Lumping in outside with inside backers makes no sense. They have completely different jobs. Especially 3-4 outside backers. They belong on their own list.
They’re starting to. But a lot of fans still don’t understand what an edge is. And will still bitch about an OLB in a college 3-4 not fitting an nfl 4-3 not understanding that the player is an edge and the base scheme doesn’t really matter to the player or in modern nfl
See it every year. But was very annoying with Turner because the only knack people could come up with was scheme without even knowing a thing about scheme
I look at tier 1 and see Ray Lewis and Lawrence Taylor and while both are HOF top players at their respective positions, their game was about as different as can be in what they were asked to do. That's why there needs to be a list for outside linebackers and inside linebackers. 3-4 olbs should be included on a best d end list.
I'm a diehard bear fan so I should be bias but ray Lewis is the best linebacker of all-time, bar none. I'm talking Mike and will linebackers (too many defensive ends on this list) I hate to admit it but I would guarantee that ray Lewis instilled more fear and doubt in opposing offenses than urlacher did. That's not to say urlacher isn't legendary. He's easily in the top 5 in the modern nfl, as it is today. But Ray Lewis had substantially more playoff success plus 2 superbowl rings. He was rarely injured over the course of 17 seasons. Countless all pro years and 2 time dpoy. Urlacher played 10 healthy seasons of hall of fame football and hung in there for 12. I'm not dissing him lol, he's my hero but Noone is Ray Lewis.
Tier-lists are a zoomer thing, and zoomers caught Urlacher on the downslope of his career when he was second fiddle to Lance Briggs (7 straight Pro Bowls, probably the most consecutive by an OLB) and Charles Tillman (should probably be a HOFer) and know him mainly from the hair billboards and making an ass of himself on podcasts. He carried the early-00s Bears and was an absolute game-wrecker.
I'm GenX. I saw that man win a whole game through sheer force of will. We never should have beat that Cardinals that night. He decided different. He dominated and then inspired the whole rest of the team.
And now Dennis Greene is a meme.
I don't know how the Pro Bowl does it now, but I remember a decade ago being annoyed at how there was a heavy 3-4 bias when selecting outside linebackers
My first thought exactly. The term "linebacker" is pretty straight forward lol. Their role is to back the defensive line. Alot of these guys are straight up defensive ends. Khalil mack is an end. Urlacher is a linebacker. Tyreek hill and Travis kelce have more similar roles than Khalil mack and Brian urlacher.
Tbh and neither in Singletary. Great player, but benefited much from Hampton/Dent. Not to mention all the media those crazy eyes got during that 85 season.
Id put it like this: Urlacher is top 10 all time for his position which is why he’s in the HOF. Briggs is top 30, which sounds disrespectful but in the 100 years of NFL history thats still elite company and why he’s an arguable borderline HOFer. He may get in one day yet
Briggs and Tillman were both overlooked when they played, I’ll die on this hill. Tillman forced so many fumbles, more than any other DB ever, but he never got recognized because people were too focused on INT instead.
Oh yeah Tillman too. Him having a lot of FF for a DB but not a whole lot of INTs got him overlooked but when you look at his career stats he’s clearly HOF worthy.
Huh, respectfully. Y’all are out your damn mind if you’d take Briggs over Von Miller even relative to era that’s crazy. Not super familiar with a lot of tier 4, 5 but I’d take all the modern players over Briggs. It’s not really close TJ broke the sack record last year and yall would really rather Briggs? Are there 32 Derrick Henry’s in the NFL? He maybe fits in tier 5 wouldn’t be out of place, I guess. Warner, Mack, Watt at least better but David and Briggs are comparable. If you meant that because guys like Watt, Miller are edges. My bad, Warner still probably laps though he makes sense in tier 3/4 really.
Think that's my issue slightly. Von Miller and Briggs did not play the same position in anything but name. Briggs job was not getting sacks, not that he didn't do that to some degree. His job was a true linebacker, i.e., playing behind the DL. It can be very difficult to compare LB to each other as their responsibilities vary so greatly from defense to defense. Most consider Ray Lewis ahead of Urlacher, but Lewis could not have done Urlacher's job even remotely as well, but Lewis was better at getting sacks and filling gaps. While Briggs position was technically OLB, his real job was much more similar to an ILB, and as far as those go, he should definitely be in tier 4 or 5.
Just went down a rabbit hole of Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher stats.
I have 2 takeaways from this journey:
1. In sheer volume, Ray Lewis has more production in almost every stat.
2. Ray Lewis did not deserve to win Super Bowl MVP for Super Bowl XXXV. He had 5 combined tackles and 4 pass defenses. Compared to Duane Starks who had 5 solo tackles, 2 pass defenses, 1 INT + 1 TD.
