With all the ILB talk around here lately, I figured it may be time to discuss the Best ILB’s in Steelers history. Typically the LB corps gets lumped together in these, so the ILB’s get buried by our glut of OLB playmakers.
This list covers the 3-4 ILBs… it doesn’t really apply to pre 1980 MLB’s in the 4-3, with the notable exception of Lambert, who crossed over eras, but his impact was mostly previous to the 3-4 as the MLB in the 70’s…
I tried to include as many as possible... some just didn't merit any thought... like Sylvestor… and I didn't add every guy on the roster right now, like Williamson or Spillane
I grouped them as:
Group C will be the Honorable mentions and Incompletes -due to injury or other events all of these guys could have been (or in the future for one may be) significant impact players for the D had things gone better for them or us
Group B will Be the Backup or single year starters or guys that converted to ILB at the ends of their careers.....
Group A will be the long term starting Ilbs and broken into two subgroups…
A1- The stars or near stars- these were the playmakers and superstars of the ILB crew
A2 The solid guys **These guys weren’t the flashy playmakers. They usually took the strong side positions and left the other LB’s to cover, rush, and make splash plays.. These guys are like Guards on the Oline… they aren’t getting the media love but their jobs are essential to the defense…
Obviously these are opinion based, so feel free to call me a dumbass...
Group C Honorable mentions / incomplete
1. ***Let me start with a special place for Ryan Shazier… I believe the sky was the limit for that guy, and it was a damn Shame what happened to him. He Started 5 games as a rookie, and 41 overall in his 3 ½ year career here… yet had magnificent stats… 299 tackles, 25 TFL, 7 sacks and 7 ints…25 Pass defenses… The guy was an impact player and future all pro or even HOF player… if his stats and impact had held up he’d easily be the #2 or maybe even eventually the #1 player on this list… Unfortunately he simply denotes a special mention….
2. Second on this list is going to be Devon Bush, it’s his second year… there just isn’t enough to place him on the list yet. He started 15 games as a rookie, and 5 more this year before the injury… he had 2 interceptions, 2 sacks, 135 tackles ( 9 tfl), 7 pass defenses, a forced fumble and 4 recoveries…
3. Third is Kendrell Bell, like Shazier he started 3 years for us and then was Injured at the start of the 4th and never totally recovered… his rookie season was maybe the best defensive performance by a rookie in steelers history that 3 years and 3 games period, he had 18 sacks, an INT, 2FF, 2FR, 6 PD, 240 tackles(52 TFL)
4. Fourth is Chad Brown. His wasn’t a personal injury that sunk his ILB career here, but rather a teammates…. still It was hard to determine where he belongs…I put him in this group.
His first three years he started 35 games at RILB for us. He 218 tackles, 17 sacks 2 FF and a pick… he then had to switch to OLB to cover for Lloyd’s injury and immediately left in UFA after the season and stayed at OLB… he had huge potential at ILB… (8.5 sacks in 94 at RILB?) He returned in 06 for a half a year as a backup… but its hard to really slot him against the lifetime ILBs…
5. The last Honorable mention is Sean Spense… the kid blew out his leg in gruesome fashion before ever playing a snap. He worked hard to get back and after two years of rehab played in 35 games over two separate stints for us. He started 17 games… his stats weren’t eye popping, and he never regained his speed or quickness after the injury…. But the guy had moxie and certainly would have been better player without bending his leg the wrong way…..
Group B The Best of the Scrubs, Converts, and Backups
1. Jerry Olsavsky- Consummate pro and career backup here. From 89-97 he played in 108 games, started 37, then left for a year in Baltimore. As far as backups go, he was hands down the best type….
2. Jon Bostic- Career Journeyman, but a dang good one, played a year here and filled the starters role for 14 games… not exactly the speedster we needed in the role and Vince was better suited for the runstopper role… left to start in Washington
3. Robin Cole- Converted from OLB in the dead years of the 1980’s.. had a 4 year stint at ILB with little impact.
4. Loren Toews* look the guy was 4-3 LB shoehorned into an ILB spot for two seasons at the end of his career… he wasn’t a Backup, but he really wasn’t an ILB either….
5. Marc Barron- He was brought in in case Bush wasn’t ready, and Bush was… he played in 15 games, started 9, had a pick and 3 sacks… he could have been serviceable at a lower cap hit….
