Who is the greatest NFL Linebacker of all time?

Personally, Ray Lewis is mine. His labels say enough, 7 time probowler(could have been eight but he declined to let Bart Scott go) two time defensive player of the year, Super bowl 35 MVP, with many other lesser titles but I won't mention those, I would be up all night. He has the perfect size, 6'1" 245, runs a 4:40 forty, and he plays the game how its supposed to be played, with nastiness, leadership(to the entire league), and a good amount of smack talk to go with it. He has played 11 years, been injured for two of them so its like he has played nine years, put up 1400 tackles, 28 sacks, 23 interceptions, and many more impressive stats. Overall Ray is the best(and still is the best and will be for years to come), if you disagree please argue your point, im very interested in how anyone could disagree.

Who is the greatest NFL Linebacker of all time?nba score

My top 5 are Ray Lewis; Lawrence Taylor; Dick Butkus; Mike Singletary and Ray Nietzsche

Who is the greatest NFL Linebacker of all time?jerseys ,nba teams

well, u have a great point. but i think there are a few more that are more noticable. like mike singletary. he led one of (if not the) finest defences in history. then there's dick butkus*sp. he is known for his nastiness. then u got the great steelers linebacker jack lambert. he was nasty, he called plays and unlike many, his plays were right. he was extremely talented and ran one of the premire defences ever as well. the steel curtain. You also have to include Chuck Bednarik. he gave such a devestating hit to Frank Gifford that it pretty much ended his career. he was pretty much the roughest linebacker ever. then there's Joe Schmidt. he was the best olb of all time in my opinion. there's also Lee Roy Jordan. he was one of the best tacklers in the league. he was part of the doomsday device of dallas. so take ur pick. but like i said, just let Ray Lewis finish up his career and let him finish racking up his stats and im sure he'll always be mentioned with the best. he's a definate future hall of famer. well hope this helps.

o and also to all of those people talking about "the real L.T." the only reason he was so good was cuz of "enhansments" so in my opinion that should be thrown out of the drawing. he's a lousy cheater.
Why don't you line up against all the top ones and let them take a run at you and find out, first hand, up and personal. That is like saying, "Who is the best QB ever?" Don't say Joe Montana or Tom Brady either. They both had an all-star cast of players on their teams to help shoulder their teams. If I had to vote, I would go with Dick Butkus, because his era and name come up automatically when LB is mentioned. When I hear Ray Lewis I think "trouble with the law".
Brian urlacher
Lawrence Taylor. He is the quarterback rush. Theres all this talk about steriods in sports today. Just think he did what he did strung out on cocaine. A relaxent. He was a drug addict and dominanted the NFL. Buuuuuuuuuuuuut (argue all you want) Shawne Merriman. Led the league in sacks missing four games took full responsibilty for the steriod charges and it was proven he only took them for one game in which he only had 1 sack. and the nickname lights out..... in highschool in the first half of a game he knocked 3 quarterbacks (all three) unconcious and 1 WR and the ref threw him out for the safety of the other team. If merriman keeps it up he will be the all-time leader in sacks and will go down as one of if not THE best LB if all time. he plays just like Lawrence Taylor.
Dick butkis.
Lawrence Taylor was clearly the best Linebacker ever he was the perfect linebacker he has 132 career sacks (Most ever by a Linebacker) he was named MVP in 1986 he has 9 career interceptions he has 33 forced fumbles and 12 fumbles recovered, he has over 1100 career tackles he had amazing speed, strength, he was a hard hitter he intimidated any QB due to the fact that he was a sacking machine he has tons of NFL records, he went to 10 straight Pro Bowls, he was also 3 time Defensive Player Of The Year, he was about 6'3 240-50 pounds, he was simply the perfect linebacker.

That's why I think he is the greatest Linebacker of All-Time, Ray Lewis is definetly one of the top Linebackers every but Lawrence Taylor is the best Linebacker ever.
Jack Lambert, Mike Singletary, Lawrence Taylor, Dick Butkus, etc.

If you ask him who he plays like, he'll probably say these guys. He's a great player but these guys are legends.
I would have to say Lawrence Taylor. He was also the greatest Defensive player who ever lived. His size, 6' 4" and 260 was perfect. He was also usually the fastest guy out on the field, and because of it, teams had to rewrite the playbooks around him because of his unbeliveable speed and ability to be anywhere on the feild in a matter of seconds. And theres no way Ray Lewis runs a 4.4 today.

