Pittsburgh Steelers Top Ten Irreplaceable Players

how is he not on the list… you are sleeping on him…

Hard to believe that a Steeler fan would continue to underestimate how important Aaron Smith is to this football team, or for that matter rank James Farrior so low. They should both be anywhere from 3-6 on this list, certainly ahead of Hampton and Hines and probably even ahead of Starks/Colon. The Steelers proved they can win a SB with mediocre offensive linemen but they don’t go anywhere without a top defense. Woodley is also more important to this team than a journeyman center or an under-utilized TE.

For example:

Hampton could miss three games and Hoke will do a good job, if we loose him for the season is a major blow. Same with Aaron and Ziggy.

So if we are talking IR, here is my list

10 Harting (No experience behind him)
9 Clark (Who is behind him?)
8 Hampton (Can Hoke sustain a full season at NT?)
7 Farrior (Fox is good, but Farrior is the brains of this defense)
6 Troy ( Carter is a big drop)
5 Aaron Smith (Ziggy is not ready)
4 Ike (Who will cover big fast athletic receivers, other teams number ones? Gay? Deshea? Lewis is not ready)
3 Starks (No depth behind him, move Essex, Then shuffle all the OL?, this is why Starks is so high)
2 Harrison
1 Ben

In my opinion; Ward, Heath, Colon, Holmes, Timmons, Keisel, Woodley and Gay. have decent depth behind them. There is going to be a drop in quality but not as big as with the guys listed.

albiet an upgrade to Mahan he was still run over or around all of last year. I guess that is why they call him the Matador (note: I am invoking the the american image of Ole’ not the spanish meaning of “killer”). In his first game this year he was run over, maybe because it was his first game but more likely because he had the same problem last year. I don’t recall seeing Legursky or Shipley run over (2nd and 3rd string for Shipley though) this preseason

Legursky looked as capable at center and So did Shipley. Cut Hartwig put in Legursky with Shipley as the backup. Legursky can move over to guard with and injury and you can slide in Shipley at center. You go from barely servicable to inexperienced. Legursky knows the system engough and Shipley is smart engough to learn it quick plus he was like top five in strength and speed for all college linemen at the combine, his short arms be damned.

 In the end this would be similar to last season with inexperience but with more upside IMO and that was good engough for a superbowl.

1) Troy Polamalu – If Troy gets hurt, there is no depth behind him. We have to change our whole defensive game plan, because T. Carter is a casualty. With Troy in the game, Lebeau has the confidence to bring extra heat.

2) Ben Roethlisberger – No Brainer. Batch, Dixon, and over half the starting QBs in the NFL can’t make the clutch throws that only Ben can.

3) Hines Ward – Hines is Ben’s security blanket. He will go over the middle to catch that pass no one else would dare. He sets up blocks to spring RBs and other WRs.

4) James Harrison – This guy would probably have double the sacks every game if he wasn’t held so frickin much. He’s near impossible to stop, and his motor doesn’t quit. He’s a nightmare for O-Lineman. Plus, there isn’t any depth at OLB that could get 1/2 as much heat on the QB.

5) Aaron Smith – The D-Line struggles without Aaron in the game. He’s big enough and strong enough to take on anyone and tie up blockers. Without him, our LBs would not be as successful. Although Ziggy will someday replace him, the dropoff this year would be significant.

6) Heath Miller – No other TE on the roster can block as well as Heath, and with Arian’s documented love of TE sets over using a FB, his contributions are many. Plus, he can actually catch if given the chance.

7) Ike Taylor – His nickname should be “Duct Tape” because he’s got everything covered. He fears no WR and is highly consistent in shutting down stud WRs.

8) James Farrior – He seems to be everywhere on every play and seems to be in on every tackle in every pile. He might be older and a little slower, but can you ask more of him? Find me a LB on the bench with 1/2 as much effort…

9) Max Starks/Willie Colon – I may have them ranked a little low as 9th most important, but I don’t think these guys are very good at all. Granted, they are the best we have, so YES, it could be worse. However, I think if one of these guys goes down, we can still find a way to win.

10) Ryan Clark – Our pass coverage suffers without him in the game. He knows what Troy is going to do and where Troy is going to be. He is the ultimate compliment to Polamalu.

Bonek had it right…think of all the great dominating defenses we’ve had in the 90’s, coupled with an equally dominating, in your face, ground attack…with 0 SB’s.

I think of it this way…do we win the SB without Big Ben on the last drive? No. No way.

 2009 would have been another tragic example of a great Steeler defense failing to win a SB. Big Ben saved their a** on that last drive…which is what “team” is all about.

OMG, How could you leave Aaron Smith off? He is the single most indispensable player on our defense. We absolutely could not stop the run when he went down 2 years ago, and our playoff hopes were ruined. More important than Casey.

Also, we would quite possibly talking about how we could take the final step and win the SB this year were it not for Santonio’s performances in the playoffs. Punt return TD vs. SD, and he and Ben WERE our offense on the desparation game winning SB drive. When the chips were down in crunch time, HE was the guy Ben went too. He’s a fabulous receiver: fast, great hands, lightning quick moves to get open, and explosive burst in the open field. More important to our offense now than Hines.

Lamar Woodley. C’mon. Harrison was Player of the Year and he is definitely indispensable. But in my opinion, the single biggest difference in our defense last year was Woodley’s emergence on the other side. He is almost as indispensable as Harrison. He’s a beast against the run, as good as it gets at wrapping up and driving into the ball carrier. And he’s a very polished pass rusher. Remember Kevin Greene raving about him in training camp last year? The key to our 3rd down defense was the inability of the other team to focus on one side. With Woodley and Harrison as Pro Bowl-caliber pass rushing threats on either side, our third down defense was as good as it’s ever been last year. And by getting off the field so well after 3rd down, our defense was well-rested going into and throughout the playoffs, a huge factor late in the season. Just ask Tomlin. It’s all about getting off the field on 3rd down. More crucial to our defense than Farrior’s ILB position, and I love Farrior.