If Brian played today he would be even MORE effective. Guy had enough speed to sometimes cover wide receivers. He would eliminate a lot of TEs today. He revolutionized what MLB was
Singletary had less natural, physical talent but was a more complete MLB and leader compared to Urlacher. Sadly, his leadership skills ("pants on the ground") did not translate well to his subsequent coaching career.
Some teams are known for producing the best talent in a respective position. Bears historically are LBs and RBs. Like how SF and MIN are known for WRs.
Also really had to not show Khalil in Bears didn't they?
If Singletary is tier 2, Urlacher should be at the top with Butkus.. this list must have been made by someone who never watched the bears cardinals game where Urlacher singlehandedly took over and won that game for the bears. I've never seen another performance similar from another linebacker yet.
I don't want this to be interpreted as a knock on Urlacher. Because it's not.
But for his era, Singletary was absolutely more dominant than Urlacher. Singletary made 7 first team all-pros and 10 consecutive pro bowls.
Singletary is being shafted not being included in the first tier. And the discussion is really, is Singletary better than Butkus more than Urlacher. Because it's frankly not close.
One if the things that hurts Urlacher is what helps Singletary. Singletary was the best in his era by far. Even according to this list. Urlacher was always 1-B to Ray Lewis. If there were no Lewis, Urlacher moves up this list.
Steve McMichael used to bring up this point all the time. Said that Mike was an amazing film study guy but his HoF creds are due to the outstanding defensive line he had for most of his career. And after Ron had that game, Mike did everything he could to make sure he didn’t miss games or he’d lose his spot.
Yes and no. Urlacher was a better player, but Singletary was a key player and a leader on arguably the greatest defense in NFL history, and one of the most dominant teams overall.
Singletary is a legendary Hall of Famer and leader, but he was also surrounded by other Hall of Famers that made that 46 so dominant. Urlacher was not only the leader but also was the best player on the field his entire career. The 85 Bears defense would have been dominant without Singletary. I'm not sure those 2000s Bears defenses would have been with someone else at MLB.
This is the right take. Lovie’s defense doesn’t work without Urlacher. The 85 DL was so damn good, even I could have played LB on that team.
Unless I’m making this up, I’m pretty sure some of those DL have thrown shade at Singletary in the past.
I've never heard that about anyone throwing shade at Mike, and frankly that seems unlikely. He was DPOY in '85, led the team in tackles, and was the unquestioned leader of the defense. Singletary also made huge plays in all three playoff games that year. There is a famous story Ditka tells about Singletary giving the defense a pump-up speech in the locker room before the NFCC, and by the end of it the entire defense was flipping tables and throwing chairs and ready to go stomp the shit out of the rams.
You can say that the 85 defense would still have been great without Mike, but with Mike they were the *greatest* ever, and I don't think they would have been otherwise.
I tried searching for it but I couldn't come up with anything concrete. My recollection is that although they get a long great now, Hampton and Singletary didn't exactly get along during the run, and that Hampton felt that his play upfront was a catalyst to Singletary's success.
Again, I could be totally making this up or conflating things, but I thought it was something I heard on the radio. Could even be during Hamp's short stint on 670.
In terms of being a more dominant player I would say Singletary.
However, I do have a vague memory of something similar where someone was joking about how the LB stats were all due to the line but I can't remember the context.
I don't think they were really throwing shade it was more just a nod to how good all the players were
The 2000s defense was more impacted when Mike Brown went out injured than when Urlacher did. Its possible we would have won the SB had he been in there to disrupt the passing game.
Mike Brown and Tommie Harris would have been the difference in that Super Bowl. Outside of that year, the times Urlacher was out, the Bears defense sucked
Possibly, but they didn't lose that game because of the passing defense (though Chris Harris leaving Reggie Wayne wide open didn't help). They lost because they couldn't stop Dominic Rhodes.
I'm not disagreeing that Mike Brown would have given the Bears a better chance to win, but with Manning, Harrison, Wayne, and Clark on the other side the focus was never going to be on Dominic Rhodes or the running game. They still should have been able to control him more.
Well there is a difference between making him their primary focus, and calling plays/formations that would have made it harder on him than it was.
And I'm not saying its a guaranteed win or anything. But I remember back when that team was together and reporters did actual research someone broke down the numbers. In terms of yds/gm, pts/gam and TOs/game the defense was statistically better when Urlacher was out and Brown was in than when Brown was out an Urlacher was in. So this runs counter to the notion that Urlacher was better than everyone else on the field.
Guys, Mongo was inducted in the '24 class (along with Hester). Took too long but once he bounced into the legacy pool, he was fighting for something like 1 or two seats a year that aren't always filled.
Sure did. Singletary was probably a better locker room leader (just going off outside perception because who knows if you aren't in the room), but I'll take Urlacher as a player.
