Jerome Bettis will have to wait another year before he’ll get that gold jacket.

Boy it sure seemed like this year could be former Steelers Jerome Bettis year in being part of the Hall of Fame class.  Instead, the 6th leading rusher in the NFL gets passed up again as a finalist for the third year in a row.

I guess in consolation, for Bettis to get into the final 10 two times in a row is something to be proud of.  It’s promising too.  The first three years he’s been eligible he’s gotten this far.  Steeler Nation can only hope that Bettis keeps chipping away at the hearts of the writers (who are a bunch of fatty fatties lame ducks mind you).  The stats seem like he should be there.  Bettis was with the Steelers for ten seasons and won a Super Bowl the year he retired.  He’s one of the all time leading rushers on the team – 2nd only to Franco Harris.  He ran for over 10,000 yards and 78 TD’s in his career.  He’s 6th all time in yards.

Sorry it wasn’t your year, Bettis.  Would have been great to see you on that stage this afternoon and again in August.  Here’s the list of the men (heavy on the defense) who will be inducted this year:

DT Larry Allen

DL Curley Culp (legacy)

WR Cris Carter

G Jonathan Ogden

Coach Bill Parcels

LB Dave Robinson

DT Warren Sapp

Oct 22, 2011; London, UNITED KINGDOM; Pittsburgh Steelers former running back Jerome Bettis at the 2011 NFL International Series commissioners fan forum at the Landmark Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

The Hall of Fame voting just finished, and Tweets are coming out of who made the cut to the ‘Final 10.’  Steelers RB Jerome Bettis was part of that Final 10 and could very well be one of the players to find himself being inducted in August.  The voting started at 8 am and went all the way to 5 pm EST.

This is Bettis’ second time on the ballot and the second time he’s made it deep into the balloting process for the Hall of Fame.  Former LB Kevin Greene was on the finalists list, but apparently did not make the cut to the Final 10.

Bettis was with the Steelers for ten seasons and won a Super Bowl the year he retired.  He’s one of the all time leading rushers on the team – 2nd only to Franco Harris.  He ran for over 10,000 yards and 78 TD’s in his career.  Bettis is beloved by Steeler fans everywhere, and we all would love to see this guy make it.  Results should follow soon.

The rest of the Final 10 include: Michael Strahan, Bill Parcells, Larry Allen, Cris Carter, Charles Haley, Drew Ogden, Andre Reed, Warren Sapp and Aeneas Williams.

Are you ready for some football?

The 2010 NFL season gets underway on Sunday with the annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.   Speaking of which, if you’ve never been to Canton, I strongly suggest you make the trip at least once.  I’ve been to both the football and baseball shrines and while Cooperstown has a bit more historical value, walking amongst the busts honoring NFL legends is an absolutely incredible experience.   Plus, it’s like the Hall of Steelers because everywhere you turn, you’re staring at someone who wore the Black and Gold.

Speaking of which, one of the most beloved Steelers of all time is being inducted during Saturday evening’s Hall of Fame ceremonies.  So make sure you’re home tomorrow night (or set your Tivo) and tune into ESPN starting at 7:00 P.M. (ET) to witness the induction of our fabled defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.

Yeah, I know Dick never actually played for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  He played fourteen years for the Detroit Lions, recording  62 interceptions for 762 yards and three touchdowns.  That ties him for seventh all-time in NFL history, although he was fourth when he retired.  Considering teams threw the ball a lot less in the 60s, who knows how many he would’ve gotten in today’s pass happy league.  The Veteran’s Committee gets no argument from me for choosing him based solely on his playing career.

But as any member of Steeler Nation will tell you, LeBeau could just as easily be inducted based on his coaching resume.   Pittsburgh loves defense and nobody has done more to strike terror into the hearts of quarterbacks than Dick LeBeau.   He’s the father of the zone blitz, possibly the most innovative and widely copied defensive scheme in NFL history.  His defensive units have been dominant everywhere he’s coached.  The only reason he hasn’t been honored earlier is the Hall of Fame Committee is comprised of idiots who have some lame bias against coordinators.

In fact, you may be wondering why the HOF Game is between the Cowboys and Bengals.   Well, Emmitt Smith is one of the featured inductees (Conflagellations, Emmitt!) so that explains Dallas being there.  Jerry Rice is the other major name so you’d assume the 49ers would be the opponent but I guess the NFL decided San Francisco has appeared too often (just like the Steelers).   So they gave the Bengals the other slot because LeBeau’s one and only head coaching opportunity was with Cincinnati back in 2000.

He was fired in 2002.

I’m sure he’d rather have the Steelers represent his name than the buffoons who canned him.  However, since Cincy is too inept to find any players talented enough to actually get inducted on their own merits they get thrown a bone out of pity.   At least Mike Tomlin has decided to cancel Saturday’s practice so the entire team can be there when their beloved leader receives his long overdue honor.

Hall of Famer Dick LeBeau.   Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau was named one of the two senior nominees for NFL Hall of Fame induction.  He was nice enough to share his thoughts on the matter with us here at NPC.

Coach Tomlin told us after practice that I’m a finalist for the Hall of Fame thanks to the senior committee.  Good kid, that Coach Tomlin.  Reminds me of Lem Barney.  As for the Hall of Fame, all I can say is about time.

