Mike Webster --> Dermontti Dawson --? Maurkice Pouncey

[hawns]

I wrote an article profiling Dermontti Dawson for his long-overdue hall of fame induction, and in it I spoke about how he was a bridge from Mike Webster, the old school center, to a new breed of lineman. Strong, agile, and quick. The Steelers are undoubtedly the team with the best track record at center.

[URL="http://www.footballnation.com/content/hall-fame-class-2012-profiling-dermontti-dawson/15162/"]Dermontti Dawson: 2012 Hall of Fame[/URL]

I also have a training camp article up at Football Nation that talks about Mike Wallace, and how his efforts to remedy his short-term contract problems might end up being detrimental to him in the long-run.

[D Rock]

From what I've been reading (The Ones Who Hit The Hardest - it's awesome), weren't Webster and the other Steelers Olinemen back in the day typically small and fast? At least until the introduction of steroids to the game.

[hawns]

I think the thing is they were small compared to today's standards, but when people are talking about Buck Buchanan being a giant at 280 pounds or so, the perception of size is a bit skewed. As far as speed goes, that's an interesting point.

[D Rock]

I think the thing is they were small compared to today's standards, but when people are talking about Buck Buchanan being a giant at 280 pounds or so, the perception of size is a bit skewed. As far as speed goes, that's an interesting point.

What you talk about with the size may be true, and I haven't gone back to see exactly what the book said, but I remember my though when I first read it was that the way the early 70s OLine was described reminded me of the descriptions of the linemen for the Broncos in the late 90s and early to mid 2000's.

[hawns]

That's a great point. You did see a lot of those linemen moving laterally in a similar fashion to Shanahan's zone blocking scheme. Maybe it wasn't his blocking scheme that was the revolutionary part of it, but the one-cut back who didn't try to dodge the defense so much as hit the hole as quickly as possible.

[hawns]

Regardless of that, however, back then offensive linemen didn't have to deal with as much movements, zone blitzes (thank you, LeBeau) and other complications that linemen have had to combat in mroe recent years.

[hawns]

One last thing, I did point out in the article that Mike Webster was NFL Network's #68 player of all time. He's there for a reason.

[D Rock]

That's a great point. You did see a lot of those linemen moving laterally in a similar fashion to Shanahan's zone blocking scheme. Maybe it wasn't his blocking scheme that was the revolutionary part of it, but the one-cut back who didn't try to dodge the defense so much as hit the hole as quickly as possible.

Perhaps that is why Franco was so successful. I wasn't born until after most of these guys had retired so reading and watching the few videos I can find is all I have to use,but... It sounds like Franco was a very instinctual runner with great vision, much like the one-cut backs you refer to.


And welcome to the board! Keep posting like you have so far and we will really enjoy having you here, and hopefully you will enjoy it as well.

[D Rock]

I see you've already learned the art of 'post count padding'

[Oviedo]

Pouncey has to prove to me that he can avoid recurring ankle injuries before he gets mentioned in the same sentence with Webster and Dawson. Even though I just did that

[phillyesq]

Pouncey has to prove to me that he can avoid recurring ankle injuries before he gets mentioned in the same sentence with Webster and Dawson. Even though I just did that

True. Hopefully, with a lockout free offseason, he will be 100% ready to go.

I'm not sure that Pouncey will ever have the power that Dawson had - Dawson could move, and he could level defenders when he got them. That isn't meant as a knock on Pouncey at all, but I don't remember seeing a better center than Dawson.

[Shawn]

Pouncey is just a different type of center. He is an agile technician who uses what he has to it's fullest. If he stays healthy he will mentioned amongst the greatest centers in Steeler history.

[Slapstick]

Pouncey is just a different type of center. He is an agile technician who uses what he has to it's fullest. If he stays healthy he will mentioned amongst the greatest centers in Steeler history.

The cool thing is this:

If Pouncey is mentioned amongst the greatest centers in Steelers history, that is synonymous with the greatest centers in football history...

[phillyesq]

Pouncey is just a different type of center. He is an agile technician who uses what he has to it's fullest. If he stays healthy he will mentioned amongst the greatest centers in Steeler history.

Shawn - I wasn't knocking him. I think he can be a great center if he stays healthy (and reverses the decline in his play last year, which may well have been injury related).

[D Rock]

IIRC, one of the recent articles posted here on the board quoted Pouncey as saying that his ankle has never been stronger.