Casey Hampton is one of the most iconic Steelers of the 21st century. He represented the organization well and had the heart and toughness that people have always associated with Pittsburgh.
He’s also a bit of a relic from a bygone era. You don’t exactly see 6-1, 325-pound tanks clogging up the middle in the modern NFL. It’s just not the optimal strategy for most teams anymore.
It’s a shame because Hampton was an entertaining player to watch and a great personality and ambassador of the game off the field. Anytime someone’s nickname is “The Big Snack” they just have to be a positive addition to the game.
There are so many good Casey Hampton stories out there too. His former coach, Bill Cowher, was on the Pat McAfee Show today and recalled one of his favorite moments with Hampton.
“Casey Hampton was a first- and second-down player. On third down, he’d come off the field. Third down and four, they get a first down.” Cowher recalled. “Casey has to run off and run back on. Now it’s third and six. Casey runs off the field and all of a sudden they get the first down. Now Casey is getting mad. Next time it’s third and eight, he comes off, he stops right at the numbers, and just yells at every one of those guys. ‘I’m not running on this fricking field again, so get your asses off! I’m watching this play, I’m not gonna sit down this time and whoever’s fault it is, we’re gonna talk.’… They kicked the field goal. I said, ‘Casey, you need to talk to these guys more often.’”
For someone like Hampton, whose playing weight was so high, it’s not surprising that he didn’t want to be doing all the cardio from running on and off the field every time it was third down. And heck, if I was on that defense and a guy that big yelled at me before a big third down, it’d give me a little extra juice on the next play.
Despite not really playing third downs or obvious passing situations, Hampton carved out a successful career in Pittsburgh. He was a Steelers lifer, spending 12 seasons in the Black and Gold and winning two Super Bowls while making five Pro Bowls.
As I alluded to, the big nose tackles seem to be going the way of the back-to-the-basket big man in the NBA. We probably won’t see many Al Jeffersons again just as we probably won’t see many Casey Hamptons or Vince Wilforks again, at least until the league focuses on running the ball again (I swear it’s happening in a few years).
For now, all we have are the memories of Hampton clogging the middle, yelling at his teammates because he’s tired from running 20 yards on and off the field, and most importantly, winning those two Super Bowl rings.
