Linebacker Greg Lloyd is one of the most beloved players in Pittsburgh Steelers history. Playing alongside Kevin Greene in the mid-90s as part of the “Blitzburgh” defense, Lloyd racked up 53.5 sacks as a member of the Black and Gold. Despite a member of the Steelers’ Hall of Honor, he has yet to be able to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
His former teammate and fellow linebacker Chad Brown believes he should be member of football’s most prestigious group. Brown joined The Cook & Joe Show on 93.7 The Fan Friday and called Lloyd the “baddest man in football,” while saying he belongs in the Hall of Fame.
“I think Greg Lloyd’s mark on football is definitely underrated because you mentioned those three years when he was first-team All-Pro, there were about five years in a row where Greg Lloyd was literally the baddest man in football,” Brown said. “There may have been, you know, other players who were great. But from just a personality, what he brings, intimidation level, game planning around him, figure out how opposing offensive coordinators and offenses are gonna deal with this guy. Five years the baddest man in football, and I think he certainly deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.”
Lloyd was indeed one of the baddest men in football, one of the reasons he became so beloved in Pittsburgh. Not only was he a great player, with three first-team All-Pro selections, five Pro Bowl appearances, and two top-three finishes in Defensive Player of the Year voting, his hard-nosed style fit Pittsburgh very well.
One of the biggest things holding Lloyd back is his sack numbers. Lloyd finished his career with 54.5 sacks and only hit 10 sacks in a season once. While part of the reason for that is having Kevin Greene on the other side of the defense, Lloyd not even hitting 60 sacks isn’t great for his cause. Lloyd doesn’t have any Super Bowl rings to help his case either. A Super Bowl victory or two might be able to help him overcome lower sack numbers.
While Lloyd is not in the Hall of Fame, he is in the Steelers’ Hall of Honor and will forever be in Steelers’ fans hearts. That has to count for something. Lloyd was a big part of the Steelers’ revival in the ’90s after a decade of mediocrity in the ’80s. He helped bring back the nastiness to the Steelers’ defense that the Steel Curtain had in the ’70s and made it very hard for opposing teams to have fun when playing Pittsburgh.
