truth on hold Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 Actually, it does, because I believed you were over valuing Fletcher, but that was obviously my error. Here are three: Brian Urlacher Al Wilson Ray Lewis asked/answered urlacher is notorious for not shedding blocks from olinemen. even 85' bears dave duerson said so. thats why urlacher has zero sacks this season ... he is so ineffective at staying on his feet when he attacks the line they finally gave up. urlacher is redefiniing the MLB as much around his weaknesses as his strengths. arguably he's a big strong safety that lines up in the middle of the field to stop slot throws and provide run support when the RB gets past the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 The Baltimore Ravens inside linebacker NOT named Ray Lewis, which means he doesn't get his picture on the cover of Sports Illustrated like "God's Linebacker" did earlier this season. Why bring Joey Porter into this discussion? Meanie... Meanie, Truthie....what's the difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 urlacher is notorious for not shedding blocks from olinemen. even 85' bears dave duerson said so. thats why urlacher has zero sacks this season ... he is so ineffective at staying on his feet when he attacks the line they finally gave up. urlacher is redefiniing the MLB as much around his weaknesses as his strengths. arguably he's a big strong safety that lines up in the middle of the field to stop slot throws and provide run support when the RB gets past the line. You would've loved Carl Banks' take on Urlacher the other day on Sirius. He called him a great player, but not necessarily a great LB, making mention of Urlacher's ability to generate turnovers and his overall athleticism in terms of both run and pass coverage. He said some in the media even made mention of Urlacher being the best LB the Bears ever had. I can only guess that said media member was labotomized or just picked up the game after the careers of Samurai Mike and Butkus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
34-78-83 Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 You would've loved Carl Banks' take on Urlacher the other day on Sirius. He called him a great player, but not necessarily a great LB, making mention of Urlacher's ability to generate turnovers and his overall athleticism in terms of both run and pass coverage. He said some in the media even made mention of Urlacher being the best LB the Bears ever had. I can only guess that said media member was labotomized or just picked up the game after the careers of Samurai Mike and Butkus. Butkus, now theres a guy who could shed blocks. Samurai Mike, not so much. Were they both great though? YES Singletary is probably my favorite linebacker of all time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Butkus, now theres a guy who could shed blocks. Samurai Mike, not so much.Were they both great though? YES Singletary is probably my favorite linebacker of all time. There's many linebackers I liked (I played the position in high school/college), but I think if I had to go w/ a favorite, it would be either Jack Ham or Willie Lanier. But, w/ that position, there's so many I could name like Ted Hendricks, Jack Lambert, Ray Nitschke, LT (the ONLY person I call that, because my memory goes further back than 2 weeks), and Mike Curtis, for starters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I'm assuming you are -- as usual -- being sarcastic, and are well aware of "The Gospel According To Ray Lewis" (as printed on the cover of the 11/13/06 edition)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I'm assuming you are -- as usual -- being sarcastic, and are well aware of "The Gospel According To Ray Lewis" (as printed on the cover of the 11/13/06 edition)... Actually, no I wasn't. I knew of the Porter cover just because they made such a big deal out of it ("most feared player blah blah blah..."). I get ESPN magazine as part of my Insider subscription. I think SI is not worth the costs, so I don't subscribe and I certainly don't pay the newstand price for that stuff. There's some good writers for SI, in particular Rick Reilly, but not enough to justify the price tag in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 There's many linebackers I liked (I played the position in high school/college), but I think if I had to go w/ a favorite, it would be either Jack Ham or Willie Lanier. But, w/ that position, there's so many I could name like Ted Hendricks, Jack Lambert, Ray Nitschke, LT (the ONLY person I call that, because my memory goes further back than 2 weeks), and Mike Curtis, for starters. Taylor was the best I ever saw. He couldn't be accounted for by opposing offenses, and was able to do anything he wanted. In the middle it is tougher to say. I lean toward Lanier, but he WAS surrounded by a great defense at virtually every position, let alone Bell and Lynch at LB. Butkis had no such luck, and was a total monster. Curtis was so mean, he was actually scary. I saw an interview with him about a year ago, and he still had that crazed look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Taylor was the best I ever saw. He couldn't be accounted for by opposing offenses, and was able to do anything he wanted. In the middle it is tougher to say. I lean toward Lanier, but he WAS surrounded by a great defense at virtually every position, let alone Bell and Lynch at LB. Butkis had no such luck, and was a total monster. Curtis was so mean, he was actually scary. I saw an interview with him about a year ago, and he still had that crazed look. Ham and Lanier are legendary for playing the position the way I always tried to (not nearly as well as they did, of course): being versatile enough to be an asset all over the field and a liability in no area. They were just as smart as they were fast as they were tough as they were technically sound. The complete package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Taylor was the best I ever saw. He couldn't be accounted for by opposing offenses, and was able to do anything he wanted. In the middle it is tougher to say. I lean toward Lanier, but he WAS surrounded by a great defense at virtually every position, let alone Bell and Lynch at LB. Butkis had no such luck, and was a total monster. Curtis was so mean, he was actually scary. I saw an interview with him about a year ago, and he still had that crazed look. It's funny: while Curtis was slightly before my time, I've seen a good amount of film on him... but the one memory that sticks out is of the time he clobbered that crazy fan who decided to run out onto the field. Lights out, no ten-count necessary. Rich, if this link doesn't get you by the subscriber wall to the Lewis story, let me know and I'll PM you a copy. Interesting read. S.L. Price is one of the better writers in the S.I. fold; while the cover might make you think otherwise, he doesn't take either a pro- or anti-Lewis slant. I'm about to let my Sporting News sub drop and have yet to find a reason to spend more than five minutes with a copy of ESPN:Mag, but the quality of the writing in SI (while admittedly not what it used to be) keeps me forking over the $$$ to re-up every two years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
