Top Ten Linebacker Corps

June 24, 2008 at 1:11 pm | In Linebackers, Raiderhater's Articles | 11 Comments
Tags: American Football, Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Football, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, NFL, Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, raider hater, Raiderhater, San Diego Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks

The re-emergence of the 3-4 defense will make linebackers and defensive lines harder to rank. Ultimately I think it just favors linebackers in the 3-4 and defensive lines in the 4-3.

10. San Francisco 49ers- Patrick Willis was the very deserving rookie of the year last year and certainly looks to be the real deal at this position. Manny Lawson was another draft pick, a couple of years ago, and has played very well so far. There are some questions inside with Tully Banta-Cain and Brandon Moore but both should play well in this system. The 49ers have some good depth with veterans Dontarrious Thomas and Jeff Ulbrich backing up.

9, Baltmore Ravens- Ray Lewis is a sure fire hall of famer who is certainly on the other side of his career. But, the fact that he doesn’t have to be the leading tackler or star of the team allows him to still be a very valuable commodity. Terrell Suggs and Bart Scott are both pro-bowl caliber linebackers in their own right. Jarrett Johnson is the youngest of the bunch, but should continue to learn and grow behind the others incredible talents.

8. Pittsburgh Steelers- James Farrior and James Harrison are the best inside twosome in a 3-4 system in the NFL. Harrison very aptly replaced Porter inside last year and maybe displayed even more athleticism. Unlike some other teams, Pittsburgh’s questions actually lie outside. Lamarr Woodley and Larry Foote both played well last year, but have a lot to prove. Pittsburgh’s best case scenario is that Lawrence Timmons and Bruce Davis both come along quickly this year, which could make this a top 3 team in the league.

7. Green Bay Packers- This is a solid defense from top to bottom and the Linebackers may be the most exciting position on the team. All good, all drafted by the Packers, all young. Brady Poppinga played very well last year despite a lot of people calling him a weak link in the preseason. Nick Barnett came back from injuries the previous year and showed why he is so valuable to the team. AJ Hawk earned the hype that surrounded him. Abdul Hodge is the #1 backup on the team and would start for many teams.

6. Kansas City Chiefs- A nice mix of young and experienced and the best unit on this team. Donnie Edwards continues to play well into the second half of his career. Napolean Harris has shown both the Raiders and Vikings that they made a mistake letting him go the past couple of years. Derrick Johnson is an excellent linebacker and probably, at this point, the MVP on the team.

5. Chicago Bears- Depending on who you ask, Brian Urlacher is either one of the best players in the league or one of the most overrated. I think he is somewhere in between leaning towards the former. I think Urlacher is motivated by victory and plays much better when the things around him are going well. Could be trouble this year. The Bears finally did the right thing and re-signed Lance Briggs. Briggs is a highlight machine and a very smart player. Hunter Hillenmeier kind of gets lost in the hype of the other players, but is good on his own. The problem on this team is depth, especially given the age of Urlacher.

4. San Diego Chargers- For the life of me I still can’t understand why Shawne Merriman got such a free pass for getting caught using a performance enhancing drug. Shouldn’t it have become even more of an issue when all of his stats went down after he got caught. Never the less, he is a great athlete and contributes a lot on defense. Shaun Phillips is also a really good linebacker and at least as athletic as Merriman. Stephen Cooper is the best athlete at the position, but needs to become a smarter player. Matt Wilhelm is a wild card and could lose his starter spot to veteran Derek Smith.

3. Seattle Seahawks- Like almost everybody on this roster, these guys have all flown under the radar in the great pacific northwest. Julian Peterson was a pro-bowl linebacker that the 49ers shouldn’t have let get away and played extremely well as a pass rusher for the Seahawks last year. Lofa Tutupu should quit drinking, but aside from that is a great guy. Seriously, he is a really good player. Leroy Hill is out of this world fast and has had a very good couple of years.

2. Dallas Cowboys- DeMarcus Ware is one of the two best outside rushers in a 3-4 in the league. He is the best to never get popped for using steroids. If healthy Zach Thomas is exactly the kind of leader this team needs on the defensive side of the ball and could actually rub off on the offensive side. Bradie James came along well last year, but may be holding the spot until the Cowboys are certain of Bobby Carpenter’s health and dedication. Greg Ellis is on his last days in the NFL, but Anthony Spencer should be able to step in for him.

1. New England Patriots- Yeah, Bruschi and Vrabel are old. They were old last year and this team went 16-0. Bruschi is a great on and off the field leader. Vrabel is a versatile player who has always been a perfect fit for this system. I will say though, that the most overstated annoying stat repeated ad nauseum during every red zone visit by the Patriots is that Vrabel has 10 catches for 10 touchdowns. Of course all of his catches were TD’s. It’s not like they’re throwing him 50 yard bombs or 10 yard slants that he takes the rest of the way. They’re all 1 yard TD’s. Anyway. Adailus Thomas actually underperformed a bit last year, but he is a great player. They may have also upgraded with the draft choice of Jerod Mayo to replace aging Junior Seau.

