Best Linebacker I've ever seen. What a career that man had.
I'm guessing you never saw LT (THE REAL LT)
LT was a outside linebacker/ DE hybred. Him and Ray don't really compare since they play such diverse positions.
If you want to be specific, Ray is the best Middle Linebacker of all time, with lambert and singletary in the discussion.
If you want to open it up to "all linebackers" then LT is definitely on there...but he had a limited skill set when compared to a MLB's responsibility. He was absolutely AMAZING as a pass rusher, but he didn't cover or stop the ball.
LT wanted to sack the QB, ray wanted the ball anywhere it went on the field.
Thats why I always separate MLB and OLB, the position is really quite different, it makes no sense to just lump them all together.
Anyway, sad day, the end of an Era. he was by far the best middle linebacker and team leader I ever saw (to young to really comment on lambert or singletary).
to those saying "good" I don't think it really is, Tom was killing him in coverage the last 3 years, since he was a shell of his former self in pass coverage. He was still dynamite against the run, but the pats don't really care about that ha.
What?
LT changed the LB position.
One of two defensive players to win the NFL MVP.
He was a lot more then just a pass rusher.
He pushed Joe Gibbs to create the two TE set. (and create the position of H-Back.
Anyways, it was probably time for Lewis to retire. For a decade, he was the best LBer in the game.
He changed the OLB position, as I said.
but he was not known as a good cover guy, at all. he was an absolute beast at disrupting the pass game, but he had limited cover skills. He had 9 interceptions his entire career. Lewis has 31.
But, coverage is not a skill highly valued in OLB, which it is in MLB. it's nice for a OLB to have that skill, but if your using them to set the edge/ rush, they get limited coverage responsibility.
look, no one, especially not me, is saying that Lawrence taylor is not the best OLB of all time. What i'm saying is that the OLB position, contrary to popular belief, is as different from the MLB position as RB is from WR.
Which is simply a way to preface what I said, that it's folly to toss every person who played linebacker into a pool and rank them as "linebackers"
Lawrence taylor is the best OLB to ever play. IMO ray lewis is the best MLB to ever play.
but if you want me to rank them as "who is the best linebacker of all time?" then that's much more difficult, because the positions are vastly different. They'd both be top 5, but i tend to value a MLB who can do everything well and run my defense over a pass rusher who sets the edge as well.
so I guess if you put a gun to my head, I'd put lewis above LT just because they are all time talents, but Lewis plays a position i think is higher on the "value" depth chart on defense. Like, if we were drafting an all time defense, and both guys are magically available as a rookie, I'm taking Lewis first, but if i had the #2 pick it's gonna be LT. Third being prime time.