Ray Lewis' Retirement and the Top 10 Interior Linebackers of all Time

        Wednesday, the football world was treated to a rarity. We fans were informed that we have one last opportunity to watch one of the greatest to ever play the game. Ray Lewis announced to the world that he was going to retire following the end of the Ravens post-season. It’s rare that a fan base can really enjoy the final few games of a great players career because more often than not they don’t announce their intentions until after the season and the ones that do will do so on bad teams or too ineffective to really be enjoyed.  I plan on enjoying every second of Lewis’ play over these last few games (yes I think the Ravens win this week), and appreciating the legacy being left behind when he goes down that tunnel for the last time.

        That being said, an interesting pair of question were raised in the hours following Ray’s announcement. Where does he rank among all-time linebackers and among all-time defensive players? I’ve been surprised at the number of people who’ve ranked Lewis among their top five best defensive players of all-time as well as either first or second among middle linebackers. I understand how great he has been but I expected there would be more of a split, especially among the older generation who saw guys like Mike Singletary, Jack Lambert, Willie Lanier and even Dick Butkus. Those are the most commonly used comparisons in the lists I’ve researched so if you want to consider that an informal poll, consider those four and Ray Lewis as the five best middle linebackers to ever play the game based on consensus opinion. But me, I decided to look at the top ten interior linebackers ever, based on my own criteria and my own research. I’m going to be perfectly clear that these aren’t observations based on what I watched, because I was not born when a lot of these players played. But looking at the impact each had on the game, the opinions of their peers, objective observations and statistics (team and individual) are what I’m looking at for these rankings.

        Just before I do that though, I would like to address Lewis’ ranking among all-time defensive players. I really don’t like that question because what it takes to be a great defensive tackle is a lot different than what it takes to be a great cornerback or linebacker and vice versa. It’s also incredibly difficult to judge how impact any one player is because the entire defense moves as unit. You can do your best by watching and pulling up different stats, but at the end of the day, it is purely opinion and one that’s so subjectively based that it’s next to impossible to prove one way or the other. So I can’t argue with those who say that Ray elevated the team around him and was versatile an impactful enough to be the best, nor can I argue with those who say he never changed the game the way Mel Blount, Dick “Night Train” Lane or Lawrence Taylor did. For my money, I’d say he’s up there, top ten easy, but I can’t argue with those who disagree.

        Now with that said my top ten interior/middle linebackers of all time:

10. Brian Urlacher

        It would take an archaeological dig to pull Urlacher out of Ray Lewis’ shadow. But for my money, Urlacher defines the modern middle linebacker and is the mold of the middle linebackers of the future. All of this comes from his incredible speed in spite of his size. In the Tampa-2 defense that Chicago ran for the majority of Urlacher’s career, he was asked to drop into deep middle coverage and basically be the sole defender in the middle of the field in coverage. I’ll always think of the number of tipped passes and interception Urlacher came up with covering the middle of the field in that manner. He was outstanding in coverage and yet still had the strength to take on blockers at the point of attack. He’s athleticism allowed him to stay in step with even the most athletic tight ends and running backs. It’s this perfect blend of athleticism and awareness in coverage and sideline-to-sideline run defending ability that makes Urlacher the model for the modern middle linebacker and one of the best all-time.

9. Chuck Bednarik

        Concrete Charlie was the last player to play both ways. Earning 10 All-Pro Selections and 8 Pro Bowls at linebacker and center, Chuck Bednarik’s story captured the imagination of the football world after he retired. In the 1960 NFL Championship game against the Packers in which he played all but three plays and made the game ending tackle on Hall of Fame running back Jim Taylor. The other image that Bednarik has carried for years was the hit that almost ended the career of Hall of Fame halfback Frank Gifford, in which Gifford suffered a spinal concussion. Those two images have resonated over the decades and buit Bednarik into a legend. However, while I don’t doubt Bednarik’s quality of play at both positions, I can’t say that his play was on par with those who specialized in the position. I’m aware of his fierce tackling ability but I’ve never heard of him having great pass rushing or coverage ability, which leaves me wondering how good he could have been if he had played say, the Sid Gillman or Don Coryell offenses that emerged shortly after his time. Also, his accolades could have easily come as much from his play at Center as his play at linebacker, not that it reduces him as an overall player, but in a list of middle linebackers, it makes it a touch more difficult to judge.

