EJ Henderson
Just because he was a really great Viking and one of my favorite players ever. I remember how excited and absolutely stunned I was that we were able to get him in the second round after watching him dominate in college at Maryland. Would absolutely lay the lumber on anybody and when we had the Williams wall in front of him, nobody was running on us. Definitely miss those days..
Guy had a nonstop motor...was at the AZ game..sad
van@"Vanguard83" said:
Guy had a nonstop motor...was at the AZ game..sad
me too,
slip sliding away was the team.
Arizona was accused of tampering with the turf, only a certain type of cleat would allow proper footing.
No Viking had such cleats and all Arizona players did.
I know we've had some great ones, but fair question:
Is EJ the greatest linebacker in Vikings history?
I think it's a close call between EJ, Studwell, and Chad Greenway. EJ was just a different beast though..
If we have a healthy EJ, we don't lose to the Saints. Jasper did very well in filling in that year for a rookie, but EJ was playing on a premier level that year.
One or two plays would have made all the difference in that game.
@"supafreak84" said: I know we've had some great ones, but fair question:Is EJ the greatest linebacker in Vikings history?
I think it's a close call between EJ, Studwell, and Chad Greenway. EJ was just a different beast though..
You might be too young to remember Jeff Sieman but he belongs in the conversation.
@"Knucklehead" said:@"supafreak84" said: I know we've had some great ones, but fair question:Is EJ the greatest linebacker in Vikings history?
I think it's a close call between EJ, Studwell, and Chad Greenway. EJ was just a different beast though..
You might be too young to remember Jeff Sieman but he belongs in the conversation.
Wally Hilgenberg and Roy Winston were really good too.
Matt Blair should be getting some love.. no?
@"Knucklehead" said:@"supafreak84" said: I know we've had some great ones, but fair question:Is EJ the greatest linebacker in Vikings history?
I think it's a close call between EJ, Studwell, and Chad Greenway. EJ was just a different beast though..
You might be too young to remember Jeff Sieman but he belongs in the conversation.
Yeah my earliest Viking memories start in the mid-80's so I don't remember him.Interesting though that our linebackers have always throughout our franchise history been overshadowed by some of the greatest defensive lines in NFL history. We've had some really good ones. Kendricks should also be mentioned in this conversation. His first few years in the league were incredible as the leader of Zimmers defense. Incredible instincts for the position. He was like a Greg Biekert with actual athletic talent
Jeff Sieman came out of Sanford...He was a big thug with a lot of intelligence. He could stop a back in his tracks...
@"supafreak84" said: I know we've had some great ones, but fair question:Is EJ the greatest linebacker in Vikings history?
I think it's a close call between EJ, Studwell, and Chad Greenway. EJ was just a different beast though..
That's a good question. But I think it's a pretty easy one: Matt Blair. 6 consecutive Pro Bowls. No other Viking LB came close to that.
I've seen some put Studwell ahead of him, which is silly to me. And I say this as a huge Studwell fan. He was my favorite player back then. But I think he tends to be overrated a bit because he was so damned likable. Who didn't want to be Scott Studwell growing up? I mean the blood, the eye black, the stare, the neckroll, a name like Scott STUDwell. It's central casting.
@"MaroonBells" said:@"supafreak84" said: I know we've had some great ones, but fair question:Is EJ the greatest linebacker in Vikings history?
I think it's a close call between EJ, Studwell, and Chad Greenway. EJ was just a different beast though..
That's a good question. But I think it's a pretty easy one: Matt Blair. 6 consecutive Pro Bowls. No other Viking LB came close to that.I've seen some put Studwell ahead of him, which is silly to me. And I say this as a huge Studwell fan. He was my favorite player back then. But I think he tends to be overrated a bit because he was so damned likable. Who didn't want to be Scott Studwell growing up? I mean the blood, the eye black, the stare, the neckroll, a name like Scott STUDwell. It's central casting.
Scott studell attended the same college (Illinois I believe) as Dick Butkus breaking his college tackling record.
@"MaroonBells" said:@"supafreak84" said: I know we've had some great ones, but fair question:Is EJ the greatest linebacker in Vikings history?
I think it's a close call between EJ, Studwell, and Chad Greenway. EJ was just a different beast though..
That's a good question. But I think it's a pretty easy one: Matt Blair. 6 consecutive Pro Bowls. No other Viking LB came close to that.I've seen some put Studwell ahead of him, which is silly to me. And I say this as a huge Studwell fan. He was my favorite player back then. But I think he tends to be overrated a bit because he was so damned likable. Who didn't want to be Scott Studwell growing up? I mean the blood, the eye black, the stare, the neckroll, a name like Scott STUDwell. It's central casting.
its hard to compare LBs from different teams, Blair had some damn good DLmen in front of him most of his career allowing him freedom to make plays without a lot of OL interference and also played next to Siemen, which made it a pick your poison type of thing. Studwell had some good guys at times as well, but not the type of supporting cast that Blair had, I would think more of a 1A 1B type of thing for me, although I was pretty young for Blairs career so I cant really say for certain.