You also have to put Mike Singletary and Dick Butkus up there.
Dick Butkus or Mike Singletary

GO BEARS!!!
agreed

that was my answer as i clicked on the question
jack lambert of the steelers
Lewis is great, not the greatest of all time though; currently I would consider Urlacher as a better choice than Ray, though it is very close.

For a the physical stats you have, and the accolades, Urlacher can flat out cover guys in the open field, which is where it seems he is better than Ray Lewis. Lewis has also been blessed with some great players where Brian has had good players.

All time brings about the different eras of the league, and you'd have to wonder how Ray would do; there is the argument of his nastiness would work out, but chopping defenders was as legal as clothesline tackles. The muddy fields and poor turf would have countered his speed in the later parts of the season. Today's fields are kept in immaculate shape and many stadiums have field turf; and of course the players play differently. Ditka, Jim Brown, Kellen Winslow, Van Eagan, et al. didn't run out of bounds they ran until they collided with someone. On that not, I wonder how Urlacher would far in Butkus' time.

Zach Thomas also needs to be mentioned a bit, as he was drafted 154th in the same year that Ray Lewis was a first round pick. Yet any defense with one of these 3 would be better.
i would agree hes a beast
Yes..Taylor Hands Down, Drugs or not,..but he was never 260 at playing weight, he was around 242-245(maybe he reported to camp once at 250 and Parcells made him run around the field 20 times until he lost some water weight!!!)
Lawrence Taylor revolutionized the position. He was faster and stronger than any who came before him. Before him, linebackers were typically big, slow, behemoths who were very skilled at getting in the way of offenses rather than chasing them down. His numbers might not be the same-- some might be better--but although Ray Lewis is an amazing player, linebackers today are a lot like him. Most aren't as talented--see Urlacher and Briggs of Chicago--but the style they try to play with is very similar to his. Taylor had a style all his own which transformed the position on a whole.
I have a pair of HOF Jack's that disagree : Ham and Lambert. Both of whom have more Pro Bowls more INTS and more rings than Ray Lewis.
BUTKUS!
LT
Mike Singletary hands down
Ray is VERY good. Definately at the top, but my pick is Lawrence Taylor. He redefined how linebackers play. Revolutionized pass rush. Don't have his numbers on hand but I know they were very good.
The original LT, Lawrence Taylor.
NO freaking way

The best defensive player and thus linebacker is lawrence taylor

NFL All-Pro: 8 years

Pro Bowl: 10 years

All-1980s Decade Team

There has been no defensive player like him...PERIOD!!!
Ray Lewis
Lawrence Taylor

Ray Nitchski

Dick Butkis

Derrick Thomas

Ted Hendrix

Ray Lewis

Brain Urlacher
Dick Butkis
Derrick Thomas.

Just looking at his stats: 126? sacks and 649 tackles in 10 NFL seasons. That's unheard of, plus the single-game record for sacks(7). I think he would easily have quite a few NFL records if he hadn't been killed.
Dick Butkus - Chicago Bears. 8 time pro-bowler. 6 time All-NFL. Member of the Pro-Football Hall of Fame. Named by the NFL in 2000 as a member of the All-Time team. 6'3" 250, and defined the position of middle linebacker (hence the Butkus Award). In 9 seasons, put up 1020 tackles, 489 assists, 22 interceptions and 27 fumble recoveries, one for a touchdown (sacks were not a statistic until after his retirement. His career was shortened due to a serious knee injury. With today's medical technology, there is no telling how much longer he could have played and what stats he would have amassed. He played the game at only one speed - 100 percent all the time. He was the most feared player of his era. Lewis is good, but Butkus is the measure by which Lewis and all others are measured.
The Original was LT........Before him it "Could" have been Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson who Dallas used on a kickoff return and he ran it back for a TD.

Ray Lewis is great, Dick Butkis%26amp;Ray Nitzski(wrong spelling) were great in their time
Anyone who doesn't answer Lawrence Taylor needs to get their brains checked. Lawrence Taylor changed the way Offense was played. You moved on offense depending on the way Lawrence Taylor was playing.
got 2 go w/ Urlacher. he'll just get better with the years even when he's getting old (4 football). He'll be just as good or better then Ray Lewis