Remembering L.C. Greenwood - From Canton to Canton

"There’s a great spirit gone!" - Antony and Cleopatra, Act 1, scene 2

The great and proud Pittsburgh Steelers organization has lost yet another member of its family when Mr. L.C. Henderson Greenwood 'shuffled off this mortal coil' on Sunday, September 29, 2013. He was 67 years old. - http://tinyurl.com/muvo3dt

I'm not afraid to say that I shed a tear when I heard the news about the man known as "Hollywood Bags." L.C., the multiple All-Pro, Pro Bowl and Super Bowl player, just hit me in a different spot.

Maybe it was because L.C. was from Canton, Mississippi and that I'm from Greenville, MS. Maybe it's because his birthday was September 8th (1946) and my birthday (though I don't celebrate them) is on the 9th of September.

Or, to borrow a line from Mars Blackmon, 'maybe it's the shoes.'

L.C. was known for his golden shoes when he played. It was part of his flashy style. But, according to his website, it came about by accident.

"In 1973, L.C. Greenwood was diagnosed by his team doctor with a severe ankle injury. The doctor suggested that if he wanted to play in Sunday’s game, he would have to wear high top shoes. Tony Parisi was one of the Steelers trainers and he had a friend who owned a shoe store in the Strip District. At the shoe store Tony was given a couple of pairs of black Riddell high tops. Back in the locker room, Tony asked L.C. to try them on and they fit perfectly. L.C. said, “Tony, I can’t wear these shoes, they are too ugly!” So Tony offered to paint them white. L.C. did not like that idea because Joe Namath wore white high tops, so Tony offered to paint them gold. L.C. agreed. When the gold shoes appeared in his locker L.C. hesitantly put them on and wore them on game day, and the Steelers won. On the following Sunday, L.C. wore them once more, and the Steelers won again. However, the next game, L.C.’s ankle was on the mend so he wore his regular shoes…The Steelers lost. Suddenly, fan mail started to pour in for L.C. begging him to wear the gold shoes because when he did, the Steelers won. They had become a good luck charm. Always a fan pleaser, L.C. adorned the gold shoes for many of the games." - http://www.lcgreenwood68.com/l-c-s-gold-shoes/

Per ProFootballResearchera.org, the Steelers "were fined for a uniform violation every game L.C. played. While his teammates wore the standard black shoes that went with the uniform, Greenwood's were always a shiny gold. ... The Steelers never complained about the fines, L.C. was worth it."

And accident or not, it is a style that went along with his nickname.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ray Fittipaldo from "Steelers Years", L.C. "was called 'Hollywood Bags' because he claimed he kept his bags packed and ready so he could leave for Hollywood at a moment's notice."

It may sound funny, but, according to his official website, L.C. was a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Though, he didn't appear in anything of note outside of NFL Films or cameo parts where he portrayed himself.

On the field, however, L.C. was always a star. A nightmare for quarterbacks, he used his height and reflexes to bat down numerous balls throughout his career. In Super Bowl IX, he smashed down two of Fran Tarkenton's pass attempts.

Quite the athlete, he had great speed (4.7/40) and unusual quickness for a man who was 6'6" 245 pounds. He was remarkably consistent and effective - in his 13 seasons he recorded 73.5 sacks and 14 fumble recoveries.

Recording five sacks in his four Super Bowl victories, L.C. had his best performance when the Steelers won Super Bowl X by sacking Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach four times in the 21-17 victory.

That touches on a particular, and particularly sore, subject. Despite all his credentials - six-time Pro Bowler, five-time All-AFC, two-time All-Pro and four-time World champion - he isn't in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"The saddest thing is," said Steelers Dan Rooney, "he never got into the Hall of Fame,"

L.C. was a finalist for the Hall of Fame in 2005 and 2006, but was not elected. In recent years, however, there has been some clamor to get him into the Hall of Fame through the seniors committee.

Unfortunately now, though, it will be a posthumous induction when it happens. With there being several NFL players in the Hall of Fame with comparable numbers, it shouldn't have taken as long as it has in the first place.

L.C. Henderson Greenwood was born in Canton, Mississippi.

