(04-20-2023, 01:29 PM)TheDogCatcher Wrote:

(04-20-2023, 01:24 PM)Bullseye Wrote: I think they were different types of players, based upon how they were utilized in their schemes.  Despite his size and tackling/hitting acumen, I don't think DD was utilized as much in the box as Lake was in Pittsburgh or his one year in Jacksonville.  I think D was used as much as a traditional S down the field (think Kyle Brady and Robert Ferguson hits) as opposed to more of an in the box S like LeRoy Butler was in Green Bay.  Lake, because of the scheme, was used more like Butler in Green Bay, with a lot of blitzes and in the box.  I think DD was a physical punisher/enforcer in the run game and in the deep secondary.  Butler and Lake were more catalysts=less enforcers/intimidators than DD.  They'd get more hits on QBs, etc.  All of them were outstanding players, but utilized differently.  For the sake of public safety, it's a good thing DD wasn't utilized like Butler.  Could you imagine him coming clean on a blitz and getting a hit on a QB?!?

I remember vividly one game I attended. DD stopped LaDanian Tomlinson cold early in the game on a screen or bubble pass, and LT was not a factor afterward. On offense, Leftwich had a rare good performance; Chargers DE Marcelius Wiley later commented that what Leftwich did to the Chargers defense was "uncivilized." A roided out looking David Boston was the Chargers lone bright spot. He caught several passes.