LaMarr Woodley: Back In Black

Coming off a fresh Superbowl victory, the Pittsburgh Steelers may be headed towards a restoration of their 1970s "Steel Curtain" glory days.

One of they key components of last season's championship team is linebacker LaMarr Woodley. He is the young gun among Linebackers James Harrison and James Farrior, Safety Troy Polamalu summing up the feared defense ran by the aggressive and genius mind of Steelers Defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau. The University of Michigan standout knows what it takes to earn respect on and off the field. At this early stage in his career (second in NFL) LaMarr Woodley appreciates the honor of playing for great coaches and a organization that takes pride in its players, coaches, and even the fans. With that being said though please do not take LaMarr Woodley's kindness for a weakness as you know back in in Ann Arbor days at Michigan the slogan was "Guns don't kill people. LaMarr Woodley kills people."

The limelight-loving Woodley spoke to HipHopDX about his team, his college days, and the leaders and fans that proudly wave the literal and metaphoric Pittsburgh Steelers flag.

HipHopDX: With pre-season and training camp ending, are you ready for this upcoming season?
LaMarr Woodley: So far, yeah. I feel like everybody did what they needed to do in the off-season. I feel like everybody got better individually and we got better as a team. I did my part, so I know were ready.

DX: Speaking on the off season how was things coming off such a strong and successful Superbowl season?
LaMarr Woodley: Aw man, I did a lot of things after the Superbowl. I got to go on 106th & Park with my teammate Willie Parker. I went down and did ESPN on the weekend, Rip The Runaway show with BET, Jim Rome's show, a commercial for EA Sports, and went to the Espys. Thats pretty much it, they say when you're hot, you're hot. So hey. [Laughs]

DX: Everybody has their big dreams that they would love to accomplish. Would you say winning a Superbowl as a professional athlete was your biggest dream?
LaMarr Woodley: Oh yeah! Thats definitely one of them, but when you win one, especially early in your career you want to go out and win another one. You've got some guys that been in the league 10, 11 years, some more than that, that never got the chance to even play in the Superbowl. I went out there and won a Superbowl in my second year, so its a great opportunity.

DX: A lot of players on Sunday Night Football in the start of the game rep their college proudly. Speaking on that when you announce Lamarr Woodley, Michigan Wolverine, what comes up that made you love being a Michigan Wolverine?
LaMarr Woodley: The thing about Michigan is that its bigger than football. Its just the tradition, the history that kind of speaks for itself. Michigan is known for recruiting good quality guys on and off the field. Coach Carr taught us not only to grow as a football player, but also as a man. Thats one of the biggest things that I got at Michigan - growing as a man off the field. How you carry yourself off the field is what makes people respect you. Thats what I enjoyed being at Michigan. Being on campus able to meet people, having one of the longest living alumni in the country with players, coaches, its just everything.

DX: Making the transition from college to the NFL, did you hope to get selected to a certain team you were a fan of growing up?
LaMarr Woodley: Actually, Pittsburgh was my favorite team. Before Pittsburgh, I was actually a Dallas Cowboys fan from like the third grade to the seventh grade. In the eighth grade I became a Steelers fan, as I was playing fullback wearing #36, and called myself The Bus. I kind of just been rolling with the Steelers ever since then. When [the Steelers] brought me in for a visit, I was very excited hoping they would draft me.

DX: I see youre a fan of Jerome Bettis as well. Even though Im a Philadelphia Eagles fan in my opinion Jerome Bettis is the greatest Running Backs of all time. When you need that 4th & 1, give it to the Bus. The Bus will convert the 1st down and take like two, three people with him, everybody got a ride...
LaMarr Woodley: [Laughs], Yeah, its a lot of great Running Backs, and Jerome was definitely one of the best out there. He was fun to watch and he really gave me a lot of advice about being a NFL player and how to prolong my career.