Jeff Winters

www.raider-hater-nation.com

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[...] Top Ten Linebacker Corps Tully Banta-Cain and Brandon Moore but both should play well in this … 2. Dallas Cowboys- DeMarcus Ware is one of the two best outside rushers in [...]

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Pingback by Top Ten Linebacker Corps at A Better Half — June 24, 2008 #
For the most part I agree with this list, I’m not sure I would rank the Patriots so high though. Who knows how long they will be able to sustain that kind of success. I definitely think they belong in the top 10, but I’m not sure they are number 1.

Comment by dsf — June 26, 2008 #
Dude, I can guarantee you all these LB corps will be better then the Patsies next season:

Colts, Redskins, Saints, Bills, Jets, Giants, Dolphins.

Because like I said earlier every dynasty has to die some time and next season could be the time for the Pats to die because of age on defense ESPECIALLY AT THE LB POSITION. And every single defender the Pats drafted INCLUDING JARAD MAYO are going to need at least a year to learn Bill Belichick’s complicated system of defense because of the positions they play. Which means they most likely won’t play a single down next season.

Which is why like I said earlier, I look for the Pats next season to not make the playoffs and their LB core and secondary to be the 2 biggest defensive disappointments in the NFL.

Comment by PatsR18*andDONEwithoutCHEATING — July 2, 2008 #
Everybody said the Patriots linebacker corps was done last year and they played well all year. I hate the Patriots but the linebackers are the last thing they need to worry about.

Comment by raiderhater — July 2, 2008 #
And did you see how much the Pats LB core sucked in the super bowl, cause that’s GOING to be the same core -Junior Seau next season. + it will be very hard for the Pats LB core to still be good with that Giant super bowl loss on their backs.

PS.
Lindy’s magazine has already called this Pats LB core the biggest disappointment in the NFL next season. And last season the same magazine had this core in the top 5 best. + DON’T FORGET THE FACT THAT EVERY DYNASTY HAS TO DIE SOME TIME, AND WELL LIKE I SAID EARLIER NEXT SEASON IT’S TIME FOR THE PATS DYNASTY TO DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don’t forget about how in 2003 & 2005 nobody thought the Lakers dynasty was over. And the Cowboys in after 1996.

Comment by PatsR18*andDONEwithoutCHEATING — July 2, 2008 #
And just so I can put in my 2 cents, here are the top 10 LB cores for next season:

10.Oakland, Raiders-Kirk Morrison and Thomas Howard are amungst the 2 most underrated LB’s in the NFL who are both very young and can only get better.

9.Miami, Dolphins-They still have Jason Taylor + Tony Sporano and Bill Parcells may have just what it takes to get this group of LB’s to the elite level.

8.Tampa Bay, Buccaneers-Lets face it Derek Brooks, Barret Ruud, & Cato June are a pretty scary threesome of LB’s who last season you could have made arguments for each on why they should have made the pro bowl.

7.Green Bay, Packers-Nick Barnet, AJ Hawk, and Brady Popagenia are amungst 3 of the best LB’s in the game + there’s that Brandon Ciller guy they signed from the STL.

6.San Fransisco-Takeo Spikes & Justin Smith may be a nice FA additions to this 3-4 scheme of already great LB’s in Brandon More, Patrick Willas, & Manny Lawson. This is a good young core of LB’s

5.Seattle, Sea Hawks-T ahe tandem of Lofa Tutufa and Julain Peterson is already at a solid pro bowl level.

4.Chicago Bears-Lance Briggs & Brian Urlacher, quite possibly the best LB tandem in the entire NFL.

3.Dallas, Cowboys-Zach Thomas should be a great FA acqusition + Anthony Spencer and Dmarcus Ware should be a pretty scary tandem next season.

2.San Diego, Chargers-The 2 Shawnes are a super eliete tandem. And Shawne Merrinmen may be the best defender in all of football.

1.Pittsburgh, Steelers-James Harrison last season showed the world he could be a pro bowl calliber LB as well as a candidate for defensive player of the year. I look for Lamar Woodley and Lawarence Timmens to have breakout season. Larry Foote is one of the most underrated LB’s in the league. And I like the veteran leader ship James Farrior brings to the Steelers.

9.

Comment by PatsR18*andDONEwithoutCHEATING — July 2, 2008 #
Oh shoot, I forgot about Thomas and Betha-cane on The niners.

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