Matt Eberflus

[Bash Riprock]

9 hours ago, HHF said:

Singletary would have never lasted if had to play on the outside.  

Couldn't that be said for a number of NFL middle linebackers past and present?  Doesn't mean they weren't dominate at their position.

 

2 minutes ago, Irishman said:

This is just crazy talk....well of course the OLB's were better athletes.....that is called good coaching. Put the better athletes outside. But to say he was underrated is just silly. I will say, he was better than Butkus. Spend some time learning about Singletary. He understood the entire defense. He was a coach on the field. He was the heart of that defense. He was tough taking on blocks, including double teams. While he was undersized, he was powerful and hit as hard as anyone on that defense. 
I would add the most overrated......Urlacher. 

you said it better than me....I am not in agreement with the Butkus comment, but overall, totally agree

[Irishman]

18 minutes ago, Bash Riprock said:

Couldn't that be said for a number of NFL middle linebackers past and present?  Doesn't mean they weren't dominate at their position.

 

you said it better than me....I am not in agreement with the Butkus comment, but overall, totally agree

Butkus was a great ILB; mean nasty, hit hard, but it was not my impression he knew the whole defense. He just knew he had A gap to A gap, and destroyed anything coming through. Plus, he was a good sized guy where 50 was under sized. 

[Boilernation]

4 minutes ago, Irishman said:

Butkus was a great ILB; mean nasty, hit hard, but it was not my impression he knew the whole defense. He just knew he had A gap to A gap, and destroyed anything coming through. Plus, he was a good sized guy where 50 was under sized. 

My dad (Schurz HS) played against Butkus (Vocational HS) in the Chicago Public League. The way he described it sounded very painful. 

[Guest]

30 minutes ago, Irishman said:

This is just crazy talk....well of course the OLB's were better athletes.....that is called good coaching. Put the better athletes outside. But to say he was underrated is just silly. I will say, he was better than Butkus. Spend some time learning about Singletary. He understood the entire defense. He was a coach on the field. He was the heart of that defense. He was tough taking on blocks, including double teams. While he was undersized, he was powerful and hit as hard as anyone on that defense. 
I would add the most overrated......Urlacher. 

Urlacher, as a MLB, was the best defensive athlete on the field.  That's where he and Singletary differ.  And Urlacher did not have 5 other All Pro defenders around him

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, Irishman said:

Butkus was a great ILB; mean nasty, hit hard, but it was not my impression he knew the whole defense. He just knew he had A gap to A gap, and destroyed anything coming through. Plus, he was a good sized guy where 50 was under sized. 

Butkus played in the era of smashmouth football where speed was a myth and the forward pass was still luxury to some teams.  He dominated his era.  That is the primary calculus in this conversation.

Did Singletary dominate in his era, or did the Bear defense dominate?

Lawrence Taylor?  He dominated.

Bruce Smith?  He dominated

Reggie White?  He dominated

No single Bear achieved as highly as any of those players.  Collectively, the Bear defense from 84-88  eclipsed them all. 

[Irishman]

I will stand by my claim....Singletary is one of the best ever to play the position, and was definitely not overrated. 

[Bobref]

4 hours ago, Irishman said:

I will stand by my claim....Singletary is one of the best ever to play the position, and was definitely not overrated. 

Ask any of the ‘85 Bears who the best player on their defense was, the guy who really made it go. There were multiple Hall of Famers on that defense, but on this question there is unanimity.