Please click on "Comments" and make sure to vote in the poll. Taylor changed the way football is played today. Eddie Johnson arrived in Cleveland at exactly the right time. Here is my ranking of the top 10 Giants linebackers, along with some honorable mentions. Taylor is one of only two defensive players (DT Alan Page, 1971) in the history of the NFL to be named NFL MVP. 9-time All-Pro, 10-time Pro Bowler. He has done it all for the Bears with his pass coverage, run support, and blitzing. 3 hours ago. He had 885 career solo tackles, which is impressive on a defense filled with swarming the ball, shown by his 1,488 career tackles. He played in 10 playoff games and had two INTs and three fumble recoveries in them. Here's a list of the Packers' top 10 all-time defensive players since 1950, when unlimited substitution was restored to the NFL, paving the way for two-platoon football. The next year, he followed it up with four more interceptions. *Three-time Pro Bowler *One-time 1st Team All-Pro. This season marked the end for Tittle and fellow Canton-bound star Frank Gifford. Chris Spielman was a tackle machine during his 10 years in the NFL. No. He had 1,301 tackles and 25 forced fumbles in his career. Bet with your head, not over it. Thomas never had less than seven sacks in a season in his entire career, and only had less than eight sacks in one season. He knew how to make big plays. Ham had arguably the most successful NFL career out of any of the names on this list as he was a star for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Joey Porter may be the most vocal linebacker on this list. Gradishar was the silent assassin of the team. . He made five straight Pro Bowls, but the reason he doesnt rank higher on this list is because he was never a feared player like his teammate Michael Strahan was, and his stats just arent good enough. In 1976, Jackson had seven INTs. It will be interesting to see how he can recover. I have combined outside and inside linebackers on the list and factored in the players ability to stop the run, drop into coverage and leadership. Nine All-Pros. Linebacker Jack Ham and Tight end Dave Casper each received 20 votes. Mike Kolen 1970-77. 17 Reasons why Jordan is greater than Lebron, 16 Reasons why Lebron is greater than Jordan, The 18 greates Coaches in College Football History, The Top 21 Offensive Linemen in NFL History, 19 undeniable Lies in Disney's Remember the Titans. Mecklenburg was never a cocky player, but just a guy who would show up on Sundays. Urlacher was the leader of those great Bears defenses of the 2000s, including when they got to the Super Bowl only to lose to Peyton Manning and the Colts. He was also a big hitter and very intimidating on the field of play. Lloyd will always be remembered as the lightning quick pass rusher from the Blitzburgh days. By 1995, he was recognized as one of the top inside linebackers in the league and had a stellar performance in Super Bowl XXX against the Dallas Cowboys at the end of the season. Any coach would be lucky to have a player like Karl Mecklenburg on their roster. The longtime backup led the NFL in completion percentage (69.8%), set the Seahawks' single-season passing yards record (4,282) and ranked in the top five in the entire league in both passing . If you havnt guessed it by now, Lawrence LT Taylor is my top linebacker of the modern era. . He could play zone and man. Super Bowl winner. No. May 24, 2022. In his three years at Clemson (1995-'97) Simmons recorded 486 tackles, only 29 off the school record Bubba Brown recorded in four years from 1976-'79. Lloyd had 54.5 sacks and 11 INTs in his career, but the most remarkable number was his 35 forced fumbles. In 1984 and 1985, Tippett put up two of the best back to back seasons recording 18.5 and 16.5 sacks in them. Its too bad Fredd Youngs career had to end prematurely due to injuries. Thomas never had less than seven sacks in a season in his entire career, and only had less than eight sacks in one season. Singletary was a leader, not only vocally, but by example. His best season was his first year with the Bills where he had 17.5 sacks, 70 tackles, two INTs, and three forced fumbles. Ham is the only linebacker other than Tom Jackson to have seven INTs in a single season. Thats the type of player you want on your team, especially on the defensive side of the ball. 28b, Sam Mills (Saints/Panthers) (1986-1997) *Five-time Pro Bowler *One-time 1st Team All-Pro *Two-time 2nd Team All-Pro. Other Links > Football > Player Rankings by Position > Top Ranked Linebackers . Lewis stats at this point of his career are 1,349 tackles, 36.5 sacks, and 28 INTs. Porter is mostly known as a sack master. He was never the most athletic player on the field, but he was always the hardest working. No. Mar 3, 2023 Updated 4 min ago. Harry Carson was an outstanding linebacker who played alongside Lawrence Taylor. No. Rickey Jackson could do it all. Anthony Simmons (1995-'97) is the only two-time First-Team All-American in Clemson . He was a hard worker, good tackler, and had great hands. Wilber Marshall was one of the greatest pass coverage linebackers of the modern era. The two-time All-American helped the Cornhuskers win back-to-back national titles in 1970 and '71 . Discuss this article along with many other quality articles, discussions, and much more at: http://forums.sportsjabber.net/sjforums/showthread.php?t=54444. Mike Singletary. Bill Parcells considered Carson the best all-around linebacker he ever coached, which is very high praise from someone who has coached a ton of linebackers in his day. 31, Tom Jackson (Broncos) (1973-1986) *Three-time Pro Bowler *One-time 1st Team All-Pro *One-time 2nd Team All-Pro. 