While DL Cameron Heyward has been racking up stats in the form of sacks and tackles for loss for the Pittsburgh Steelers during his NFL career, defensive linemen making plays in Pittsburgh wasn’t always the case.
Prior to a shift in defensive philosophy, Pittsburgh’s defensive linemen in a 3-4 front were often asked to take on blocks, allowing the linebackers to flow free to the football or create one-on-one matchups with their outside linebackers out on the edge in pass rush situations. This allowed Pittsburgh to blitz a lot and wreak havoc on opposing offenses but resulted in defensive linemen not making a big impact on the stat sheet.
That was often the case for former DL Aaron Smith, who was inducted into the Steelers’ Hall of Honor Saturday, being known for being a dominant run defender but not much of a pass rusher. Owner Art Rooney II spoke about the Hall of Honor Class of 2023 Saturday afternoon to the media, calling Smith an unselfish player who’s impact far exceeded the stat sheet.
“When he wasn’t in there for some games, it was so noticeable that we were missing him,” Rooney said about Smith via audio from 93.7 The Fan. “The 3-4 linemen, it’s a tough position. You don’t get a lot of stats and when he wasn’t in there, it was noticeable. And when he was in there, I mean, the main thing was people didn’t run on that team, and Aaron was a big part of that.”
Smith played his entire career in Pittsburgh, playing 13 seasons with the team. He started 152 of 160 regular-season games played and finished his career with 44 sacks and 84 tackles for losses. These aren’t terrible numbers for a 3-4 DE, but in all likelihood, Smith would have had more production had Pittsburgh used more of an attacking defense than a gap control defense where the defensive linemen ate up blocks for the linebackers to make plays.
It’s not the gratifying work, but Smith did it well, creating an immovable wall with Brett Keisel and Casey Hampton for nearly a decade in the middle of that defense. When Smith missed time due to injury, his impact was felt as Pittsburgh’s run defense suffered. Who knows what Smith’s stats would’ve looked like if he would’ve played in today’s league, but he is a big reason for that defense’s success at stopping the run for many seasons in the 2000s while also generating enough of a pass rush to pressure opposing quarterbacks as a member of a vaunted defensive unit.
