I recently wrote an article on the best quarterbacks in Steelers history. It was so well-received that it got me thinking about who the top five might be at other positions as well. So, I decided to take a stab at another position, this time switching to the defensive side of the ball to talk about linebackers.

I don’t want to go down that road of inside versus outside linebacker, so I’m just going to lump them all into one big giant bucket of linebackers. The thing is, that really is one BIG bucket of players. Names like Harrison, Ham, Lambert, Porter, Greene, Farrior, Russell, Lloyd, Gildon, Merriweather, Kirkland and Timmons all come to mind quickly.

And they all demand attention.

To be fair, I should probably stick to the same criteria that I used to qualify quarterbacks: the player has to have played a minimum of five seasons for the Steelers, and they have to have played the bulk of that time as a starting linebacker. That eliminates a few names from a crowded list. Chad Brown only played fours seasons in the Pittsburgh before flying off to Seattle. Kendrell Bell falls into the same category too, leaving for Kansas City after only four years.

The most notable name left out is Hall of Fame linebacker Kevin Greene, who only played three seasons in Pittsburgh, but whose “Thunder & Lightning” combination with Greg Lloyd still echoes in our memories. However, rules are rules, and Greene is left off this list.

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In the Conversation

There are still a number of players to consider, so I need to cull the group to a manageable number. If I don’t, this will be more of a filibuster than just a simple conversation! So, I have limited myself to ten names to consider from the halls of legendary Steelers linebackers.

They are as follows:

Joey Porter, James Harrison, James Farrior, Jason Gildon, Andy Russell, Greg Lloyd, Lawrence Timmons, Levon Kirkland, Jack Ham and Jack Lambert.

I know I am leaving out Keith Willis, but I consider him more of a defensive end than an outside linebacker. I am also leaving out Robin Cole, Clark Haggans, Larry Foote, and other linebackers who were solid contributors for the Steelers. (There is a lot more quality here than there was in the quarterback ranking!)

Much as with any other position, there is a lot more than only statistics to consider when discussing who is the best of the best. While things like fourth quarter comebacks and game-winning drives can be of assistance in measuring a quarterback’s leadership, it is not something easily measured by stats for linebackers. So, for this conversation, we’ll look tackles, assists, interceptions and forced fumbles as well as fumble recoveries, and of course, sacks. We’ll do the best we can with “intangibles”, but those are, by definition, hard to define.

There is one other “stat” that I’m going to use, and that is a stat which Pro Football Reference created called “Approximate Value”. They define “AV” as “an attempt to put a single number on the seasonal value of a player at any position from any year.” The primary reason I’m using this is prior to 1994, stats for tackles, assists, and sacks were less than accurately compiled. When we are looking at Jack Lambert, Andy Russell, and Jack Ham, we have nothing to make a comparison against.

Rather than handicap the pre-1994 guys, I’m going to use AV to compensate.

Additionally, as with the quarterback conversation, we have to be aware of the differences not only in defensive schemes but also of era and competition. The opportunity for some stats, like sacks, varies greatly depending on the position played, which must also be taken into consideration.

Tackles/Assists

In this chart, you see that the leader in tackles and assists for linebackers is James Farrior (731, 347). Lawrence Timmons, Greg Lloyd, Levon Kirkland and James Harrison round out the top five. Farrior and Timmons played on the inside, so it makes sense that their tackle numbers would be higher – the surprise is the number of tackles for Lloyd and Harrison, both of who are primarily featured as pass rushers. Lloyd’s numbers also show a tremendous amount of his tackles were solo, rather than assisted.

Thoe high sack numbers for Harrison and Lloyd show that they were not one-dimensional players, and they could handle the run as well as attack the passer. We already knew that Farrior and Timmons were tackling machines, and Ryan Shazier may soon creep into this conversation (he’s currently eliminated by the need to have played five seasons).

We can’t know what kinds of numbers Ham, Lambert, and Russell had, but I would imagine Lambert’s numbers, had they ever been tabulated, would be pretty high. He was a monster in the middle, and he was allowed to run free because of that Steel Curtain front, which would have made his tackle numbers huge.

Ham and Russell, both playing outside, would still have had considerable tackle numbers because in their day it was a run-first era. A good number of those runs were attempts to get around the corner, and both of them, especially Ham, excelled at cutting off those types of plays.

Sacks

As we all know, James Harrison became the Steelers all-time sack leader last season. He leads this group, followed by Gildon, Porter, Lloyd and then somewhat surprisingly, Lawrence Timmons. Lambert and Ham played just long enough to have some actual credited sacks, although both have unofficial numbers that are a bit higher (Lambert 23.5 and Ham 25).

Lambert, Ham, and Russell were never asked to blitz as much as today’s linebackers – the Steelers really wanted to get pressure with just their front four (and for the most part, they did).

