Seau all-time leading tackler?

[JohnTurney]

Seau is one of the finalists on the ballot before the 46-member selection committee, which will vote Saturday, the day before Super Bowl XLIX between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. He is considered a lock for election. The linebacker was a 12-time Pro Bowler. More impressively, he was named first-team All-Pro six times over his 20-year career with the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins and the Patriots. He is the NFL’s all-time leading tackler.

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I wish they'd be specific as to when "all-time" begins.

[bachslunch]

I've got Seau as an 8 time first-team all pro (1991 and 1995 as well). And agreed about the tackles, plus it's hard to know what the standards were for determining the number.

[NWebster]

Can't get the link to connect, but it seems an odd claim as I have him as third behind two players who played after him, Ray Lewis and London Fletcher.

From press box numbers Seau had - starting with 1990:
83, 121, 98, 129,155, 129, 138, 97, 115, 99,123, 95, 84, 96, 57, 36, 69, 73, 22, 14 = 1,833 Total

Ray Lewis had - starting with 1996:
110, 184, 120, 168, 137, 161, 57, 161, 146, 46, 103, 120, 117, 134, 139, 95, 57 = 2,055 Total

London Fletcher had 2,039

These are all from press box stats. If they're going to argue that they're using the team numbers I doubt that too because the Chargers didn't "inflate" their team tackle numbers at all. The Ray Lewis team number is 2,643. During Seau's SD seasons his team tackle numbers were ~20 in excess of the press box stats. In order for him to exceed Lewis' 2,600+ in the remaining years where press-boxes credited him with 451 teams would have had to have credited him with 1,251 or almost 3x his press-box total, which even some of the biggest "inflators" never did, topping out at ~2x.

We'll never know guys like Bill George and Joe Schmidt, but it does seem that Seau's combination of longevity and production leave him ahead of the greats we do know like Butkus, Lambert and Gradishar (none of whom played long enough) and behind the extended careers of Clay Matthews, Buoniconti, etc, who weren't as productive.

Seau was great, shame someone would make a demonstrably false claim in order to tout a clearly Hall-worthy career.

[NWebster]

What'll be entertaining, come to think of it, is in a couple years when they try to say that Ray Lewis is actually the all time leading tackler in a kind of a "These aren't the droids you're looking for" move that the NFL loves to make.

[Bryan]

I would guess that regardless of inflation/de-flation (NFL buzzword), Ray Lewis and Junior Seau would be #1 and #2 all-time in tackles. Seau's total is more impressive to me because he spent a majority of his career on the outside instead of the middle. It would be interesting to recreate an all-time tackles leader timeline...like who was the all-time tackles leader in 1950, 1960, 1970, etc. I think Joe Schmidt and/or Bill George would be on the list. I would guess Sam Huff held the title at some point, or maybe Ray Nitschke. Don't know if weird guys like Matt Hazeltine or Wayne Walker would show up.

[Hail Casares]

I would guess that regardless of inflation/de-flation (NFL buzzword), Ray Lewis and Junior Seau would be #1 and #2 all-time in tackles. Seau's total is more impressive to me because he spent a majority of his career on the outside instead of the middle. It would be interesting to recreate an all-time tackles leader timeline...like who was the all-time tackles leader in 1950, 1960, 1970, etc. I think Joe Schmidt and/or Bill George would be on the list. I would guess Sam Huff held the title at some point, or maybe Ray Nitschke. Don't know if weird guys like Matt Hazeltine or Wayne Walker would show up.

I always thought it was odd that Seau played OLB for those 4-3 Chargers teams. Seemed as though you'd want to put that dominant player in the middle of the field

[JohnTurney]

Can't get the link to connect, but it seems an odd claim as I have him as third behind two players who played after him, Ray Lewis and London Fletcher.

From press box numbers Seau had - starting with 1990:
83, 121, 98, 129,155, 129, 138, 97, 115, 99,123, 95, 84, 96, 57, 36, 69, 73, 22, 14 = 1,833 Total

Ray Lewis had - starting with 1996:
110, 184, 120, 168, 137, 161, 57, 161, 146, 46, 103, 120, 117, 134, 139, 95, 57 = 2,055 Total

London Fletcher had 2,039

These are all from press box stats. If they're going to argue that they're using the team numbers I doubt that too because the Chargers didn't "inflate" their team tackle numbers at all. The Ray Lewis team number is 2,643. During Seau's SD seasons his team tackle numbers were ~20 in excess of the press box stats. In order for him to exceed Lewis' 2,600+ in the remaining years where press-boxes credited him with 451 teams would have had to have credited him with 1,251 or almost 3x his press-box total, which even some of the biggest "inflators" never did, topping out at ~2x.

We'll never know guys like Bill George and Joe Schmidt, but it does seem that Seau's combination of longevity and production leave him ahead of the greats we do know like Butkus, Lambert and Gradishar (none of whom played long enough) and behind the extended careers of Clay Matthews, Buoniconti, etc, who weren't as productive.

Seau was great, shame someone would make a demonstrably false claim in order to tout a clearly Hall-worthy career.

exactly . . .

[JohnTurney]

I would guess that regardless of inflation/de-flation (NFL buzzword), Ray Lewis and Junior Seau would be #1 and #2 all-time in tackles. Seau's total is more impressive to me because he spent a majority of his career on the outside instead of the middle. It would be interesting to recreate an all-time tackles leader timeline...like who was the all-time tackles leader in 1950, 1960, 1970, etc. I think Joe Schmidt and/or Bill George would be on the list. I would guess Sam Huff held the title at some point, or maybe Ray Nitschke. Don't know if weird guys like Matt Hazeltine or Wayne Walker would show up.

I always thought it was odd that Seau played OLB for those 4-3 Chargers teams. Seemed as though you'd want to put that dominant player in the middle of the field

Even odder is that he was always elected as a middle/inside Lber. I spent a few days in the Chargers camp in 1992 and spoke to Bill Arnsbarger and John Fox . . . and them explaining the stack 4-3 . . . but Seau was often stacked, but he was never the "Mike" because over the over and under stacks he was not on the LOS like their other OLBer, I guess journalistic liberty allowed them to choose a stack 4-3 OLber as a ILB/MLB

[NWebster]

I would guess that regardless of inflation/de-flation (NFL buzzword), Ray Lewis and Junior Seau would be #1 and #2 all-time in tackles. Seau's total is more impressive to me because he spent a majority of his career on the outside instead of the middle. It would be interesting to recreate an all-time tackles leader timeline...like who was the all-time tackles leader in 1950, 1960, 1970, etc. I think Joe Schmidt and/or Bill George would be on the list. I would guess Sam Huff held the title at some point, or maybe Ray Nitschke. Don't know if weird guys like Matt Hazeltine or Wayne Walker would show up.

My guess, educated by some film some pbp and lots of conjecture. If you started counting in 1950 I think Bednarik would lead early, Schmidt would pass following 1957 when he was all over the place and understanding that Chuck was not LB every game for some of the previous few seasons. Huff might have passed him, maybe in his last year or two - but I guess peak Schmidt got more tackles than peak Huff. It probably stays and - again total conjecture - Butkus passes even as his light is dimming. Now its hard to pass, but possibly Lambet takes the reigns until passed by Seau, then Lewis.

At their height I think they were similarly impactful, but Schmidt made more tackles downfield than George.

I love questions without answers!!!

[Gary Najman]

I would guess Mike Singletary passed Lambert.