Legion of Boom = best secondary ever?

[DavidSeven]

They have the potential to be the best this year. This 5 DB set stacks up against any in NFL history on a position-by-position basis. Not only incredibly talented, but these five guys each bring unique qualities that seem to compliment the whole.

Sherm is arguably the premiere shut down corner in the NFL. Browner is, I think, the most physical CB in the NFL. Earl probably has better range than any other safety in the league -- basically your ideal free safety. Kam is basically the definition of "Strong Safety" -- the type of enforcer in the defensive backfield that every team dreams of. And then you have Winfield -- by most accounts, the best nickel corner in the game and probably as good against the run as any CB that's ever played.

This is a special group, and it's no coincidence it's developed this way under Pete Carroll's tutelage. Dude knows how to coach and scout DBs, period. Even our back-ups (Thurmond, Lane) look like they have superstar talent.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

You mean the secondary that gave up game winning and game tying drives multiple times last year?

This is the kind of thread fans of other teams see and think Seahawk fans are ridiculous homers. I would agree with them in this situation.

A ridiculous post that calls out others as ridiculous? Maybe it takes one to know one, eh? Pressure+coverage = pass defense. LOB did an outstanding job considering they often didn't get much help from the DL on passing downs.

You try to make a case that Hawk fans are homers about the play of our secondary by citing lost leads as an example, then you pin that on the secondary? There's a good chance that many people here are 'homers,' but your post reaks of grasping at any reason to take a shot at fellow Hawk fans, or maybe a serious lack of football knowledge.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

Honestly, with multiple All-Pro's, and Pro Bowlers at every position, has there ever been a better secondary in the history of the NFL?

I saw it mentioned on PFT in the comments, and I have to agree. Has there ever been a more balanced and potent secondary? We've got multiple hitters and they are perfectly balanced by excellent coverage DBs.

I've been watching football since about the 1970's as well, and I don't remember any secondary that is as good overall as the Legion of Boom. Any of you football history geeks know of any?

Ok, as a Hawks fan, I loves me some Legion Of Boom and all that goes in it. But, until they win multiple Super Bowls, the old 49ers secondary of mid-80's with Ronnie Lott, Tim McKyer, Carlton Williamson, Don Griffen, Tom Holmoe, Dwight Hicks, othe mid -90's with Neon Deion Sanders, Merton Hanks, Eric Davis, Tim McDonald, Dana Hall and a few others gets my vote.

I was with until Merton Hanks. :shock:

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Every team in the NFL has homers. They are called Fans :roll:
Homers is one of the dumbest names to give a fan ever. What the hell else is a fan supposed to do, not stick up for his or her own team???
The Hawks put up 42 on the "great defense" in San Fran. The same Niners D who got thrashed by the Ravens. I guess if a team gives up touchdowns and isn't the 85 Bears, they are just over-rated etc.

 

[quadsas]

Talent-wise, maybe. Mentally - not a chance. All close games we lost were due to secondary's failure to perform in the clutch.

 

[McGruff]

They have time to prove it in the future. But right now, nope.

That was primarily the fault of Gus Bradley's scheme for the final drive.

And underneath coverage by the linebackers.

 

[McGruff]

I think Chi-Town and Green Bay both in the olden days had better middle defenses than anything I see now a days. Of course they were allowed to do many more physical things then than is allowed now.

And no one had better over look the Stillirs of the mid 70s. Don't remember if it was 75 or 76 that pitched 5 shutouts and is considered the best team of all time. We have some great players but do they compare with some of the "Black & Blue" divisions best? I'm not sure.

We have lots of hard hitter yes, but that happens once or twice a game. Teams like GB and Chi-Town, and Stillirs of the 70s had hits like that about every other play. Again, rule changes make a big difference.

Let me throw a couple of names at you and see if you think Brandon Browner or anyone else on our team is better or as good.

Dick Butkus Chi-Town

Ray Nitschke Green Bay

:les:

Cool story and good names . . . But neither of them are on topic.

Question is NOT best defense ever . . . Question is best secondary ever . . .

Answer? Talk to me after this season.

 

[jammerhawk]

Hard to say if this the best secondary ever, even if we restrict it to just being the best Seahawks secondary ever. The rules have made it harder to play in the secondary now compared to back then. The illegal contact rule takes away a great deal of the defensive advantage enjoyed by any DB in the past and they have been robbed of the ability to make receivers physically pay for being bold going over the middle. We are not comparing apples to apples because of the rules differences.

