still the record for career returns for touchdowns.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, by comparison, Deion Sanders has 53, and he actually Dion has less than Dick Lebeau at 62.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_00: So who's the best cornerback of all time?
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there's a Fox Sports article, I don't know if it was from like a year or two ago.
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_00: They ranked Daryl Green, Deion Sanders, Champ Bailey.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_00: I think they ranked him second.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_00: Male Blunt was like in the like bottom half, but they had like Dion number one and Woodson number two.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I I mean that's it's debatable.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_00: I I I guess maybe if you're going pure corner, probably Dion would be the better choice.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_00: But I I if I I like a guy that can actually play like football, like and actually tackle and you know, do stuff.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_00: I I I I know like teams were like he was susceptible to the double move a lot because he gambled.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_00: Like what's his name?
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_00: Frank Gifford wasn't wrong.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_00: He did get burned a lot because like he gambled.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_00: And like I've I've often heard um I once heard uh Edmund Nelson, who used to do the Steeler Post game, say that like he should probably should have been a safety's whole career because he liked the although I mean you really shouldn't be gambling, maybe like strong safety, you can gamble a little bit, but he really could tackle, like he really was quite talented today.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_00: He was very physical for a corner, and Dion never was, but that really wasn't Dion's game, and I I know I'm holding that against him, but you know, isn't part of football tackling people in physicality?
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_00: Am I wrong here, Tim?
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_00: Am I so far off base thinking that he's the better overall football player?
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're just saying pure coverage corner, then I I would agree with you.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_00: Dion's the better player.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're saying overall football player, I don't think he's even in the same class as you know, Dick Lebeau or heck, Daryl Green.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_00: Daryl Green was just as fast and smaller and would tackle people.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_00: There's all kinds of videos of him running people down and tackling them.
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, it's it's tough when you do the I I would agree with you that um Dion probably was a better coverage guy, but the you know, Dion, the other thing, like you played that clip of the Bills game.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_01: Rod Woodson would come on a corner blitz that knocked the ball out of the quarterback's hands.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_01: That was something you never saw Dion do.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_01: Now, maybe if Dion plays in a in a Dom Capers defense or a Dick Laveau defense, maybe maybe he can do that.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_01: But that's not something you ever really saw him do.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so you're right, I think Woodson was a more complete player.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_01: I think I think he also proves that by having success later in his career.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_00: He has a much longer yeah, he has a much longer career than Dion.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like once once Dion lots, once Dion's feet, you ever see a picture?
• 39:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, he got his one toe finally amputated.
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_00: Just like that's why he was on crutches that one season when he was coaching Colorado.
• 39:31
  SPEAKER_00: Or was it what was the other team?
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_00: He was on like that little scooter thing.
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_00: Because like hit like it is credit.
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_00: Dion, it isn't like Dion is soft.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like Dion like played through like a pretty nasty toe injury.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like his toe is so messed up, they just I think they just cut it off.
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like he had to have it amputated.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_00: So and but I didn't mean to erupt, but to to get to your point, once he lost his speed, he couldn't play anymore.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like, remember the Redskins signed him and then he retired for two years and he came back with Baltimore and that's right.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_01: He played for the Ravens, he actually played against like the Ben Rothesburger Stewers as a member of the Ravens.
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_01: But he was he was never he he just was so done by then.
• 40:14
  SPEAKER_01: He he had his he peaked in the in those Falcons, 49ers, Cowboys, mid-90s years, and then he never really was good again.
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_01: And Woodson, I think, because of being the more complete player, had a a longer career.
• 40:27
  SPEAKER_01: But then it but then it's tough.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_01: Like when you get outside of those two, I mean, like you said, Daryl Green, I think that's I think he kind of gets a short end of the stick.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_01: He was really good, and he might have been just as good as both of those guys.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_01: And then you and then you compare eras, like Mel Blunt.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, they didn't change a rule because of them.
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, and early in his career, you know, there the there's they didn't pass like they did today.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you then you go back to like Dick LeBeau.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, my goodness, quarterbacks just kind of flung the ball around.
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that's we forgot to we forgot to mention Dick Night Train Lane, who is who has the most he has the most interceptions in one season, I think, still, right?
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that record stood for 70 years.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_00: Did somebody finally break it?
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_00: Because remember, Rod Woodson at the at like five games had like eight or nine.
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_00: Remember that?
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_00: And we thought, oh, he's gonna break it, he's gonna break it.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_00: And then this is the argument people always make for Dion is Dion doesn't have a lot of interceptions because people stop throwing to his side of the field.
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_00: And the same thing happened to Rod Woodson with that season where he had like eight or nine interceptions real early in the year.
• 41:37
  SPEAKER_00: People stopped throwing to that side of the field.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_01: That's why, that's why, again, stats like especially interceptions, uh, it's it can be such a misleading stat because look at Darrell Revis as another guy from later on.
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_01: You know, people just didn't throw on that side of the field.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_01: You you game planned around it.
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_01: Back in Dick Night Train Lane's days, yeah, you just kind of threw the ball and if it got picked off, oh well.
• 42:01
  SPEAKER_00: You know, well, you know, he didn't even he didn't even play football.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_00: He was an like an airline where like he worked on an airplane plant like across the street from the Rams facility in like Los Angeles was like, hey, I'll go try out for football.
• 42:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, hey, I'm really good at this.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_00: And like he would closeline people.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_00: Remember that?
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like he had that move where he would like clothesline people, like, oh my gosh, he was he was wild.
• 42:24
  SPEAKER_00: Stuff you that would get you suspended for the league for a season if you did not.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why it's so hard to it's so hard to compare eras and and stuff like that.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_01: I I Rod Woodson was dominant, and Rod Woodson won games, like we said.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I'm trying to think what year.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_00: Do you remember what year that was?
• 42:41
  SPEAKER_01: Remember, he had like eight or nine, like I think that was that year he won't be player of the year, yeah.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 42:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_00: Well, if you have any thoughts on Rod Woodson or you're just a big Dion fan, or maybe you're a Daryl Green fan.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_00: He's he's in the you know, you really think Daryl Green's getting the short end of the stick, or maybe Champ Bailey.
• 43:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, give us a shout out on Facebook.
• 43:03
  SPEAKER_00: You know, let us know who's the best.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure Tim will Tim handles all the Facebook stuff.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_00: You'll have to post this to Facebook, see if we get any comments.
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_01: But uh who's the best cornerback poll?
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_01: I think it I think it's gonna be a little biased.
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_00: If it's Steeler fans, yeah.
• 43:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, tag like cowboy fans or something.
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_00: Tag Dion himself.
• 43:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like, oh he'll probably vote himself, though.
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_00: Dion.
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um so uh yeah, thanks for the listen.
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_00: Check us out on Facebook, you know, Instagram, um, what else are we on?
• 43:34
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Twitter.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_00: Twitter, yeah.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_00: Twitter.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, whatever your your social media fancy is, we appreciate all your viewers.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_00: And um, thanks for listening.
• 43:43
  SPEAKER_00: Uh God bless.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_00: We'll catch you next time.