Think back to the moments that introduced you to the sport. We can all recall a play or a game that showed us why football is different. For us 90’s kids, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ belligerent “Blitzburgh” defenses were unforgettable. Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene were wild men who set the tone — and they weren’t alone.

On this episode of “How the NFL Works,” we explore what made this group special with the (massive) inside linebacker on those teams: Levon Kirkland.

At 280, he could both tattoo running backs and run down the seam with tight ends.

As the 2024 Steelers start to resemble a legitimate contender, it felt like a good week to go back in time. As much as the sport has changed — year to year to year — the Steelers Linebacker persists. Kirkland invites listeners into the time machine to those 90s, shares more stories about his friend Lloyd and offers his thoughts on both the Steelers of today and Clemson’s football team where he works in player development.

Audio is above, and we’ll share a written Q&A later.

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Previous episodes of “How the NFL Works” below:

* S1 E6: The Domination of Chris Lindstrom

* S1 E5: Inside Kenny Clark's Lair

* S1 E4: 'Get a Quarterback' with Super Bowl champ and ex-NFL exec Jim Monos

* S1 E3: Resurrecting a Franchise with Ron Wolf

* S1 E2: Life After Football with Ryan Leaf

* S1 E1: Building the 2024 Quarterback with Quincy Avery

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How the NFL Works, S1 E7: BLITZBURGH with Levon Kirkland