It is well-known that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2008 defense was one of the best in modern NFL history. That success, which led to a Super Bowl trophy, came down to one thing, according to former outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley.
Trust.
Appearing on the JJ & Alex Show on KSL Sports Zone 97.5 FM with co-host and former teammate Stevenson Sylvester, Woodley said that the trust in each other and the trust that everyone would do their specific job made that 2008 defense special, which culminated in a win in Super Bowl XLIII over the Arizona Cardinals.
“…For me, being a young guy, it was just about trusting your teammates, trusting that everybody was going to do their job. And when everybody do their job, we win,” Woodley said of the ’08 Steelers’ defense, according to audio via KSL Sports on YouTube. “Everybody being on the same page communicating, that’s what made that team so strong. You had the leadership of James Farrior, you got Ryan Clark in the back, you got Larry Foote making plays.
“I mean, it was just so many guys on that defense, veteran guys. I had a chance to play next to Aaron Smith, who had been in the league 11 years. So it was just about trust, man. We trusted it. We trusted one another.”
Trust narrows things down to a basic concept when it was so much more than that for the Steelers’ 2008 defense. That defense featured some incredible talent, including Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu, Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison, Pro Bowl nose tackle Casey Hampton, and more.
But that trust in each other and the belief that each player on the field at a given time is going to do their job led to so much success.
That 2008 unit led the NFL in fewest points allowed, total yards allowed, and passing yards allowed and was second in rushing yards permitted, leading the Steelers to a Super Bowl win over the Arizona Cardinals that season. Polamalu and Harrison earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro nods that season, while Harrison won the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award thanks to his franchise-record 16.0 sacks.
The Steelers sure had a legendary defense for the ages in 2008 under Dick LeBeau. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/Bl8SPUwZ4U
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) June 13, 2020
That Steelers defense allowed a league-low 3.9 yards per snap and 13.9 points per game. Additionally, the Steelers held opponents to the lowest third-down conversion rate (31.4) in the NFL and finished second in sacks (51). To close the season, Harrison’s pick-six in Super Bowl XLIII was a key moment in the Steelers edging the Arizona Cardinals.
That pick-6 against the Cardinals was the perfect example of that trust the Steelers had, according to Woodley.
“And even going back to that Super Bowl play when James Harrison ran that 99-yard touchdown. All week we was just catching interceptions, not running them back, and Coach LeBeau was just talking like, ‘Hey, we’re gonna need one of these plays to win the game.
“And sure enough, when James Harrison got that interception, you seen all ten guys blocking. That was team and family making sure that their brother gets in the end zone so we can win this game.”
That brotherhood still holds true today, especially for those defensive pieces.
#Steelers linebacker James Harrison’s coast-to-coast pick-six to end the first half of Super Bowl XLIII
The longest interception return, and at the time the longest play of any kind, in #SuperBowl history — 100 yards
15 years ago tonight pic.twitter.com/VuJIEMhuc2
— Kevin Gallagher (@KevG163) February 1, 2024
