Ray Lewis, Bart Scott, Terrell Suggs - Raven linebackers getting some love
NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
Ray Lewis chortles - They made my group number 1!
Hey, it is time to rank the linebackers, only we don’t have to do it because FootballOutsiders.com did it for us.
How about we get in the mood first.
Squibster will now perform his psychic act.
Here goes. –You have always dreamed of being a vicious 6′ 4″ 250 pound linebacker. A true animal waiting to destroy everything in your path.
You do not care about pain, in fact you love it!
You want to crush people, now! Grrrrrrrr.
How about that, read your mind. It wasn’t too difficult. Spending endless days in cubicles typing into our computers makes us want a masculine outlet and linebacker is as good as it gets!
Number 1 Linebacking crew
Baltimore Ravens. Guess the title gave it away, but without that would you have guessed a unit could lose Adalius Thomas and still be ranked number 1? Not a chance.
Ray Lewis and Bart Scott man the inside. While Lewis’ best days are behind him, he’s still the leader of this unit and the man who keeps everyone in line. You’ll see the occasional superlative moment (and reasonable consistency), but he’s no longer the player who defined his position in the early part of this decade. Scott took his first opportunity as a full-time starter and enjoyed a breakout season. He finished sixth in the NFL in Stop Rate and was the Head Quarterback Terrorizer among Baltimore’s linebackers with 9.5 sacks, 11 hits and 15 hurries. source
Not bad, heh? Ray Lewis in the declining years is still better than most any linebacker in the league and you have Bart Scott next to him. Grrrrr.
The third linebacker in that group will be Terrell Suggs most of the time, although there will be others.
Number 2 Linebacking crew
San Diego Chargers. Dude, Shawne Merriman, roids or not, this guy is awesome.
If we were compiling a separate list for outside linebackers, the Chargers would take the top spot in an absolute rout. Shawne Merriman led the league in sacks despite missing four games last season after testing positive for steroids. Merriman claimed the test results came from a tainted supplement, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell disclosed in April of this year that Merriman has tested clean in 19 of the 20 drug tests he’s taken. It may be difficult for some to get over the stigma, because at his best, Merriman does things that simply defy belief. When Walter Jones pushes you to the ground on a pass play, and you somehow get up, get past the NFL’s best left tackle and still pick up the sack … well, people are going to wonder. source
They also have Shaun Phillips with his 11.5 sacks and you have to feel bad for the guy that was a half a sack. What happened to the other half of him?
Number 3 Linebacking crew
Chicago Bears. What else? Now that Briggs resigned to line up with Brian Urlacher this unit is ready to rip some heads off.
As good as Briggs is (and as improbable as his return to Chicago would be after this season), the defense belongs to Brian Urlacher. Urlacher continues the Chicago tradition of great middle linebackers, and may be the most versatile of the Bill George/Dick Butkus/Mike Singletary line. His closest antecedent of that group is George, the Hall-of Famer who played for the Bears from 1952 to 1965 and is credited by some as the first middle linebacker, a position he may have created when he dropped back from his middle guard spot in the five-man lines of the time and began defending the aerial game. George picked off eighteen passes in his career. Urlacher has long been regarded as one of the best in the modern game against the pass, and he matched his career highs in 2006 with three interceptions and six passes defensed. Though he didn’t record a sack last season, he was credited with 10 quarterback hits, the most of any inside linebacker. source
Think of going across the middle and catching a bullet pass and then catching Urlacher. Ouch!
There you have it. The top 3. Would list out more for you, but have to hit the weight stacks and dream of being an NFL Linebacker some more.
NFL Football Fan Question Do you dream of tackling people?
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POSTED IN: Baltimore Ravens, Brian Urlacher, Chicago Bears, Lance Briggs, NFL Football, San Diego Chargers
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