8. Joe Schmidt

        Schmidt is a lot like the Urlacher of the 50s and 60s. He was often overshadowed by the big name like Bednarik and Sam Huff and another Hall of Famer Bill George. But Schmidt was arguably the best of all of them. He roamed the field with the athleticism of a safety while hitting opposing players like a train. One story that probably best shows how effective Schmidt was as a linebacker about the game he had in the 1957 NFL Championship game against the Cleveland Browns.  This game, facing the great Jim Brown, the Lions defense, led by Schimdt, held Brown to 69 yards on 20 carries in a 59 to 14 drumming. This was the second time the Schmidt led Lions had defeated the Browns in the NFL Championship game. Schmidt helped the Lions to a 17-16 victory over the Otto Graham led Cleveland Browns in a game in which Graham only completed two passes for 20 yards and was picked off twice. That happened when Schmidt was a rookie. That’s the kind of impact he had, even when he wasn’t making big plays himself, his team was getting better with his leadership. The only reason he’s not higher on this list is because he really was just a great overall linebacker who happened to spend most of his career at the middle linebacker. In the three years before he moved to the middle, he played at right and left linebacker. He only moved to middle linebacker after the next player on this list pioneered the position.

7. Sam Huff

        Sam Huff got a lot of attention playing on a very successful Giants team. Maybe more than he deserved considering how well respected Chuck Benarik and Joe Schmidt were during that time. But that being said, this list doesn’t exist with Bednarik. He’s widely regarded as the father of the middle linebacker position. He came out of West Virginia as a nose tackle, but was not considered strong enough to man the position. Innovator Tom Landry gave him a new position by having him stand up and play a little back from the line, which created the middle linebacker position and the 4-3 defense at the same time. Huff was rough around the edges at times, but he was a solid tackler and played his assignment as well as anyone in the NFL at the time. When he retired, he had recorded 47 turnovers (30 interceptions and 17 fumbles recoveries). He made big plays all over the field for a consistently great Giants team back in the 50s and 60s. But more importantly, he created the position that we’re ranking here today.

6. Ray Nitschke

        While Huff blazed the trail for middle linebacker, Nitschke was one of the guys who perfected the way it was played. While Nitschke was unruly early in his career, the more he played, the more comfortable he became and the more Vince Lombardi was able to mold him into the model of the 60s linebacker. Nitschke, while not as well known today at Butkus, was just as feared and respected as an intimidator in his day. He never really got a ton of accolades, but it hardly mattered as he won five championships with the Packers. That’s ultimately why I can’t really put him a lot higher on this list. It’s not that he was surrounded by great players, although he was, it’s that he played for Vince Lombardi. Lombardi got things out of players that no coach since has been able to do. I think that gave Nitschke a bit of an advantage in terms of development and discipline. So I mark him down slightly as compared to the top five, but just slightly.

5. Mike Singletary

        Mike Singetary could be considered the proto-Ray Lewis. While he wasn’t a sideline to sideline defender like Ray, (former teammate Dave Duerson pointed out that his responsibilities were guard to guard unlike most middle linebackers who roam tackle to tackle) and wasn’t a great cover linebacker (admitted by his head coach at the time Mike Ditka), Singletary was the emotional leader of one of the best defenses to ever be fielded. Singletary was the emotional and vocal leader of the 80s Bears defense and he could stonewall any running back that made the mistake of coming too close to him. He was a very unique kind of intimidator, one who yelled less than he hit. He was loud and emotional on the field, but he never seemed to intimidate opposing players with his words, he just used those words to enhance his play, which was intimidating enough.

4. Jack Lambert

        Lambert played on arguably the greatest defense of all time. With such stalwart stars as Mel Blount, Jack Ham and ‘Mean’ Joe Greene playing alongside him, it’s easy to make the argument that he was the product of the team around him. I don’t think that’s the case however, I can’t put him higher on this list in part because of the team he was around. That begin said, he was a solid coverage linebacker with strong tackling ability and one of the great intimidators of all time. While being thin and overly tall, Lambert used his intelligence and excellent field awareness to diagnosis plays even as they were happening. He was the vocal leader and the bravado of the Steelers defense of the 70s. His four Super Bowl rings make him among the best winners on this list.