DX: The Steelers are respected as one of the fiercest defenses in the National Football League. Known for playing for 3-4 defensive scheme, as a player, is it more difficult than the 4-3?
LaMarr Woodley: Its real different and it's confusing for the offense. The biggest thing with the 3-4 defense is that your outside linebackers can confuse the offensive line. We can stand as Defensive Ends and drop back in coverage covering a Tight End, Running Back, or even a Receiver man-to-man. When you got a 4-3, your Defensive Ends rush mainly. You have to know a lot being a Outside Linebacker in a 3-4 defense.

DX: Being a player under veteran Defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau, how do you stay focused and make it work playing to the best of your ability for such a respected defensive coordinator?
LaMarr Woodley: Not only do you respect Coach LeBeau as a coordinator, but a player as well. When he was out there playing, he was a great player and he has records out there now. Hes out there right now as one of the next candidates to be considered in the Hall of Fame. Coach Lebeau is a respected person, hes a aggressive coach when it comes to attacking the other offense. He treats each player on our defense like a man, hes gonna put you in the best position to go out there and win.

DX: Coach Lebeau indeed does his thing, you know he was playing when they had the sweatshirt and leather helmet days...[Laughs]
LaMarr Woodley: [Laughs] Oh yeah, you know Coach Lebeau was down in Detroit as a player, and he definitely got some big records out there.

DX: What is it like playing under Coach Tomlin? Strange side-question too, have y'all ever joked on Coach Tomlin, saying he looks like Omar Epps?
LaMarr Woodley: [Laughs], Yeah they got him a few times. Coach Tomlin, his first year was my first year...Coach Tomlin is laid back, but hes a real serious coach. To be honest with you, he is going to treat you fair. He doesnt overwork us, he goes out there and treats us like we're men. Hes always willing to listen to his players; its not the "what he says, goes." He gives us opportunities to speak our minds and thats what make us respect him.

DX: Thats the thing with the NFL nowadays, as coaches are now as young as the players. How you feel about the new trend with the hiring of younger coaches?
LaMarr Woodley: Times has changed, and you get a lot of coaches that still want to do it how they did it 20, 30 years ago. When you're dealing with a breed of kids with different backrounds, coming from different schools, its just different. So sometimes you can get a younger coach that can relate to the younger kids, which is great. One thing about Coach Tomlin is that hes not talking about last years Superbowl, he got us focused on each game to get better.

DX: Of course the Steelers are the champs, but Tom Brady is back for New England, and even the projected improvement in your division the AFC North, whats your take on the AFC this year?</strong>
LaMarr Woodley: I think we have a tough conference and one of the toughest divisions. When you have Baltimore in your division, playing them twice a year thats not a cake walk. [Laughs] Teams like the Browns, they are improving as well. I think the main focus as a team you need to do first is taking care of the guys in your division. When you take care of that then you can kind of move towards the playoffs a little bit. The main focus is taking them one game at a time.

DX: I'm sure you love doing what you do with your teammates, but are there other teams you like to watch as well?
LaMarr Woodley: Oh yeah, I like to watch the Baltimore Ravens because they're similar to us. They play hard-nosed defense and they got guys like Ray Lewis. I've been watching Ray Lewis for a long time and had a opportunity to talk to him, as he gave me some encouragement. I like watching the Eagles, because they get after a offense playing hard nose defense. Donovan McNabb and all of them is out there looking good, so I enjoy watching the Eagles as well. By far those are the main two teams I like to watch.

DX: How does it feel to be playing in front of those die-hard fans of the Steelers each Sunday or sometimes Monday. What its like going into that stadium watching those fans wave those yellow Terrible Towels?
LaMarr Woodley: Aw man, it's real, man. You go to [Heinz Field], seeing the tailgates, everybody with the jerseys on. The fans be out there pregaming it up; I enjoy seeing people outside the stadium just acting crazy for us. When you come out, you just see towels everywhere with Steelers fans loud, yelling, and ready to go. Not only at home, but we have a big fan base when we out on the road as well. Sometimes we have more fans in other stadiums than the team we playing against. [Laughs] Our fans are very loyal and travel whereever we go, so I enjoy them a lot.