Group A1 The great playmaking starters
1. Jack Lambert… yeah he only started 26 games at ILB and the rest were MLB… even in his early 30’s he was impactful… he was the best MLB the team ever had and it carried over to ILB
2. James Farrior- Farrior is woefully underrated because he played in a division with Ray Lewis and concurrently with Urlacher as well… the NFL used to limit MLB selections to reflect 43 type rosters, limiting ILB selections… this led to him repeatedly getting shunned (much like Kirkland before him) Most of the defensive stats stretch back into the 80’s, so its hard to compare modern guys to the pre stats era guys, but for the former, Farrior finishes extremely high in almost every category… among ILBMLBs he was 4th all time in TFL and passes defensed, 9th in sacks and QB hits (they only have counted qb hits since 06…), 7th in tackles… the only stat he wasn’t top ten in was interceptions…. He also led the D to two championships as the signal caller and was doing that before the headsets came into play….
3. Levon Kirkland, like Farrior he only made two pro bowls and 1 1st team all pro. That was a travesty for a player who was basically a dlineman with LB speed for that era. He played up to 300 lbs… and was in coverage often. Many of those super exotic Dick Lebeau blitzes were thanks to his versatility. He was also an immovable object in the runstopping game.
4. Hardy Nickerson- He’d be higher on this list had he played his whole career with the Steelers. I totally expect him to make the HOF one day based off of his time in Tampa, but he started 61 games for us over 6 years. He had 426 tackles and 9.5 sacks to go with a pick, 5 FF and 4 FR…. One could only image what he could have done paired with LK in the Blitzburgh defenses of the 90’s
5. Lawrence Timmons- Woefully underrated by Steelernation, He started 126 games for the steelers… had 983 tackles, 66 TFL, 12 interceptions, 43 pass defenses, 13 FF and 7 FR… he ties Farrior for 9th in MLB/ILB sacks since 82 with 35.5… he had an amazing 83 QB hits, which since they added it in 06 has been 2nd among ILBs and MLBs
Group A2 the other starters.
6. Larry Foote – Started 105 games over 11 seasons for us. This included two super bowl wins. He was the reliable runstopper to farrior’s playmaker, but he did have 21 sacks for us and 3 picks. He had 27 TFL’s… he was just solid through and through
7. Vince Williams- Like foote he is a runstopper with few coverage stats… he is probably the best passrusher of the runstopping ilbs we employed… in 8 seasons with us he has 20.5 sacks
8. Earl Holmes- Holmes started for 5 of his 6 years here forming a formidable pair with Kirkland. He had 79 starts and 546 tackles during that time 35 TFL’s… just 9.5 sacks 1 pick and 14 pass defenses… he forced 3 fumbles and recovered 4… he wasn’t spectacular but he was as solid as you get
9. David Little- Little was the consistent ILB during the pre cowher 80’s era. His numbers aren’t bad but they had little success as a team during his tenure
This list covers the 3-4 ILBs… it doesn’t really apply to pre 1980 MLB’s in the 4-3, with the notable exception of Lambert, who crossed over eras, but his impact was mostly previous to the 3-4 as the MLB in the 70’s…
I tried to include as many as possible... some just didn't merit any thought... like Sylvestor… and I didn't add every guy on the roster right now, like Williamson or Spillane
I grouped them as:
Group C will be the Honorable mentions and Incompletes -due to injury or other events all of these guys could have been (or in the future for one may be) significant impact players for the D had things gone better for them or us
Group B will Be the Backup or single year starters or guys that converted to ILB at the ends of their careers.....
Group A will be the long term starting Ilbs and broken into two subgroups…
A1- The stars or near stars- these were the playmakers and superstars of the ILB crew
A2 The solid guys **These guys weren’t the flashy playmakers. They usually took the strong side positions and left the other LB’s to cover, rush, and make splash plays.. These guys are like Guards on the Oline… they aren’t getting the media love but their jobs are essential to the defense…
Obviously these are opinion based, so feel free to call me a dumbass...
Group C Honorable mentions / incomplete
1. ***Let me start with a special place for Ryan Shazier… I believe the sky was the limit for that guy, and it was a damn Shame what happened to him. He Started 5 games as a rookie, and 41 overall in his 3 ½ year career here… yet had magnificent stats… 299 tackles, 25 TFL, 7 sacks and 7 ints…25 Pass defenses… The guy was an impact player and future all pro or even HOF player… if his stats and impact had held up he’d easily be the #2 or maybe even eventually the #1 player on this list… Unfortunately he simply denotes a special mention….
2. Second on this list is going to be Devon Bush, it’s his second year… there just isn’t enough to place him on the list yet. He started 15 games as a rookie, and 5 more this year before the injury… he had 2 interceptions, 2 sacks, 135 tackles ( 9 tfl), 7 pass defenses, a forced fumble and 4 recoveries…
3. Third is Kendrell Bell, like Shazier he started 3 years for us and then was Injured at the start of the 4th and never totally recovered… his rookie season was maybe the best defensive performance by a rookie in steelers history that 3 years and 3 games period, he had 18 sacks, an INT, 2FF, 2FR, 6 PD, 240 tackles(52 TFL)
4. Fourth is Chad Brown. His wasn’t a personal injury that sunk his ILB career here, but rather a teammates…. still It was hard to determine where he belongs…I put him in this group.
