What's the 2nd most important position in football after QB?

[Cave_Johnson]

But what about a hybrid safety like Chancellor who plays like a linebacker, but can also get down the field with 4.4 speed and play the ball in the air? That's more valuable to me. In this era of passing offenses? I believe secondary is more important. The prime example of this being the Seahawks. They built their defense around the greatest safety combination of all time. Having Thomas and Chancellor, the rest of the defense has a ton more freedom than they would if they had just average play out of their safeties. And like I pointed out before, some teams have their safety call the plays now.

I think you need a guy like Thomas first before you go after a guy like Chancellor. A big run stuffing safety doesn't do you as much good if you have to drop him into coverage all the time because your FS can't keep up. If you can get the combo then you do have something more valuable than a dominant MLB IMO. But that's mostly because you're talking about an elite tandem instead of just one guy.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

HC

 

[Jakology]

And let's not forget in this day and age of passing offenses, how important Corners have become. If you can find a physical athlete that can play with the best WR's in the game and take them away, it can open up the rest of the defense to scheme and blitz the QB.

 

[Wedgie]

Kicker not even in debate?

 

[Cave_Johnson]

Which makes it that much more important to find the gems out there that aren't undersized, and can make the jump quickly. It's known that the D line as the advantage over the O line because they are better athletes, and they can do more and have more freedom on the line. I'd much rather have a disciplined LT who is big enough to run the ball behind, but also athletic enough to be able to hold up in pass protection.

Sure, that's a good argument. I just think you have a better shot of hitting on a dominant DT or MLB than a LT which is why I'd lean more towards the defense.

 

[Jakology]

I think you need a guy like Thomas first before you go after a guy like Chancellor. A big run stuffing safety doesn't do you as much good if you have to drop him into coverage all the time because your FS can't keep up. If you can get the combo then you do have something more valuable than a dominant MLB IMO. But that's mostly because you're talking about an elite tandem instead of just one guy.

I think you should know being a Seahawk fan that Chancellor is the most important player on your defense. When he wasn't there, they struggled, and everybody was saying that the Seahawks had regressed and that the defense was done and the run was over. Chancellor comes back and boom, #1 scoring D once again.

 

[handicappers]

MLB everyday all day, it's not actually even close.

"not exactly"

 

[Jakology]

Kicker not even in debate?

Let's be honest for a minute here. Kickers are actually soccer players who weren't athletic enough to keep up with their peers, so instead of continuing that hopeless dream, they turn to football. Honestly, without Soccer, kickers would fucking suck. So we have them to thank for that.

 

[broncosmitty]

A pass rusher. Wherever it is that he plays.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

But what about a hybrid safety like Chancellor who plays like a linebacker, but can also get down the field with 4.4 speed and play the ball in the air? That's more valuable to me. In this era of passing offenses? I believe secondary is more important. The prime example of this being the Seahawks. They built their defense around the greatest safety combination of all time. Having Thomas and Chancellor, the rest of the defense has a ton more freedom than they would if they had just average play out of their safeties. And like I pointed out before, some teams have their safety call the plays now.

I don't think you quite understand all that an MLB is tasked with. You can talk all you want about premier talents, and sure you have a point... But the way a defense works, it all starts with the MLB. He's the primary communication position on defense. He takes the call from the DC and is responsible for making the adjustments along the front line. The Mike patrols the box from sideline to sideline and racks up a ton of tackles. Sure Kam Chancellor is a beast, but did he have more tackles than Bobby Wagner? Nope. Lets take SEA's 2014 stats for instance (since both played a full season that year)... Wagner had 104 tackles compared to Chancellor's 78. Look up the most tackles in the league each year, probably >80-90% of the time its the MLB! That sort of production might not be as heralded as an OLB or DB because there isn't as much "flash" to the position.

 

[Nosferatu]

If you don't get pressure on the QB it doesn't matter how good your MLB is.

 

[Beaker]

Kicker. AMIRITE MINNISODA?! NEW ENGLAND?!?

Seriously though, I don't fucking know.

 

[NEPatsfan]

"not exactly"

Still swinging and missing I see. Kind of like your sports picks.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

If you don't get pressure on the QB it doesn't matter how good your MLB is.

Could be looked at both ways. MLB has more area to contain and overall is tasked with more duties. If the MLB isn't doing his job then the QB can expose the defense quicker, and it wouldn't matter how fast or good the OLB is. But that obviously depends on how good the QB is.

 

[Manster7588]

I'm going b with LT, but I can understand the MLB or DE argument

 

[Cave_Johnson]

I think you should know being a Seahawk fan that Chancellor is the most important player on your defense. When he wasn't there, they struggled, and everybody was saying that the Seahawks had regressed and that the defense was done and the run was over. Chancellor comes back and boom, #1 scoring D once again.

I don't think Chancellor's absence was as big of as issue as some have said. The whole team was playing poorly the first few games and Dion Bailey just wasn't up to the challenge to replace him. Chancellor also missed some games at the end of the year when Kelcie McCray subbed in for him and did a pretty legit job.

Not saying Kam isn't a great player, he's a beast at stopping the run and at causing turnovers. But his coverage skills are pretty average. He got burned several times by opposing TEs this year in key situations. Earl's coverage skills make up for Kam's coverage issues and Kam's run stopping ability allows Earl to play more loose back there. They compliment each other perfectly which is one of the reasons the D has been so solid.

 

[SonnyCID]

Outside pass rushers that play every down.

 

[Jakology]

I don't think you quite understand all that an MLB is tasked with. You can talk all you want about premier talents, and sure you have a point... But the way a defense works, it all starts with the MLB. He's the primary communication position on defense. He takes the call from the DC and is responsible for making the adjustments along the front line. The Mike patrols the box from sideline to sideline and racks up a ton of tackles. Sure Kam Chancellor is a beast, but did he have more tackles than Bobby Wagner? Nope. Lets take SEA's 2014 stats for instance (since both played a full season that year)... Wagner had 104 tackles compared to Chancellor's 78. Look up the most tackles in the league each year, probably >80-90% of the time its the MLB! That sort of production might not be as heralded as an OLB or DB because there isn't as much "flash" to the position.

I just believe with the way the game has changed, that I'd go secondary before I went linebacker. And like I said at the end of my post you quoted, some teams have the safety play the roll of the playcaller. Like the Dolphins. Reshad Jones is our playcaller, and he had 135 tackles and 5 INTs this season. The game is changing and safeties are becoming more and more hybrid like.

 

[Chewbaccer]

The mob and whatever they bet on.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I just believe with the way the game has changed, that I'd go secondary before I went linebacker. And like I said at the end of my post you quoted, some teams have the safety play the roll of the playcaller. Like the Dolphins. Reshad Jones is our playcaller, and he had 135 tackles and 5 INTs this season. The game is changing and safeties are becoming more and more hybrid like.

That's a good point, and I wasn't aware of that. In MIA's case, yes then Jones is the 2nd most important player on the team.

So as others have noted already, it depends on the team.