OH BOY! Each Team's greatest defensive player

Cardsfanstl

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Roger Werhli and Larry Wilson come to mind also. Played in a different era than Aneas but both hall of famers.
 

Jetstream Green

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Eric Swann when healthy was the biggest force ever at DT... the one man Larry Allen said he feared and never wanted to make mad :)
 

cards4life

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Cool article! We really do have a powerful defense. We are 3rd in the NFL for blitz frequency and have only allowed a completion rate of 34.7% beyond 10 yards. Heres a cool look at our passing defense map:
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ARZCardinals

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A. Williams was DOMINANT for years. He was the best player the Cards have ever had!

I've seen some good players come and go...and Larry Fitz is up there with Williams, but there was Williams Island well before there was ever Revis Island.
 

Buckybird

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Eric Swann when healthy was the biggest force ever at DT... the one man Larry Allen said he feared and never wanted to make mad :)

Too bad the Iggles kept chop blocking his knees or I think he had HOF potential. Most dominating force the Cards have ever had on the Dline including Greer & Harvey.
 

Jetstream Green

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Too bad the Iggles kept chop blocking his knees or I think he had HOF potential. Most dominating force the Cards have ever had on the Dline including Greer & Harvey.

Aeneas is a great choice for modern times due to his longevity of excellence, dude would shut down a whole side of the field... Swann would dominate the whole field up front :)
 

Buckybird

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Aeneas is a great choice for modern times due to his longevity of excellence, dude would shut down a whole side of the field... Swann would dominate the whole field up front :)

Oh I ain't disagreeing with the choice (still proudly sport his jersey), I'm just saying what could've been with #98
 

Buckybird

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Roger Werhli and Larry Wilson come to mind also. Played in a different era than Aneas but both hall of famers.

Best Cards player ever still to this day IMO is Mr Cardinal...#8!!! That could shortly change with #11
 
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Chris_Sanders

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Great article because the Cardinals have had some good defensive players.

This site says Aneas Williams. Hard to argue that, but it can be argued.

Technically Dick "Night Train" Lane is a Cardinal and he literally revolutionized his position. Players still use his techniques.

What say you ?

It's Night Train. Still holds the NFL record for most INTs in a season back when they didn't throw the ball.
 

Jetstream Green

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Oh I ain't disagreeing with the choice (still proudly sport his jersey), I'm just saying what could've been with #98

I have a Eric Swann jersey with the tight defensive cut to prevent holding from the 1998 '100th anniversary' playoff year with the Snake... and I am proud too lol
 

Shane

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Aeneas hands down!
 

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I would love to see some Eric Swann highlights. I remember him being a force, but I was so young, and with all the home games being blacked out, it's difficult to remember how good he was. Youtube searches yield no results, as far as I can find.
 

NJCardFan

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I would love to see some Eric Swann highlights. I remember him being a force, but I was so young, and with all the home games being blacked out, it's difficult to remember how good he was. Youtube searches yield no results, as far as I can find.

If Swann was able to stay healthy, if Wadsworth would have stayed healthy as well, and if Rice would have stayed here we would have had one of the greatest defensive lines in football up there with the Steel Curtain, Purple People Eaters, Fearsome Foursome, and Gang Green. That line of Swann, Wadsworth, Rice, and Mark Smith accumulated 28 sacks alone in 1998. They were down right scary. Sadly, what was behind them weren't that good(we were something like 15th overall defense) even with Miller, A-Dub, and Lassiter we were mediocre behind the line.
 

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Wilson gets my vote. He created the safety blitz and changed the game!
 

Redheart

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A. Williams was DOMINANT for years. He was the best player the Cards have ever had!

I've seen some good players come and go...and Larry Fitz is up there with Williams, but there was Williams Island well before there was ever Revis Island.

Saw him shut-out Irvin in his prime. Not one catch all game.
 

Buckybird

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Wilson gets my vote. He created the safety blitz and changed the game!

Yep! That's why he's know as Mr Cardinal. 40+ years of service & outstanding play makes him the man. Has anyone else ever had 2 INTs in one game with 2 broken hands & casts on them, let alone played?

I would say most here never saw #8 ever play which plays a part. He was Ronnie Lott before Ronnie Lott! Nasty nasty player & not big.

I met Larry walking by the fences on the field at SDS in 1998 & it gave me chills
 
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Kel Varnsen

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I would love to see some Eric Swann highlights. I remember him being a force, but I was so young, and with all the home games being blacked out, it's difficult to remember how good he was. Youtube searches yield no results, as far as I can find.

Maybe someday the NFL will let us stream full seasons of all the teams so we could sit back and watch, say, the full 1996 Cardinal season.

I wore my #35 jersey for those years, but when Eric Swann was at the top of his game, there was no stopping him. It was incredible to see him throw around giant men like toys.
 

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