His first three years he started 35 games at RILB for us. He 218 tackles, 17 sacks 2 FF and a pick… he then had to switch to OLB to cover for Lloyd’s injury and immediately left in UFA after the season and stayed at OLB… he had huge potential at ILB… (8.5 sacks in 94 at RILB?) He returned in 06 for a half a year as a backup… but its hard to really slot him against the lifetime ILBs…
5. The last Honorable mention is Sean Spense… the kid blew out his leg in gruesome fashion before ever playing a snap. He worked hard to get back and after two years of rehab played in 35 games over two separate stints for us. He started 17 games… his stats weren’t eye popping, and he never regained his speed or quickness after the injury…. But the guy had moxie and certainly would have been better player without bending his leg the wrong way…..
Group B The Best of the Scrubs, Converts, and Backups
1. Jerry Olsavsky- Consummate pro and career backup here. From 89-97 he played in 108 games, started 37, then left for a year in Baltimore. As far as backups go, he was hands down the best type….
2. Jon Bostic- Career Journeyman, but a dang good one, played a year here and filled the starters role for 14 games… not exactly the speedster we needed in the role and Vince was better suited for the runstopper role… left to start in Washington
3. Robin Cole- Converted from OLB in the dead years of the 1980’s.. had a 4 year stint at ILB with little impact.
4. Loren Toews* look the guy was 4-3 LB shoehorned into an ILB spot for two seasons at the end of his career… he wasn’t a Backup, but he really wasn’t an ILB either….
5. Marc Barron- He was brought in in case Bush wasn’t ready, and Bush was… he played in 15 games, started 9, had a pick and 3 sacks… he could have been serviceable at a lower cap hit….
Group A1 The great playmaking starters
1. Jack Lambert… yeah he only started 26 games at ILB and the rest were MLB… even in his early 30’s he was impactful… he was the best MLB the team ever had and it carried over to ILB
2. James Farrior- Farrior is woefully underrated because he played in a division with Ray Lewis and concurrently with Urlacher as well… the NFL used to limit MLB selections to reflect 43 type rosters, limiting ILB selections… this led to him repeatedly getting shunned (much like Kirkland before him) Most of the defensive stats stretch back into the 80’s, so its hard to compare modern guys to the pre stats era guys, but for the former, Farrior finishes extremely high in almost every category… among ILBMLBs he was 4th all time in TFL and passes defensed, 9th in sacks and QB hits (they only have counted qb hits since 06…), 7th in tackles… the only stat he wasn’t top ten in was interceptions…. He also led the D to two championships as the signal caller and was doing that before the headsets came into play….
3. Levon Kirkland, like Farrior he only made two pro bowls and 1 1st team all pro. That was a travesty for a player who was basically a dlineman with LB speed for that era. He played up to 300 lbs… and was in coverage often. Many of those super exotic Dick Lebeau blitzes were thanks to his versatility. He was also an immovable object in the runstopping game.
4. Hardy Nickerson- He’d be higher on this list had he played his whole career with the Steelers. I totally expect him to make the HOF one day based off of his time in Tampa, but he started 61 games for us over 6 years. He had 426 tackles and 9.5 sacks to go with a pick, 5 FF and 4 FR…. One could only image what he could have done paired with LK in the Blitzburgh defenses of the 90’s
5. Lawrence Timmons- Woefully underrated by Steelernation, He started 126 games for the steelers… had 983 tackles, 66 TFL, 12 interceptions, 43 pass defenses, 13 FF and 7 FR… he ties Farrior for 9th in MLB/ILB sacks since 82 with 35.5… he had an amazing 83 QB hits, which since they added it in 06 has been 2nd among ILBs and MLBs
Group A2 the other starters.
6. Larry Foote – Started 105 games over 11 seasons for us. This included two super bowl wins. He was the reliable runstopper to farrior’s playmaker, but he did have 21 sacks for us and 3 picks. He had 27 TFL’s… he was just solid through and through
7. Vince Williams- Like foote he is a runstopper with few coverage stats… he is probably the best passrusher of the runstopping ilbs we employed… in 8 seasons with us he has 20.5 sacks
8. Earl Holmes- Holmes started for 5 of his 6 years here forming a formidable pair with Kirkland. He had 79 starts and 546 tackles during that time 35 TFL’s… just 9.5 sacks 1 pick and 14 pass defenses… he forced 3 fumbles and recovered 4… he wasn’t spectacular but he was as solid as you get
9. David Little- Little was the consistent ILB during the pre cowher 80’s era. His numbers aren’t bad but they had little success as a team during his tenure
