Where does Michael rank?

by ETVal on Jun 10, 2008 8:00 AM EDT in News

I realize we're into Michael Strahan overkill here, but I have to toss this out there.

ESPN's 'Hashmarks' blog has ranked the top pass rushers of all time, with Deacon Jones No. 1 and Strahan 6th. Lawrence Taylor is fourth on the list, the highest-ranked non-defensive end.

Check the list and send me yours. I'm curious where you would put Strahan.

0 recs | Comment 15 comments

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so because LT

was a LB, he gets penalized?

as great as Deacon Jones, Reggie White and Bruce Smith are, if you had to pick one player for one play to get a sack, it would be damn near impossible to turn down LT.

i don’t care if he is rushing on a Safety blitz, i’d still take LT.

by SBakerTheTouchdownMaker on Jun 10, 2008 8:29 AM EDT 0 recs

yes, that list is dumb

those other guys were great, but LT changed the game. If sack masters are who youre ranking, LT is number one and its not even close. hashmarks sounds like a stupid blog, im glad i dont read it.

by kendynamo on Jun 10, 2008 9:50 AM EDT up 0 recs

I'd put Smith first.

Then Taylor, Strahan (tie), White

by george cronin on Jun 10, 2008 8:39 AM EDT 0 recs

Here's how my list should have read

Smith, Taylor, Strahan-Jones—tie, White

by george cronin on Jun 10, 2008 10:00 AM EDT up 0 recs

I can't wait for pre season

We’re debating whether superman is tougher than flash gordon or tarzan but here’s mine : one player for one play….................LT

We're only gonna score 17 points?

by big blue wrecking crew on Jun 10, 2008 9:06 AM EDT 0 recs

That's great

I hadn’t thought of it that way. You need one defensive player to make one play I would take LT over any defensive player who has ever played the game.

by ETVal on Jun 10, 2008 9:54 AM EDT up 0 recs

LT, White, Smith, Jones, Strahan. I think SBaker is right, he gets penalized for being a LB (and maybe something else). His list is defined as the best “sack artists”. To me LT is the definition of a sack artist.

As for Strahan, pretty amazing that he is this high on people’s list when he never wanted to be defined as a pass rusher.

by potroast on Jun 10, 2008 9:21 AM EDT 0 recs

Strahan

He could easily be 3rd. White was pretty darn good, though.

The problem I see with the list, though, is where LT sits. He should be no lower than number 2. The moves that he started and perfected back then are still passed down and used today. Offenses had to literally change their whole gameplan because of him. Look it all up.

There has never been a player that affected his whole environment more – on the Giants, on their foes, and on the WHOLE NFL – than LT.

Come to think of it, LT should be #1.

We didn't even have a chance for the "perfect season", but we did have the perfect ending.

by GAgiantfan on Jun 10, 2008 10:38 AM EDT 0 recs

LT

was the single most dominant AND IMPORTANT defensive player in NFL history. He changed the way defense was played, the type of players teams looked for on defense and the blocking schemes teams used. He could do things to impact a game no one at that position had ever done. Pass rush was just part of it—the speed to chase down running backs from behind, the ability to cover, the strength to play the run right at him and the attitude to scare the pants off opposing QBs was all part of it.

by ETVal on Jun 10, 2008 10:58 AM EDT up 0 recs

absolutely

LT dominated the way no other defensive player did. but do you think because he did MORE than just kill QBs he wasnt the best pass rusher all time? he has to be no. 1 on that list, no?

by kendynamo on Jun 10, 2008 11:57 AM EDT up 0 recs

LT

Didn’t just change the way defense was played, he changed the way offense was played. Joe Gibbs came up with the 2 Tight End offense specifically to stop LT

LT is the greatest player in the history of the NFL, for the simple fact that he changed the way the game was played on both sides of the ball. I honestly cannot think of another player who achieved that

Obviously, he belongs at number 1 on this list, IMO. Strahan at number 6 is probably about right

Giants fan from the womb to the tomb

by jrs1940 on Jun 10, 2008 1:23 PM EDT up 0 recs

You'd put Doleman ahead of Stray?

That seemed a little far fetched to me.

by potroast on Jun 10, 2008 2:53 PM EDT up 0 recs

I'd put Strahan

at #5, ahead of Doleman (who I admittedly know almost nothing about), but behind the top 4, who I can’t argue with too much. The reason I can understand LT at #4 is because he wasn’t JUST a pass rusher: he did absolutely everything. Personally, I’d move him up, and move Deacon down to #4 (b/c I never actually saw Deacon), but I can understand having White and Smith ahead of LT, since they were sack masters, while LT was just an all-out beast who was all over the field. He was a far better overall player than anyone else on that list, but as a pure pass rusher, well, that was only half his job.

Pretty impressive that we’ve had two of the top 5 or 6 pass rushers ever: no other team can even lay claim to two of the top 10. With those two guys out there, I’d put our all-time defense up against any all-time offense, even if we didn’t have any other hall-of-famers in the mix (which we all know we do.)

by cjmulrain on Jun 10, 2008 10:15 PM EDT 0 recs

Damn right, cj

The Giants have three two-way linemen in the HOF (Henry, Hubbard, Hein) plus two one way, Robustelli and Weinmeister; three LBs (Taylor, Carson, Huff); one DB—Tunnell.

by george cronin on Jun 11, 2008 8:24 AM EDT up 0 recs