In terms of athleticism I simply think Hans has it wrong. A careful assessment of comparative athletic ability would allow many of the past greats to be great today. I was following his argument until he got to Easley, then it went too far. I suspect his point got taken too far as it ignores the reality that even to play DB generally exceptional athleticism is needed, as it was then it still is now

This secondary is designed to work in our scheme. They will look a lot better after the pass rush brings some heat consistently on opposing QBs, this season will only prove how good they actually are. That said they are pretty intimidating now and better in man coverage than zone which defeats a good deal of their physical advantage of relative size. This group hasn't been together long in relative terms but is now strengthened by the addition of Winfield and was pretty darn good last year.

I suspect this group has the ability to be the best ever secondary the Seahawks have ever fielded. I'm expecting big things from this group this upcoming season. Each of the members of the LOB has now matured as starters and know what their jobs are and what they can expect from each other. They have an exceptional combination of physicality size and speed and they also have depth with the reserves. In a big picture sense this season will tell the story and they just may be the best secondary of all time. I agree, time will tell.

 

[HawkAroundTheClock]

If we ink Sherman, Thomas, and Browner to extensions, then absolutely this secondary will be talked about for decades. And kiddie fans, and those in their 20s and 30s now, will tell the grandkids about 'em the same way we're hearing about the great secondaries of the 50s, 60s, & 70s in this thread. BOOM!

 

[NinerBuff]

'84 Niner secondary included the best S ever and was #1 in the league against the pass - CHAMPIONSHIP
'94 Niner secondary included the best CB every and were faster than anyone on the entire Seahawks squad with the exception of Harvin - CHAMPIONSHIP
'89 secondary also all went to the pro bowl and was #2 against the pass - CHAMPIONSHIP

 

[jammerhawk]

I'd say that was a slightly biased view but we have come to expect that from the 9ers fans who refuse to acknowledge that any other teams than their 80's and 90's teams are any good. all this while wanting to pee in our cornflakes while they have a perfectly good website to pat each other on the back about the good old days.

The points difference between these two teams over the past 2 seasons has been small until the last game between the two teams when the Hawks team laid a whupping on the hers. The effect of that whupping is the Hawks presently hold the points advantage between the two largely asa result of the Hawks superior pass D.

 

[Subzero717]

I'd say that was a slightly biased view but we have come to expect that from the 9ers fans who refuse to acknowledge that any other teams than their 80's and 90's teams are any good. all this while wanting to pee in our cornflakes while they have a perfectly good website to pat each other on the back about the good old days.

The points difference between these two teams over the past 2 seasons has been small until the last game between the two teams when the Hawks team laid a whupping on the hers. The effect of that whupping is the Hawks presently hold the points advantage between the two largely asa result of the Hawks superior pass D.

No offense Jammer but we are talking best secondary of all time. While ours is extremely good and I don't think a rational Niner fan would say their curreny secondary is better than ours today, we are talking all time. I think it is a season or two early to say LOB is best ever. I will say painfully that the 9er secondary of Prime, Hanks, McDonald, Davis was maybe the best i can remember but they only played one season together. I don't know if that's enough to say all time. It was enough to put Young's over rated behind over the top though.

 

[TJH]

This = Most homerish thread ever?

 

[kearly]

The 1984 Seahawks secondary was pretty damn good. They made Marino look bad in that playoff loss.

I grew up watching the 70's Steelers and Raiders. My dad was a Raiders fan before the Seahawks existed, since he's originally from the Bay Area. I remember watching some sports special where members of the Steelers defense were being interviewed in a restaurant. They were all eating pasta, drinking whiskey and beer, and smoking cigars. Pro football athletes in the 1970's, and especially that Steelers defense, were like a bunch of big blue-collar thugs, but they wouldn't even be competitive as athletes today.

Today's athletes (especially receivers and skill position players) are genetic freaks. They're bigger, faster and stronger than anything those defenses ever saw back in the 1980's and before. I once heard Jerry Rice say in an interview that Calvin Johnson would have absolutely destroyed defenses back in the 1980's, that he is such a freak that he would have eclipsed Rice's numbers easily. I'd agree with that.

You put any of those historical secondaries against the offenses the Seahawks faced this season. Especially Atlanta in the playoffs. They'd have been killed. Can you imagine Julio Jones and Roddy White teaming up on Dick Lebeau and Night Train Lane? That would have been comical. They'd be out there huffing and puffing and getting their asses handed to them on every down. The NFL was different back in the 70's. It was mostly a lot of run game with pretty basic passing schemes. It wasn't until Bill Walsh came into the NFL and invented the WCO that offenses really started throwing the ball much, or using any kind of advanced schemes. Tom Landry, maybe.

But still... the point remains the same. There is no way any defense from the 1970's steps into 2012 and plays competitive. They didn't even understand proper nutrition back then.

