EJ Henderson

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@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. 

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@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.

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@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.

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Definitely before my time, but here is some Matt Blair..

[Guest]

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. 

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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.

[Guest]

@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. 

[Guest]

@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.

[Guest]

Pretty cool Studwell highlight package. God I want this team to get back to playing some badass defense...

[Guest]

Larry Csonka, one tough sob in his own right, said that the hardest he ever got hit was by Roy Winston.