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1994 Apocalypse and beyond.....
Wow, read an interesting article on a Steelers blog the other day. I'll paraphrase the content so I won't upset the website I read it on.
Remember that great team that ultimately lost to the Chargers in the AFC Championship game (circa 1994)? That really sucked of course! But, adding insult to injury was the state of some of our star players at the conclusion of that epic loss to the 'bolts.
Eric Green - the big guy led the team in catches in '93 and receiving yards in '94. Anyone remember him filming a rehearsal of the Super Bowl rap video in the team's meeting room the week of the Chargers game? He took a big offer from the fish in Miami and 'bolted'
after losing the AFC Championship game.
Barry "Bananas" Foster - Franchise yard-breaking RB (1690 yrds in 1992) that was stellar. What wasn't so stellar was his mindset (sound familiar?). In his Steelers MVP acceptance speech, he started by saying he would hold out the following summer if his contract wasn't renegotiated. He had become such a distraction regarding his self-value and contract situation, that the Steelers ultimately cut him, despite 24 touchdowns in his previous 34 starts.
Gary Anderson - Gary had become the staple of Steelers kicking over the previous 13 seasons. He was unhappy with his money situation, and had local news crews filming him practicing at local high schools with his wife holding the ball and his kids running around. He refused several attempts by the Steelers to re-sign him. It was thought he'd be sorely missed after four consecutive 100-pt seasons.
Despite the lack of social media then and all the big sports channels, the gloom and doom surrounding Pittsburgh's future was weighing very heavy on Steeler Nation. The Steelers were picked to finish 1995 behind the Browns, whom they had beaten that year in the Divisional Round.
What happened next:
What happened next is a testament to the way the Steelers conduct themselves. They responded by finding the next men up and they delivered, big time!
Yancey Thigpen - Anyone remember this guy? He was a street free agent signed in 1992. He replaced Green's numbers with 1307 yards on 85 receptions the next year.
Norm Johnson - Norm Johnson produced 34 field goals and 141 points in replacing Anderson in 1995.
Eric Pegram & "Big" Bam Morris - Thunder and Lightning made Foster's departure forgettable, as the tandem combined for 1372 yards and 14 touchdowns.
We know how that season ended, with a heartbreaking loss to Dallas in the Super Bowl. As for the Browns prediction, they didn't even finish 1995 in Cleveland. So, with Bell and Brown setting sail this season, it's bittersweet to me. Bitter to see two very talented and beloved malcontent souls leaving Steeler Nation to nourish their own egos, but sweet in that we have some very capable folks looking over the team and some very talented players who simply need to find the sweet spot to be successful. Time will tell how this team will respond, hopefully it will do so in a way we all can again be proud of......
-Joos, out
(thanks to Bob Labriola for his article that I've borrowed these facts from the past from)
Remember that great team that ultimately lost to the Chargers in the AFC Championship game (circa 1994)? That really sucked of course! But, adding insult to injury was the state of some of our star players at the conclusion of that epic loss to the 'bolts.
Eric Green - the big guy led the team in catches in '93 and receiving yards in '94. Anyone remember him filming a rehearsal of the Super Bowl rap video in the team's meeting room the week of the Chargers game? He took a big offer from the fish in Miami and 'bolted'
after losing the AFC Championship game.Barry "Bananas" Foster - Franchise yard-breaking RB (1690 yrds in 1992) that was stellar. What wasn't so stellar was his mindset (sound familiar?). In his Steelers MVP acceptance speech, he started by saying he would hold out the following summer if his contract wasn't renegotiated. He had become such a distraction regarding his self-value and contract situation, that the Steelers ultimately cut him, despite 24 touchdowns in his previous 34 starts.
Gary Anderson - Gary had become the staple of Steelers kicking over the previous 13 seasons. He was unhappy with his money situation, and had local news crews filming him practicing at local high schools with his wife holding the ball and his kids running around. He refused several attempts by the Steelers to re-sign him. It was thought he'd be sorely missed after four consecutive 100-pt seasons.
Despite the lack of social media then and all the big sports channels, the gloom and doom surrounding Pittsburgh's future was weighing very heavy on Steeler Nation. The Steelers were picked to finish 1995 behind the Browns, whom they had beaten that year in the Divisional Round.
What happened next:
What happened next is a testament to the way the Steelers conduct themselves. They responded by finding the next men up and they delivered, big time!
Yancey Thigpen - Anyone remember this guy? He was a street free agent signed in 1992. He replaced Green's numbers with 1307 yards on 85 receptions the next year.
Norm Johnson - Norm Johnson produced 34 field goals and 141 points in replacing Anderson in 1995.
Eric Pegram & "Big" Bam Morris - Thunder and Lightning made Foster's departure forgettable, as the tandem combined for 1372 yards and 14 touchdowns.
We know how that season ended, with a heartbreaking loss to Dallas in the Super Bowl. As for the Browns prediction, they didn't even finish 1995 in Cleveland. So, with Bell and Brown setting sail this season, it's bittersweet to me. Bitter to see two very talented and beloved malcontent souls leaving Steeler Nation to nourish their own egos, but sweet in that we have some very capable folks looking over the team and some very talented players who simply need to find the sweet spot to be successful. Time will tell how this team will respond, hopefully it will do so in a way we all can again be proud of......
-Joos, out
(thanks to Bob Labriola for his article that I've borrowed these facts from the past from)
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