Ok, to be clear, everything you say here is absolutely true. No disagreement.
LT was a monster. Buuuuuuuut...
I hate when people say that he "changed the game". Yes, he did. But so did Jack
Lambert and he doesn't get nearly the credit he deserves. Up to that point,
what middle LBs played the pass with any proficiency? Nitschke and Butkus? Was
cover 3 even a thing back then? Because Lambert could cover like a big safety
(Ham, too), they could drop their safeties deeper. Bang. Tampa 2.
Joe
On Monday, February 14, 2022, 09:30:30 AM EST, Eric Johannsen
<dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
At risk of turning this into an "all time greatest" debate (but wth, it's now
the offseason):
Aaron Donald is unquestionably in the team picture of the greatest defenders
ever. His size, strength (his third down stop of Perine, just grabbing him
like a little kid and preventing any further advance was jaw-dropping), speed,
agility, smarts......he's simply great. Very deserving of his 3 DPOY awards
and would be a perennial candidate for more if he keeps playing (which I expect
to happen, FWIW).
Guys like Butkus, Deacon Jones, Bob Lilly, and to be fair, even Mean
Joe/Lambert/Blount were in their primes before I really started to follow and
understand football (and obviously pre-internet/direct TV, you couldn't follow
out of town teams like you can now). Into the 80's & 90's, I was able to see
Reggie White, Bruce Smith, Ronnie Lott, Rod Woodson..... then Lewis, Reed,
Troy, Revis....... there are others who are/will be in Canton from the 21st
century. Great players all.
But for me, the best defensive player I've ever seen was Lawrence Taylor. He
had everything, and he literally changed the game. Teams in the NFC East
(especially the Washington team) reinvented their offense because of him.
Hidden behind his party lifestyle is the fact that LT possessed incredible
football smarts/instincts. Legend has it that in defensive meeting rooms, LT
would fall asleep after a night of debauchery, and coaches would call him out
and ask him to describe what they just went over. LT would walk to the front
of the room, perfectly diagram the concepts they were learning, and then go
back to his seat for more zzzz's. Some players from those 80's Giants teams
would privately grumble to Bill Parcells about his preferential treatment of
LT, and his response would be "if you start to play like Lawrence Taylor, I'll
treat you like Lawrence Taylor."
It is no coincidence that the last defensive player to win League MVP was
Lawrence Taylor in 1986.
Eric in NJ
-----Original Message-----
From: David Reid <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Steve Rhoton <sprhoto@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: steelers_pb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sun, Feb 13, 2022 10:33 pm
Subject: [steelers_pb] Re: Aaron Donald is Inevitable
The greatest defensive player I’ve ever seen. To do what he does, at the
position he plays is just incredible.
I can’t believe that this might be his last game.
Sent from my iPhone
On 14 Feb 2022, at 03:01, Steve Rhoton <sprhoto@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