Now imagine the Legion of Boom playing back in those days. Being allowed to hit defenseless receivers, hit guys in the helmet, hold as much as they want until the ball leaves the QB's hand. Can you imagine? They'd have killed people. Richard Sherman would have been faster, bigger and stronger than anyone on the field outside of his own secondary. Especially back in the 1960's. It would have been ridiculous. Heck, Kam Chancellor is faster and stronger than any member of the Steel Curtain ever was. I watched those guys play. Yeah, they were big dudes for their day. But they were slow and ridiculously out of shape compared to modern athletes.

And imagine if the Patriots, Packers, Falcons or Saints could play in the 1970's. Ridiculous. It would have been a bloodbath. You'd have seen 700+ yard passing games. Brady would have destroyed that Steelers defense with ease. Aaron Rodgers with average modern WRs would have killed them. Can you imagine Matt Ryan w/ Jones and White going against that defense? Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson? Those are all teams the Seahawks played last season and our secondary shut them down, without any of the advantages those 1970's defenses enjoyed when rules were tilted in their favor. Even playing with 1970's rules, can you imagine Calvin Johnson going against Ronnie Lott? He would have jumped over him with ease, outran him on every down, juked the dude out of his cleats.

Too many people romanticize those older teams. Those guys weren't even athletes by today's standards. Hell, even Kenny Easley would have got his butt handed to him by today's smarter QBs and stronger, faster WRs.

Anyway... just a few thoughts. It is fun to imagine it all though. It would be so cool if you really could match some of those teams up. Mid-80's Niners versus 70's Steelers. Early-90's Cowboys versus Mid-00's Patriots. Ronnie Lott vs Calvin Johnson. Kenny Easley vs Roddy White. That would be awesome.

Great post.

This = Most homerish thread ever?

Not if you are truly the #1 Sherman fan, it isn't.

 

[Marvin49]

I'd say its WAY, WAY early for any talk of best secondary ever.

I mean by this logic you could start talking about the current 49ers with the best LB corps ever (Willis, Bowman, Aldon, Brooks). They have a long way to go to prove that and the same can be said in Seattle.

 

[drdiags]

This = Most homerish thread ever?

No, not homerish. Just blinded by the light.

Reminds me of the scene from "Clash of the Titans" when the Queen got carried away bragging about the beauty of her daughter, Princess Andromeda. The Gods then had to break out the Kraken on folks to put her back in her place. :stirthepot:

 

[HansGruber]

I'd say its WAY, WAY early for any talk of best secondary ever.

I mean by this logic you could start talking about the current 49ers with the best LB corps ever (Willis, Bowman, Aldon, Brooks). They have a long way to go to prove that and the same can be said in Seattle.

I don't think that's much of a stretch. I don't remember seeing a faster, stronger, bigger, better LB corps than you see in San Fran right now. Seriously. I think you could even put the San Fran front 7 against any team in history and you'd have a pretty strong chance to win any of those matchups. The '85 Bears would surely get brought up, as well as some Ravens teams, and probably the 70's Steelers and Raiders. I'm not sure if any of them had a "better" LB corps than the 49ers do right now.

Lots of people would bring up the Steel Curtain as a better "front 7", but they weren't nearly as disruptive and didn't get anywhere near the sacks that you get from that Justin Smith - Aldon Smith combo. I watched them play live as a kid. I remember those teams. They'd have gotten smacked by the current Niners. Heck, that Steel Curtain come closing in and Kaepernick would have taken off downfield and every one of those guys would have been like, "WTF was that??". Just like they did when Randall Cunningham took the NFL by storm in the late 80's.

If you could have any LB corps from any team in history without worrying about salary, who would YOU pick? I think the current 49ers LB group would be in my top 3, if not right there at #1.

I don't believe in romanticizing the older teams as much as people do. It's kind of silly. I just posted a video yesterday that shows the last two series of the Miami-Seattle playoff game from 1983. That matchup included one of the NFL's best defenses (Seattle) and best offenses (Miami) for the era. Go watch that video. Those dudes look like they're running in slow-motion, and they look clutzy. Their body control isn't anything like what you see from athletes today. We've gotten used to seeing the freakish athletes of the modern NFL. You see the older teams now and it's almost comical.

 

[PlinytheCenter]

Let's just win a SB or two before we start making "all time" statements. The LOB is great to be sure, but legends are built on championships.

 

[3Girls'HawkDad]

Obviously GOAT.



/quack like a duck

 

[HansGruber]

Let's just win a SB or two before we start making "all time" statements. The LOB is great to be sure, but legends are built on championships.

I'm sure the Purple People Eaters would have something to say about that.

Most football historians consider that group one of the best defenses of all time (better than the 85 Bears) and they never won a championship. But there are a TON of legends about that group, and they are definitely in every "all-time" conversation.