He also had 20 INTs, three of which he returned for touchdowns. Hes going into his first healthy season again in three years. The Chicago Bears have the most all-time great linebackers. His swinging the axe celebration sums up his style of play and tenacity on the field. The most obvious change from 1920 to today is the size of players, but there also have been many changes in the schemes . A tall order to say the least, and these 5 players did it better than anyone in the history of the NFL. Well have to see how he does, but he could either climb up or fall off this list based on his performance in 2010. Bergey became one of the NFL's best linebackers in Philly, where he made five consecutive All-Pro teams and was the foundation for the "Gang Green" defense that made the playoffs in each of his last three seasons, including a trip to the Super Bowl in 1980. . Randy Gradishar Joins The Speer Wealth Team. 6, Jack Ham (Steelers) (1971-1982) *Eight-time Pro Bowler *Six-time 1st Team All-Pro *One-time 2nd Team All-Pro. For a four-year span with Seattle, Young was arguably the best Seahawks linebacker of all-time. Gildon was most known for his pass rushing ability, picking up 54 sacks in a 5 year span. 19, Harry Carson (Giants) (1976-1988) *Nine-time Pro Bowler *Three-time 2nd Team All-Pro. Those would be accomplishments by themselves, let alone all together. Over the course of his career he racked up over 1,000 tackles, 52.5 sacks, and 14 INTs, all of which are very good numbers. Visit Our Patreon Page to Create Your Own All-Time Fantasy Teams and See Other Bonus Material . It was tied for the best of the day with linebacker Owen Pappoe, of Auburn, and was the second-fastest time from an . The Minnesota Vikings did an outstanding job of drafting linebackers in 1974. His best season was his first year with the Bills where he had 17.5 sacks, 70 tackles, two INTs, and three forced fumbles. Hes had 92 sacks and 23 forced fumbles so far in his career. Most known for his antics like spitting in other players faces, Romanowskis play sometimes gets overshadowed. Zachary Petrizzo. He is ninth in team history with 14 forced fumbles; he recovered 11, had 6 QB sacks, and 11 interceptions. 23. No. He knew how to make big plays. 29, Joey Porter* (Steelers/Dolphins/Cardinals) (1999-Present) *Four-time Pro Bowler *One-time 1st Team All-Pro *Three-time 2nd Team All-Pro. Young was a fierce hitter, and would always stick his nose in the middle of the play. Neal Olkewicz. Pat Swilling. Leslie ONeal was a sack machine in his career. Those would be accomplishments by themselves, let alone all together. Lloyd will always be remembered as the lightning quick pass rusher from the Blitzburgh days. Top 9 Most Underrated Running Backs in NFL History, QB Derek Carr to visit Jets on Saturday after leaving Raiders, Top 9 Worst Draft Picks in Bengals History, Super Bowl XIX: Montana and Walsh establish dominance, The 5 Greatest Quarterbacks Who Never Won a Championship, Top 11 Single Game Performances in NCAA Football History, Top 10 College football's greatest true freshman seasons of all time, Top 10 Two Year Runs in College Football History, where do the Georgia Bulldogs rank, NCAA FB Championship TCU vs Georgia: Odds, Tips and Predictions 01/09/23, Georgia vs. TCU National Championship: Preview & Prediction, Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh facing possible suspension from the NCAA, The night Cassius Clay shook up the world, Boxing Paul vs Fury: Odds, Tips and Predictions 02/26/23, Matias vs. Ponce: Cant Miss Scrap Brings Heat To Chilly Minneapolis. The Pittsburgh Steelers are second with all-time players in four decades. No. He was a dominating force in the NFL during that stretch of time. Jul 07, 2014 at 11:02 PM. He was a dominating force in the NFL during that stretch of time. In 2006, he had an amazing season and won defensive MVP, which is a very high honor that most players on this list never achieved. ONeal should get more recognition as one of the best pass rushers to play the game. Pittsburgh 2002, '04-12, '14-17; Cincinnati 2013; New England 2017. Voted to seven Pro Bowls, named First Team All-Pro five times. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNzd9Xd0who, No. Over the past 50 years, the Steelers have tallied 36 winning seasons . Lambert won four Super Bowls with the Steelers in the 1970s playing in the Steel Curtain. No. 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. He was just a great all-around player who could do it all. Depending on the day, you might view Ham as the best player on the Steel Curtain defense or the 4th best, and it's . 