[Buckskin86]

August 12
Woodson wants to take LeBeau for walk down Hall
The Associated Press

LATROBE, Pa. ? Rod Woodson was determined to make sure his night didn?t pass by without it becoming Dick LeBeau?s night, too.

Woodson, the former Steelers cornerback, turned his own induction speech into a campaign rally for LeBeau?s election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

To Woodson, his former defensive coach ? a 14-year cornerback for the Detroit Lions and an innovative NFL coach for 37 seasons ? has waited too long to be recognized.

As a player, LeBeau?s 62 interceptions were the seventh-most in NFL history and only nine fewer than Woodson?s 71. Once he began coaching, LeBeau became one of football?s most-copied coordinators, with many versions of the zone blitz defense he first tried in Cincinnati still in use by every NFL team.

To Woodson and many of the Steelers? current players, LeBeau has done enough to be enshrined as a player or a coach ? though he won?t be eligible for induction as a coach until he retires.

?I hope the voters, seriously, get it right. He deserves to be in as a player and, if you don?t put him in as a player, put him in as a contributor,? Woodson said during his Saturday night speech in Canton.

?He deserves it. The voters are going to get tired of me saying it ? Dick LeBeau deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.?

LeBeau?s current players quickly picked up on the theme. Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, who rarely shows emotion off the field, became animated when he spoke of LeBeau?s snub.

Polamalu said if players voted for the Hall of Fame, rather than writers and broadcasters, LeBeau would have been inducted years ago.

Woodson wants to take LeBeau for walk down Hall | Sports | timesleader.com - The Times Leader