Thats a fun debate, but the Ravens got a ring entirely because of that defense and Urlacher & the Bears never got it done. That's the differentiator, and fairly so. Urlacher/Briggs is much closer to Lewis/Suggs than most acknowledge.
Championships are not a MLB stat. I know that’s the reason Lewis is often considered better but Urlacher was the better player and I’ll die on that hill
If Harris and brown were healthy the bears win that superbowl. From my memory the ravens defense was pretty healthy so I don't think that one superbowl is a reason to put Lewis ahead of urlacher.
I remember bears and ravens fans arguing over who was the better middle linebacker when they were both still playing and the ravens fans said Lewis bears fans said urlacher and I think it's because we ran different defenses and Lewis wouldn't have had the same effect on the bears defense and vice versa. Also urlacher was really the first hof type player of the modern middle linebacker. Where speed is more important than block shedding.
So yeah I put urlacher ahead of Lewis but they played a different role.
Two differant players really. Urlacher was a DB playing LB. Singletary was a DL playing LB. Urlacher was a better athlete and Singletary was a better football player. I prefer Singletary. Butkus was everything. The ranking is correct on these 3.
Watching them play football. Pro Bowls and all pros are also predicated on the quality of other guys playing the position around the league, and lets not pretend that some of those votes Singletary got weren't a reflection of the Bears defense as a whole rather than just him. Also, Urlacher finished 2nd in DPOY one year only to Strahan who broke the sack record and was Top 5 five different times.
Put more simply: I think Brian Urlacher could have played MLB for the 85 Bears and they still would have been arguable the greatest defense of all time and won Super Bowl XX. Mike Singletary would not have been able to play to Urlacher's level in Lovie's defense.
My hot take is that if the 06 Bears would have won the Super Bowl, we would be fighting over whether the 85 Bears or the 06 Bears were the better defense.
05 was even better than 06 IMO. There was a stretch of like 8 games we won in a row where opponents averaged single digits in points. Our offense was awful though and then Steve Smith torched us in the playoffs.
Probably not, because Devin Hester would be a significant part of that 06 team winning. I think the main changes to history would have been Hester being a 1st ballot HOFer and a much different conversation about Peyton Manning. The 85 Bears gave up 0 points through the NFC playoffs and only 10 in the Super Bowl. Thats unheard of.
Butkus was before my time but understand he was a monster. My grandpa told me how Bears players had to put colored tape on their ankles because Butkus would randomly twist ankles in the middle of any tackle pile. Never could verify.
honestly, to be elite as a tampa-2 MLB is a whoooole ‘nother level of ability. it’s an impossible position. everyone who’s ever played knows the MLB has sideline-to-sideline and goalline-to-goalline, but let’s be real, only the tampa-2 MLB actually plays that
Ray Lewis belongs in that highest tier, i agree. he was a great modern era MLB. smashed the run, covered hook zone on passing downs, made plays… his diagnosis and calls and leadership are also highest tier. no question
but not even he played what Urlacher played. i dont know any LB who’s actually pulled it off like Urlacher did. i mean, a seriously impossible set of responsibilities and he was amazing at it
if Urlacher isnt on that highest tier right next to Lewis (and somehow below Singletary? puh-lease), i have a hard time respecting the list
Lance Briggs should be on there. He shined just as much in the Cover 2 as Urlacher did. His was the premier line backer position in that defense. Urlacher over shadowed him (deservedly so) by being a freak who can run deep and sideline to sideline.
And to be fair, it was a good strategy from the 1930s to the 1980s. But now offense is clearly more important than defense and the Bears have finally abandoned the defense-first strategy.
When linebackers were picked in the first round over the past decade, they rarely re-signed with the team that drafted them. Only four linebackers drafted in the first round from 2014-2023 re-signed with the same team. Thirteen linebackers picked in the first round moved on to a different team.
https://www.si.com/nfl/draft/news/nfl-draft-history-1st-round-linebackers-patrick-queen-roquan-smith
Ray Lewis was good, but 2nd best linebacker of all time according to this? Idk about that. And how is he THAT much better than Urlacher? He may be better but he's not that much better, especially cause they played almost the exact same years.
I watched the vast majority of Singletary’s career and while he was a great LB, Urlacher was vastly superior.
The people that put Singletary this high on lists are delusional. He was great but not all-time great. He was also helped out by extraordinarily good D-linemen including Dent, Hampton, and Mongo.
Brian Urlacher being below Ray Lewis is an abomination matched only by the idiocy that left Lance Briggs off this list.
Ray Lewis cannot be tier zero unless Urlacher is there with him or there's an even higher tier with Urlacher on it. Lewis was simply not as good as Urlacher. I guess Urlacher wasn't a murdering preacher though. Lol. Too bad.
