goat conversations are often heavily debated LeBron or Jordan Messi or Ronaldo they're questions that'll never have a definitive answer but in the NFL the answer is clear on offense it's Tom Brady and on defense it's Lawrence Taylor he's Head and Shoulders above whoever the next player is and I've been fortunate to coach a lot of great great defensive players but you talk about Lawrence Taylor now that's a whole that's a all different conversation he won three Defensive Player of the Year Awards he's one of two defensive players to ever win MVP and he completely revolutionized the way his position is played this is the story of Lawrence Taylor the greatest defensive player of all time and Taylor's Story begins in Williamsburg Virginia where he grew up he was the oldest of three sons and his father Clarence worked as a dispatcher while his mother Iris was a school teacher as a kid LT was a troublemaker so in an attempt to keep him out of trouble he was introduced to sports but his first sport wasn't football he started out his athletic career playing baseball as a catcher LT didn't even begin playing football until he was 15 and attending Lafayette High School where his coach recruited him out of the hallway because he was such a big kid and once Lawrence stepped onto the football field he knew that it was his true calling a large part of his first season was spent on the bench until five games in when he blocked a punt which led to Lafayette winning the game from that moment on lt's Coach knew he could be a star but because of his late start he wasn't heavily recruited one school did give Lawrence a chance though and it would be one of the best decisions in in their program's history that was the University of North Carolina at UNC Taylor actually started out as a defensive lineman and he didn't really hit his stride until his Junior season when he was moved to his natural position of outside linebacker five sacks caused an eye-opening seven forced fumbles and he even intercepted a pass he showed all the signs of being an elite defensive player and still had so much room to grow prior to his senior year his head coach dick crumb said when Taylor has his mind on business he's as good as there is I'm talking about everybody in the country now he is that talented but he's got to stay mentally ready every Saturday as coach as we can help him get there but in the end he has to develop that intensity himself if he does he's going to be a great one well Taylor seemed to have his mind on his business's senior season as he racked up 69 tackles 22 tackles for loss forced three fumbles and had 16 sacks his 16 sacks set a still-standing School record for the most in a season but it wasn't just individual success for Taylor That season the Tar Heels went 11 in one winning the ACC Championship and were ranked 10th in the final AP ranking LT was named a unanimous first team All-American for his efforts as he led the unit that finished eighth nationally in scoring defense and 11th in Total Defense Taylor was also named ACC Player of the Year becoming only the fourth defensive player since 1953 to win the award Lawrence's play was described by his coaches with two words Reckless and aggressive but that's what made him so special he had no regard for his body or anyone else's putting everything on the line every single snap and his ability to take over games from the defensive side of the ball made him one of the best defensive prospects of all time going into the 81 NFL draft 26 of the 28 GMS in the NFL at the time said that if they had the first pick they would take LT but come draft night one of the only two teams that weren't interested the New Orleans Saints took running back George Rogers with the first pick leaving the New York Giants to make one of the most important draft choices in their history taking Lawrence Taylor's second overall the New York Giants first round selection Lawrence Taylor linebacker North Carolina and it didn't take long for LT to start dominating the NFL competition Lawrence Taylor was a different story Lawrence Taylor from day one impacted the team shy was the best player on the field way better than everybody else and built the defense around him from that point going forwards in fact in his very first training camp practice with the Giants LT went from the third team defense to the first team before the practice was even over and the rest of the NFL quickly learned what the Giants had seen all summer because during his rookie season Taylor set the league on fire his ability was something never seen before he was quite literally his very own Blitz package before lt's arrival a blitzing linebacker was pretty much an afterthought dealt with by keeping a running back in to deal with the extra pressure but Taylor paired superhuman physicality with Elite pass rush moves to easily blow past those blocking schemes which led to the greatest rookie season ever seen from a defensive player unfortunately tackles weren't an officially recorded stat until lt's career was over but the rest of his accolades speak for themselves he recorded 9. 5 sacks an interception and a fumble recovery earning both NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors Taylor became the first rookie to ever win an offensive or Defensive Player of the Year award a feat that has still not been repeated to this day he was also named First Team all pro That season and the craziest part is was just getting started because despite teams having a year of film on Taylor and adjusting their offense just to fend off his pressure when 1982 rolled around he continued to wreak havoc in that strike shortened season LT still recorded 7. 5 sacks in just nine games and once again was crowned the defensive player of the year and a first team all proo 82 was when the rest of the NFL realized that what the Giants were doing with Taylor was changing the game that season the League's total passing attempts outweighed total rushing attempts for the first time ever which meant rushing the passer was more important than ever before and that pass rushers rather than middle linebackers were going to be what defenses were built around so in just two seasons Taylor completely changed what it meant to be a linebacker prior to the 1983 season the Giants replaced their old head coach Ray Perkins with Bill parcels and of course things changed after giants star inside linebacker Harry Carson was injured parcel's decided to move LT into his inside role which led to less pass rush opportunities and it caused a lot of friction between the two he was a great he was a great coach I mean the first week that I come to um uh I'm I'm I'm practicing so he kept me that he every day I couldn't do nothing right couldn't do nothing right on top of that the Giants had a 312- one record that season and parcel's faced a ton of criticism from the fans and the media frustrated by losing Taylor started to arrive late for meetings and refused to participate in practices but somehow he still managed to finish the season with nine sacks making the allpro first team at both outside linebacker and inside linebacker becoming the first player in NFL history to be selected a first team allpro at two positions in the same year and following That season LT found himself in a fight for his Services he accepted a $1 million interest-free 25-year loan from Donald Trump with the agreement that he'd play for his usfl team the New Jersey generals this was a decision that Taylor quickly reget it not even a month after so the Giants stepped in bailed him out of the deal and gave him a new 6-year $6.
