Maybe, if you're arguing nuances of positions but I'd argue you're wrong in this assumption.

DTs and ERs that rack up big sack totals now probably wouldn't have done the same 30 years ago when there was a larger focus on running the football. That's what makes what John Randle did in terms of sacks just a tad bit more impressive than what Donald has done, in my mind. If Donald plays as long, he surely passes Randle in sacks but he will have a lot more passing plays against him to have pulled it off. That and I think you look at the type of more complete DT you had to be at that point to stop the rushing attacks. So, the way Donald dominates is not the same and not necessarily equivalent to the past.

I think, when you look at the off-ball linebacker in today's NFL then yes, it's a harder game that requires better coverage skills and more speed/quickness than in the past. The days of thumpers that will damn near kill you over the middle and fire downhill often to attack the run are pretty well a thing of the past. Today's linebackers are dominant in different ways. You don't get to see the big, smashing hits and nasty players going toe-to-toe with offensive guards much but you do get to see a more athletic player do great things in stringing out and stopping outside zone and covering bigger TEs in space and so forth. Is it less impressive at how dominant a player was 30 years ago at the position? I don't think so. I couldn't imagine guys like Fred Warner, Darius Leonard, and Deion Jones having been the players they are now in the 70's and 80's. I certainly doubt they would have made it as linebackers.

The list goes on, right. Just different times, different player types, highly evolved offenses, etc. It's always hard to say "best player of all time" at any position. We don't really know how good player x would be in place of player y if they played in opposite eras.
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FWIW, Pro Football Reference has Donald listed as 7th on their Hall of Fame monitor amongst DTs. Not sure how they handle that for guys who played before sacks were kept as an official stat.

Still pretty crazy for a guy who’s only played 7 seasons.
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Anyone with a link to some Tim Ward film from said games? I guess i never noticed.
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I really don't get some people.

What are the reasons we lost the SB?

1) Orange parking cones would've slowed down the Bucs pass rush better than the guys we had out there
2) Officials decided to call PI if a defensive player so much as looked at a WR wrong.

So Veach goes out and completely rebuilds the offensive line.

Now we're really worried about 'what if they play Jones at DE'.

Good lord, people.

We fixed problem #1. Can't do much about #2.

Does anybody really think that barring a rash of key injuries this isn't a team poised for another SB run? Because it is.
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Well, our front 7 got it's dick kicked in as well, but that was overshadowed by the offensive issues.

They did what they could.
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Steve Spagnuolo said they will play Chris Jones on the outside, and it sounds as though it will be quite a bit. That's been assumed. Now it's been said.

— Sam McDowell (@SamMcDowell11) June 3, 2021

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Spags, just said with Chris Jones, the amount he may slide out to DE in a given week could be determined by who the #chiefs are playing.

— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) June 3, 2021

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This podcast with Craig, Matt and Kent talks all about this in detail




But what they say about LB is even crazier.





I started it when they start talking about Hitchens
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I strictly listen to podcasts normally and im very upset about how these men actually look.
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Not surprising about Hitchens, many of us have said the same thing. The ability to call Spags' defense in real time from the field cannot be underestimated.
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I didn't like the Bolton pick and was convinced how good he is but also I thought either Gay or Bolton would eventually be Hitchens' replacement.


If he gets another contract then I have to say I don't really understand the Bolton pick when Terrace Marshall was on the board. I trust Veach and maybe Marshall's injury is bad? We'll see I guess
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I honestly thought Bolton would replace Hitchens but maybe they plan on playing Bolton on the weak side?
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Hitchens is gone after this year and Bolton was drafted to be his replacement. It couldn’t be more obvious.
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I thought it was obvious but that conversation was a little bit more than just typical coach speak.

I still think Bolton is going to be the MLB going forward but you have to wonder.
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I honestly don’t think it means anything at all. It’s a position coach, and a new one at that.

I’d imagine part of it is also letting Hitchens know he’s valued and appreciated despite drafting LB’s in back to back years, one of which seems to be his future replacement
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