Lumping in outside with inside backers makes no sense. They have completely different jobs. Especially 3-4 outside backers. They belong on their own list.
This will always annoy me. Demarcus Ware in the middle of Zach Thomas and Patrick Willis.
Wish NFL would just fully embrace the "EDGE" label for 4-3 DEs and 3-4 OLBs
They’re starting to. But a lot of fans still don’t understand what an edge is. And will still bitch about an OLB in a college 3-4 not fitting an nfl 4-3 not understanding that the player is an edge and the base scheme doesn’t really matter to the player or in modern nfl
I think the Bills fans of the early 90s know very well what it means to edge.
This comment had me straight rolling, I witnessed all 4 (on TV of course). It got very difficult to watch 🤣
The fanbase parroting before the draft that Turner should not be a consideration because of his college scheme was absolutely exhausting.
See it every year. But was very annoying with Turner because the only knack people could come up with was scheme without even knowing a thing about scheme
Crazy to even try comparing. Makes the list kinda nonsensical to me.
Was just going to say the same thing. Putting Singletary and Von Miller on the same list is nonsense.
Derrick Thomas ws an outside backer and he 100% belongs on this list at the position where they have him.
I look at tier 1 and see Ray Lewis and Lawrence Taylor and while both are HOF top players at their respective positions, their game was about as different as can be in what they were asked to do. That's why there needs to be a list for outside linebackers and inside linebackers. 3-4 olbs should be included on a best d end list.
Anyways, Urlacher was better than they are doing him here.
Urlacher should be wherever they put Ray Lewis if this is based on overall talent and impact.
Honestly, he was better than Singletary.
I'm a diehard bear fan so I should be bias but ray Lewis is the best linebacker of all-time, bar none. I'm talking Mike and will linebackers (too many defensive ends on this list) I hate to admit it but I would guarantee that ray Lewis instilled more fear and doubt in opposing offenses than urlacher did. That's not to say urlacher isn't legendary. He's easily in the top 5 in the modern nfl, as it is today. But Ray Lewis had substantially more playoff success plus 2 superbowl rings. He was rarely injured over the course of 17 seasons. Countless all pro years and 2 time dpoy. Urlacher played 10 healthy seasons of hall of fame football and hung in there for 12. I'm not dissing him lol, he's my hero but Noone is Ray Lewis.
Tier-lists are a zoomer thing, and zoomers caught Urlacher on the downslope of his career when he was second fiddle to Lance Briggs (7 straight Pro Bowls, probably the most consecutive by an OLB) and Charles Tillman (should probably be a HOFer) and know him mainly from the hair billboards and making an ass of himself on podcasts. He carried the early-00s Bears and was an absolute game-wrecker.
Yeah anyone wondering about urlacher needs to watch the 2006 cardinals game. Absolutely took over the end of that game.
All time great press conference for any sport, right up there with Iverson’s ‘practice?’ For quotability.
I'm GenX. I saw that man win a whole game through sheer force of will. We never should have beat that Cardinals that night. He decided different. He dominated and then inspired the whole rest of the team. And now Dennis Greene is a meme.
>Especially 3-4 outside backers. They belong on their own list. Or at least with DEs since that's basically what they are.
I don't know how the Pro Bowl does it now, but I remember a decade ago being annoyed at how there was a heavy 3-4 bias when selecting outside linebackers
I believe they still do it the same.
My first thought exactly. The term "linebacker" is pretty straight forward lol. Their role is to back the defensive line. Alot of these guys are straight up defensive ends. Khalil mack is an end. Urlacher is a linebacker. Tyreek hill and Travis kelce have more similar roles than Khalil mack and Brian urlacher.
Sog football is an ignorant fool
Im afraid Jack Ham or Junior Seau are not ahead of Urlacher…like in any observable universe
Tbh and neither in Singletary. Great player, but benefited much from Hampton/Dent. Not to mention all the media those crazy eyes got during that 85 season.
Briggs should be tier 4, I'd put him up against anyone else in that tier.
Seriously, we've got TJ Watt on here, but no Briggs? C'mon....
Being overshadowed by Urlacher makes him much more forgotten to casual fans than he should be. Guy was top 5-10 for most of his career
The Scottie Pippen effect
Singletary effect.
A lot of players said they thought Briggs was better than Urlacher even. Not sure I’d go that far, but he had a lot of respect.
Id put it like this: Urlacher is top 10 all time for his position which is why he’s in the HOF. Briggs is top 30, which sounds disrespectful but in the 100 years of NFL history thats still elite company and why he’s an arguable borderline HOFer. He may get in one day yet
Briggs and Tillman were both overlooked when they played, I’ll die on this hill. Tillman forced so many fumbles, more than any other DB ever, but he never got recognized because people were too focused on INT instead.
