Mean Joe Greene Inspires Steelers to Beat the Ravens

Joe Greene player personnel Pittsburgh Steelers
During the typical pregame ritual, Mike Tomlin prefers to keep it simple. He speaks to the players briefly, and his message can be instructional, inspirational, or some combination of both, but it’s always brief and to the point. Then one of the players – it always used to be James Farrior but this year it has been either Ike Taylor or Maurkice Pouncey – has the rest gather around to “break it down,” and then the 2014 Pittsburgh Steelers take the field.But on this particular Sunday, the routine changed, and it was fitting that it did. This time, Joe Greene spoke to them.

On the league schedule, Sunday, Nov. 2 marked the occasion of the second game of the annual home-and-home series between the Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens in a game matching a couple of 5-3 teams hoping to put some more separation between them and .500, a game playing second-fiddle on the hype meter to Brady vs. Manning XVI. But to the Steelers and their fans, what made this one truly special was that it marked the occasion of the franchise officially retiring Joe Greene’s No. 75, and in doing so officially labeling him the greatest of its greats.

There is still a presence about Joe Greene that transcends the generational gap between a 68-year-old speaker and a bunch of twenty-something listeners. Current athletes might roll their eyes and tune out some old, used-to-be, retired player telling them how it was back in his day, but Greene has something in his personality that still holds attention, that still commands respect.

And so, Greene spoke to them before this game against the Ravens, and while the specifics of what he told them may remain private, the spirit of his message was on display for the millions who watched it unfold. And it was a beautiful thing.

In defeating the Ravens, 43-23, the Steelers posted a third straight victory and raised their record to 6-3 while stamping themselves as legitimate contenders in the AFC North Division. Those were the byproducts of the outcome, but the only way the Steelers were going to defeat the Ravens was going to be by beating them into submission.

And that was Joe Greene’s message to them.

Ben Roethlisberger was magnificent once again, and a second straight game with six touchdown passes and no interceptions should serve notice that there is outstanding quarterback play taking place in locales other than Foxborough, Massachusetts, and Denver, Colorado. The Steelers passing attack is as dynamic as any in professional football right now, and it’s being led by a quarterback who deserves to be in the league MVP conversation and a wide receiver who keeps proving that he truly is one of the best in the world at what he does.

There is reason to be excited about the development of rookie receiver Martavis Bryant, and encouraged by the solidifying of the offensive line, which fits in nicely with the emergence of Le’Veon Bell as an all-purpose running back. The defense has inspired some hope by being able to plus those holes in its run defense, while also finding its way to seven takeaways during the current three-game winning streak. James Harrison seems to have sipped from the Fountain of Youth and shared a drink with Brett Keisel.

All kinds of difference-making contributions are being made by both individuals and units within this team, and on Sunday at Heinz Field the Steelers added the attitude Joe Greene originally introduced to the franchise shortly after he first came to Pittsburgh in January 1969.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers are winning championships or competing for them, there is an edge to the way they play, a level of violence that turns the game into a battle of attrition. That edge had been missing this season, and while there were flashes in the game against the Houston Texans and then more signs of it popped up in the win over the Indianapolis Colts, it was a significant factor in defeating the Ravens.

The Steelers finished with more sacks and more hits on Joe Flacco than the Ravens managed on Ben Roethlisberger. The game was chippy throughout, and the Ravens were the ones who were highly penalized and struggled to maintain their poise, while the Steelers were the ones who executed at a higher level both offensively and defensively on third downs and in the red zone.

They are 6-3 now and percentage points behind the Cincinnati Bengals for first place in the AFC North, but the Steelers remain a team in development. They are stringing together some extraordinary performances on offense, and their defense is solidifying slowly but surely. Things are coming together in those areas, and what they added to it against the Ravens was a consistently physical playing demeanor.

Or as Joe Greene put it to them before the game, kick some ass. That’s what Steelers football is. That’s what being a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers means. That’s what Joe Greene did when he was a player, and that’s what he set as the standard for all the players who followed him onto a team that became one of the greatest dynasties in the history of its sport.

That’s what Joe Greene told these Steelers, and based on their performance against the Ravens, message received.