http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn...c.php?t=552520 Top 20 Inside linebacker rankings: Tackles are the stat of choice for the guys who play in the middle of the field. But more and more, middle linebackers, particularly in Tampa-2 schemes, are asked to play more in coverage, so their ability to diagnose plays quickly becomes more critical. Inside linebackers generally are the smartest and most instinctive players on the defensive side of the ball. 1. Brian Urlacher, Bears. He recorded 90-plus tackles for the eighth time in his nine-year career but didn't make as many impact plays in '08. That has a lot to do with the lack of production from the defensive line. That will change this year, and Urlacher will play with renewed energy after being left off the Pro Bowl roster. 2. Patrick Willis, 49ers. Willis has 315 tackles in his two NFL seasons, the most in the league. He shows great range and a nose for the ball, and he now has experience. He likely will take the top spot from Urlacher a year from now. 3. Karlos Dansby, Cardinals. Defensive coordinator Bill Davis is talking about using a straight 3-4 scheme this season, but the Cardinals might not have the personnel to do it. Dansby aligns inside at times in 3-4 alignments, but that's only about 30-40 percent of the time. His best asset is versatility, an ability to line up anywhere on the field and make plays in every facet of the game. 4. Ray Lewis, Ravens. As long as he is protected by big guys like Kelly Gregg, Justin Bannan and Haloti Ngata, Lewis can do what he does best -- attack the ballcarrier. Lewis is a good tackler and run defender, and in '08 he proved he is surprisingly effective in coverage. 5. Jon Beason, Panthers. Beason has 278 tackles in his first two seasons, showing no struggles in filling Dan Morgan's role. Beason is a tremendous athlete with great range and an aggressive style of play. 6. DeMeco Ryans, Texans. Ryans' tackle numbers have gone down in each of his three seasons, but he still is highly productive. He is great at diagnosing plays and gets to the ball quickly. He is an outstanding athlete with great range and instincts. 7. James Farrior, Steelers. Age doesn't seem to be catching up to Farrior, 34. He set a career high in sacks in '07 with 6 1/2 and has 115-plus tackles in three of the last four seasons. He also is durable, having started every game but two since '02. He is an every-down player, even this late in his career. 8. E.J. Henderson, Vikings. He had put together back-to-back 100-plus tackle seasons and was playing at a Pro Bowl level in '08 when a foot injury ended his season in Week 4. He plays with a mean streak and is an excellent run defender who benefits from the double-teams drawn by Kevin and Pat Williams in front of him. 9. Barrett Ruud, Buccaneers. He has improved every season and is a tenacious and versatile linebacker who never comes off the field. He is a tough-minded player who plays hurt and probably is the best player on a good defense. 10. Kirk Morrison, Raiders. He has recorded at least 116 tackles in each of his four seasons and is excellent in coverage. He always hustles and shows great range and intelligence, making all the defensive calls. He is a natural leader. 11. Antonio Pierce, Giants. Pierce didn't have his best year in '08 and likely is looking forward to a fresh start this season. He is a smart, instinctive player who flows quickly to the ball and will be helped a great deal by the improvements along the defensive line. 12. Bart Scott, Jets. Scott will play the role of Ray Lewis in new coach Rex Ryan's defense in New York. Scott is strong and versatile, is a big hitter and can be an effective blitzer. However, while the Jets have some good players, Scott won't be surrounded by the same kind of supporting cast he had in Baltimore. The knock on Scott has been his inability to make an impact on his own. We'll see. 13. A.J. Hawk, Packers. He moves to a full-time gig inside in '09. We like his chances with big bodies Cullen Jenkins, Justin Harrell and rookie B.J. Raji in front of him. An intense and competitive player, Hawk loves contact and is a ferocious tackler. He moves quickly to the ball and should put up career numbers in the linebacker-friendly 3-4 scheme. 