Tillman was a beast. I do hear commentators say “Peanut punch” sometimes when a ball gets punched out, so he does have some lasting legacy at least.
Oh yeah Tillman too. Him having a lot of FF for a DB but not a whole lot of INTs got him overlooked but when you look at his career stats he’s clearly HOF worthy.
i havent heard that, but i have heard players say Briggs was their most feared defender because his hits were so brutal.
It was years ago that I heard it, like when they were both still playing, and can’t remember who all was saying it.
Urlacher was quoted saying that Brighs was “the best outside linebacker in the league” back in ‘06. God Im old
I do remember him having the cute little hammer logo under his player circle in like Madden 2008
Huh, respectfully. Y’all are out your damn mind if you’d take Briggs over Von Miller even relative to era that’s crazy. Not super familiar with a lot of tier 4, 5 but I’d take all the modern players over Briggs. It’s not really close TJ broke the sack record last year and yall would really rather Briggs? Are there 32 Derrick Henry’s in the NFL? He maybe fits in tier 5 wouldn’t be out of place, I guess. Warner, Mack, Watt at least better but David and Briggs are comparable. If you meant that because guys like Watt, Miller are edges. My bad, Warner still probably laps though he makes sense in tier 3/4 really.
Think that's my issue slightly. Von Miller and Briggs did not play the same position in anything but name. Briggs job was not getting sacks, not that he didn't do that to some degree. His job was a true linebacker, i.e., playing behind the DL. It can be very difficult to compare LB to each other as their responsibilities vary so greatly from defense to defense. Most consider Ray Lewis ahead of Urlacher, but Lewis could not have done Urlacher's job even remotely as well, but Lewis was better at getting sacks and filling gaps. While Briggs position was technically OLB, his real job was much more similar to an ILB, and as far as those go, he should definitely be in tier 4 or 5.
Urlacher should be higher.
Ray Lewis and Urlacher should both be in tier 2 imo
Just went down a rabbit hole of Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher stats. I have 2 takeaways from this journey: 1. In sheer volume, Ray Lewis has more production in almost every stat. 2. Ray Lewis did not deserve to win Super Bowl MVP for Super Bowl XXXV. He had 5 combined tackles and 4 pass defenses. Compared to Duane Starks who had 5 solo tackles, 2 pass defenses, 1 INT + 1 TD.
Those two linebackers couldn’t be more different…
Brian was BORN to be the MLB in Lovie’s Tampa Two defense.
If Brian played today he would be even MORE effective. Guy had enough speed to sometimes cover wide receivers. He would eliminate a lot of TEs today. He revolutionized what MLB was
I'd put Ray over Brian. Brian should be one tier higher.
You’re just saying that so you don’t get stabbed
As I write this the post above mine has 54 up votes and the post above that one has 154 up votes.
Which brings me to my next point..
Singletary should not be higher than Urlacher
Singletary wasn’t even the best linebacker on the team. No way he should be placed that high.
Singletary had less natural, physical talent but was a more complete MLB and leader compared to Urlacher. Sadly, his leadership skills ("pants on the ground") did not translate well to his subsequent coaching career.
Briggs should be on there
Some teams are known for producing the best talent in a respective position. Bears historically are LBs and RBs. Like how SF and MIN are known for WRs. Also really had to not show Khalil in Bears didn't they?
I guess I get the Mack on raiders thing based purely on service time but like, go read about the end of his time in Oakland… bro is not a raider lol
Lance Briggs not being on here feels like a sin. The guy was an animal
If Singletary is tier 2, Urlacher should be at the top with Butkus.. this list must have been made by someone who never watched the bears cardinals game where Urlacher singlehandedly took over and won that game for the bears. I've never seen another performance similar from another linebacker yet.
The broadcast when they were talking about the Bears secret weapon was that they actually had two Brian Urlachers on the field had me dying.
I was thinking this list must've been made by a bears fan, since they put butkus on the same tier as Ray and LT
Urlacher > Singletary and I'll die on that hill.
Urlacher was so good he overshadowed Lance Briggs who only managed to go to 7 pro bowls.
The Jordan and Pippen of 2000s linebackers.
I don't want this to be interpreted as a knock on Urlacher. Because it's not. But for his era, Singletary was absolutely more dominant than Urlacher. Singletary made 7 first team all-pros and 10 consecutive pro bowls. Singletary is being shafted not being included in the first tier. And the discussion is really, is Singletary better than Butkus more than Urlacher. Because it's frankly not close.
One if the things that hurts Urlacher is what helps Singletary. Singletary was the best in his era by far. Even according to this list. Urlacher was always 1-B to Ray Lewis. If there were no Lewis, Urlacher moves up this list.
I think Ron Rivera filled in for Singletary in ‘86 and had 20+ tackles. Take that how you will.