The damn sports writers only had 51 years to elect me to the Hall.  Yep, I joined the NFL back in 1959 when I was drafted by the Cleveland Browns.  Believe it or not, they were good back then.  The Browns cut me in camp but I managed to hook on with the Detroit Lions, where I played for the next 14 years.  That’s when Detroit ruled the auto industry with manly cars that put out 400 horsepower while getting five miles a gallon.   I still drive a Ford.  Nancy Boys buy a ricer, son.

When my playing days were over, I finished seventh all-time in career interceptions.  That’s a lot harder than it sounds.  Today, you have these pansy offenses that sling the ball to the left and sling the ball to the right forty times a game.  In my day, teams threw the ball only when they absolutely had to.  If I had gimpy arm nincompoops like Chad Pennington chucking the pigskin my way two dozen times every game, my record would still stand.

I also set a record for cornerbacks by playing 171 consecutive games.  Nowadays, you have trainers, massage therapists, and a specialist for every damn part of the body.  We had dirt.  Sprain your ankle?  Rub dirt on it and take a lap.  Strain your balls?  Rub dirt on it and take a lap.  Dislocate your shoulder?  Rub dirt on it and take a lap.

After my playing days, I was lucky enough to move into coaching.  I bounced around as an assistant until I finally became a defensive coordinator in 1984.  Altogether, I’ve been a d-coordinator for 19 years and three different teams.  People say that I innovated defensive strategery by inventing such schemes as the Zone Blitz.  I just say I hate quarterbacks.

The big knock against me seems to be my lack of head coaching success.  I was only the top man once, a 3 year stint with the Cincinnati Bengals earlier this decade.  C’mon, it was the BENGALS.  Sure I didn’t accomplish much but there’s only so much one man can do when an organization is rotten to the core.   A coaching committee of Don Shula, Tom Landry, and Chuck Noll couldn’t fix those losers.

I owe everything to my players.  If they hadn’t spoken up for me, I’d probably still be waiting for that nomination.  I think the words of former Steeler Rod Woodson during his recent HOF induction speech finally opened some eyes.  Good kid, that Woodson.  Reminded me of Night Train Lane.

Everything I’ve done is because of my players.  All the top ranked defenses.  All the Super Bowl championships.  All because of their hard work and talent.  They call me Coach Dad, which means a lot to me although if I were their father, I’d tell Keisel to stop getting all those damn tattoos and Polamalu to cut his hair.  He looks like one of those damn dirty hippies we used as tackling dummies back in the 60′s.  Anyway, I owe it all to them but if I played some part in putting those boys in a position to succeed, I’ll gladly accept your nomination.  Now get off my lawn, I have a practice to run.

Lost amidst the hoopla of the Ben Roethlisberger lawsuit was some genuinely great news for one of the finest Pittsburgh Steelers of all time.

Rod Woodson, a ten year starter at cornerback for the Steelers, was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Woodson is the career leader in interceptions returned for touchdown.  He also holds the record for most career interception return yardage.  Deion who?   Woodson was the 1993 NFL Defensive Player of The Year for yet another Steeler defense ranked 1st overall in the league, an 11 time Pro Bowler, and was named to the NFL’s 75th anniversary team back in 1994 while he was still playing.  Rod was the Steelers 1987 1st round draft pick (10th overall) out of Purdue.  He played fantastic cornerback while here and distinguished himself as a dynamic return man.  Also, Woodson’s All-Star Grill down at Station Square had some of the best hamburgers you’ve ever tasted.

Perhaps Woodson’s greatest moment as a Steeler occurred in 1995.  Ironically, that was also the beginning of the end of his career in the Black and Gold.  Week one against the Detroit Lions, Woodson squared to tackle RB Barry Sanders.  Sanders juked him out of his jock (which he did to pretty much everybody) and when Rod planted his foot to change direction, it got caught in the artificial turf at Three Rivers Stadium.  He tore his ACL to hell and needed immediate reconstructive surgery.  The Steelers rallied, managing to make it all the way to Super Bowl XXX that season.  Miraculously, Woodson managed to rehab his knee sufficiently to play nickelback in the soul-crushing loss to the Dallas Cowboys.  Yes, he tore his ACL and come back to play in the same season.

Woodson’s speed was unbelievable as he’d routinely let wide receivers go past him to play the run or fool the quarterback into thinking his man was open and then he’d come out of nowhere to close on the receiver when he saw where the ball was going.  Unfortunately, players seldom heal completely from an ACL tear so when he tried doing this the next year, he didn’t have that same freaky closing speed and would get beat on bombs.  The Steelers wanted to move him to safety but he allegedly refused, resulting in a not so pleasant divorce.  Sadly, we had to watch as one of our greatest players and probably the best pure athlete to ever don the Black and Gold leave for the 49ers, Ravens (where he helped them win a Super Bowl.  You’re welcome, Ratbirds), and finally the Raiders.

Regardless of where his career ended or the bad feelings he may have had over how his departure from Pittsburgh was handled, Rod has always stated he remains a Steeler at heart.  He’s made peace with the Rooneys and talked openly of the admiration he has for both them and his original team.  In fact, he said in several interviews that if a player had to pick one team jersey/helmet to wear on their Hall of Fame bust, he’d pick the Steelers.

You can watch his entire Hall of Fame induction speech here.

Congratulations, Rod.  Your #26 jersey still hangs proudly in my closet.  And now your name hangs proudly among the greatest players to ever play the game.  Steeler Nation thanks you for the memories.