Where does London Fletcher rank?

[The Trashman]

Where does Fletcher rank among the best linebackers the Redskins have ever had, especially within the last 30-40 years?

Sure there have been outstanding Redskins linebackers like Neil Olkewicz, Wilbur Marshall, Monte Coleman, Mel Kaufman, Ken Harvey but it appears none have had an impact as Fletcher has.

I don't know but if I had to rank him in the Top 5 linebackers the Skins have ever had since 1980, he probably would be #1.

[greenspandan]

it's hard for me to disagree. i remember monte and wilbur and neil and of course harvey well ... but none of them were as absolutely indispensable as london. he is ring of fame material for sure.

[Burgold]

Since 1980, yeah, I think he fits. Neil was one of my favorite classic Redskins, but he was generally too small, too slow, and not powerful enough... but he always made the team and play. One of my favorite plays ever was when he ran down Bo Jackson. He was the Jeff Bostic of the defense.

London's probably a better lb than olkie though. Coleman was a nicklebacker primarily. Wilber Marshall and Ken Harvey were probably guys you'd want before Fletch, but London is just so solid he's a near great.

[jwpanic]

fletch probably is the best in recent memory, but robert mccune will remain #1 in the hearts of many.

[The Trashman]

You're right. Marshall and Harvey were big play makers whereas London is more of an all-round, every down, solid leadership type LB.

Another guy that didn't make the list but was very good is LaVar Arrington. If he had stayed healthy enough, he would have been up there.

@jwpanic, sorry but Robert Mccune doesn't ring a bell. Maybe he was one of those players who never really developed and was thrown away.

[Bang]

over the past 40-50 years there's a lot of great linebackers to crowd that top 5. But London makes it.

Hanburger, Huff, Marshall, Olkiewicz, Fletcher.

Fletcher has been consistently outstanding his entire career, he never misses games, plays hard and fair, and only recently are we seeing any chinks in the armor, and he's been dealing with injuries.

He's been the same consistently great player while he's been here. He's a great leader, and he's been the absolute heart of our defense.

I love Monte Coleman, one of my favorite all time redskins warriors,, but he never really was a full time starter.. he was a spot player. A great one.. he has to be in the Ring of Fame (is he?)

Robert McCune belongs nowhere near this discussion. May as well start figuing Ade Jimoh as one of our all time great DBs if we go there.

~Bang

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

I'm sure the McCune thing was a joke

[fullnelson9999]

I think Sam Huff had Fletcher in his top linebackers in Redskins history. I think it was in the DC Top 10 lists book.

[veteranskinsfan]

I rank him as one of the top 5 in Skins history for sure. We should not take him for granted while he still plays.

[DC9]

I think Sam Huff had Fletcher in his top linebackers in Redskins history. I think it was in the DC Top 10 lists book.

Just ran to the bathroom to pull the book out for you. Here is Sam's list:

"The Five Best Redskins Linebackers Since I Reitred"

5. London Fletcher

4. Harold McLinton

3. Wilbur Marshall

2. LaVar Arrington

1. Chris Hanburger

[RedskinsInFebruary]

Number one.

[RandyHolt]

LB's come in all different flavors and I think you cannot easily compare him to a pass rusher like Harvey. Different players different roles, not easy to compare. Harold McClinton, Neil Olkewicz, Sam Huff, those are the guys to grade him against.

I cant remember McClinton well enough, but know he was a solid player. I always liked Neil being from Murland and undersized, he played with a lot of heart. I would probably grade him better then both, but primarily because I think London is better in pass coverage. I seem to remember Neil getting subbed out in passing downs. But London is fresh in our minds, so its hard not to pick such a classy dude on our field every Sunday.

I wonder how he is grading against other MLBs this year.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/was/lineups.htm

[Mr. Nostril]

Fletcher brings up the obvious conundrum of how do you determine a players greatness within a franchise, when he played a lot of great years with other franchises. Fletcher may well be a better linebacker than Hanburger was, but I think Hanburger was the greater Redskin.

The ultimate example of this in the history of sports is that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had, arguably, a better career than Magic Johnson did, but Magic Johnson was unquestionably the greater Laker.

[RedskinWarship]

I'm sure the McCune thing was a joke

that's the thing about Bang, the guy just doesn't get jokes

Fletcher definitely top 5.

Hanburger, Huff, Harvey, Arrington, Marshall. if i gotta take one off to put London up there, it'll be Lavar.

[AlvinWaltonIsMyBoy]

that's the thing about Bang, the guy just doesn't get jokes

Fletcher definitely top 5.

Hanburger, Huff, Harvey, Arrington, Marshall. if i gotta take one off to put London up there, it'll be Lavar.

Bang doesn't get jokes? Have you seen his Cowpie fan animation?

I'm gonna go with Fletcher being in the top 2. Behind Hanburger and that's it. I think he's that good. And Wilber Marshall is my personal favorite, so that's saying a lot. He deserves to be in Canton, and like Gary Clark (fingers crossed), I think they both get in later on just like Hanburger did.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Fletcher brings up the obvious conundrum of how do you determine a players greatness within a franchise, when he played a lot of great years with other franchises. Fletcher may well be a better linebacker than Hanburger was, but I think Hanburger was the greater Redskin.