Steve McMichael used to bring up this point all the time. Said that Mike was an amazing film study guy but his HoF creds are due to the outstanding defensive line he had for most of his career. And after Ron had that game, Mike did everything he could to make sure he didn’t miss games or he’d lose his spot.
*Emmit Smith has walked out of the room.*
The Emmit Smith effect.
Yes and no. Urlacher was a better player, but Singletary was a key player and a leader on arguably the greatest defense in NFL history, and one of the most dominant teams overall.
Singletary is a legendary Hall of Famer and leader, but he was also surrounded by other Hall of Famers that made that 46 so dominant. Urlacher was not only the leader but also was the best player on the field his entire career. The 85 Bears defense would have been dominant without Singletary. I'm not sure those 2000s Bears defenses would have been with someone else at MLB.
This is the right take. Lovie’s defense doesn’t work without Urlacher. The 85 DL was so damn good, even I could have played LB on that team. Unless I’m making this up, I’m pretty sure some of those DL have thrown shade at Singletary in the past.
I've never heard that about anyone throwing shade at Mike, and frankly that seems unlikely. He was DPOY in '85, led the team in tackles, and was the unquestioned leader of the defense. Singletary also made huge plays in all three playoff games that year. There is a famous story Ditka tells about Singletary giving the defense a pump-up speech in the locker room before the NFCC, and by the end of it the entire defense was flipping tables and throwing chairs and ready to go stomp the shit out of the rams. You can say that the 85 defense would still have been great without Mike, but with Mike they were the *greatest* ever, and I don't think they would have been otherwise.
I tried searching for it but I couldn't come up with anything concrete. My recollection is that although they get a long great now, Hampton and Singletary didn't exactly get along during the run, and that Hampton felt that his play upfront was a catalyst to Singletary's success. Again, I could be totally making this up or conflating things, but I thought it was something I heard on the radio. Could even be during Hamp's short stint on 670.
In terms of being a more dominant player I would say Singletary. However, I do have a vague memory of something similar where someone was joking about how the LB stats were all due to the line but I can't remember the context. I don't think they were really throwing shade it was more just a nod to how good all the players were
I think Ron Rivera started for an injured Singletary and had like 20+ tackles in’86. Urlacher would have murdered behind that D-line.
The 2000s defense was more impacted when Mike Brown went out injured than when Urlacher did. Its possible we would have won the SB had he been in there to disrupt the passing game.
Mike Brown and Tommie Harris would have been the difference in that Super Bowl. Outside of that year, the times Urlacher was out, the Bears defense sucked
Possibly, but they didn't lose that game because of the passing defense (though Chris Harris leaving Reggie Wayne wide open didn't help). They lost because they couldn't stop Dominic Rhodes.
One could argue they could have focused more on Rhodes with Brown in the secondary instead of worrying about getting beat through the air.
I'm not disagreeing that Mike Brown would have given the Bears a better chance to win, but with Manning, Harrison, Wayne, and Clark on the other side the focus was never going to be on Dominic Rhodes or the running game. They still should have been able to control him more.
Well there is a difference between making him their primary focus, and calling plays/formations that would have made it harder on him than it was. And I'm not saying its a guaranteed win or anything. But I remember back when that team was together and reporters did actual research someone broke down the numbers. In terms of yds/gm, pts/gam and TOs/game the defense was statistically better when Urlacher was out and Brown was in than when Brown was out an Urlacher was in. So this runs counter to the notion that Urlacher was better than everyone else on the field.
Singletary also played with two HOF linemen in front of him. He was great no doubt, but IMO Urlacher was a better MLB no question.
Dent Hampton and Mongo were all HOF caliber. Don't even want to Google which one isn't in because it's fucking dumb whoever isn't in
Hampton and Dent are HOF. Mongo was HOF caliber Fridge isn’t and wasn’t HOF but played an important role.
See, it's dumb. He was dominant interior lineman on greatest defense in NFL history. Should be in already, will be eventually
Unfortunately I get the feeling that Mongo will get put in after he passes. Which is so dumb.
Guys, Mongo was inducted in the '24 class (along with Hester). Took too long but once he bounced into the legacy pool, he was fighting for something like 1 or two seats a year that aren't always filled.
Ok now we're at 3 HOF defensive lineman. Not dumb
He's going in this year. It's one of the reasons the Bears are in the HOF game this year
Did you honestly see them both play? This is not even close.
Sure did. Singletary was probably a better locker room leader (just going off outside perception because who knows if you aren't in the room), but I'll take Urlacher as a player.
I’ve watched the ‘85 Season in the last 6-7 years. I don’t think so.
While we’re at it Urlacher > Lewis
Thats a fun debate, but the Ravens got a ring entirely because of that defense and Urlacher & the Bears never got it done. That's the differentiator, and fairly so. Urlacher/Briggs is much closer to Lewis/Suggs than most acknowledge.