14. London Fletcher, Redskins. The undersized Fletcher has made a career of using his quickness, instincts and athleticism to make plays. He has recorded 100-plus tackles in nine consecutive seasons, and with Albert Haynesworth occupying multiple blockers up front another 100-tackle campaign is a lock. 15. D'Qwell Jackson, Browns. Jackson led the NFL in tackles in '08 with 154. He makes plays all over the field and always is around the ball. New coach Eric Mangini uses a scheme similar to the one used by former coach Romeo Crennel, so Jackson should have a nice easy transition. 16. Jerod Mayo, Patriots. The Defensive Rookie of the Year in '08, Mayo made an immediate impact on the Patriots. That's saying something in Bill Belichick's complex matchup scheme. Now comfortable in the system, there's no telling how good Mayo will be in Year 2. He could fly up this list. 17. Nick Barnett, Packers. Barnett is at his best when playing forward. He wraps up ballcarriers, particularly between the tackles, which makes the move to a 3-4 system a good fit for Barnett. 18. Curtis Lofton, Falcons. Lofton's tackling ability earned him the starting spot as a rookie, but he only played on running downs. He has spent the offseason working on his play in coverage, which means he'll be on the field on third down in '09. He will be better in Year 2 and make more impact plays. 19. Paul Posluszny, Bills. Posluszny, who missed 13 games of his rookie year after tearing his ACL, came on strong in '08 and surely benefitted from the presence of DT Marcus Stroud. Posluszny attacks the line and is a good tackler -- in tight quarters and in the open field. As he improves in zone coverage, he will climb the list. He is a young riser. 20. Jonathan Vilma, Saints. He, coming back from knee surgery, was a strong candidate for Comeback Player of the Year honors in '08. He didn't miss a snap last season and recorded a team-high 132 tackles. New coordinator Gregg Williams' scheme will help Vilma even more, allowing him to use his speed and athleticism to run to the ball and make plays sideline-to-sideline. RealScouts analyze NFL and college players, coaches and teams exclusively for Sporting News.
"2008 TGG Keyshawn "Biggest Troublemaker" Award & The Loser "Biggest Troll" Award Winner" I think the Troll award should have a namesake. I recommend the Charles Barkley Troll Award.
Was these Raiderjoe's Ilb ranking. You know kirk morrison would have went much higher. No it was real scouts ranking of the top Ilbs. Im sorry they don't share alot OF jet fans hype of what bart scott going to do for the Jets defense. A good player made to look great with special players around him. Now lets see if he lives up to that contract, with a less than impressive cast around him.
I dont think these are really a good representation. You cant compare 3-4 ILB's to 4-3 MLB's its like apples to oranges...
1 Couple of questions for you. How good you think bart Scott is without the raven core around him. 2 Do you think he will help shore up Jets problems they had defending the pass? Again you have to take into consideration Ravens put alot more consistant pressure on the qb, that anyone would look decent in coverage. (less time a Qb has to throw football = less time a Lb has to cover.)
How good do i think Scott will be? I think he will have a better statistical year than Ray Lewis. That said I also believe this is the year Lewis' finally loses a step and his play takes a hit. I think Scott will help our coverage from the LB perspective, but I do not think he will be the reason our pass defense jumps as greatly as it will. That will be because as you said, we will be blitzing a hell of a lot more, meaning more consistent pressure which will make anyone look decent in coverage. So yeah I think Scott is going to be a major upgrade for our team, he replaces a solid, yet unspectacular Barton and he is changing the attitude of this defense to "attack, attack, attack!" he is always preaching violence, and as a result his impact will go well beyond his statistics. Is he going to be worth the 48 million dollars over the life of the contract? Not unless he wins an DPOY award. That said I think the same of nearly every player making a crazy amount of money. Still i am very happy he is on our team, and I can not wait to see him in action.
