Darrelle Revis, Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas- the last all-time great DB's?

[Goo Punch 4275]

I'll try to keep this simple- how can we expect DB's to thrive for 5, 6, 7+ years in today's league? With all of the rules in favor of the offense, with offensive schemes and tactics as advanced as they are, with how freakish the WR's of today are, and with the emergence of TE's who are pass catching monsters, it seems unfair to expect any DB to have that type of lasting success going forward. I can name a ton of DB's who I grew up idolizing- Deion, Westbrook, Reed, Polamalu, a couple of guys named Woodson, etc. Does anyone else feel like we'll be seeing fewer and fewer truly great DB's going forward?

[EZ$ 2102]

Earl Thomas is (was) a very good player, but he’s not in the same category as the other true “greats” you mentioned.  

[Jkwellborn 6656]

Rules are slanted to favor the offense. A lot of guys that we think were great cover guys got away with a ton of shit. Looking at you Revis. Not saying they aren’t badass, but once you get a rep for locking down someone, you get the benefit of the doubt from the refs.

[Helobious 9483]

12 minutes ago, Goo Punch said:

Does anyone else feel like we'll be seeing fewer and fewer truly great DB's going forward?

No

[TommyGufano 6021]

1 minute ago, EZ$ said:

Earl Thomas is (was) a very good player, but he’s not in the same category as the other true “greats” you mentioned.  

Better than Sherman, imo.

Patrick Peterson probably among this group as well. Though public opinion of him is higher than my personal opinion is.

[staboner 4959]

4 minutes ago, EZ$ said:

Earl Thomas is (was) a very good player, but he’s not in the same category as the other true “greats” you mentioned.  

completely disagree. For about 3 to 4 years at his peak in Seattle one could argue he was their best player and maybe the best player in the league on that side of the ball. He was the guy that let all the others guys specialize in their own bit - sherman and chancellor. His range and brain were just otherworldly in this time frame. He is like 29 or 30 now and not even close to what he used to be. Thats young to slip as much as he has, but I always thought he was a small dude that bulked up bigtime to play in the NFL and that just can't last for long. 

[Neonmoon 38127]

21 minutes ago, Goo Punch said:

I'll try to keep this simple- how can we expect DB's to thrive for 5, 6, 7+ years in today's league? With all of the rules in favor of the offense, with offensive schemes and tactics as advanced as they are, with how freakish the WR's of today are, and with the emergence of TE's who are pass catching monsters, it seems unfair to expect any DB to have that type of lasting success going forward. I can name a ton of DB's who I grew up idolizing- Deion, Westbrook, Reed, Polamalu, a couple of guys named Woodson, etc. Does anyone else feel like we'll be seeing fewer and fewer truly great DB's going forward?

 

8 minutes ago, Helobious said:

No

And we are done here 

[EZ$ 2102]

Ok, I can see an argument for him being better than Revis and Sherman, but not Deion, the Woodsons or guys like that.  Those guys are first ballot HOFs, Earl isn’t. 
 

[Goo Punch 4275]

13 minutes ago, EZ$ said:

Ok, I can see an argument for him being better than Revis and Sherman, but not Deion, the Woodsons or guys like that.  Those guys are first ballot HOFs, Earl isn’t. 
 

i never compared him to any of them. I listed them as guys who i looked up to growing up. Earl, Sherman, and Revis are three of the more recent guys who've played at it near an all-pro level for 5+ years. 

Edited January 14, 2020 by Goo Punch

[CfRhTxStBobcats 600]

Darrell Green seemed like he played forever, and was pretty damn good most of those years so I'd put him near the top of the list. I hated the guy back when I gave a damn about the cowboys and pro football. 

[TommyGufano 6021]

15 minutes ago, Goo Punch said:

i never compared him to any of them. I listed them as guys who i looked up to growing up. Earl, Sherman, and Revis are three of the more recent guys who've played at it near an all-pro level for 5+ years. 

I don't know if I fully understand the link between improved offensive weapons/ rules favoring offense and the affect on the longevity of the best DBs. Why would the length of time they're better than their peers decrease?

Edited January 14, 2020 by TommyGufano

[Beau Vine 54010]

8 minutes ago, TommyGufano said:

I don't know if I fully understand the link between improved offensive weapons/ rules favoring offense and the affect on the longevity of the best DBs. Why would the length of time they're better than their peers decrease?

This.  

[Jkwellborn 6656]

Darrell Green seemed like he played forever, and was pretty damn good most of those years so I'd put him near the top of the list. I hated the guy back when I gave a damn about the cowboys and pro football. 

Dude stayed fast forever too.

[immortal13 4059]

Why would they be the "last" great DB's? That doesn't make any fucking sense. 

[TexEx15 17488]

Love me some Earl but man this was ugly.