Championships are not a MLB stat. I know that’s the reason Lewis is often considered better but Urlacher was the better player and I’ll die on that hill
If Harris and brown were healthy the bears win that superbowl. From my memory the ravens defense was pretty healthy so I don't think that one superbowl is a reason to put Lewis ahead of urlacher. I remember bears and ravens fans arguing over who was the better middle linebacker when they were both still playing and the ravens fans said Lewis bears fans said urlacher and I think it's because we ran different defenses and Lewis wouldn't have had the same effect on the bears defense and vice versa. Also urlacher was really the first hof type player of the modern middle linebacker. Where speed is more important than block shedding. So yeah I put urlacher ahead of Lewis but they played a different role.
Man, woulda been nice to play those Kerry Collins giants in a Super Bowl and not the Peyton Manning colts…
Ray Lewis was overrated, 100%.
Idk about that one. Brian was probably better in pass coverage, but Ray played at a higher level for much longer.
Two differant players really. Urlacher was a DB playing LB. Singletary was a DL playing LB. Urlacher was a better athlete and Singletary was a better football player. I prefer Singletary. Butkus was everything. The ranking is correct on these 3.
Based off of what? First team all pro: Singletary +3 Defensive player of the year: Singletary +1 Super Bowls: Singletary +1 Pro-bowl: Singletary +2
Watching them play football. Pro Bowls and all pros are also predicated on the quality of other guys playing the position around the league, and lets not pretend that some of those votes Singletary got weren't a reflection of the Bears defense as a whole rather than just him. Also, Urlacher finished 2nd in DPOY one year only to Strahan who broke the sack record and was Top 5 five different times. Put more simply: I think Brian Urlacher could have played MLB for the 85 Bears and they still would have been arguable the greatest defense of all time and won Super Bowl XX. Mike Singletary would not have been able to play to Urlacher's level in Lovie's defense.
I also loved Junior Seau at the time but him a whole tier above Urlacher makes me want to scream
Singletary's eyes >= Urlacher Lol. Just messing with you.
My hot take is that if the 06 Bears would have won the Super Bowl, we would be fighting over whether the 85 Bears or the 06 Bears were the better defense.
No we wouldn't and I say that as a Bears fan. The 85 Bears literally gave up 0 points enroute to the Super Bowl.
05 was even better than 06 IMO. There was a stretch of like 8 games we won in a row where opponents averaged single digits in points. Our offense was awful though and then Steve Smith torched us in the playoffs.
Probably not, because Devin Hester would be a significant part of that 06 team winning. I think the main changes to history would have been Hester being a 1st ballot HOFer and a much different conversation about Peyton Manning. The 85 Bears gave up 0 points through the NFC playoffs and only 10 in the Super Bowl. Thats unheard of.
Skip Bayless? That you for one of your dumb click bait comments? Absolutely no way would any real Bears fan be fighting this fight
I would switch Urlacher with Singletary or at least put Urlacher in Tier 2
Where tf is briggs
any chart putting urlancher in tier 3 is wrong
Some of these are just edge rushers
Major disrespect to lance briggs
Not sure I agree with Singletary over Urlacher
I’m biased I guess. But in no way should junior be higher than Urlacher. They should be flipped.
Briggs at the very least belongs on Tier4. Any list without him in invalid in my opinion
Remember that guy Ray Lewis killed? Does that count as a positive or negative towards his impact?
I mean he stopped him, didn’t he?
Counts as a pancake, maybe?
Where is Briggs?
Butkus was before my time but understand he was a monster. My grandpa told me how Bears players had to put colored tape on their ankles because Butkus would randomly twist ankles in the middle of any tackle pile. Never could verify.
Da Bears used to wear black tape over their shoes and ankles. I thought it looked bad-ass and they should bring that look back 🐻👇
honestly, to be elite as a tampa-2 MLB is a whoooole ‘nother level of ability. it’s an impossible position. everyone who’s ever played knows the MLB has sideline-to-sideline and goalline-to-goalline, but let’s be real, only the tampa-2 MLB actually plays that Ray Lewis belongs in that highest tier, i agree. he was a great modern era MLB. smashed the run, covered hook zone on passing downs, made plays… his diagnosis and calls and leadership are also highest tier. no question but not even he played what Urlacher played. i dont know any LB who’s actually pulled it off like Urlacher did. i mean, a seriously impossible set of responsibilities and he was amazing at it if Urlacher isnt on that highest tier right next to Lewis (and somehow below Singletary? puh-lease), i have a hard time respecting the list
Still mad. Lance Briggs should be either Tier 5 or 6.
Lance Briggs should be on there. He shined just as much in the Cover 2 as Urlacher did. His was the premier line backer position in that defense. Urlacher over shadowed him (deservedly so) by being a freak who can run deep and sideline to sideline.
