There's been so many great defensive players to put on a NFL uniform, but their can only be one that is known to be the best. It can be a shut down corner, a great linebacker, a great defensive end, it would be anything. But in your opinion who do you think is the best defensive player of all time in the football league and why?
Best Defensive player of all time?
- Thread starter Babe_Ruth
- Start date
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Again, the best defensive player I HAVE EVER WATCHED PLAY would have to be Rod Woodson. The guy was amazing, not only was he the cornerstone of some great Pittsburgh Steelers teams, he was a pro bowl defensive player on every team he ever played for.
1. 1987-1996 Pittsburgh Steelers
2. 1997 San Francisco 49ers
3. 1998-2001 Baltimore Ravens
4. 2002-2003 Oakland Raiders
He went to the Super Bowl on three of those four teams and the 49ers were a very competitive team the year he played there as well.
*HE PLAYED IN 11 PRO BOWLS (a record for a defensive back)
*HE WAS THE FIRST PLAYER TO EARN TRIPS TO THE PRO BOWL AS A CORNERBACK, SAFETY, AND KICK RETURNER
*HE WAS THE AP 1993 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR, AS WELL AS THE UPI AFC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
*HE WAS NAMED TO THE NFL'S 75TH ANNIVERSARY TEAM (top 100 players of all time list)
*HE'S ALSO A MEMBER OF THE 1990'S ALL-DECADE TEAM
*CAREER LEADER IN INTERCEPTIONS AND GAMES PLAYED BY A DEFENSIVE BACK
Rod Woodson also holds the record for most interception yards and most interception touchdowns. He holds the league record for interceptions returned for touchdowns with 12, and is tied with 11 other players for the record for most fumble recoveries in a single game(3). He had 32 career fumble recoveries.
And more importantly than any of his stats, was his leadership ability. He was a natural leader for any of the defense's he played for.
This was a tough question and the homer in me really wanted to say Bruce Smith, who has the most sacks in NFL history with 200 (yes, even more than Reggie White) But I just had to give props to Rod Dog, b.c. I feel as though he's always overlooked when talking about the greats.
1. 1987-1996 Pittsburgh Steelers
2. 1997 San Francisco 49ers
3. 1998-2001 Baltimore Ravens
4. 2002-2003 Oakland Raiders
He went to the Super Bowl on three of those four teams and the 49ers were a very competitive team the year he played there as well.
*HE PLAYED IN 11 PRO BOWLS (a record for a defensive back)
*HE WAS THE FIRST PLAYER TO EARN TRIPS TO THE PRO BOWL AS A CORNERBACK, SAFETY, AND KICK RETURNER
*HE WAS THE AP 1993 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR, AS WELL AS THE UPI AFC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
*HE WAS NAMED TO THE NFL'S 75TH ANNIVERSARY TEAM (top 100 players of all time list)
*HE'S ALSO A MEMBER OF THE 1990'S ALL-DECADE TEAM
*CAREER LEADER IN INTERCEPTIONS AND GAMES PLAYED BY A DEFENSIVE BACK
Rod Woodson also holds the record for most interception yards and most interception touchdowns. He holds the league record for interceptions returned for touchdowns with 12, and is tied with 11 other players for the record for most fumble recoveries in a single game(3). He had 32 career fumble recoveries.
And more importantly than any of his stats, was his leadership ability. He was a natural leader for any of the defense's he played for.
This was a tough question and the homer in me really wanted to say Bruce Smith, who has the most sacks in NFL history with 200 (yes, even more than Reggie White) But I just had to give props to Rod Dog, b.c. I feel as though he's always overlooked when talking about the greats.
T
You have to have LT in there. Lawrence Taylor. You just HAVE to! He was a QBs nightmare. Every QB feared what was about to happen to them from their blind side. Many QBs often called timeouts pre-snap when they were attempting to locate Taylor on the field only to find him standing on the sidelines with a snarly grin. He said several times his intentions were to hurt every player he tackled, just to knock that sonuvabitch out. He didn’t have to tell his intentions. They were obtrusive.
I personally don't think that Lewis is overrated, I believe at one point of his career he was the best line backer in the NFL. Why do you think the teams never have any luck running on the Ravens, one of the biggest reasons is Ray Lewis.
I agree LT was a great line backer one of the best, he changed the game when he joined the NFL, but I wouldn't say that he's 10 times better then Lewis.
I agree LT was a great line backer one of the best, he changed the game when he joined the NFL, but I wouldn't say that he's 10 times better then Lewis.