30, Matt Blair (Vikings) (1974-1985) *Six-time Pro Bowler *One-time 1st Team All-Pro. 1. No. Lambert wasnt just great on the inside, he was an outstanding coverage linebacker. In 1985, a trophy awarded to the best linebacker in college football was named in his honor. He had ten seasons with 10+ sacks. Patrick Willis is everything you look for in a linebacker. Featuring some of the greatest NFL linebackers of all time, the best Bills LBs include Sam Rogers, Keith Ellison, Shane Conlan, and John Holecek. No. Ray Lewis came into the league and dominated right away. It seemed like he knew where the ball was going at all times. Paup was a complete linebacker, who was especially great at rushing the passer. 39, Peter Boulware (Ravens) (1997-2005) *Four-time Pro Bowler *One-time 2nd Team All-Pro. But, theres no doubt that hes been one of the top linebackers in the NFL, and still is today. He has been one of the most intimidating players in the NFL his entire career. No. Hes also great against the run and is a turnover forcing monster. Ham had outstanding speed. 40, Bryce Paup (Packers/Bills/Jaguars/Vikings) (1990-2000) *Four-time Pro Bowler *One-time 1st Team All-Pro. Find 1970 1979 America stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. Chuck Drazenovich. Opponents thought Kirkland would not be as adept in pass coverage as the fast Lloyd, but they quickly found out that Kirkland was just as fast and quick. Ray Lewis is another one of the three players on the list to win Defensive Player of the Year twice in his career. He also had 1,173 tackles in his career. Blair was outstanding in coverage, along with being a great tackler. 16, Robert Brazile (Oilers) (1975-1984) *Seven-time Pro Bowler *Two-time 1st Team All-Pro *Four-time 2nd Team All-Pro. In only 11 seasons, Thomas had 126.5 sacks, and an NFL record 41 forced fumbles. He was effective as a pass rushing OLB, tallying up 14 sacks in one season with the Dolphins, and as an inside run stopping linebacker with the Jets. In the words of Vikings' head coaching legend Bud Grant, "Paul personified the term free safety.". AP. In that game, the Steelers defense held the Cowboys to just 15 first downs and Emmitt Smith and the Cowboys powerful running attack to just 56 yards, despite losing 27-17 in large part due to two key interceptions thrown by Steelers quarterback Neil ODonnell. Im only going to be looking at players drafted in 1970 or later. Randy Gradishar played along with Tom Jackson in the Denver Broncos Orange Crush defense. These are the newest members of GHSF Daily's Georgia Power 100. 9. Jackson was most notable for being a pass rusher, but he really did it all. He did it in 2000 and again in 2003. Some of you will say hes too low. Rickey Jackson was one of the fastest linebackers in the game, but he was also one of the hardest hitters. He is not only the greatest linebacker in NFL history, hes one of the games greatest players period. Lewis stats at this point of his career are 1,349 tackles, 36.5 sacks, and 28 INTs. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1974 and Defensive Player of the Year two years later. Next up on the docket for my top Redskins players series are the linebackers. There was a story of someone meeting Thomas at the Pro Bowl for no longer than 10 minutes. They had traded stalwart linebacker Sam Huff in the offseason. Next were Defensive end Jack Youngblood and Joe Greene who each had 18 votes. No. Although he only played three full seasons, he made five Pro Bowls. Hes also had at least 83 tackles in every year other than his rookie season. He did anything the Bears asked of him, especially stuffing the run. Bulluck was an outstanding tackler, and was great at run support too. He was unstoppable in goal-line situations especially. Linebacker Jack Ham and Tight end Dave Casper each received 20 votes. The best LB in the NFL today comes in at No. He was also a good pass rusher, and a good coverage man as well. He ran a 4.6 40 yard dash, which is outstanding for a linebacker, especially at that time period. Greene and Greg Lloyd made one of the best pass rushing duos in NFL history with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their greats span the decades of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s. Jessie Armstead was one of the most consistent linebackers on this list. Baker recorded 19 . [3] NFL WAGS: 10 Hottest NFL Wives & Girlfriends 2023. Porter is mostly known as a sack master. That is the reason you will not find Butkus, Huff, Nitschke etc in these rankings. He was Lawrence Taylor before Taylor was. The entire enterprise of Notre Dame basketball, gone strange. He knew how to make big plays. Thomas never had less than seven sacks in a season in his entire career, and only had less than eight sacks in one season. Interview with Former Steeler Great levon kirkland. 