I’ve made piece with Woodson in his retirement….as, given my position on players that leave the Steelers, I had not much love for him after he walked away. I’ll cede this, as others have argued this with me as well, but I didn’t remember it as clearly as the Steelers made no effort to keep him.

I DO remember him being burned fairly often in ’96, his post-surgery year, including my Terry Glenn….yeah….“her”….in the Div. Playoff in Foxboro, the longest day of my life as a sports fan. I can still remember the Boston Globe description of “Rod Woodson and his smoldering jersey.”

Once he left town, my brother Tony, a fan of the French Onion soup at Woodson’s, boycotted the restaurant, refused to take his family there, and frequented the Hooters next door instead.

It burned me that he won a SB ring with the Ravens…I HATED that. Like I said, I’m not a well-wisher to our players that move on.

In his retirement though, Woodson’s made it clear that he’s a Steeler. I’ll end where I started; I’ve made my peace.

Probably the best athlete the Steelers have ever had and a complete football player. I remember the great arguments in the early 90s about Rod vs. Deion and while Deion was probably a better cover guy, there’s no question Rod was the better football player. Confident but not a trash-talker or someone who put himself above the team or the game. A willing and aggressive hitter. A beautiful runner. Great hands. Smart. In Blount and Woodson the Steelers are blessed to have the best all-time pair of cornerbacks of any NFL team. I never blamed Rod for leaving. It was a football decision that was made by Bill Cowher who doubted Rod’s ability to come back and play either CB or safety at a high level.

Chuck Noll once said his biggest mistake as a Coach was sticking too long with the great players who brought him four Super Bowls. It was loyalty. It was comfort. They were proven winners and great guys. It made sense at the time. But they all got old at once, and Noll and the Rooneys stuck with them. The dynasty ended.

We are all prisoners of our own experience.

Based on that, Dan Rooney and Company decided that it simply wasn’t a good bet to spend big bucks on a great but aging Cornerback who had torn his ACL. And, folks, they were right, it wasn’t a good bet if you play the odds. But Rod Woodson beat the odds, regained his greatness, and Dan, Cowher, and the front office were wrong in this case.

Football is a business. Dan made one business decision, doing what he had to do. Rod made a different decision, doing what he had to do. They parted ways, but time has healed whatever wounds there might have been.

Rod is going to Canton, where he belongs. And he is going as a Pittsburgh Steeler. He did us proud, and we are deeply proud of him.

It’s interesting that RW ended up third in career interceptions. My memory of him in his first few years was that he did not have great hands. I recall quite a few interceptions dropped. Rod was also one of the first punt returners to eschew the conventional wisdom of the time that you did not field a punt on the bounce. I have a feeling this went against Chuck Noll’s conservative coaching, but Rod made it work to his advantage. I think he was right too. A short punt that takes a big ol’ bounce is pretty easy to return, especially when the punt coverage team isn’t expecting it. I also agree that he was a far more complete football player than Deion Sanders. Unlike Prime Time, Rod was not afraid of contact.

but the release of Rod Woodson is, so far, the worse miscalculation of the super bowl era by the Steelers; more reminscent of the ‘50s when we released players like Uhitas, Kemp and Morrall. Don’t get me wrong, I agree with previous posters insofar that the Steelers most likely played the odds properly concerning what they believed was left in the tank with Rod given his medical history and what was precedent in these circumstances.

Nonetheless, it is sad that Woodson had to wear any uniform other than Black and Gold (Perhaps only Franco in a Seahawk uni is worse). Just like it is a shame that he earned his SB ring with the (GAG) Ravens. (The person I felt worse about in the wake of the Steeler loss in SB XXX was Woodson given the phenomenal feat of coming back from that acl. And then Donaldson…). Fortunately, things have healed and he will enter the HOF basically as a Steeler.

One last thing. It seemed that Rod always got the short straw when people compared him to Deion. A triumph of hype over substance. Deion was a great athlete who could pick off passes and flee to the endzone unharmed. You couldn’t pass on Deion, but you could certainly run on him. He had no heart for contact. Rod was a complete football player. His only weakness was a fearlessness about taking risks that led to him to being toasted when he miscalculated. And he was underrated as a pure athlete (Olympic caliber hurdler and sprinter). He got the last laugh when he was named to the 75th Anniversity Team. Deion didn’t.

Great post as usual MR.

Great post MR. In my opinion Rod was the best overall CB since the Mel Blount rule. Still remember when he defended a pass thrown to Irvin in the super bowl and was pointing to his knee. Another reason I loved Cowher as a coach. That’s a gutsy call to hold a roster spot open after that injury.

Which reminds me of the things in the NFL that bother me, CB’s that can’t defend the run, and TE’s that are more WR’s and can’t block.

I was a little more than upset when RW was let go. He was and still is one of my all-time favorite Steelers. FYI: RW still made his home here in Butler Co, Cranberry Township, PA up until a few years ago when he took his present positions with the NFL and NFLN. In 1997 he attended the graduation ceremony of his sister-in-law along with other family members at Butler Co Comm College. He held an infant during much of the time I observed him. I stood right beside him in several instances, but did not approach him as I thought the timing inappropiate. RW seemed like a quiet, loving, family man. A class act in my book! BTW, his home here had a pinkish look to it, but I may be a little color blind. Congrats Rod Woodson. You gave us some great memories.