100 Years of NFL: The Linebackers Quiz

Answer: Lawrence Taylor

Lawrence Taylor was the keystone in the "Big Blue Wrecking Crew" for the New York Giants. It was a defence so effective that it would win games, for example, the 1990 NFC Championship game. In that game against the heavily favoured 49ers, Taylor beat out two defenders as the game clock was ticking away and recovered a fumble that set up the game-winning field goal. He played for the Giants from 1981 to 1993 and dominated for much of those thirteen seasons.

The key to the Giants' success was Lawrence Taylor's ability to evade blocks and to overcome or tie up defences. He was named to the Pro Bowl in his first year and then over and over again making it ten years in a row! He won the DPOY award in his rookie season and again in 1982 and in 1986, the year that he won the League MVP award and the Super Bowl. He also won the Super Bowl in 1990. He retired when his productivity began to decline and injuries began to take their toll. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999. Lawrence Taylor got the nickname "L.T." from his initials.

Answer: The Intimidator

Dave "The Intimidator" Wilcox was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 1964 NFL Draft, and also for the Houston Oilers in the sixth round of the 1964 AFL Draft. Wilcox opted to join the Niners and spent his entire eleven-year career with them. As an outside linebacker, offences feared Wilcox and his physical style of play. He was particularly suited, at 6'3" and 241 pounds, to hit players on the line of scrimmage and was often tasked with guarding the tight end with great effectiveness.

Dave Wilcox once said that his trick was "not let people block me. I just hate to be blocked." He was highly valued by his team and greatly respected by opposing players - they would put their toughest blockers lined up in front of him. He was voted into seven Pro Bowls and was a 4- and 5-time All Pro (at that time it was voted separately by the AP and the NEA). More impressively, he missed only one game over eleven seasons due to injury. Wilcox was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000.

Answer: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a hunch about Derrick Brooks at the 1995 NFL Draft, and it proved to be a good one. They traded two second-round picks to the Dallas Cowboys in order to get Brooks; the 14-season career that he gave them really paid off. He was a member of the all-rookie team that year and had amazing numbers in his second year as well. In his third season, Brooks was chosen to play in the first of his eleven Pro Bowl selections. In 2002, Brooks was chosen as the Defensive Player of the Year and led the Buccaneers to victory against the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII, the first in Buccaneer history.

After the 2008 season (where Derrick Brooks was chosen for his final Pro Bowl), the Buccaneers opted to release Brooks and to try and go for a younger team. He spent the 2009 season as a free agent and retired after not signing for any team. He was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

Answer: Frank Gifford

Chuck Bednarik was an outstanding athlete who played center and linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles. When he retired after the 1962 season, Bednarik was the last of the "60-minute men," meaning, players who play on both offence and defence. Bednarik was drafted in 1949, the first overall pick. He had gone to college in Pennsylvania after enlisting in the US Air Force and serving as a waist gunner in a B-25 during World War II. He was highly decorated for the missions he flew over Germany.

Chuck Bednarik was a hard hitter throughout his career. His nickname "Concrete Charlie" was due to his side job as a concrete salesman, but was fitting for his style of play. In a game against the New York Giants in 1960, Bednarik took out flanker Frank Gifford in a clean tackle that sidelined Gifford for 18 months. Bednarik was captured standing over a prone Gifford on the cover of Sports Illustrated prompting some outrage as it seemed that he was celebrating Gifford's injury. During his career, Chuck Bednarik was an eight-time Pro Bowler as well as a two time NFL champion (1949 and 1960).

Answer: Guatemala

Ted Hendricks was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, but soon thereafter moved to the United States. He was raised in Florida and also went to college there. When he was drafted in 1969, he was chosen in the second sound by the Baltimore Colts. Originally, Hendricks was a defensive end but coach Don Shula transitioned him to linebacker. As a linebacker, Hendricks was very effective and made starter on the team by his sixth game. In his second season, Hendricks and the Colts won Super Bowl V.

In 1975, Ted Hendricks was traded to the Green Bay Packers and had a very successful season there. He was then traded again to the Oakland Raiders and played out the rest of his career. While originally a fringe player, John Madden soon saw the value of Hendricks when much of his defence was sidelined by injuries. Hendricks was versatile enough to play linebacker as well as defensive end, and helped make the Raiders defence one of the best in the league. The Raiders would go on to win three Super Bowls (XI, XV, and XVIII) with Hendricks on the team. He retired after the 1983 season, after making the Pro Bowl for the eighth time. In 1990, Hendricks was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Answer: Detroit Lions

Even though Joe Schmidt was only drafted in the seventh round of the 1953 draft, he immediately made an impact on an already great Detroit Lions franchise. He had great mobility across the field and was excellent at stopping the run. He helped lead the Lions to the 1953 NFL Championship. So great was his impact over the next couple of years that his fellow players elected him team captain in 1956. He was also voted into ten straight Pro Bowls from 1954 to 1963. In 1957, he captained the Lions to his second NFL Championship. He continued playing, through injury and a brief army service, and retired as a player after the 1965 season.