14, Hardy Nickerson (Steelers/Bucs/Jaguars/Packers) (1987-2002) *Five-time Pro Bowler *Two-time 1st team All-Pro *Two-time 2nd Team All-Pro. Fredd Young went a little under the radar due to his short seven year career. Select from premium 1970 1979 America of the highest quality. Wright has been one of the most reliable linebackers in the NFL since entering the league as a fourth-round pick out of Mississippi State . He holds the NFL record for the most Pro Bowl selections by a middle linebacker (13). He had 1,301 tackles and 25 forced fumbles in his career. Thomas is also third all-time in safeties and fumble returns for touchdowns. Thats right, seven. 42, Chip Banks (Browns/Chargers/Colts) (1982-1992) *Four-time Pro Bowler *One-time 1st team All-Pro. 1970 NFC Champion. No. Love him or hate him, Lewis has earned the title of greatest middle linebacker of all time. During the five year stretch from 1991-1995 where he made five consecutive Pro Bowls, Lloyd was one of, if not the, most dominating linebackers in the NFL. We started off with a rough one the wide receivers. 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. Defensive MVP in 2002. Lawrence Taylor: one of the greatest defensive players ever, Taylor was a pass-rushing force who revolutionized the outside linebacker position . 8. All Rights Reserved. He also had 20 INTs, three of which he returned for touchdowns. Taylor changed the way football is played today. Wagers only accepted in CO. For full terms and conditions, click here. 2022 - SportsUnfold. He also had at least 99 tackles in seven years of his 12 year career, which is outstanding. During the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine, Lee posted the fastest 40-yard dash time among . Lamberts signature toothless snarl struck fear into the hearts of the opposition and lends credence to his legendary status as one of the toughest players all-time. He could play zone and man. Quinto was a regular at both inside and outside linebacker for head coach Ron Gladnick's Saints. Although he only played three full seasons, he made five Pro Bowls. Robertson is one of the most underrated players in NFL history. Sam Huff. In 1976, Jackson had seven INTs. 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. He was a very solid 3-4 ILB playing on one of the best LB Cores of all-time, the Dome Patrol. SRS: 6.97 (5th of 26), SOS: 1.40. Since Donnie Shell finally cracked the Hall of Fame, I would say the . Brooks wasnt just a pass coverage linebacker, but he also played the run well. Playing 20 seasons in the NFL is amazing at any position. A tall order to say the least, and these 5 players did it better than anyone in the history of the NFL. He became a starter at inside linebacker for the Steelers in his second season, 1993, replacing Pro Bowler David Little. Bryan Cox was an all-around package at linebacker. Chip Banks was another linebacker that was solid at everything, but not great at anything. Hardy Nickerson makes it this high on the list mainly because of one ridiculous season he had. Jalen Carter, top NFL prospect, posts bond in fatal crash. No. He also played two different positions, playing ILB and OLB for the Vikings in his career. K.J. Kirkland had great speed and agility for a big man. He also played two different positions, playing ILB and OLB for the Vikings in his career. Other Links > Football > Player Rankings by Position > Top Ranked Linebackers . Please play responsibly. Lambert and Ham also won four Super Bowls with the Steelers in the 1970s playing in the Steel Curtain. Mike Singletary is one of three players on this list to win Defensive Player of the Year twice in his career. He had 885 career solo tackles, which is impressive on a defense filled with swarming the ball, shown by his 1,488 career tackles. 10, Junior Seau (Chargers/Dolphins/Patriots) (1990-2009) *Twelve-time Pro Bowler *Six-time All-Pro 1st Team *Three-time All-Pro 2nd Team. Despite the bad taste he left when leaving the team, James Harrison belongs on the upper half of the top ten linebackers in Steelers history. 3 hours ago. Lewis stats at this point of his career are 1,349 tackles, 36.5 sacks, and 28 INTs. 15, Zach Thomas (Dolphins/Cowboys) (1996-2008) *Seven-time Pro Bowler *Five-time 1st Team All-Pro *Two-time 2nd Team All-Pro. In 1993 as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers middle linebacker, Nickerson piled up an astounding 214 tackles. 7. He led the team in tackles five of the 11 season he played for them. Brooks was the leader of that defense, but his surrounding cast was just too good to rank him higher. The only thing that could match his signature stare was the stellar play of Samurai Mike on the field.

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