Part of the reason Ham had so many interceptions was that the linebackers rarely blitzed - they didn't have to. The front four were able to get pressure without them.
Ryan when you have Mean Joe, Dwight White, Ernie Holms and L.C. Greenwood as your front Four, " The Original Steel Curtain ", you shouldn't have to rush! Just sit back in pass coverage and collect all the interceptions you want...
Another reason is that even in obvious passing situations with 3 or more receivers on the field the linebackers would rarely come off for a sub-package of defensive backs. They played every down almost.
@@abdihassan7208 in a 3-4, it's the OLBers primary role to rush the QB, like Von Miller for a modern comparison. In the 4-3, the OLBers primary role is in pass coverage
and should anyone take issue with his boast 22 players are in the hall of fame. Jack Lambert is the greatest linebacker inside or outside. Leapinng over the line al la Troy Palomano to the younger set to sack the qb. 9 consecutive pro bowl. But most of all the scariest player on the greatest team in football.
@@daleporter9162 Hams the best 43 scheme defense linebacker .LT is the greatest overall elite high impact defender . Don't know how LT's impact would be in a 43 defense scheme where his responsibilities would be drastically different ,What we do factually know as a defensive player ie 34 scheme defense linebacker his impact was superior then any other linebacker and player in NFL history based on that scheme .Ham validated his case for best outside lb by being superb in pittsburghs 3 linebacker defense .He's not superior as a defensive player then LT because of LT's all time game changing impact ,yet Hams more complete game certainly provides context that he arguably could adopt more efficiently to a 43 defense then LT could to a 34 defense as LT was prone to go rogue and simply do what his instincts led him to as oppose to following the defensive set for that play ,sometimes jeopardizing the defense .In a 3 linebacker set you don't have the luxury of a additional lb to cover up for your mental or over agressive lapses .Ham would always be where he's supposed to be ,mistakes near as minimal as humanly possible .
@@aldiggty Taylor was an EDGE. It is so hard to even compare a 4-3 backer like Ham to a 3-4 one like Taylor, they had completely different responsibilities.
Jack grew up in Johnstown, Pennsylvania and went to Bishop McCort. My grandmother went to school and graduated with him. In Johnstown, this is STEELER COUNTRY because of him.
They didn't mention that Ham was the only unanimous all 70s team selection and holds the record for most LB takeaways with 53. 32 ints and 21 fumble recoveries. He did it in 12 seasons. Ray Lewis is second and he played 17 seasons.
Jack Ham was at least the equivalent of 1 1/2 players. A textbook tackler as well as superb in pass coverage. It's like having a dime package in there all the time.
Jack is currently the radio announcer for penn state's football games. I love listening to him. Hes every bit as good at analyzing the games as he was playing them.
Been re watching some of the old Steeler games and Hamm is unreal. He had a nose for the football and was like someone's shadow on coverage. His outside linebacker play is textbook.
Celebrating Ham is not disparaging to LT, nor is a person's preference for Ham's style of play a slight to Taylor. Both are HoFers. Both were vital to Super Bowl titles.
Both were the best outside linebacker to ever play the game. But the fact is, though they're both called "outside linebacker", they played completely different positions. LT could not have done what Ham did, and vice-versa.
@@Lucille69caddy ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jnNP7mWAP5k.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2RsKNUCYMOw.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fQrQh-dueKM.html One dimensional my ass.
@@Lucille69caddy LT was far from one dimensional. Look at his highlights. He played the gunner on punt coverage early in his career. LT was great against the pass, against the run , and pass rushing. LT was dominant everywhere. He played MLB on goal line Defense, because he could read the RB and meet the dive into the end zone.