3. Ray Lewis

        Now we come to the reason this list is being made, Ray Lewis. For a lot of people this may be too low, but I think it comes at about the right spot. While Lewis was an exceptional linebacker and leader, there are just little things that keep me from putting him in the top spot. To note, among middle linebackers, Lewis has the most turnovers with 50 total, putting him behind only Jack Ham in turnovers for a linebacker. He also is the only player to have 40+ sacks and 30+ interceptions, showing how uniquely versatile he was as a player. There will be a thousand images associated with Lewis as people look back over his career. The image of his pre-game celebration. The image of him tearing the ball out of Eddie George’s hand and running it back for a touchdown in the playoff. The image of him, well into his 30s, shooting through the Chargers line untouched and burying Darren Sproles in the backfield. The image of him in court. Yes, way back in 2000, Lewis was charged with a pair of manslaughter charges in the stabbing deaths of two men. He later plea bargained to an Obstruction of Justice charge, testified against his companions and nothing has ever been said about what happened the night those men died. Subsequently, the two companions Lewis testified against were acquitted, so it could just be as simple as wrong place, wrong time.

Regardless, Lewis was a monster in the middle of the Ravens defense and will be remembered as one of the three greatest middle linebackers to ever play. Why then, do I have ranked only third? Well, it has to do with two things. One, like Lambert, Lewis always played with a lot of solid teammates. Granted he didn’t play with nearly as many greats as Lambert did, but he was still helped by the play of those around him. Secondly, and this is going to be a bit odd but hear me out, I think his leadership often built up his playing ability instead of him being a leader who was a great player. What I mean is that, because Lewis was such an inspirational leader, the players around him played better and harder than they would have normally, kind of a Vince Lombardi playing linebacker. I think this is what people are going to remember more than his playing ability, which is saying something. In that way, I think he will get a touch over-rated at some points. That being said, he’s still the greatest middle linebacker off the last 20 years.

2. Dick Butkus  

Modern statisticians would point to a million different reasons that Butkus should be over-rated. I’d point to the fact that even today Butkus’ name resonates even with the modern an as the epitome of a linebacker. Butkus was a tackling machine, who feared no one and was feared by everyone. While he played on horrible Bears teams of the late 60s/early 70s who had little to no talent on defense other than Butkus and Gale Sayers. In spite of this, Butkus was named to the Pro Bowl 8 of his nine seasons, was a two time defensive player of the year and became the iconic Bears linebacker, all this without a single playoff appearance. That’s impact. That’s standing above all the muddle around you and being great. Ray was more versatile, but Butkus did it with far less around him. That’s why he’s ranked higher than Ray. Sam Huff may have created the position, but Butkus immortalized it.

1. Willie Lanier

        I know this is probably going to get me labeled as bias or some kind of a homer, but neither is true. I’m a proud fan of the Atlanta Falcons (Note: Tommy Nobis is still waiting Hall of Fame selectors. Might want to get on that at some point) and have never had any issue with Butkus or Lewis being considered the best of all time. Well, no issue besides the points I’m going to bring up here. Firstly, without Lanier, there is no Ray Lewis. Lanier was the first African-American to play middle linebacker, mostly because of the perception that the position required intelligence to play, an intelligence that an African-American simply didn’t possess. Lanier threw hat perception back in the face of everyone who believed that. He was instinctive, astute and violent when he made contact. He was athletic enough to cover in the wide-open AFL style of play, but also strong enough to take on blockers at the point of attack. He was always taking the best angle to make the play and was smart enough to determine that angle in a split second. For me, that’s what elevates him to the top. He was the first linebacker to really focus more on using his mind to attack the offense instead of simple using overwhelming toughness and physicality to beat an offense into submission, though he could do that if he wanted to. That changed the way teams approached defensive game planning. It wasn’t just that linebackers needed to beat off blocks and make plays; they could run beneath blocks or disguise coverages to lead to the best defense at the time.  That impact, to me at least, is greater than any other impact a linebacker could have had on the position. At least, that’s how I see and understand it.

        What about you? Who do you think is the greatest middle linebacker of all-time? Or even just defensive player? Leave a comment with your thoughts.