25 million contract and after that show of Faith from the team LT returned for the 84 season rejuvenated and more determined than ever to prove his dominance on the field he returned to his outside linebacker position and had 11. 5 sacks a career high at the time but more importantly the Giants bounced back as well achieving a 9- s record making the playoffs for the first time since Taylor's rookie year about the five sweetest words I can think of the Giants are in the playoffs in ' 85 the Giants had another good year finishing 10 and six spearheaded by Taylor in the defense LT had 13 sacks a new career best and made his fifth straight allp Pro first team but unfortunately one of those 13 sacks was the worst of Taylor's career it was a sack on Joe thyman that broke his leg and ultimately ended his career and while Theisman doesn't blame him for the play in any way Taylor has never seen a clip of the play and refuses to watch it I was concerned because you know even though we were Rivals and stuff I had a lot of respect for you this was also a defining moment for the offensive tackle position in the NFL Taylor was the first great pass rusher to consistently line up on the quarterback's Blindside and after seeing the damage that could be caused by not protecting it The Blindside Tackle Spot became a premium position with teams placing their more talented linemen there but even with all the changes being made to stop LT The Following season in 1986 he put together the greatest defensive season of all time Taylor was simply Unstoppable he led the Giants to a 14 and2 record the best in franchise history for a 16 Game season and recording a staggering 20. 5 sacks mind you this was lt's sixth season in the league so teams were using chip blocks double teams and even scheming plays specifically to try and neutralize him but nothing worked he ended the year with another Defensive Player of the Year award making him one of only three players in history to win the award three times alongside JJ Watt and Aaron Donald he also won League MVP becoming one of only two defensive players ever to earn that award and the first to Win It unanimously the Giants rode Lawrence Taylor's MVP season all the way to Super Bowl 21 where they defeated the Broncos and hoisted their first Lombardi trophy in franchise history prior to their 3920 victory over the Broncos they held the ners to just three points in the divisional round then shut out Washington in the conference Championship a legendary defense led to the Pinnacle of the sport by one of the game's most legendary players unfortunately over his next seven seasons Taylor only played a full 16 Game season three times due to various occurrences from injuries to a suspensions to strikes the latter half of his career was far from smooth sailing but that doesn't mean LT wasn't still dominant in ' 87 he had 12 sacks despite playing Just 12 games then at the start of the 88 season he was suspended from the league for 30 days for his second substance abuse violation Taylor checked himself into rehab and when he returned to the field it was like he never left he finished the year with 15.
5 sacks in 12 games including a legendary performance against the New Orleans Saints where LT played through a torn pectoral muscle during the game he forced two fumbles had seven tackles and three sacks all while being seen on the sidelines in agonizing pain between possessions 1989 was Taylor's final First Team all pro season he recorded reced 15 sacks and played the back half of the Season injured again after he fractured his tibia his dominance was still clear but following the season the Giants hit a crossroad the big blue Wrecking Crew defense they'd become known for was aging their leader Harry Carson retired the year prior and now lt's contract was up do you pay the 31-year-old team Legend who missed significant time over the past few years or move on well just 4 days before the 1990 season opener the giants made their decision they made LT the highest pay defensive player in the league inking a 3-year $5.
