To think that EIGHT time Pro-Bowl linebacker Andy Russell was the third best LB on the '70s Steelers is absolutely insane. He made EIGHT Pro-Bowls and was an All-Pro in '75...and wasn't as good as Lambert and Ham!
John Madden resentfully said, all this talk about the steel curtain this, the steel curtain that, all it was was two guys in the middle, Greene and Lambert, and it was just very hard to get them both blocked
I'm a diehard Steelers fan but I have a lot of respect for the Packers, one of a very few teams I have respect for, I admit it hurt losing to you guys' in the Super Bowl but I would rather lost to a team I have respect for
If you ever want to teach someone the proper way to tackle someone, just watch highlights of this legend, I seriously can say I never saw a WR, QB or RB break free after being hit by Lambert, he was so much more than a bad ass MLB, he was technically one of the very best to ever play his position
Cityofchamps66 - I once saw a Dolphins cornerback execute a perfect tackle on a Jets wide receiver- so clean and hard Dan Dierdorf said every high school coach should show their players how this is done properly. So I agree with you, and add that good coaches like Noll and Shula taught these guys the right way to tackle.
I just to watch the Steelers on the 70's and I hated them!!! But I must accept that they are the best team ever!!! They will kick ass of any other NFL dynasty ( 49ers, Cowboys, Pats) at any time!!! And Lambert is the best middle linebacker.
+James Tressler I remember on 60 minutes he said he thinks QBs should wear dresses,this was like 79-80 when they started all that in the grasp pussy sh*t. Back when you could hit a receiver as much as you wanted off the line no freakin 10 or 5 yard rule. Jack was my idol man he was tuff, mean, hard everything a linebacker should be. Every football player should be that at some time or another...
Why does everyone get onto Jack Tatum? This guy hit like him as well and I loved every hit. People have called them both "Dirty players" when this all legal back then. This era of football was great, unlike now.
derail14 Atkinson was more of a cheap shot artist than Tatum...Tatum's quote in the 70's was " If you come into my area or George's (Atkinson) area to attempt to or catch the ball, you're gonna get hit and hit HARD"
Watching Jack at only the age of 6 brought me into steeler mania!! He left an intensity that carried on in every defense the Steelers had!! I hate the fact that Rodger the pussy Goodell is taking that intensity away!!!!!!!!!
Unfortunately, hell no they dont! This guy is the epitome of what football SHOULD BE. Football was a mans sport, not the pussy shit that it is now. I was born in '92..i can't believe i missed the good years!
Gimme an hr and a six pack, well play them again(raiders), that will cool ur ass off, if I had it to do all over again, I'd be a professional football player and ur damn right I'd be a PITTSBURGH STEELER!
It's now Sept. 30th 2013 and my Steelers are 0-4 after a loss yesterday to Minnesota. I miss the hard hitting, no free agency Chuck Knoll days of football when the game was pure and guys you drafted stayed with the team. Todays NFL is a poor watered down, stictly business, huge money version of the old game Lambert played in..
Lambert really was more of a technician. He was never really a 'big hitter' in the sense of Mike Singletary. He just got to the correct position quickly and performed his responsibilities perfectly.
Lambert was definitely not a cheapshot artist. The rules were very, very different in those days. Lambert had a reputation as a great player, an intimidating character, intense, etc. but he was never really considered cheap or dirty by the standards of the day. A lot of routine things back then would be illegal now and highlight reels make even the cleanest player form the 1970s and 1980s seem "cheap", but it's just not accurate in the context of the times to label Lambert that way.
Anyone who calls Jack Lambert a cheap shot artist must be very young. Football was a much more violent game in the seventies...a different brand of football was played back then.