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Jackson was not just a coverage linebacker, he was also a good pass rusher and a very hard worker off the field. Paul Naumoff played for 12 seasons from 1967-1978. Top 10 Boxers of the 1990s: Was Roy Jones Jr. the best? It may be a bit early to put Jon Beason on this list, but I think his play warrants the selection. He wasnt great at one aspect but was equally as good at everything he did. 1970, slow dancing in Mark Wooldridge's basement with my first girlfriend, Karen Frey, who wore white high-top . Well have to see how he does, but he could either climb up or fall off this list based on his performance in 2010. Ham is the only linebacker other than Tom Jackson to have seven INTs in a single season. He started his career out with the Packers, if they would have used him correctly he would have been higher on this list. 2) Jeff Siemon: A key player as the middle linebacker on the team's top defenses in the mid-1970's, Siemon played in 156 games, starting 123, and was selected to four Pro Bowls during his eleven year career with the Vikings. Jack Ham might be the best coverage linebacker of all-time. 34, Julian Peterson* (49ers/Seahawks/Lions) (2000-Present) *Five-time Pro Bowler *One-time 1st Team All-Pro *One-time 2nd Team All-Pro. T&Cs apply. The 2008 season was his best sack season with 17.5. Thomas' remarkable personality was also recognized by being awarded the Walter Peyton Man of the Year Award in 1993. Lewis stats at this point of his career are 1,349 tackles, 36.5 sacks, and 28 INTs. 1970s A 1-13 record in 1969 gave the Steelers the first overall choice in the 1970 draft, with which Noll addressed the offense by selecting quarterback Terry Bradshaw, another Hall of Famer, after the Steelers won the first selection by winning a coin toss with the Chicago Bears. Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter has returned to the NFL . Al Wilson was an outstanding MLB for the Broncos. 43, Keith Brooking* (Falcons/Cowboys) (1998-Present) *Five-time Pro Bowler *Two-time 2nd Team All-Pro. He could do it all. He was unstoppable in goal line situations especially. 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For a four-year span with Seattle, Young was arguably the best Seahawks linebacker of all-time. No. Nine All-Pros. The Steel Curtain was the defensive line of the 1970s American football team Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He was also a good pass rusher, and a good coverage man as well. No. That Steelers linebacking core could easily be the best of all-time, and it was led by Jack Lambert and Jack Ham. Selected by the Baltimore Colts in the 2nd round . Still, he was a very solid MLB for many years. Lewis was the leader of the 2000 Super Bowl-winning Ravens team. Still, its an amazing number. There is a reason the award given to the best linebacker in high school, college and the NFL each year is named after Butkus. In only 11 seasons, Thomas had 126.5 sacks, and an NFL record 41 forced fumbles. The 70s were a rough decade for the Browns, but the 1980s were getting off to a great start with the franchise returning to the playoffs, despite the tragedy of " Red Right 88 " in 1981. No. No. Marshall wasnt just a pass coverage linebacker though, he also racked up 1,020 tackles during his 11 year NFL career, along with 24 forced fumbles. Answer: Two of the three were constants for all four Super Bowls and ended up in the Hall of Fame. The Steelers went 6-10 in his first season, but along with players like Hines Ward, Jerome Bettis, and Alan Faneca . They surrendered only 20 points in that game, and seven of them were off a blocked punt. He had less than seven sacks in a season only once. Don Moorehead, Dennis Franklin, Jim Harbaugh, Elvis Grbac, Tom Brady, Forest Evashevski, Benny Friedman and John Navarre were all elected Captains by their teammates. In his time in the NFL, he intercepted 25 passes and returned six of them for touchdowns with three of those in 2002 alone. No. In that career he played both 4-3 OLB and 3-4 ILB. He had 885 career solo tackles, which is impressive on a defense filled with swarming the ball, shown by his 1,488 career tackles. Over the past 50 years, the Steelers have tallied 36 winning seasons . He also had 1,173 tackles in his career. Top 25 SEC LBs of all-time: 15-11. Brian Urlacher is one of the greatest linebackers of this decade. He had less than seven sacks in a season only once. Hes had 92 sacks and 23 forced fumbles so far in his career. To stoke the nostalgia, we talked to some of the key players from the team's winningest, most . He took up blockers and threw his body around a lot. Swilling was the best pass rusher of the Dome Patrol, but he also forced 36 fumbles to go along with all the sacks. Blair was outstanding in coverage, along with being a great tackler. Leslie ONeal was a sack machine in his career. No. Use Isiah Robertsons name in a talk of most underrated players of all time, and youll impress your fellow football fans. I know, how can I rate Kirkland over Greene? In the words of Vikings' head coaching legend Bud Grant, "Paul personified the term free safety.". Jackson was most notable for being a pass rusher, but he really did it all. He did anything the Bears asked of him, especially stuffing the run. LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) At New Mexico State, the once-treasured men's basketball program has been suspended for the season due to a fatal shooting and a gruesome allegation of locker-room . Lambert was a Pro Bowler in all but his rookie season and his final pro season, totaling nine selections. No. Wilber Marshall was one of the greatest pass coverage linebackers of the modern era. Urlacher was the leader of those great Bears defenses of the 2000s, including when they got to the Super Bowl only to lose to Peyton Manning and the Colts. He holds the NFL record for the most Pro Bowl selections by a middle linebacker (13). Edmunds will have to clean up the missed tackles and improve in coverage to rise toward where most slot him currently a top-10 linebacker on this list next season. Peppers' 159.5 career sacks rank fourth on the all-time list. 7, Rickey Jackson (Saints/49ers) (1981-1995) *Six-time Pro Bowler *Five-time 2nd Team All-Pro. [3] The defense was ranked right up there along with the 1985 Bears, and Steelers teams of the 1970s. Kirkland was an all-around better linebacker, he was a 300lb linebacker whose coverage skills were vastly underrated. Jason Gildon (Steelers/Jaguars): - Three-time Pro Bowler, one-time 1st Team All-Pro. Over his career, Brooking has racked up 962 tackles and 12 INTs. Lambert is said by many to be the best inside linebacker of all-time. Select from premium 1970 1979 America of the highest quality. The offense, meanwhile, scored 29 points a game. 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best linebackers of the 1970s