Joe Schmidt was immediately hired as an assistant coach, then as the head coach a season later. His main goal was to rebuild the team, which the owners felt had hit bottom. The Lions hit their peak at 1969 and the team would finish in second place for four straight seasons. After the 1972 season, with still another season left in his contract, Schmidt decided to step down. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973.

Answer: Pittsburgh Steelers

Jack Lambert and Jack Ham were linebackers for the Pittsburgh Steelers during their amazing run of four Super Bowl wins in six seasons: Super Bowls IX, X, XIII and XIV. In that time, Lambert's dominance as the middle linebacker and Ham's excellence as the outside linebacker, along with an excellent supporting cast, the Steeler defence was very stingy with points, yards, and first downs, eraning them the nickname "the Steel Curtain".

Jack Lambert was called "the greatest linebacker of his era" by the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 1990. He was drafted in 1974 and was considered to small to do the job properly. His speed and talent allowed him not only to protect against the run, but also to drop back and protect the area between the two safeties and the potential pass. He won DPOY honours, and thereafter nine straight Pro Bowls. His iconic smile was punctuated by four missing teeth on the top which made him look like he was snarling.

Jack Ham was drafted in 1971. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988 as one of the best ever outside linebackers to ever play football. He was strong, a hard hitter who rarely missed. However, more than that, Ham was remembered for his game vision and intelligence. He was rarely fooled or out of position. When he retired, he created 53 turnovers (interceptions and fumbles recovered), a record for linebackers. He was named to eight straight Pro Bowls.

Answer: Raven

Ray Lewis played seventeen dominant seasons with the Baltimore Ravens and was a key part of their successes. Drafted in 1996 in the first round with the Ravens' second pick of that round, 26th overall, Lewis became a key part in the Ravens' defence for the next two decades. The Ravens were an 'expansion team', having relocated from Cleveland, retaining players and coaches but unable to retain the team history.

Ray Lewis produced consistently great numbers throughout his career. Right off the bat, in his first NFL game, Lewis won the Defensive Player of the Week award. His next season would see him named to his first Pro Bowl, the first of thirteen. Lewis would also win the Defensive Player of the Year award in both 2000 and in 2003, and would even get the Super Bowl MVP award in Super Bowl XXXV, the first defensive player to win it on the winning team. He would also help lead his team to victory in Super Bowl XLVII (the Har-bowl). This would be his last NFL game. He was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2018.

Answer: Samoan

Junior Seau was a star Californian linebacker who dominated in the NFL for twenty seasons. He played for the San Diego Chargers, the Miami Dolphins, and the New England Patriots. He was raised in American Samoa, where he learned about his family's proud Samoan heritage. He moved back to California as a youngster and was a multi-sport athlete in high school. In college (USC), Seau had to sit out his first year because of a low SAT score. However, in his final two years, Seau was a standout player for the Trojans.

Junior Seau was the fifth overall pick in the 1990 draft by the Chargers. He played for thirteen seasons with them, making it to the Pro Bowl twelve straight times. He was traded to the Dolphins and played well for them, but was hampered by injuries. He 'retired' for four days in 2006 only to sign with the Patriots. He played four seasons there, and then retired for good. Junir Seau was voted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.

Answer: Chicago Bears

"Dick was an animal. I called him a maniac. A stone maniac. He was a well-conditioned animal, and every time he hit you, he tried to put you in the cemetery, not the hospital." - Deacon Jones

Dick Butkus was a linebacker to be feared. He was born and bred in Chicago, and it only made sense that he was drafted by the Chicago Bears as the third overall pick of the 1965 draft. He signed with the Bears and stayed with them for nine glorious seasons. Immediately, he had big shoes to fill. Bill George, the Bears' middle linebacker, had left after fourteen seasons and George was definitely Hall-of-Fame-bound. Butkus did not disappoint.

Having an uncanny ability to locate the ball and anticipate where it would be, Dick Butkus managed to intercept five passes and recover six fumbles in his rookie season. He finished third in the voting for rookie-of-the-year and was named to the first of eight straight Pro Bowls. He continued to dominate in the NFL for nine seasons. The only reason he retired was an injury to his right knee that he could not shake for years.