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Originally Posted by Messier
Well, they aren't asking for the best defense they are asking for the best linebacking unit. The Chiefs didn't have nearly the best defense in the 80's but the secondary, (Lewis, Ross, Cherry, and Burruss) is one of the best ever. I think top to bottom the Saints was the best. All four were some of the best of their era, the Giants had two HOfers, and then some okay LB's after that.
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There is something that all those teams have 2 HOFers in their LB corp have in common...
they all won a SB. Elite players make a huge difference. You have to have some of the best players of all time to be the best unit of all time. It would be like Buffalo arguing those '90s teams were the best of all time. Without the ring, it's just not credible. Without HOFers you just can't make the arguement that you're the best ever no matter how good you are from top to bottom.
That NO group just didn't have any elite players. To see who is elite you have to look at either HOF or consensus All-Pro. Consensus All-Pro is much more selective than making the Pro-Bowl. From 1986 to 1992 the years the NO group was together, you have a six year period. There were four consensus All-pros selected each of those years. So that is 24 slots. 24 chances to be the best in the league during their reign of "greatness". NO took 4 of those slots. Not bad. But during the same period, the Giants took 5 and Lawrence Taylor wasn't even playing in some of those years. If you are not leading the league in consensus All-Pros at your position during the time of your greatness, it makes a really tough claim to be the best unit of all time.
Consensus All-Pros
1986: Taylor, Marshall, Singletary, Mecklenburg
1987: Tippett, Banks, Young, Singletary
1988: Bennett, Taylor, Singletary, Conlan
1989: Harris, Taylor, Singletary, Mecklenburg
1990: Thomas, Haley, Offerdahl, Johnson
1991: Swilling, Thomas, Mills, Smith
1992: Marshall, Jackson, Seau, Mills
Source: The ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia (First Edition)