In the second installment of our weekly argument series, we at The Audible turned our attention to linebackers. After coming up with our all-time favorite running backs last week, it was time to look to the defensive side of the ball. Remember that this list is not the "Greatest" of all-time, it is our favorite all-time players. In most cases, the lists are very similar.
Last week, we eliminated John Riggins from the discussion because he was a unanimous #1 pick, and by taking him off the table, we got to squeeze a sixth guy into the spotlight. There was no real consensus top guy in this week's debate, so we left everyone in play.
Everyone loves bullet points, so here's a few!
- Props to Harold McLinton, who got yet another mention in the comments section. His two sons, Kevin and Darren, have been working with us and are first-class dudes. As Kevin (Ricca) points out, for Redskins fans who watched Tank line up at middle linebacker for a solid decade, it is not surprising that he would have as many fans as he does.
- London Fletcher, Ken Harvey and Wilbur Marshall all factored into the discussion, which I found interesting because none of them started their careers in Washington.
- Tom Compton did not factor at all into this discussion.
- I was the only one who didn't have Monte Coleman in my top five. He is clearly in the top five greatest conversation, but on my list, he was edged out by Neal Olkewicz.
- The Rob Scheider finale only happened because Tim asked me what skit I was quoting from when I said, "You...uhhhhhhh...you like-a tha juice?"