Ryan Clark is another indispensable guy. Remember when Anthony Smith had to play 2 years ago and we started getting beat deep a lot? Clark is a stabilizing force back there as our last line of defense. He’s got decent speed for a safety and he’s always in the right position. We have no one else who has played that role on this team with success.

I’d have to take Hartwig off to make room for Clark. Legursky looks like he could survive in there if Hartwig went down (not including Legursky on the list of course). And Starks is the only guy we have who has proven he can get the job done at LT. Our backup tackle(s), whoever they end up being, would be better suited to the right side, so I’d say Starks is more indispensable than Colon. I’d have to say the staff agrees based on their handling of Starks’ contracts the last few years.

I can’t disagree with Big Ben as the most indispensable player. He plays the most important position on the team at a high level, and he is clutch with the game on the line.
Also, I do agree with the idea to move Timmons to OLB and bring in Fox inside if Harrison or Woodley miss time. Don’t underestimate Andre Frasier though. He has shown the ability to get to the QB over his career.

I don’t know what you guys are thinking. For all the money we’re paying the left side of the line, they are totally inconsistent.

Starks should get an emmy for his random imitations of a pylon this preseason. When he’s mentally in the game he can be great but he takes snaps off. for the $$ we pay him we could have better. I seem to remember Essex filling in admirably vs Jacksonville once

You gotta be kidding me? My 2 week old granddaughter would be more effective. This guys is the biggest hole in the Steeler Offensive lineup. I don’t have the statistics at hand, but I have no doubt that he was the most penalized offensive lineman last year, and he couldn’t wtop whipped cream from getting thru the line. PLEASE!!!!

I would Add Aaron Smith & Jeff Reed to the list & subtract Hampton & Starks……you asked who could replace one of our tackles ? Essex did just fine in the Jags playoff game when he played left tackle.

while Big Ben has gotten the job done when the game is on the line in the 4th quarter, his statistics wouldn’t compensate if the Steelers defense doesn’t do their job, there wouldn’t be any comebacks cause the opponents’ leads would be so much that Big Ben’s final drives would be nothing than to make the game more decent to watch. Just imagine if New York’s D couldn’t do the job against New England in the superbowl, Eli Manning’s heroics would have been just to get the game closer cause the Patriots usually scored around 30 against other previous teams. And remember how bad Big Ben played in superbowl XL, and yet they still won. If Ike Taylor didn’t make that huge mistake of giving up Fitzgerald’s long touchdown off of a stupid simple slant, Big Ben’s drive wouldn’t have been needed, just like in the AFC championship when Troy sealed the game, cause Big Ben couldn’t get the offense rolling

10. Heath- Our running game and pass protection suffer big time if he’s not in there. Spaeth not even in same ballpark.

9. Starks- Not one of the top 10 best players on team, but if he shows any improvement he’ll move even further up list. He is only guy who has shown he can adequately hold down 2nd most important position on the offense.

8. Clark. Not one of our 10 best, but if he is out, it is a fact: our last line of defense will fail and we’ll give up a long pass or run.

7. Tone-He and Ben have the ability to win a game together almost by themselves. His hips are so fluid, he gets open effortlessly, shakes defenders and kicks into 4.4. speed in an instant.

6. Troy. Obviously either the 1st or 2nd best player on team, but the guys in front of him on list play roles that are more critical to the success of the team.

5. Woodley. He and Harrison play the most important positions on the defense. If you can’t put pressure on the quarterback in the NFL, well, watch the scoreboard light up. Woodley’s emergence last year was the final piece in what became one of the great defenses of all time. His ability to rush the QB at a Pro Bowl level from the left side, coupled with Harrison on the right, pretty much made the offensive line defenseless against Lebeau’s zone blitzes. This guy is going to be a great player for us for a long time.

4. Ike. Lebeau can leave him 1 on 1 with the best receivers in the game. This does wonders for our defense’s ability to scheme. Nobody, repeat, nobody in the NFL beats Ike Taylor deep. Probably the fastest cornerback in the NFL in the past 20 years. Maybe ever? No exaggeration. His speed coach worked with both Deion and Woodson and said Ike is faster. And he’s 6’1".

3. Aaron Smith-When he goes out, we go from top of the league vs. the run to mediocre. Try blocking everything out and watching only Aaron Smith for a few series. He is so good at jolting the opposing RT with his hand punch, keeping him at arm’s length, and flowing down the line towards the ballcarrier. He manhandles his man and goes wherever he wants to go. And he’s relentless. He repeats this one-on-one dominance every single play. It’s pretty much a given that the opposing offensive coordinator is going to give up on trying to run the ball against us and he is the #1 reason. I don’t know what the Steelers are going to do when #91 finally retires some day. Ziggy’s got some of the same qualities (great arm strength, better speed) but he’s 3 inches shorter.

2. Harrison- An overwhelming force coming at the quarterback from the blind side, he a master at disrupting what the other team is trying to do. Savvy, he rises to the occasion, making decisive plays with the game on the line.
1. Ben- plays the most important position on the field. Among the best QB’s in the NFL right now, he makes our offense go.

either Aaron Smith, Troy Polamalu, or James Harrison is the #1 irreplaceable player on the team, see my comment above and remember the 2007 season