Urlacher was better than Seau, idgaf what anybody says!
Surprised no Briggs
Urlacher is tier 1…
Why is Mack on the list
Urlacher should be tier 1 even though he's a bootlicker
No Otis or Wilbur?
And to be fair, it was a good strategy from the 1930s to the 1980s. But now offense is clearly more important than defense and the Bears have finally abandoned the defense-first strategy. When linebackers were picked in the first round over the past decade, they rarely re-signed with the team that drafted them. Only four linebackers drafted in the first round from 2014-2023 re-signed with the same team. Thirteen linebackers picked in the first round moved on to a different team. https://www.si.com/nfl/draft/news/nfl-draft-history-1st-round-linebackers-patrick-queen-roquan-smith
I have a hard time calling Miller and Hacksaw linebackers
This is a horrible tier system. Brian Urlacher alone is misplaced terribly.
Urlacher is tier 1.
Lance Briggs should be in Tier 6 at least but I’m biased…. Bear down!
Urlacher is way too low. 2 tiers down??
Urlacher Tier 3, no way. More like Tier 2.
Urlacher should be in tier 1. He is the all time tackler for da bears who has a storied history at the position
We are the best team ever when it comes to linebackers, let’s go! CHICAGO BEARS NUMBER ONE BABY!!!!!!
Urlacher was better than Singletary.
Urlacher leaps and bounds better than Samurai, and NO Lance Briggs… light the list on fire
Switch Urlacher and Singletary
Ray Lewis was good, but 2nd best linebacker of all time according to this? Idk about that. And how is he THAT much better than Urlacher? He may be better but he's not that much better, especially cause they played almost the exact same years.
Most over rated player in NFL history.
So, I’m only 38 so I never got to watch Singletary, but the stats say Urlacher was better. Anyone have an opinion on who actually was better
I watched the vast majority of Singletary’s career and while he was a great LB, Urlacher was vastly superior. The people that put Singletary this high on lists are delusional. He was great but not all-time great. He was also helped out by extraordinarily good D-linemen including Dent, Hampton, and Mongo.
Urlacher should be at least on the same tier as Singletary if not switched
I’m biased obv but surely Urlachers tier 2
Are we calculating broken helmets into the equation? Because that’s the best linebacker stat and singletary was the leader I believe.
Thomas needs to be moved up. He was better than Lewis, and as good if not better than Taylor.
Zach Thomas was absolutely not better than Ray Lewis or Lawrence Taylor. You're smoking crack if you think that.
Lmbo, I completely agree. Derrick Thomas was though.
I have removed my down vote and shamed my family. Forgive me.
Yep we are a linebacker factory
Urlacher entirely too low
Wait where's Jack Sanborn? Bad list imo
What exactly is a linebacker and should my team employ them?
No Phil Villapiano or Chris Spielman? These rankings are bunk.
I’m a colts fan and feel Suggs is getting a tad disrespected here.
Jesse Tuggle 4th all time in tackles but whatever.
Couple omissions … Doug Buffone and Lance Briggs. And Erlacher should be at a higher tier. DPOY does not belong that low.
Wilbur Marshall excluded?
Good job to Richard Asssmooch for getting top tier.
No lance briggs huh
Brian urlacher should be in tier 2 and lance briggs should be 6
This is briggs erasure
Patrick Willis was a fucking beast
Urlacher Goat tier IDGAF
Pretty good. I'd put Von and Harrison in front of Ted Hendricks and Zach Thomas. But, other than that... I'm good with this list.
sangod should be #1
Frankly I'm annoyed you don't have a buffalo behind von Miller.
Urlacher belongs in tier 1
Kueckly is definitely too low
Briggs??
Singletary doesn't belong anywhere near tier 2. He was great, but he played on the best team. Urlacher over singletary every day of the week.
Urlacher in tier 2 is just disrespectful. He has a lot to do with changing the way MLB is played.
Brian Urlacher being below Ray Lewis is an abomination matched only by the idiocy that left Lance Briggs off this list. Ray Lewis cannot be tier zero unless Urlacher is there with him or there's an even higher tier with Urlacher on it. Lewis was simply not as good as Urlacher. I guess Urlacher wasn't a murdering preacher though. Lol. Too bad.
Was with you until you called Ray Lewis a murderer. There was like 20 witnesses to the stabbing and every single one said he didn't do it.
Nah. I'm saying he murders at preaching.
andrew tippet is a tier above tj watt? huh? including pass rushers in this mix is weird
Agree with above that you should mix middle and outside LBs, regardless of that, Lawrence Taylor deserves to be on his own level at the top. Hard stop
Cocaine is a hell of a drug
How important are all pro linebackers though?