February 4, 2022: LT

Two letters is all you need; usually that means you were pretty good. For the next defensive starter on my all-time NFL team, we’re going LT. For those that may have not been born yet and/or have lived under a rock, LT stands for Lawrence Taylor. This name has stuck in my head ever since the first time I remember hearing it.

I had just starting to get into the NFL. In 1984, I remember watching the Bears in the playoffs; I remember them losing to the Niners in the NFC Championship game. This of course set the stage for 1985, the year this then 9 year old still remembers… game by game. This is the first time I got familiar with Lawrence Taylor. He had been doing his thing for a bit already. Defensive rookie of the year in 1981… defensive player of the year that same year, as well as the next year in 1982. He also started his streak of 10 consecutive Pro Bowls that rookie season of 81. But it wasn’t until Monday, November 18, 1985, that I really got to know LT. This of course was the game LT broke Joe Theismann’s leg on Monday Night Football. Wow… talk about gruesome. I remember my parents not wanting us to see the replay of what happened; they didn’t want us to see Thiesmann’s bone sticking out of his leg. This wasn’t LT’s intention of course, but when you attack the QB as violently as Taylor did… He immediately called the medics to come on the field. Theismann’s career was over. These two players would always be linked. I never forgot this.

It wasn’t just this play of course. I mentioned some stuff already, but eventually the Giants got their stuff together, and would win Super Bowl 21 right after the Bears, and then again SB 25; LT was the league MVP in 1986… His career in college at North Carolina wasn’t too shabby either. But if you haven’t, please pull up some of this guy’s highlights. If after you watch those, you don’t think this guy was one of a kind, I don’t know what to tell you. Sure, he might have had some “help” along the way; cocaine & partying was also linked to LT throughout his career, but who hasn’t went through that stage? Haha… LT was a freak of nature; he is the best OLB of all time IMO. This is why he’s on my team.

He’s on my team because of the whole “feared” aspect that I’m looking for. Starting my team with Dick Butkus and Lawrence Taylor… I think I have a pretty good start. QBs beware; RBs run away, WRs keep your eyes on the ball. If we’re turning LT and Butkus loose to come after the QB… watch out… careers may be ended. LT coming off the edge… with that speed and power… I love LBs; probably my favorite position period. Being a Bears fan, it kind of goes hand in hand; for all the lack of QBs, we certainly haven’t had a shortage in the LB area… the guy who is currently patrolling the middle of the defense ain’t too shabby either. But yeah, LT… no brainer to me. When it comes to OLBs, it’s him then everybody else. Speaking of everybody else, who’s next?