L.C. "Hollywood Bags" Greenwood deserves to live on forever in Canton, Ohio.

LaMarr Woodley Paramount In Returning Greatness To Steelers Defense

"Who are you to deny greatness? If you would deny it to yourself, you would deny it to all of Steeler Nation. And we will not be denied. GREATNESS AWAITS!" - Sony PlayStation ad. (Ok, but not exactly "Steeler Nation." Don't sue me, Sony!)

By the end of the 2012 season, James Harrison was playing some pretty good football. He started to resemble once again the disruptive force he used to be. He was the intimidator in a long line of intimidators. It was something the team had been lacking. It may also be the thing the Steelers will miss most next season now that Deebo is wearing Cincinnati Correctional Facility orange.

That is unless someone steps up and takes over the mantle of the bad ass. Because despite impressive statistics, the Pittsburgh Steelers defense wasn't the wet-the-bed scary hoard of ruffians they had been in previous (nearly 40) years. And that needs to change.

Change that needs to be spearheaded by LaMarr Woodley.

The initial problem to that end is that Woodley doesn't have the same disposition on the field that Harrison has. Harrison earned the nicknames "Deebo" (from the movie Friday) and "Silverback" for good reason. Woodley, on the other hand, has a slightly different demeanor and comes across more as Chief Bromden from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - you know the power is there, you've even seen it, but there just isn't the same fear factor.

And while the Steelers have drafted the man whom they feel can be a replacement in Jarvis Jones, and already have what looks to be a ready player in Jason Worilds, for the Steelers to bully themselves back to the top means that Woodley truly needs to next level his game.

Greatness awaits you, Mr. Woodley. And in one sense, it's closer than one may initially have thought.

The Steelers top all-time sacks leaders (via Steelers and NFL stats) through the 2012 season are as follows:
1 - Mean Joe Greene (78.5);
2 - Jason Gildon (77);
3 - L.C. Greenwood (73.5);
4 - James Harrison (64);
5 - Joey Porter (60);
6 - Keith Willis (59);
7 - Greg Lloyd (53.5); and
8 - LaMarr Woodley (52)

Just an average 2013 season from Woodley would put him ahead of Willis and Porter and into fifth place all-time in sacks for the Steelers. In fact, there is an extremely short list of pass rushers drafted by the Steelers (playing at least 48 games) who have as high of a sacks-per-game average (.626) as Woodley. He is also the Steelers' leader in sacks-per-game average in games started (.742) with 52 in 70.

This is also all in just six seasons, which includes the missing of nine games between 2011 and 2012 because of nagging hamstring and ankle injuries. As a point of comparison, the aforementioned Porter played 122 games for the Steelers. If Woodley does pass Peazy this season, he would have done so in at least 23 fewer games.

All of this and yet there is still the lingering feeling that Woodley has underachieved. That he actually fed off of Harrison's carnage as if he were a pilot fish eating on the leftovers of the host species.

Therefore, for his sake and that of the Steelers, more than "just an average 2013 season" is needed. And there is also more to the outside linebacker position than just getting sacks. It isn't just sacks, it's power and presence. In a word: fear. The kind of power that pushes back the line of scrimmage on running plays. The kind of presence that causes offensive linemen to miss a snap count or causes a quarterback to throw too quickly. The kind of fear that we know Woodley can instill.

Woodley had been just as dominant a run-stopper over his career as he had been a sack artist. According to FootballOutsiders.com, in 2010 Woodley ranked eighth in yards against per run play, and had a stop rate of 71% for a ranking of third. Respectable, if not dominant, numbers.

However, his production dropped precipitously over the last two seasons. The same website tracked his decline for 2011, but his numbers essentially nonexistent in 2012 in those categories. In his defense, though, Woodley was asked to drop into coverage a lot last year, doing so 35% of the time. Even so, questions remain for the other 2/3 of the time.

It is that 2010 Woodley, also the last year he had double-digit sacks, that the Steelers need to see reappear in 2013. Woodley turns 29 years old in November, and is under contract through 2016. Now is the time to reestablish relentlessness and intimidation in the Steel City, Mr. Woodley.

Greatness awaits.