Who is the 3rd Greatest Linebacker of All Time?

[FootballSchemer]

IMO the first 2 hands down are Ray Lewis and Lawrence Taylor, but who fills that number 3 spot?

[Feared]

Dunno you've got quite a few options.. Jack Lambert, Mike Singletary, Dick Butkus.

[bkrich83]

Quote: Originally Posted by Feared

Dunno you've got quite a few options.. Jack Lambert, Mike Singletary, Dick Butkus.

I'd take Lambert and Butkus over Lewis any day of the week.

[yvesdereuter]

I wouldnt say any of these guys were better than Butkus. I think the most you could say with regard to Taylor is that he was to OLBs what Butkus was to MLBs. Ray Lewis was/is a great player but Im not sure Id put him above Butkus. A few years ago Lewis was kvetching when his play fell off because they werent keeping guys off of him. Im not aware that this was as much of an issue for Butkus, let alone him complaining about it.

[CW McGraw]

Lewis is a great player, but he's always had line of giant fatsos to keep linemen off of him. Can you name another player from Butkus's defense?

[shotgun styles]

Quote: Originally Posted by FootballSchemer

IMO the first 2 hands down are Ray Lewis and Lawrence Taylor, but who fills that number 3 spot?

1 Taylor

2 Butkus

3 Singletary

4 Lewis

[Kelverin]

1. Butkus

The rest are all behind the great one

[shnuskis]

I can only go on others opinions regarding the guys in the 60's up to the mid 70's. I also find it very difficult to compare rushing outside linebackers to the great inside linebackers. It is actually such a different position the way LT played it versus Singletary.

That being said, it would be remiss to not mention Ray Nitschke here as he should rate higher than some of the others already mentioned. I will leave you with a quick quote I found. Hard to say Butkis is hands down better when the former lb's of the day picked Ray as the best.

"In the mid 1960s, a national sports magazine asked a group of former NFL linebacking stars to rate the middle linebackers of the day. The panel first determined the skills it would seek in the ideal man — strength, quickness, speed, toughness and leadership. Ray Nitschke, the choice as the all-around top man, ranked very high or absolutely tops in every category. "The core of the Packers”… "an inspiration on the field" . . . "gives 100 percent all the time”. . ."has an overwhelming desire to make the play" . . . "without a peer as a leader" . . . panel members remarked as they explained their consensus opinion."