I think we need a linebacker

[Shake n Blake]

(03-22-2018, 07:35 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Not as much as you might think.

Were they 4-3?
2016 Patriots: Yes
2015 Broncos: No
2014 Patriots: Yes
2013 Seahawks: Yes
2012 Ravens: No

3/5 of those examples were actually 4-3 teams.

Maybe I just appreciate good LBs, but I knew and appreciated Wagner when the Seahawks were in their prime. Guy is easily a top-3 LB in the NFL. He was indeed overlooked by some when they had the Legion of Boom or whatever, but he's been a Pro Bowler and All-Pro for each of the last four years. Heck, in 14 games he had 120 tackles, 5.0 sacks, 7 Pdef, 2 INT for that 2013 SB team. Plus 34 more tackles in the 3 postseason games.

Lewis w
s a bit of a name in 2012, but you can't deny how much he intellectually brought to that team on the field. 4-3 LB isn't just about running and tackling. It's also about making sure your guys are in the right spot, in the right defense, reading the offense and checking into the right protection for it. It's why Chris Crocker/Reggie Nelson had to do that job when the Bengals had Rey Maualuga. Gotta have that mental game, too.


Yeah, I didn't want to go really much further than what I did, because I agree it was a whole different era then. 250-260lb LBers running downhill and smashing into power RBs. No 265lb TEs running 4.5-4.6s, or read-option offenses.

So that's 2 teams in the last 6 years (Pats and Seahawks). Maybe those 2 teams had solid LBs, but nobody looked at those teams and said "boy those LBs are what got them to championships". I don't think that was ignorance on everyone's part. There was legitimately many players that played bigger roles to get to those titles. 

Wilson, Lynch and the Legion of Boom were bigger reasons for that title than Wagner. I don't think many would argue otherwise.

I know about all those other things, but Lewis was a liability physically. You balance those things out and he was average at best. He was getting exposed a lot. It was kinda sad to watch if you saw his prime.

Maybe our history with LBs makes me a little more jaded, but still, I think 4-3 LB is pretty far down the list of important positions on a championship team. I'd put QB, o-line, RB/run game, d-line and CBs above LBs. Maybe other positions if the player is capable of being an x-factor (think Eifert when healthy, although I know you disagree there).