34-78-83 Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 There's many linebackers I liked (I played the position in high school/college), but I think if I had to go w/ a favorite, it would be either Jack Ham or Willie Lanier. But, w/ that position, there's so many I could name like Ted Hendricks, Jack Lambert, Ray Nitschke, LT (the ONLY person I call that, because my memory goes further back than 2 weeks), and Mike Curtis, for starters. Quite a group there... I really admired Singletary mostly because of his ability to diagnose the play prior to the snap of the ball. He did so much preparation and had so many individual player "keys" or tipoffs if you will, that he knew where the play was headed most of the time. Plus he was an animal for his size. He also had that sort of Clark Kent off the field/ superman on the field aura about him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Ham and Lanier are legendary for playing the position the way I always tried to (not nearly as well as they did, of course): being versatile enough to be an asset all over the field and a liability in no area. They were just as smart as they were fast as they were tough as they were technically sound. The complete package. Were you around to watch Robert Brazile? For a few years, he was a literal superstar. Greg Lloyd had some good years too. Hollywood Henderson rarely gets mentioned, but there was little he couldn't do before the drugs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Were you around to watch Robert Brazile? For a few years, he was a literal superstar. Greg Lloyd had some good years too. Hollywood Henderson rarely gets mentioned, but there was little he couldn't do before the drugs. I know very little of Brazile, other than he was part of the Tooz trade. Lloyd is one of Psycho Ward 86's favorite Stillers. I got her a Lloyd reversable jersey for her birthday, which happened to be the day of the first ever Steelers-Ravens game in Baltimore (which we attended). Unfortunately, the Ravens won that game. Henderson.....didn't he get busted for having sex w/ a minor or something? I know I heard him on Sirius talking about some program which he's involved in now. It seems like he's really turned his life around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 It's funny: while Curtis was slightly before my time, I've seen a good amount of film on him... but the one memory that sticks out is of the time he clobbered that crazy fan who decided to run out onto the field. Lights out, no ten-count necessary. Rich, if this link doesn't get you by the subscriber wall to the Lewis story, let me know and I'll PM you a copy. Interesting read. S.L. Price is one of the better writers in the S.I. fold; while the cover might make you think otherwise, he doesn't take either a pro- or anti-Lewis slant. I'm about to let my Sporting News sub drop and have yet to find a reason to spend more than five minutes with a copy of ESPN:Mag, but the quality of the writing in SI (while admittedly not what it used to be) keeps me forking over the $$$ to re-up every two years... Yeah. PM it to me. I'm no fan of ESPN's mag either. If it weren't included in my subscription (I like Scouts.inc's player bios, plus the Insider stuff is sometimes very informative), I wouldn't buy that either. I do want to get the Sporting News for the online draft guide though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Quite a group there... I really admired Singletary mostly because of his ability to diagnose the play prior to the snap of the ball. He did so much preparation and had so many individual player "keys" or tipoffs if you will, that he knew where the play was headed most of the time. Plus he was an animal for his size. He also had that sort of Clark Kent off the field/ superman on the field aura about him. It's hard not to appreciate Singletary. The guy was as good as it got in terms of MLBs. Like you, I do appreciate the off field Jeckyl and on field Hyde type personality. Former Steeler Levon Kirkland was the same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I know very little of Brazile, other than he was part of the Tooz trade. Lloyd is one of Psycho Ward 86's favorite Stillers. I got her a Lloyd reversable jersey for her birthday, which happened to be the day of the first ever Steelers-Ravens game in Baltimore (which we attended). Unfortunately, the Ravens won that game. Henderson.....didn't he get busted for having sex w/ a minor or something? I know I heard him on Sirius talking about some program which he's involved in now. It seems like he's really turned his life around. Rich, Brazile was a flat out monster. He had to have been injured or old when he was traded, because the man played in 7 probowls. He actually reminded me a bit of Taylor. This thread indicates to me that the LB position is far from what it used to be, but I'm not sure why. I suppose that they are being use differently. Ray Lewis IS a throwback imo because he is a tough guy. What's up? Are they becoming technicians of sorts? You and I (and Alaska Darin & Stuckincincy ) could continue to list dozens of other badass LBs. Fletcher plays hard, but most of the guys we are talking about seemed much stronger. I dunno, maybe it's me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Great Linebackers? Butkus, Huff, Tommy Nobis...Nick Buoniconti was pretty darn good as well. Boy there are a lot of great middlelinebackers to consider.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
34-78-83 Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Anybody remember Eugene Marv ? He was a very solid ILB for the Bills and very under rated on a crappy team. Just throwing one out there.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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