@@PFB1994His forte wasn't pass coverage,which caused unrest amongst bill parcels and Hof teammate harry Carson because LT often was free lancing or early in his career ,simply not cognizant of where he was supposed to be aligned at. Lawrence Taylor is the perfect example that great players elite impact supercede their legendary stats, which his impact surely did ,very good players impact equal their significant stats ,good players stats supercede their actual impact . Lawrence Taylor impact vs run and rushing the QB was transcended,but his weakness despite possesing the capabilities to be excellent at it was pass coverage. Ham.played most of his career in a 43 defense,LT played mostly in a 34 ,thus different responsibilities were prerequisite requirements for both elite gentleman. Lawrence isn't the all time sack leader at OLB , Kevin Greene is,Ham is still the all time leader in turnovers at his position. Purely based upon overall significant impact I'd take Lawrence Taylor, the Steelers would still have won at least one SB without his splendid services ,the giants without Lawrence Taylor would have not only never won a SB ,they wouldn't have ever advanced into one during that time frame without Lawrence Taylor,but Jack Ham was a more diversified OLB ,you could cover up more decencies on your defense with Ham ie pass coverage,holding down the edge vs run, blitzing, then with Lawrence Taylor. Both gentleman were superb ,at their craft ,based upon the construct of the defense they played in ,LT a NFL top 10 all time player , Ham a top 60 all time NFL player .
Cowboys fan here. We had two shots at these guys in the Super Bowl back then and they were just flat out better - period. Lambert, Ham, Greene, hell that entire defense were named the Steel Curtain for a reason. Ferocious competitors !
@@davidhutchinson7888 Yep and you can't let opportunities pass like that, especially against the Steelers. That one and "The Catch" are about as heartbreaking as it gets.
Whenever you rate defensive players remember the era they played in, the 70's went from a running league and the policy board chose to make a number of changes midway through the decade because the defenses were too physical, so the league made 3 rule changes all aiding the offensive side of the ball due in no small part to the Steel Curtain
I am 69 years old that tells you everything I lived breathed and watched the great 70 steelers play every game for 12 years straight 72 to 80 never missed one if it was televised
@@Count_Mephistopheles , I disagree, these guys knew how to tackle. You still can't compare 40 plus year separation from those times until now. Training/exercising has changed tremendously, along with diet. Lambert today would probably be 250lbs of muscle today, not the 220, if that, back then. Please, no comparison.
I was told a story about the time his wife was on a TV show in Pittsburgh. The host asked her if she ever got worried when they ran at his side of the field. Her reply: "They don't run at Jack's side of the field". Best multi-purpose linebacker I've ever seen.
One of the things you notice was that he had incredible hands for a LB. So many of those picks would have fallen as incomplete with any other LB but Ham made them stick.
@@KaurSingh-bo6gq nah i actually like the browns and cardinals too but i see that your a raiders fan i respect their franchise too bo jackson,marcus allen, howie long.
Cool, who shall we bump to make that happen? Barry Sanders? Mean Joe Greene? Ronnie Lott? When people say that the rankings aren't right they're talking about moving insanely talented people. Who are we going to bump? I think his slot is perfect, in fact I think everyone on this list is in the right place.
JoJo JoJo I'm also a Steelers fan and I think that's one of the dumbest comments ever made. Ham did it with one of the best defenses. Smh. How many Hall of Famers did Ham have and how many did Butkus have on his defense?
Flashback - Gaming Content and More! LT was a 3-4 pass rusher not a 4-3 traditional OLB. Ham was the only unanimous all 70s team selection and holds the record for most LB takeaways with 53. 32 ints and 21 fumble recoveries. He did it in 12 seasons. Ray Lewis is second and he played 17 seasons.
He said all around linebacker. Taylor never covered the pass like Ham. The Steelers used a 4-3 and Ham seldom blitzed, so he got few sacks by comparison. All Taylor did was rush the passer.
If Ham played today he'd be far more revered. You have to remember that back then MLB's were considered more valuable than OLB's. So when you have two of the best ever at their positions side by side, people remembered the guy that made 14-15 tackles per game more than the do-it-all guy alongside.
The MOST complete outside linebacker EVER, and yes he was better than Taylor. Taylor’s coverage could NEVER match the Hammer. But when Taylor brought it, there was NOTHING much enjoyable to watch. But to be complete, you have to be great in everything, and that was JACK HAM. And mind you I hate the Steelers, and I saw both play being an old guy, and by far HAM was the MAN!
I went to private school, and one of the few black students in my grade always said Jack Ham was his favorite football player. I think Jack's appeal was mainly his football instincts: a smart player whose proximity to the ball was always marked by good defense & intelligence. A 'thinking man's' linebacker who complimented the aggressive intimidation of Lambert, Greenwood and Greene.
