James Harrison 2008 Steelers
James Harrison 2008 Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers have fielded some extremely talented defenses throughout their long history. That includes the 2008 unit, which stands out to some above the rest. To former Steeler James Harrison, a member of that squad, it’s easily the best defense the league has ever seen.
“We was some dawgs, bruh. Look at them numbers. Put [those] numbers against all the teams that they say [are] ahead of us. Put the yards, whatever you wanna do,” Harrison said Friday on his Deebo and Joe podcast. “I’m trying to tell you, ya’ll doing that ’08 Steelers defense injustice.”
Harrison isn’t the only one to believe so. His defensive coordinator back then, Dick LeBeau, made a similar remark that the numbers that defense put up would never be equaled. It’s a fair assessment given the group’s talent. They had Harrison, of course, as well as Troy Polamalu, Ike Taylor, Ryan Clark, James Farrior, LaMarr Woodley, Brett Keisel, and several other talented names.
That said, being the best defense of all time is quite a tall honor. There are a few other units that might try to lay claim. The 1985 Chicago Bears, 2015 Denver Broncos, 2013 Seattle Seahawks, and even some of the old Steeler defenses might have the same argument for themselves.
Another team in that conversation is the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. To Harrison, it’s not even a competition.
“Go ahead, check them out. Check their numbers against ours. Go ahead, run it. Run the numbers, please do,” Harrison said. “And don’t forget, it was more passing in ’08, and we still gonna have more numbers.
The 2000 Baltimore defense is certainly in the conversation. Baltimore allowed just 165 points that year, easily the lowest in the league. The Ravens were second in total yards allowed at 3,967, and allowed just 970 rushing yards, the lowest in the league by far. Baltimore also led the league in takeaways with 49 and had four shutouts that year.
The Steelers’ defense matches up, but the Ravens bested them in a couple of statistics by a wide margin. Pittsburgh allowed many more points with 223, had far fewer takeaways with 29, and its 1,284 rushing yards allowed were over 300 more than that Baltimore unit.
However, the Steelers’ unit excelled against the pass. While the Steelers faced five more pass attempts than the Ravens, they were much better, allowing just 2,511 yards through the air, compared to Baltimore’s 2,997. And while the Steelers only had one shutout on the year, they held their opponent to 10 or fewer points in eight games.
When it comes to evaluating the all-time greatest defenses, everyone has their own criteria. One thing is for sure: the defense the Steelers assembled in 2008 certainly has its own argument in this conversation. Harrison is confident enough to put it up against any great defense the league has seen.