The Pittsburgh Steelers are best known for their dynasty in the 1970s, when the Steel Curtain defense would annihilate everything in sight. However, that unit also had all kinds of weapons on the offensive side of the ball as well. They were loaded with Hall of Famers, including Lynn Swann and John Stallworth at the wide receiver position. If the defense could not get the job done for whatever reason, the offense had more than enough talent to make up for it, even if quarterback Terry Bradshaw wasn't the greatest passer at the time.
While making an appearance on Games With Names, Bradshaw took credit for his weapons getting inducted, but he did it in a way that dissed himself.
"I used to apologize to these guys, but then I got to thinking about it: If I had been accurate -- accurate -- none of them would have made the Hall of Fame," Bradshaw explained while imitating his receivers making tough catches. "Am I right? I mean, you got to let them show off what they can do, and I did that intentionally. I just want America to know that. I'm a giver."
That last part was obviously a joke as he and Julian Edelman, the host of the show, laughed about the whole situation. However, Bradshaw may not be entirely wrong. There are iconic clips and photos of his receivers making great plays, of course, the most iconic one was the Immaculate Reception, where he just threw a pass up and hoped for the best.
Despite Bradshaw's overall subpar numbers, he wasn't bad for the era of football he played in. He only made three Pro Bowls, but he did have a career season in 1978, where he was voted MVP of the league. He had accuracy issues throughout his career, but he knew that he could rely on his star players when he needed to the most.
Swann even won Super Bowl X MVP, despite only catching the ball four times. Whenever the ball went his way in that game, he made circus catch after circus catch. His second reception, a tipped ball on a go route, is still seen as one of the greatest catches in the history of the NFL.
Steelers Thrived Without Motivation -- Just Fundamental Football
The whole point about Bradshaw's bad passes allowing his receivers to get into the Hall of Fame started from the quarterback admitting that he couldn't just go on the sideline and yell at his players, like some signal-callers do in the modern league.
"I don't want to scream at Lynn Swann, because he'll turn around and scream back and say, 'Well, you d**khead, you threw it behind me. How the h*ll am I supposed to catch?' You know what? He's right."
Even the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the NFL aren't perfect. The best leaders are the ones that just admit when they make a mistake, acknowledge it, and move on. There doesn't need to be a screaming match with teammates playing the blame game against each other.
The greatest players are the ones that pick up their teammates when they make a mistake. Bradshaw admitted that he was not an accurate passer, but he had a generational receiving core that made him look amazing. That is one of the many reasons why they won four Super Bowls, and why there are so many players from that unit enshrined in Canton, Ohio.
At the end of the day, it doesn't matter who did what and who had the most impact. What matters is that they won championships and made it to the Hall of Fame. They have their rings, and the football world will never forget their names or what they did when the lights were the brightest.
