#16

 

JOE GREENE

Millions of football fans know Joe Greene for his famous Coca-Cola commercial and his infamous nickname. “Mean Joe” was neither the meanest nor the baddest player to ever step on a football field, but he was one of the most dynamic pass rushers and defensive linemen to ever play the game.

Greene wore No. 75 for the Pittsburgh Steelers, perhaps the most famous license plate on the Steel Curtain defense. In a commercial that debuted in Super Bowl XIV in 1980, an exhausted Greene is approached by a 10-year-old boy who offers him a bottle of Coca-Cola and Greene accepts it. After Greene takes a long, satisfying swig of the drink, the boy starts to walk away. Then, in a booming voice, Greene says, “Hey, kid.” The boy turns around and Greene throws him his game-worn jersey.

That commercial, still replayed when the best advertisements in Super Bowl history are shown, came near the end of Greene’s career. Before that ad, he earned a reputation as the most feared defensive player on the Steel Curtain. That defensive unit, of course, won four Super Bowls in the 1970s, produced four Hall of Famers (Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, and Mel Blount), and is generally considered to be the greatest of all-time because they were not one-year wonders like the 1985 Chicago Bears or 2000 Baltimore Ravens.

Greene played his college football at North Texas State, one of the few schools that offered Greene a scholarship. The North Texas nickname is the Mean Green, and Greene’s nickname was derived from that.

He lived up to that nickname in his early years with the Steelers. He was drafted by the Steelers in 1969 and was very unhappy that he would have to play for a team that had a history of losing. When Pittsburgh went 1–13 in his rookie year, he was angry most of the time and his snarling and nastiness caused rookie head coach Chuck Noll to sit him down and talk to him on several occasions. However, when the Steelers started to show improvement, Greene bought into Noll’s program and became an unquestioned team leader.

Greene could be devastating on the field but his ability was derived from his quickness and instincts. He was one of the first defensive tackles to “tilt” or play at an angle instead of lining up with his shoulders directly opposite his opponents. Greene lived in the guard-center gap and his opponents never knew who he was going to attack.

Greene unveiled that strategy during the 1974 season and it came into play as the Steelers went to Oakland to take on the marauding Raiders in the AFC Championship Game. The Raiders were favored since they were playing at home and many considered their offensive line the equal of the Steelers’ defensive line. Taking on Raiders center Jim Otto and left guard Gene Upshaw—both Hall of Famers—Greene dominated the game and the Steelers spanked the Raiders, 23–14. Two weeks later, Greene was at it again in the Super Bowl against the Minnesota Vikings. Greene punished Vikings center Mick Tinglehoff, generally considered to be the top technician of his era at the position and also a Hall of Famer. At 6-foot-2 and 237 pounds Tinglehoff lacked size, but he was quick and had great technique. Greene’s performance helped the Steelers come away with a 16–6 win. His remarkable day included an interception, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery as the Vikings did not score an offensive touchdown.

The Steelers defense peaked during the first two Super Bowl seasons in 1974 and 1975, ultimately beating the Vikings and Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowls IX and X. But their best performance may have come in 1976 when they refused to let their opponents score. They registered five shutouts that season and held nine of their opponents to single digits. They were prohibitive favorites to get to the Super Bowl after reeling off nine straight wins to close the regular season but injuries to starting running backs Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier limited the offense and the Steelers were beaten by the Raiders in the 1976 AFC Championship Game, 24–7.

“That was the defense that stands out to me,” said Greene. “Don’t get me wrong because I’m not taking anything away from our Super Bowl teams but we just dominated that year. We got off to a terrible start, losing four of our first five games. Then the switch went on. We shut down the run to the point where teams didn’t want to try. Then we choked off the pass. Every unit of the defense worked in synch. It couldn’t have been any better. When you have five shutouts you are doing your job. And in some of those games, teams were lucky to get two or three first downs.”

The Pittsburgh defensive line was where it all started. As great as the linebackers were—led by Jack Lambert—and as dynamic as the secondary was—led by Mel Blount—it was the defensive line that started it all. Greene, Dwight White, Ernie “Fats” Holmes, and L.C. Greenwood were an unstoppable foursome, as good or better than the front fours of the Rams and Vikings that preceded them. Green, with 66 unofficial sacks in his career, was the best and most fearsome of that group.