http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000...-of-nfls-best-linebackers?module=HP_spotlight They also have a list of the 10 best OLBs and for some reason put Calvin Pace on the list of honorable mentions. So I guess Pace is almost as good of an OLB as Harris is MLB eh ? Funny thing is im pretty sure they snubbed him because of his # of tackles, even though the Jets had the second fewest tackles of any team in the nfl. Yet look at Mayo up there simply because his defense fucking blows and they have the 4th most tackles (as a team) in the nfl.
Other than the fact that it includes a few outside linebackers, what's wrong with it? **I don't like that Kirwan calls Patrick Willis "the best linebacker in the NFL" and then ranks him fifth. ...the fuck?
London Fletcher ain't better than Harris, and Greenway and Briggs shouldnt be there; other than that, the list is legit.
Harris will probably never get that much love. He's not flashy or loud. He does his job and he does it quietly. Which is why so many people here love him.
London Fletcher is definitely better than Harris. The dude's incredibly underrated by everyone. Fletcher's never been to the Pro Bowl, yet he's seventh on the league's all-time tackles list. The guy's had a Hall of Fame career.
Kirwan knows that-he noted the positions Greenway and Briggs play. I guess he just decided to include 4-3 OLBs on his ILB list rather than his OLB list, which is totally defensible given that 4-3 OLBs ususally play a lot more like 3-4 ILBs than they play like 3-4 OLBs. That said Harris should probably top 5 on the list.
Personally its the Briggs, Urlacher, and Greenway names that irk me the most. If you wanted to say Urlacher was an uber elite MLB 4-5 years ago id agree 10000%. Hes still above average, but definitely doesnt impress me much. And Briggs is incredibly overrated in my opinion as well (theres gotta be a reason youre earning 6~ million a year as a "top" linebacker) Same shit with Greenway. Except he has a possibly the best defensive line in all of football to carry him. How hard it has to be to play lb when your line is full of beasts. Then the Mayo pick also kind of pisses me off. The guys good absolutely, but the reason he gets so many tackles is because the rest of the pats defense absolutely fucking blows, and their offense doesnt it run it much so they dont exactly have a ton of time of possession. Not to mention hes still young and undeveloped
Willis is great. Mayo is great. Ray Ray I could never argue with. Those three are head and shoulders above the rest, as far as I'm concerned. The rest of that list could go in any order.
Haven't seen the OLB list but from the point of view you propose yeah it makes sense. Oh come on dude, what does an opinion on a player have to do with being a Jets fan. I don't know about Greenway and maybe Briggs but aside from them how can you not agree with that list? I love Harris in the Jets D and I'll prob be getting his jersey when he signs a new deal but he doesn't really cover that well. Great at doing everything else but not being the most mobile ILB in the game (both in sideline-to-sideline and in pass coverage) hurts his stock a bit. Still a top 10/15 ILB in the NFL... and with Fletcher and Lewis near the end of their careers + Urlacher who's had significant injuries in the past Harris will be on this list pretty soon.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS olblist This list is much much much easier to agree with. Especially the top 5. Although I will say the honorable mentions are mostly trash and none of those names belong even remotely close to the guys above them.
Thanks WOW, those guys are in the honorable list!? Really!? I think that tells you how many quality 34 OLBs are in this league...
Were discussing right now. Fletcher has been solid, but would you take him over Harris right now? Also, tackles are an incredibly overrated stat.