Definitely before my time, but here is some Matt Blair..
A little off topic, but the Blair highlights reminded me of something interesting I discovered researching different trends from that era, but the amount of interceptions thrown during that time was astronomical. Fran's last year in Minnesota was 1978 and he threw 32 interceptions that year, yes you heard that right...32! Fair to say the passing game leaguewide improved by leaps and bounds over the years along with the emphasis on protecting the football.
Studwell and Del Rio where probably my two favorite MLBs. Sieman was really good too, but I might put Ed McDaniel and EJ ahead of him in that order.
@"JimmyinSD" said:@"MaroonBells" said:@"supafreak84" said: I know we've had some great ones, but fair question:Is EJ the greatest linebacker in Vikings history?
I think it's a close call between EJ, Studwell, and Chad Greenway. EJ was just a different beast though..
That's a good question. But I think it's a pretty easy one: Matt Blair. 6 consecutive Pro Bowls. No other Viking LB came close to that.I've seen some put Studwell ahead of him, which is silly to me. And I say this as a huge Studwell fan. He was my favorite player back then. But I think he tends to be overrated a bit because he was so damned likable. Who didn't want to be Scott Studwell growing up? I mean the blood, the eye black, the stare, the neckroll, a name like Scott STUDwell. It's central casting.
its hard to compare LBs from different teams, Blair had some damn good DLmen in front of him most of his career allowing him freedom to make plays without a lot of OL interference and also played next to Siemen, which made it a pick your poison type of thing. Studwell had some good guys at times as well, but not the type of supporting cast that Blair had, I would think more of a 1A 1B type of thing for me, although I was pretty young for Blairs career so I cant really say for certain.
I think your timing is off.When Blair was a rookie, he had a very old Page, Marshall and Eller, but that was the end of it. He played the bulk of his career in Minnesota post-People People Eaters, with Holloway, Mullaney and James White. That was not a great DL, nor was it a particularly great defense, regularly ranking bottom half. Studwell played on those defenses too, but he was just a guy.
Studwell didn't really get recognized as a good player until late in his career when the Vikings had a ridiculous defense. He had Doleman, Millard and Henry Thomas on the DL and Carl Lee and Joey Browner in the secondary. In the late 80s, the Vikings had the best defense in the NFL, ranking #1 in both '88 and '89.
@"MaroonBells" said:@"JimmyinSD" said:@"MaroonBells" said:@"supafreak84" said: I know we've had some great ones, but fair question:Is EJ the greatest linebacker in Vikings history?
I think it's a close call between EJ, Studwell, and Chad Greenway. EJ was just a different beast though..
That's a good question. But I think it's a pretty easy one: Matt Blair. 6 consecutive Pro Bowls. No other Viking LB came close to that.I've seen some put Studwell ahead of him, which is silly to me. And I say this as a huge Studwell fan. He was my favorite player back then. But I think he tends to be overrated a bit because he was so damned likable. Who didn't want to be Scott Studwell growing up? I mean the blood, the eye black, the stare, the neckroll, a name like Scott STUDwell. It's central casting.
its hard to compare LBs from different teams, Blair had some damn good DLmen in front of him most of his career allowing him freedom to make plays without a lot of OL interference and also played next to Siemen, which made it a pick your poison type of thing. Studwell had some good guys at times as well, but not the type of supporting cast that Blair had, I would think more of a 1A 1B type of thing for me, although I was pretty young for Blairs career so I cant really say for certain.
I think your timing is off.When Blair was a rookie, he had a very old Page, Marshall and Eller, but that was the end of it. He played the bulk of his career in Minnesota post-People People Eaters, with Holloway, Mullaney and James White. That was not a great DL, nor was it a particularly great defense, regularly ranking bottom half. Studwell played on those defenses too, but he was just a guy.
Studwell didn't really get recognized as a good player until late in his career when the Vikings had a ridiculous defense. He had Doleman, Millard and Henry Thomas on the DL and Carl Lee and Joey Browner in the secondary. In the late 80s, the Vikings had the best defense in the NFL, ranking #1 in both '88 and '89.
Blair had 4 or 5 years with the PPE IIRC and was there for 2 or 3 superbowls, Studwell started his career at the end of that run in the late 70s, but you are right, although he was always a favorite of mine as a kid, he didn't get national recognition until the late 80s when the defense sound him was built up, but he was the defense for about the first decade of his career, playing along side Blair.
Pretty cool Studwell highlight package. God I want this team to get back to playing some badass defense...
Larry Csonka, one tough sob in his own right, said that the hardest he ever got hit was by Roy Winston.
Comparing different eras is so difficult. Remember when you had to have a big slow possession WR because no little fast WR was going across the middle?
LBs from the run era are so different from the light and fast coverage LBs of today.
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