Steelers bring rough and tumble D to Big D

Photo by: Gene J. Puskar

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) is sacked by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison (92) during the second half of an NFL divisional football game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2011.

Associated Press

With two scary hits on a single Sunday — and with the fines, attention and acrimony that followed — Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison became the symbol of a season in which the NFL tried to make clear what is and isn’t the right way to tackle.

Heading into Sunday’s Super Bowl against the Green Bay Packers, the Steelers view themselves simply as a hard-nosed bunch, the rightful scions of the Steel Curtain of yesteryear.

Others might use another word: dirty.

“To be honest with you, I really don’t care,” cornerback Ike Taylor said.

“This ain’t flag football. So, of course, some collisions are going to occur, some more serious than others,” Taylor explained. “Hopefully when guys do get hit, you would like for guys at least to get up. Whether they get up slow or fast, people would like for a guy to get up on his own. A lot of times that don’t happen. But that’s all a part of the game.”

It was Taylor who head-butted Baltimore Ravens receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh early in Pittsburgh’s 31-24 playoff victory. Perhaps it was purely a coincidence that Houshmandzadeh dropped a key pass late in that game.

“Coach always says, ‘Be the first one to throw the punch.’ Meaning: ‘Be the first one to hit,”’ Taylor said. “Let them know what they’re going to get for 60 minutes.”

When Pittsburgh beat the New York Jets 24-19 in the AFC championship game, Harrison landed hard on Mark Sanchez, even though the quarterback did one of those “Don’t hit me!” feet-first slides on a scramble. On the very next play, linebacker James Farrior hit running back Shonn Greene facemask-to-facemask.

Back on Oct. 17, the day helmet-to-helmet and other improper tackling really came to the fore, Harrison sidelined two Cleveland Browns with jarring hits that resulted in head injuries.

His weren’t the only frightening shots that day, and he wasn’t the only player fined by the league. But Harrison’s personal total of fines this season was more than what the entire Packers team was docked. And he complained about it.

Harrison spoke about retiring, met with commissioner Roger Goodell and eventually had his fines reduced because the league determined the linebacker adjusted his techniques to play within the rules.

“It’s starting to look like: ‘It’s OK to cheat, it’s OK to fight, but if you hit somebody too hard, we’re going to fine you a whole bunch,”’ Harrison said. “Maybe it’s because I play for the Steelers. Who knows?”

Such attention is not limited to Pittsburgh’s defense.

Receiver Hines Ward, for example, has his own reputation, based in part on a hit that broke an opponent’s jaw during the 2008 season and led to a change in rules governing blocking.