Guessing who was going be the best athlete to wear number 56 is like guessing that the Yankees will have the highest payroll in baseball this year. Still, let's take a look at that athlete, L.T., Lawrence Taylor. Taylor, who played his entire career with the New York Football Giants, was a fierce, intense, talented linebacker. He may be the best to ever play the position. He had such speed when he lined up outside the defensive tackle that blocking backs often had trouble picking him up. In fact, he even made the 49ers change the way linebackers were usually picked up on blitzes, by forcing them to have an offensive lineman pick Taylor up. L.T. is also credited with Joe Gibbs' utilization of the two tight end offense. Taylor was ranked as the number four linebacker of all-time by the Sporting News in 1999. He is a Hall of Famer and his number 56 has been retired by the Giants. A few more of L.T.s accomplishments:
- 10-time Pro Bowler
- 1986 NFL MVP
- NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (1981)
- Two-time Super Bowl Champion (1986 and 1990)
- NFL Defensive Player of the Year (1981 and 1982)
- 1983 and 1986 UPI NFC Player of the Year
- 132.5 "official" career sacks
- 1,088 career tackles
- Member of NFL's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team
Did you know.......L.T. would have 141.5 sacks if the statistic was officially recorded in his rookie year?
(photo courtesy of newsday.com)
This guy redefined the position - great pick! He also made the number 56 synonomous with greatness, every up and coming linebacker wants it. It's like what MJ did to 23.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's amazing what you can do when you have a quarter kilo in your system!
ReplyDeleteLT all the way, honorable mention Joe Schmidt
ReplyDeletegive
ReplyDeletederrick thomas a shot too ?
This is THE LT. That other LT that plays on the Chargers suck major balls in comparison to THE LT.
ReplyDeletethe 4th best lb in history? possibly the best player in nfl history. vastly underated because of his off field conduct. he made offensive linemen twice his size double team him because of his speed and aggression
ReplyDeleteYeah, any list that has him as the 4th best LB is insane. He was WITHOUT A DOUBT (no offense to Butkus) the best LB of all time. Very arguably the best defensive player of all time. Possibly the best athlete to ever play football, although it's hard to compare offense and defense.
DeleteJimmy,
DeleteWhile I am not a fan of the Giants, I have to agree with you. 4th best LB of all time? Ridiculous. I believe that Lawrence Taylor is the best NFL defender of all time.
John Mayo
which in turn made people like carl banks and pepper johnson household names
ReplyDeletebuehrle anyone
ReplyDeleteThe only player to actually change the way offenses scheme for a game and had to be accounted for on every play
ReplyDeleteL.T. was the guy that made back side offencive tackles the second highest paid player on a football team. Does the hit on Joe Tiesman ring a bell.
ReplyDeletedont give anyone a shot he is the best
ReplyDelete