Sacks can be drive killers, and of course the dreaded “strip sack” can be a game-changing play. Lloyd, Harrison, and Porter were masters at this, always aware of where the ball was and had an impulse to knock it free. This leads us to the next statistic, forced fumbles, and fumble recoveries.

Forced Fumbles/Recoveries

No surprise for forced fumbles: Lloyd and Harrison top the charts here, followed by Porter, Gildon and then Levon Kirkland.

Ham and Lambert top the list for fumble recoveries but are again limited in fumble stats because the “forced fumble” wasn’t a tracked statistic during the majority of their careers.

The key thing is that these guys all have a nose for the ball, with the field presence to know where it is when it’s lose, and then to get on it.

What’s surprising here are the lower numbers for Jason Gildon. Considering that Gildon sits in second for all-time sacks, you would have thought his numbers would have been more on par with Harrison and Lloyd, but he barely beats out Kirkland, Timmons, and Farrior.

Interceptions

The old guys make up ground in this stat, and it makes sense considering the type of defense they played. While we are all aware that the Steelers still require their outside backers to drop into coverage, it’s not the same as when Russell, Ham, and Lambert played.

Therefore, it’s no surprise that Ham, who was an unbelievably athletic outside linebacker, leads the group in interceptions. Lambert and Russell make up the top three, followed by Timmons, Kirkland and Porter/Lloyd (both tied with 10) in the fifth spot.

Of course, we all know that the most memorable interceptions belongs to James Harrison, with his 100-yard Super Bowl scamper.

It is interesting to note that the turnover stats, probably more than any other, show the differences in style of play between the 70’s and now; many different demands and responsibilities were given to linebackers, and it is reflected here.

Approximate Value

When compiling these averages, I only included seasons that were starting seasons for the player. I excluded seasons lost to injury or years where the player wasn’t a starter (usually their first and maybe second years).

The difference between the players is much less pronounced than in some of the other charts, and that’s kind of the point. This is a group of elite linebackers. I personally am not surprised at all to see that during the six prime years of James Harrison’s career his numbers push him to the top here, with a score of 14.

More interesting is that when Lloyd was healthy, his production (remember all those solo tackles) and sacks put him just behind Harrison’s score (13.9). The top five is rounded out by Jack Lambert (13.4), Jack Ham (12.7) and Joey Porter (12). Gildon, Farrior, and Kirkland all miss out by less than two points.

While this is by no means a definitive statistic, it’s a pretty good means of leveling the field with regards to scheme, era and missing statistics. There is no denying that at the top of their game, all of these players were critical components of their teams. Harrison, Lambert, Gildon, and Farrior all had seasons where their score was 19.

Harrison is the only one to hit that number twice, in 2008 and 2010. (Is there anything significant about those years?!) Lloyd had two seasons with values of 18, and Ham never dipped into single digits until his last season which was limited by injury.

Conclusion

As with any discussion of “the best” in anything, the results are going to be colored to a certain extent by the author’s perspective. I am lucky enough to have seen the entire career for each of these players except Andy Russell (who I saw most of, but not all).

Did I see every snap of every game?

Of course not, but I saw enough to understand the value of these individuals to the overall team.

So, here is my final list of the top five Steelers linebackers of ever:

1. Jack Lambert
2. James Harrison
3. Jack Ham
4. Greg Lloyd
5. James Farrior

Is it hard to leave guys like Timmons and Gildon off the list?

Yes, no question.

On top of that, I can understand many people choosing to argue with the order. I’m stating openly and honestly that Lambert wins because nothing on this earth could make me place him at less than number one on this list.

Ham may have been (and probably was) a more athletic and skilled player, but Lambert was the guy who scared teams. His demeanor and will was enough to motivate the team, and it’s those “intangible” leadership qualities that push him ahead of Ham in my view.

Harrison sits ahead of Ham for much the same reason. Deebo, even today, is considered one of the most intimidating players in the league. At his prime, he could take over a game.

And he did.

If Lambert hadn’t defined the Steelers for me for much of my youth, I might have even pushed Harrison into the top spot.

Lloyd, when healthy and in his prime, was much like Deebo and Lambert. His presence had to be accounted for, and his ability to close things down and seal off his side of the field was fantastic. Those years he was teamed with Kevin Greene were magnificent to watch.

As to why James “Potsy” Farrior slides into the fifth spot, well I just couldn’t leave him off of the list. Farrior was one of the best free agent signings (if not the best) the Steelers ever made. He was the field general for some of the most dominant defenses the Steelers ever put on the field, and he was a playmaker on top of it all.

Ryan Shazier reminds me a lot of James Farrior. (Except Shazier is way more athletic and has a lot more potential!)

Who knows, in a few more years maybe Shazier makes the case to be included in this conversation as well!