Feared defensive intimidators and what the future holds

[AkronsWitness]

Are defensive intimidators extinct and with the NFL rules, is it possible for them to even exist anymore? Who is one in todays NFL, if any? I wanted to start this thread to not only get answers to that question, but give some shine to those 'rough and rugged' defenders from decades past where the rules were a little different that legitimately altered the offensive gameplan. This is half nostalgic, half seeking answers for the current/future NFL landscape.

Have the rules became so altered that its impossible for guys like this to play anymore? Is it like the NFL sneakily killing off the Kick Returner position or is there hope now or in the future by changing technique with similar results?

Some notables:

• Ray Lewis
• Brian Urlacher
• James Harrison
• Lawrence Taylor
• Patrick Willis
• John Lynch
• Brian Dawkins
• Sean Taylor
• Troy Polamalu 
• Steve Atwater
  • Vontaze Burfict
  • Jack Tatum

[Trojan]

I love how Jack Tatum makes the list a good 20 years before anyone else with no peers from his era.

There is no Tatum in today's game.

The linebacker position today is more coverage plus to get recognized as one of the better ones in the game. I think you'll find the intimidating hitters still in the game but they are like quasi-starters in the modern game guys like Denzel Perryman. The run game support safety isn't as hype as when it had Kam Chancellor, but guys like Jamal Adams still try and play that style of game. It kinda makes sense if the RBs aren't valued the defensive players whose job is to stop the run go down as well.

[AkronsWitness]

17 minutes ago, Trojan said:

I love how Jack Tatum makes the list a good 20 years before anyone else with no peers from his era.

There is no Tatum in today's game.

The linebacker position today is more coverage plus to get recognized as one of the better ones in the game. I think you'll find the intimidating hitters still in the game but they are like quasi-starters in the modern game guys like Denzel Perryman. The run game support safety isn't as hype as when it had Kam Chancellor, but guys like Jamal Adams still try and play that style of game. It kinda makes sense if the RBs aren't valued the defensive players whose job is to stop the run go down as well.

Well I included Tatum because he was deliberately abusive whose style wouldn't cater to any era post 1990 lol

[Trojan]

Just now, AkronsWitness said:

Well I included Tatum because he was deliberately abusive whose style wouldn't cater to any era post 1990 lol

He crippled Derek Stingley Jr.'s grandpa

[HerbertGOAT]

The NFL wants high-flying offense. The high-flying style is being drilled into football strategy down to Junior High, with the exceptions of small schools who can't play that style. Speed is the name of the game, and teams and players can't afford to sacrifice speed for toughness or strength in numerous cases. The short answer is no, I don't think there will be many more, if any defensive intimidators like we've seen in the past. Maybe guys like Shaq Leonard, Jamal Adams, or Aaron Donald fit the bill today, but it's a far cry from where the league was even 10 years ago.

[MikeT14]

Is Donald not one of those guy?

[HoboRocket]

2 hours ago, MikeT14 said:

Is Donald not one of those guy?

He is, for sure.

Also, not just a homer take: Budda Baker is the player everyone else wants Jamal Adams to be.

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

20 minutes ago, HoboRocket said:

He is, for sure.

Also, not just a homer take: Budda Baker is the player everyone else wants Jamal Adams to be.

not a single person in the entire world fears Budda Baker in the way this thread is intending.

[ET80]

Intimidators were legislated out of the game via fines and suspensions. The last one we’ll ever see was James Harrison - his $75,000 fine for nearly decapitating Browns WR Mohammad Massaquoi was the meteor that killed these creatures. 

Sure - there are guys who can intimidate with their style of play. But the reckless abandon guys such as Harrison played with? Nah, that’s a quick way to bankruptcy court for a defender, Goodell has plenty of FedEx envelopes and five figure fines to pass out.

[Soko]

Nothing would be stopping a prime Kam Chancellor from wrecking RBs and WRs in the short-intermediate. 

They just don’t make guys like that that often. Same with Patrick Willis, Ray Lewis, Troy Polamalu, etc. Those guys are HOFers for a reason. 

The rules did make it harder on Joe Schmo safety absolutely plastering guys. So smaller guys like a Ryan Clark or a Brandon Meriweather or a Dunta Robinson can’t head hunt. Guys who hit clean but were just incredibly physical (like Kam, Browner, Ray) are just few and far between, especially with emphasis on speed/coverage in today’s game. 

[BetterCallSaul]

No players are big hitters anymore. The best chance of seeing a big hit without a flag is a RB trucking someone. 

Sad how soft football has gotten. Still the best sport, but I miss what it was. 

[Malfatron]

Chuck cecil

[Tugboat]

Leonard has a bit of that too him.  He hits with speed that equals force.

Jamal Adams was this sort of tone-setter but then he went to Seattle and sucked hard.

There are others.  They just aren't as prominent, cut from a little bit of a different mold, and don't get the same accolades and attention as that type of player did back in the day.

 

 

 

The whole game is becoming different though.  The collisions are still violent due to the speed.  But elusiveness and agility are now the prime attributes over physicality.  Even OLinemen, all these "road graders" have disappeared.  It's all about guys who can move nimbly and use technique to execute the system over physically overpowering guys.

[Kiwibrown]

Player safety.