The name Aaron Smith is about as generic as it gets. Former Pittsburgh Steelers DE Aaron Smith was probably as nondescript outside of Pittsburgh during his playing days as his name suggests because he didn’t play a flashy position. He was a 3-4 defensive end, responsible for controlling the run game rather than getting after the passer. His play against the run did garner praise from people like team president Art Rooney II, but the praise outside Pittsburgh was muted most of the time.
However, three-time Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist RT Willie Anderson knows Smith. The two battled each other repeatedly during their playing days whether Anderson was with the Cincinnati Bengals or the Baltimore Ravens. And Smith always stood out to Anderson.
“He and I had some battles, battles, battles,” Anderson said when asked by Kay Adams about whom he misses playing against on Thursday’s episode of Up & Adams. “After the game, he and I would both tell each other, ‘Hey man, when it comes to Pro Bowl voting I’m going to vote for you.’ Aaron was a huge cog for the Steelers, but he never got the national recognition because of the spot he played. He didn’t get sacks.”
To hear divisional rivals have that level of respect for each other is, quite frankly, astonishing. There has been plenty of bad blood between the Bengals and Steelers over the years. Yet Smith and Anderson seemed to genuinely respect and appreciate each other in the battle.
And Smith definitely didn’t get the recognition that Anderson and the Steelers faithful would argue he deserved. He played 13 NFL seasons, all with the Steelers after they selected him in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He only ever made one Pro Bowl in 2004. And as Anderson said, Smith didn’t get sacks. He played in 160 regular-season games but only had 44 sacks. He did have 84 tackles for a loss, though. And he was a two-time Super Bowl champion.
For Anderson, it was simply the physical battles the two had that stuck out. They battled for nine seasons with Anderson as part of the Bengals before he finished his career in 2008 with the Ravens. Anderson still remembers how things finished between them.
“I couldn’t move Aaron to save my life sometimes,” Anderson said. “It was a battle. My last game against him, I was playing for the Ravens. The championship game, the Ravens versus the Steelers in 2008. It was just a battle, just an unbelievable battle we had.”
Mans Man! When I played against him as a member of the @Ravens we just stared at each other like we were in Bizarro World . I was on different team after all the years fighting him for @Bengals. Weirdest thing ever He knew all my weakness I knew his! Had a book on each other 😂
— Willie Anderson (@BigWillie7179) September 26, 2019
For a three-time finalist for the Hall of Fame to say that he couldn’t move Smith to save his life sometimes? There isn’t higher praise than that for a 3-4 defensive end.
