Steelers great Jack Lambert traumatized Cris Collinsworth

The Pittsburgh Steelers are now less than a week away from the opening of the 2023 regular season and excitement is at an exhilarating high. 

With all the eyes looking ahead to 2023, Chris Collinsworth spoke with Rich Eisen on The Rich Eisen Show about the feared and famed defense that was 1970s Steelers. The legendary Steel Curtain defense struck fear into offenses for an entire decade, winning four Super Bowls along the way. Considering the amount of overhaul at the 2023 linebacker spot, Collinsworth remembered one of the greatest of all time.

Steelers simply didn't let you use the middle, says Collinsworth

On Saturday, when Collinsworth sat down with Eisen to talk about what it was like actually going up the daunting Steelers of the 1970s, Eisen began by asking if he ever went over the middle with Mel Blount in coverage. 

Eisen asked because it was a well-known fact during the Steelers reign in the 1970s for Blount to not even allow the receiver to get off the line of scrimmage. As Collinsworth remembered, that is pretty much how it would go on game day.

"No, 'cause I could never get to the middle. I could never get off the line of scrimmage against Mel Blount. Not only was he big and fast, but his arms felt like they were like eight feet long."

Being able to psyche out your opponents before the game is even played is something that the Steelers of the 1970s fed on consistently. The 2023 Steelers are hoping to have reached back in time a bit to find a spark that could ignite a new defensive era within the Pittsburgh secondary.

Steelers linebackers have a lot to live up to

As much as Collinsworth recalled the strength and size that Blount brought, there was something he feared much more waiting for him. When Eisen asked about going over the middle, after Collinsworth made sure to give Blount his props, the former receiver admitted that what he was dreading those situations was Jack Lambert.

Lambert spent his brilliant career owning the middle of the field and made sure any players who tried to invade his space wouldn't do so again. Collinsworth got an up close and personal experience with Lambert one time when he was actually able to make it to the middle of the field against those 1970s Steelers.

"We played them Week 2 or 3 my rookie year ... The one [time] in particular that I remember was Kenny Anderson calling a slant ... and I'm thinking I've gotta take five steps up here and turn left and run right into where Jack Lambert's gonna be, and I remember thinking, that does not seem like a great concept to me!"

It's easy to understand Collinsworth's trepidation. Lambert had a vicious reputation for the most brutal tackles, making sure that player wouldn't want to even consider being hit like that again. As Collinsworth said, though, that was the play call, even though he wasn't particularly enthused about the idea.

"So Anderson gets to the line of scrimmage ... and I jump off about four or five steps up the field, take off hard left, run right in towards Jack Lambert. That sucker hit me so hard. He hit me so hard, and he's lying on top of me, and he took his elbow and put it down into my throat, and he raised his knee up into my groin, and he grabbed my facemask, and he looked at me and said, 'Collinsworth, if you come over the middle again, I'm gonna kill you."

In the true style of an NFL player, though, Collinsworth ended up grinning as he jogged back to the huddle because Lambert knew his name. The hit, pain and missed chance were all forgotten in that moment because the legendary linebacker knew the name of Collinsworth.

With a massive influx of talent, growth from 2022 to 2023, and faith in every aspect of the franchise, this is one of those years where you start thinking back to those days of lore. Legends are amazing, but remember that it all had to be built along the way. Perhaps we are on the verge of the next decade of the Steelers?

Are the Steelers close to reclaiming their 1970s glory?