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Linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, playing closer to the line of scrimmage than the defensive backs (secondary), but farther back than the defensive linemen. As such, linebackers play a hybrid role and are often the most versatile players on the defensive side of the ball; they can be asked to play roles similar to either a defensive lineman (such as stopping the runner on a running play) or a defensive back (such as dropping back into pass coverage). How a linebacker plays their position depends on the defensive alignment, the philosophy of the coaching staff, and the particular play the offense may call. Linebackers are divided into middle linebackers, sometimes called inside linebackers, and outside linebackers. The middle linebacker, often called "Mike", is frequen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Penn State Nittany Lions Football
The Penn State Nittany Lions team represents the Pennsylvania State University in college football. The Nittany Lions compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference, which they joined in 1993 after playing as an Independent from 1892 to 1992. Established in 1887, the Nittany Lions have achieved numerous on-field successes, the most notable of which include two consensus national championships ( 1982 and 1986), four Big Ten Conference Championships (in 1994, 2005, 2008, and 2016), 13 undefeated seasons (1887, 1894, 1909, 1911, 1912, 1920, 1921, 1947, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1986 and 1994) and 50 appearances in college bowl games, with a postseason bowl record of 30-19-2. The team is also #9 in all-time total wins. The Nittany Lions play their home games at Beaver Stadium, located on-campus in University Park, Pennsylvania. With an official seating capacity of 106,572, Beaver Stadium is the second-largest stadium in the western hemis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Lewis
Raymond Anthony Lewis Jr. (born May 15, 1975) is an American former professional football player who played as a middle linebacker with the Baltimore Ravens for his entire 17-year career in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, where he earned All-America honors. Lewis was drafted by the Ravens in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft, and upon his retirement following the 2012 season, was the last remaining active player from the team's inaugural season. Lewis immediately became a leader on defense and led the team in tackles as a rookie, the first of 14 times he led the Ravens in tackles. Lewis pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in connection with the stabbing deaths of two men in 2000. The following season, he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year and led the Ravens' record-setting defense, which established a 16-game single-season record for the fewest points allowed (165) and the fewest rushing yards all ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Julius Taylor (born February 4, 1959), nicknamed "L.T.", is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as an outside linebacker for the New York Giants ( 1981–1993) in the National Football League (NFL). Taylor is widely regarded as one of the greatest linebackers and one of the greatest defensive players of all time. He played college football at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is also widely regarded as one of the greatest college football players ever. After an All-American career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1978–1981), Taylor was drafted by the Giants as the second overall selection in the 1981 NFL Draft. Although controversy surrounded the selection due to Taylor's contract demands, the two sides quickly resolved the issue. Taylor was named both the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1981 and the only NFL player to win the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in his rookie sea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Thomas Dunn
William Thomas "Mother" Dunn (May 13, 1881 – November 17, 1962) was an American college football player who was a linebacker and center for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team of Penn State University. Dunn captained the 1906 Nittany Lion, and that year became the first player outside of the Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight school ... to be selected as an All-American by Walter Camp. He was also the first great linebacker in the history of Penn State's football program, a school that would eventually be nicknamed "Linebacker U" for its history of excellent play at the linebacker position. Dunn was featured on the official 2011 Nittany Lion football schedule poster as part of the celebration of 125 years of Penn State football. External links"The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Nitschke
Raymond Ernest Nitschke (December 29, 1936 – March 8, 1998) was a professional American football middle linebacker who spent his entire 15-year National Football League (NFL) career with the in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in , he was the anchor of the defense for head coach Vince Lombardi in the 1960s, leading the Packers to five NFL championships and victories in the first two Super Bowls. Early life Nitschke was born in Elmwood Park, Illinois, the youngest of three sons to Robert and Anna Nitschke. His father was killed in a car accident in 1940, and his mother died of a blood clot when Ray was 13. Older brothers Robert Jr. (age 21) and Richard (age 17) decided they would raise Ray on their own. Proviso Township High School Nitschke entered Proviso Township High School in Maywood shortly before his mother's death. The loss of both parents enraged Nitschke, and the lack of a parental disciplinarian to quell his rage caused him to engage in fights with other kids in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Defensive Team
In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitutions", meaning that they may change any number of players during any "dead ball" situation. This has resulted in the development of three task-specific "platoons" of players within any single team: the offense (the team with possession of the ball, which is trying to score), the defense (the team trying to prevent the other team from scoring, and to take the ball from them), and the so-called 'special teams' (who play in all kicking situations). Within these three separate "platoons", various positions exist depending on the jobs that the players are doing. Offense In American football, the offense is the team that has possession of the ball and is advancing toward the opponent's end zone to score points. The eleven players of the offen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Singletary