Lambert gets all of the fan and media love and while he was a damn good MLB, it sure didn’t hurt that he had the Steel Curtain keeping him freed up to make tackles. Ham is far too underrated in my opinion. Possible one of the most fundamentally sound linebackers of all time.
Lawerence Taylor will always be the og linebacker of all time n I say that as a Steelers fan, but jack ham is the model NFL teams are looking for TODAY n he played in the run first 70's. Run stuff, blitzer, coverage in zone and can man up on a tight end like a safety.....that's wat teams dream off. Ham n a few others accomplished this. Another who's under appreciated is derrick brooks from those Tampa bay teams.
I'm always a Steelers' fan through and through. And Jack Ham and Jack Lambert will always be my favorite linebackers. But there's a world of difference watching Ham and Lambert running back interceptions oppose to Lawrence Taylor. I'm not saying today's (1.27.2023) linebackers are better linebackers than the linebackers of old, but they are much better athletes these days. But I still prefer to watch old footage of the Steelers' linebackers.
I'm too young to see Jack Ham play but as a Steelers fan I just wonder to how he stacked up to James Harrison or even maybe Lamar Woodley, who comes out on top
Pats fan here and I have a question for Steelers fans. Do you agree with this list that Lambert was better than Ham. Nothing against number 58 but I think Ham was the better linebacker of the two
Mike Domenic ham was the better linebacker they say it in the lambert video but lambert was the cornerstone of that defense. His tenacity and fear helped staple the steelers defense into a monster. He stood in the middle and was the first thing the quarterback saw.
I think Lambert but I only saw them in the 80's whan they went to a 3-4 and Ham was a bit less effective and Lambert actually got better. Some forget that the best years for Joe Greene were before the Super Bowls and Lambert's were after them.
NFL films chooses these dudes who are supposedly the greatest ever, yet despite years and years of footage, they use the same plays in the footage multiple times. In this one it's Jack intercepting PLunkett and running it in for a touchdown (shown twice). In the Barry Sanders montage it's him making the defender spin around during a missed tackle. If Jack Ham is so consistent, and played for so long, why show the same plays multiple times? Seriously. It's a 3:30 clip, and half of it is Dennis Miller talking. Why not show more plays?
phishfearme2 , yep. The Great Ham!! He did everything well!! Loved all the footage of him just solidly tackling runners. And that spectacular pass coverage!! OLBs aren't celebrated like MLBs. Mike Singlerary is ranked several spots above Ham but it seems conveniently forgotten that he was regularly removed in passing situations. If Ham wasn't the greatest pass coverage LB in NFL history he's certainly on the (very) short list. Lawrence Taylor took the OLB position in a totally different direction. He's admitted that he would rush the QB because he would forget the called defense. He changed the game in a profound way. But I miss the days of high-quality, balanced OLB play. The blitz was once a surprise, game-changing attack. But teams "blitz" on every down now. Ham-Lambert-Russell. What a trio!!
I know the man that made one of the 1st Dobre Shunke signs for the Blue Rock Club that sadly is no more. Steelers used to come up and drink with those steel mill workers. Not just sign autographs...they DRANK with the men that supported them. THAT was why Steelers Nation came about. All the other team that proclaim "Nation" are posers.
32 interceptions for a linebacker is impressive, we RARELY see that nowadays. The only linebacker that picks of quarterbacks in todays's game is Luke kuechly.
I know you think I'm crazy but I think Jack Ham is better than Taylor because he could cover any receiver or running back, where Taylor would come out for the nickel package. I'll still take Ham over anyone. Semper Fidelis, Captain T, U.S.M.C.
In the real early 70s. Ham was the best player on the team. There was a banner that hang in 3 rivrs while Ham played. Translated from Czec I think it said "good ham." Dobre Shunka as I remember. Thats a phonetic spelling from my memory. Kind of like prachuto but better. From my high school days. Good times. Don't suppose we have to give boston the city of champions moniker. 2019 Super Bowl or die. NO PRISONERS.
