As pointed out on previous posts, I said all during Mike Singletary’s career (and after) that he was a great leader and very good against the run, but very overrated as a player. I said he wasn’t very fast and couldn’t cover. I said the only reason he was considered great was that Dan Hampton played in front of him, and once Hampton retired, he wouldn’t be anywhere near as good. That is what happened. I was told all along and to this day by bear fans that I’m wrong. I’ve also pointed out that Singletary himself, maybe 15 years after he retired, said he watched films of the games he played in, realized he owed all his success to Hampton, called Hampton to tell him this, and Hampton responded by saying something to the effect of “you’re just realizing that?” A few days ago, the hosts on ESPN radio in Chicago were talking about those bear teams and Singletary. The three hosts, who are bear fans, were saying he was the sixth or seventh best player on that defense, and I believe it was John Jurkovic, who played in the NFL, who said he was seventh. Jurkovic went on to say (this is almost a direct quote) “no one benefited more by having great players around him than Singletary. No one. You put the other stars on other teams with lesser players, they’d still be great. You put Singletary on a team with lesser players….trouble.” I’ve said this all along, Singletary himself and Hampton said it, and now a former player also said it, with the agreement of the other two show hosts. However, I’m sure bear fans will still say I’m wrong.
Larry, you are wrong, for reasons that I’ve stated before, but now I’ve discovered a new one – you using ESPN as a credible source of anything resembling a non-partisan opinion. To say that Mike Singletary was the sixth or seventh best player on that defense is just plain stupid. And even if you do believe it, what are your rankings ahead of him? I’ll give you Wilbur Marshall’s athleticism and meanness, and Dan Hampton was undoubtedly a tremendous player, but after that, who are the other four or five ahead of Singletary. Please state your case WITH PROOF.
Also, as I’ve said in the past, if you look at Hall of Fame middle linebackers, the only one in the modern era who didn’t have the benefit of playing behind exceptional defensive linemen was Dick Butkus. Jack Lambert played behind Joe Greene AND LC Greenwood AND Dwight White, and Willie Lanier played behind Buck Buchanan AND Curley Culp AND Aaron Brown. And in my opinion, these threesomes collectively were better than Hampton, Dent, and McMichael. I think if you put Singletary on a lesser team, he’s still a great player, just not as long. And your argument that his play fell off after Hampton retired is weak, because Hampton came in to the league in 1979 and Singletary in 1981, so they were both old, and Hampton was bound to retire first anyway, even with all the knee injuries.
I have to completely agree with what you are saying. I always knew this and was surprised by how much Media Hype Singletary always received.
On the other side, there was never enough recognition for Dan Hampton. When he was healthy he was unbelievable. He played End and Tackle and was All Pro at both!
Edmund, I agree with you. Hampton was unbelievable and underrated. He was incredible as it was, and I can’t imagine playing that well with all those injuries and I’m not sure how he could have been any better had he not had the injuries! He was amazing. Jeffrey, Singletary wasn’t fast and couldn’t cover. He benefited more than anyone by being surrounded by great guys. Yes, other middle linebackers were also surrounded by great guys, but they would also have been great on other teams. Yes, Singeltary was older when Hampton retired, but the dropoff was huge and more than just being a year older. Please remember that Singeltary himself reviewed the films and said he owed all of his success to Hampton, which is exactly what I said all during his career.