 

[Goo Punch 4275]

38 minutes ago, TommyGufano said:

I don't know if I fully understand the link between improved offensive weapons/ rules favoring offense and the affect on the longevity of the best DBs. Why would the length of time they're better than their peers decrease?

it's tougher to play the position than its ever been. i mean is it even possible to have one guy shut down half the field anymore with today's schemes and athletes? i'm seriously asking, because i don't know that it is. take for example tre'davious white or minkah fitzpatrick, two of the current young studs of the defensive backfield. for me, and maybe i'm in the minority here, today's game presents more challenges to them than it did to, say, Troy Polamalu. to me that makes it harder to play at an all pro level year in/year out. and so i guess what i'm saying is not that we will no longer have great DB's, just that it is only becoming harder and harder to be great year after year, the way so many DBs have in the past. 

Edited January 14, 2020 by Goo Punch

[hpslugga 4049]

2 hours ago, Jkwellborn said:

Rules are slanted to favor the offense.

No they aren’t. They’ve historically been severely slanted to favor the defense, some of that has been scaled back a tad, and defensive coaches are throwing shitfits about it. That “rules favor the offense” stuff is all hype.

[WJC88 97]

2 hours ago, Helobious said:

No

I agree.

See Darryl Stingley Jr for why I agree. 

[Chad 1728]

5 hours ago, TexEx15 said:

Love me some Earl but man this was ugly.

 

That's a game Earl is going to want to forget. Henry also executed the Tebow jump pass and burned Earl through the air as well.

 

Edited January 14, 2020 by Chad

[pacman 7331]

4 hours ago, hpslugga said:

No they aren’t. They’ve historically been severely slanted to favor the defense, some of that has been scaled back a tad, and defensive coaches are throwing shitfits about it. That “rules favor the offense” stuff is all hype.

Stephon Gilmore

Jalen Ramsey

Xavien Howard

Slay

Peterson (bad year this year)

Byron Jones

Harris at DEN

Hayward

Bouye

tough, very good cornerbacks seem a dime a dozen these days, teams just play 3 to 4 WRs so they are bound to find a bad DB matchup in there somewhere

I'd put Pro Bowl CB as one of the toughest competitions/votes in the NFL imo.

[Goo Punch 4275]

not talking about pro bowl DB's, talking about HOF level DBs. the entire premise is that it's much harder to sustain a pro bowl/all pro level of play for 5+ years as a DB than it used to be. nobody is saying there are no good DBs. 

[mulletpelini 5210]

You gotta figure the league will just turn to LSU for all DB needs going forward.

[JBJ 3649]

Two of the Woodson's aren't even in the HOF.  It's just a harder position to judge because stats are such a driver of perception.

[TommyGufano 6021]

1 hour ago, JBJ said:

Two of the Woodson's aren't even in the HOF.  It's just a harder position to judge because stats are such a driver of perception.

A. How many Woodsons are there?

B. Rod is in and Charles isn't eligible until 2021. 

[JBJ 3649]

[ousux 5587]

DB's will adapt to the rules being stacked against them, there will be more greats..just fewer and further between.

[mulletpelini 5210]

17 hours ago, JBJ said:

Two of the Woodson's aren't even in the HOF.  It's just a harder position to judge because stats are such a driver of perception.

Maybe he meant Wooderson

[HOOK'EMHOOAH 1606]

The players will adjust. It may take a decade or two, but they will adjust and there will be balance in how dominant the defenses are over a given offense, player, or scheme.

[hookem48 4631]

On 1/13/2020 at 9:31 PM, staboner said:

completely disagree. For about 3 to 4 years at his peak in Seattle one could argue he was their best player and maybe the best player in the league on that side of the ball. He was the guy that let all the others guys specialize in their own bit - sherman and chancellor. His range and brain were just otherworldly in this time frame. He is like 29 or 30 now and not even close to what he used to be. Thats young to slip as much as he has, but I always thought he was a small dude that bulked up bigtime to play in the NFL and that just can't last for long. 

no, Sherman locking down his side allowed Earl to roam around.

[TommyGufano 6021]

Scope Seattle's performance with Earl pre- and post injury in 2016. He stirred the drink. Seattle couldn't stop shit (non-Jeff Fisher subdivision) without Earl. Sherman is very good. Bobby Wagner is only player who deserves a discussion with ET for best Seattle defensive player during the teens.

[staboner 4959]

4 hours ago, hookem48 said:

no, Sherman locking down his side allowed Earl to roam around.

no back at you

[JBJ 3649]

Useless comparing two parts that make each other look better.

Richard Sherman wouldn't be able to play as aggressive short and down the sideline if Earl wasn't locking down the seams.

Earl is not able to lock down both seams if he has to cheat to cover for a bad matchup.

[StruggleBus 3922]

5 hours ago, hookem48 said:

no, Sherman locking down his side allowed Earl to roam around.

Agreed. Sherman was without a doubt the best player in their secondary. That not a knock on earl, who was fantastic as well.

[Goo Punch 4275]

"without a doubt".