The ultimate example of this in the history of sports is that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had, arguably, a better career than Magic Johnson did, but Magic Johnson was unquestionably the greater Laker.

This. It's hard for me to think of Fletcher as an all-time Redskin great as he hasn't been here all that long and came on board toward the end of his career. Maybe that's not fair, I don't know. It's just how I FEEL. Was talking to my father (and Skins-game viewing partner) about it on Thursday and while he disagreed with me, he understood where I was coming from.

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

London is/was just an all out beast...the others were a tad one dimensional IMO

[AlvinWaltonIsMyBoy]

London is/was just an all out beast...the others were a tad one dimensional IMO

This. I understand the "he didn't play his whole career here" argument. That makes sense. What doesn't make sense is that some of our fans can't recognize true greatness when they see it every week. And that's what Fletcher has given us...greatness...every damn week.

[Hiro]

Just ran to the bathroom to pull the book out for you. Here is Sam's list:

"The Five Best Redskins Linebackers Since I Reitred"

5. London Fletcher

4. Harold McLinton

3. Wilbur Marshall

2. LaVar Arrington

1. Chris Hanburger

:doh: WHAT?! LaVar over Wilbur Marshall and London?

My goodness, Sam is really off his rocker. Aside from his first couple of years, Arrington was as overrated as they come. Even the dimmest of bulbs can shine in the darkest of nights.

---------- Post added November-26th-2012 at 12:19 AM ----------

This. It's hard for me to think of Fletcher as an all-time Redskin great as he hasn't been here all that long and came on board toward the end of his career. Maybe that's not fair, I don't know. It's just how I FEEL. Was talking to my father (and Skins-game viewing partner) about it on Thursday and while he disagreed with me, he understood where I was coming from.

I can understand that, but the reason why I feel London belongs among the Redskin all-time greats is because of the overall impact he has had on our team.

While he was respected in St. Louis and Buffalo, London (as I recall) didn't have as much of an organizational impact on those two teams as he has here. We love him here in Washington, and we truly see him as an indispensable part of our team because of his heart and leadership.

---------- Post added November-26th-2012 at 12:20 AM ----------

This. It's hard for me to think of Fletcher as an all-time Redskin great as he hasn't been here all that long and came on board toward the end of his career. Maybe that's not fair, I don't know. It's just how I FEEL. Was talking to my father (and Skins-game viewing partner) about it on Thursday and while he disagreed with me, he understood where I was coming from.

I can understand that, but the reason why I feel London belongs among the Redskin all-time greats is because of the overall impact he has had on our team.

While he was respected in St. Louis and Buffalo, London (as I recall) didn't have as much of an organizational impact on those two teams as he has here. We love him here in Washington, and we truly see him as an indispensable part of our team because of his heart and leadership.

[KDawg]

This. It's hard for me to think of Fletcher as an all-time Redskin great as he hasn't been here all that long and came on board toward the end of his career. Maybe that's not fair, I don't know. It's just how I FEEL. Was talking to my father (and Skins-game viewing partner) about it on Thursday and while he disagreed with me, he understood where I was coming from.

Well, then, Sam Huff shouldn't be considered in the least. He didn't play here very long. (5 years, 66 games)

Neither should Wilber Marshall. (5 years, 80 games).

Or Ken Harvey. (5 years, 76 games).

London has been here for 6 years and 91 games currently. This is also the team that he has had his longest tenure with.

[LD0506]

Well, then, Sam Huff shouldn't be considered in the least. He didn't play here very long. (5 years, 66 games)

Neither should Wilber Marshall. (5 years, 80 games).

Or Ken Harvey. (5 years, 76 games).

London has been here for 6 years and 91 games currently. This is also the team that he has had his longest tenure with.

Damn your facts man, we don't need that dose of reality

[The Trashman]

If that is the case, then we need to throw a whole lot of people out of the list of "Greatest Redskins". Case to point, Sean Taylor, who was with the Redskins for only 3 tragically short years, made the Redskins Top 80 greatest players.

So, if we are going to throw out players who have less than say, 5-6 years with this organization, then we need to throw out other impact players, regardless of how short their careers were with the Redskins.

[#98QBKiller]

fletch probably is the best in recent memory, but robert mccune will remain #1 in the hearts of many.

Right behind Warrick Holdman.

[DC9]

:doh: WHAT?! LaVar over Wilbur Marshall and London?

My goodness, Sam is really off his rocker. Aside from his first couple of years, Arrington was as overrated as they come. Even the dimmest of bulbs can shine in the darkest of nights.

I agree. I loved Wilbur Marshall. But I think that book was written in 2008 or so, so obviously there was no Brian Orakpo. Also, from what I've heard LaVar and Sam are VERY close. Sam is almost like a Godfather to LaVar.