Michael Singletary (born October 9, 1958), also known by his nickname Samurai Mike, is an American professional football coach and former middle linebacker. After playing college football for the Baylor Bears, Singletary was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft and was known as "The Heart of the Defense" for the Chicago Bears' Monsters of the Midway in the mid-1980s. He was part of their Super Bowl XX championship team that beat the New England Patriots. Singletary was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1995 and into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998. Singletary later pursued a career as a coach, first as a linebackers coach for the Baltimore Ravens, then as the linebackers coach for the San Francisco 49ers. In 2008, the 49ers promoted Singletary to the head coaching position after previous head coach Mike Nolan was fired during the season, and he remained in that position until he was fired after the 49ers were eliminated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dick Butkus
Richard Marvin Butkus (born December 9, 1942) is an American former professional football player, sports commentator, and actor. He played football as a middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1965 to 1973. He was invited to eight Pro Bowls, named a first-team All-Pro six times, and was twice recognized by his peers as the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year. He was renowned as a fierce tackler and for the relentless effort with which he played and is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most intimidating linebackers in pro football history. Butkus was born in Chicago, Illinois and played his entire football career in his home state, which began at Chicago Vocational High School. He was a linebacker at the University of Illinois and a center for the Fighting Illini. He was a two-time consensus All-American, and he led the Illini to a Rose Bowl victory in 1963 and was deemed the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chuck Bednarik
Charles Philip Bednarik (May 1, 1925 – March 21, 2015), nicknamed "Concrete Charlie", was an American professional football player in the National Football League (NFL). He has been ranked one of the hardest hitting tacklers in NFL history and was one of the league's last two-way players. His November 20, 1960 tackle of Frank Gifford in an Eagles game against the New York Giants at Yankee Stadium, known simply as The Hit, is widely considered one of the hardest tackles and most notable plays in NFL history. A Slovak American from the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, Bednarik played for the Philadelphia Eagles for his entire 13-year NFL career from 1949 through 1962. In 1967, in his first year of eligibility, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Early life Bednarik was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on May 1, 1925. His parents emigrated from Široké, a village in eastern Slovakia, five years earlier, settl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Juhan
Francis Alexander "June" Juhan (April 27, 1887 – December 31, 1967) was an American football player and coach as well as an Episcopal bishop. He played center for the Sewanee Tigers football team and was the first roving linebacker in the South, analogous to Germany Schulz's status in football history nationally. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1966, and is also a charter member of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and a member of the Sewanee Athletics Hall of Fame. In 1924, he was appointed the fourth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida. Early years Juhan was born in Macon, Georgia. Soon after, his parents, Charles J. Juhan and Minnie Hervey, moved to Texas. He graduated from West Texas Military Academy in San Antonio, Texas, in 1907. Sewanee Juhan also played baseball, ran track, and was a boxing champion at Sewanee: The University of the South, a small Episcopal school in the mountains of Tennessee. Juhan was a member of the 1909 footba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blitz (gridiron Football)
In gridiron football, blitzing is a tactic used by the defense to disrupt pass attempts by the offense. During a blitz, a higher than usual number of defensive players will rush the opposing quarterback, in an attempt either to tackle him or force him to hurry his pass attempt. In practice, a blitz involves five or more players rushing during a single down, rather than the four rushers used during normal play. For example, in a defense that normally uses four defensive linemen to rush, a blitz can be created by adding one or more linebackers or defensive backs. Blitzing is a higher-risk strategy, as fewer defensive players are left to cover receivers or to defend against running plays. However, a successful blitz will result in a sack or will force the quarterback into making an error. The term "blitz" is German for "lightning" and a reference to the blitzkrieg tactic of World War 2. History The “red-dog", likely first completed by Carl Battershell, a MAC footba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Defensive Linemen
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A number of NFL rules specifically address restrictions and requirements for the offensive line, whose job is to help protect the quarterback from getting sacked for a loss, or worse, fumbling. The defensive line is covered by the same rules that apply to all defensive players. Linemen are usually the largest players on the field in both height and weight, since their positions usually require less running and more strength than skill positions. Offensive line The offensive line consists of the center, who is responsible for snapping the ball into play, two guards who flank the center, and two offensive tackles who flank the guards. In addition, a full offensive line may also include a tight end outside one or both of the tackles. An off ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