Couple points first I commend you for stating your opinion why Scott will improve your passing coverage(even though you think there are other other area why that coverage will improve alot) Here are my counter questions. Eric barton was always pretty good in coverage when he was with the raiders(don't know if age cauight up with him) Jets pass rush is not that great.(neither C Pace, B Thomas or V gholston scare a offense) Was it The Jets Lbs or a combination of the both ( Lbs and no consistant pass rush) why the lbs struggled against the pass. YEs you can blitz alot and eric mangini defense was very effective with exoctic blitz packages he used a couple years ago. The thing is you have to rely solely on blitzes for pressure, your in serious trouble when teams pick up those blitzes. Like the Patriots did in that playoff game. How have the Jets improved that pass defense. Outside of Revis they still have more question mark than answers at cb. You can blitz but if Cbs can't maintain coverage, is it really going to matter.
I hate to say it but I agree completely on the CB issue. If they fail, the D fails. It is key that Sheppard return to form of a few years ago. But as others have said, scheme is key too. How often did we see Sutton rely on the dreaded three man rush. I mean they had Barton and Pace out covering WRs. It was nuts.
like I said Barton was solid but unspectacular. He was probably our best cover LB last season, but even so he was torn to shreds by opposing TE's. Also we stopped blitzing down the stretch last year, further exposing our young pass defense. Also we had Ty Law starting opposite Revis, and there is no way Lito Sheppard can possibly be any worse than Law. Also with the upgrade opposite Rhodes (Jim Leonhard) Rhodes will be free to make plays as opposed to staying 20 yards off the ball and trying to prevent giving up the big play. Also through the first half of the year I believe the Jets were 3rd in the NFL in sacks, so obviously those LB's could create a pass rush when they blitzed. But down the stretch we stopped blitzing and decided to play prevent for the entire game and we got torched consistently. The game that comes to mind is the Seattle game, in the snow against an OL of Practice Squad players, and Seneca Wallace, we did not blitz, and we did not get a single sack. With Rex Ryan as our coach the one thing we can be assured of, is that he will remain aggressive for not only 60 minutes, but for an entire season.
Jets run defense is so effective because they really have five defensiveline. Two Des that are playing Olb. You can blitz all you want but those De/Olbs will always have trouble in coverage. Tough matchup an offense can exploit. Jets could have been first in sacks(stat wise) but anyone that watched jet games know that was a bogus stat. Jets far too many times couldn't generate a pass rush on the Qb. he had all day to throw. Alot of teams might not have got a sack but they were getting constant presure on the Qb, in return forcing the Qb to get rid of football real fast(more likely qb makes a mistake) It sounds great Rex Ryan going to constantly attack these offenses with blitzes. Sound great but there is a reason why mangenius stopped with these exotic blitz packages that worked so well his first year. You can't hold up in coverage and those blitzes are going to lead to some big plays for the other team. That happens alot and you can bet Rex attacking style will go out the window too. Also you get a mobile Qb who can buy some time against these blitzes packages and it could be very dangerous for your secondary. Last point Marvin Lewis was this defensive genius too,` when he was with the Ravens but this guy looks alot diffrent with diffrent players. Coaches are great but you still need the horses to win in the Nfl. again lets see maybe you will be proven right but I have my doubts right now.
Except that Mangini never stopped blitzing, the blitzes stopped being effective. People can SAY we stopped blitzing all they want but it's simply not true. Go back and watch the games. One major reason the blitzes stopped being effective was that Jenkins was playing with a disk injury in his back. He was much less of a force and didn't create the massive push in the middle he did for the first 1/2 to 2/3 of the season. The run defense also suffered greatly when Jenkins was injured. They blitzes may have become predictable too but I put most of it on Jenkins' bad back.
Go back and watch the games yourself, because you're missing a big thing on the blitzing that we did do (and it was reduced, without a doubt). You can even notice the announcers commenting on it in the Seattle game (when the announcers comment on it, you know it's obvious) : The pass rushers weren't trying to rush the passer, they were trying to maintain their lanes. Every time. You don't get mass coordinated incompetence of the same style without an outside influence, and that influence had to have come from the coaching staff.
London Fletcher is a little too high on this list. He's getting up there in age. Don't expect much from him this year.
