Giants Legend Lawrence Taylor Reveals What Era He Would Have Loved to Play In
In the opinion of legendary New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor, the game of football has changed a great deal since the Hall of Famer's heyday.
Taylor, appearing on the "Let's Go!" podcast, co-hosted by legendary quarterback Tom Brady and sportscaster Jim Gray on the SiriusXM network, spoke about the vast differences in the NFL's rules from how things were played during their respective careers in the 1980s and early 2000s.
The two-time Super Bowl champion remarked to Brady that he wished he could have played in the quarterback's era while alluding to it being a factor in why the future Canton, Ohio, inductee was able to accomplish all that he did in 22 seasons under center.
"Tom, I wish I could have played back in your era," Taylor said. "I could see how you did all that you've done. Because you've done more than any other player could even think about doing from an offensive point of view. If I'm going into the game and I'm thinking, 'How am I gonna have to play you?' Wow. I mean, that's a whole lot of work, man.
"You have some great skills, man. You should be very proud of what you've done. And I know you are very proud because when we look at the best, think about the best, and reminisce about the best, your name's gotta be on the top level, on the number one level right now."
Dominating the gridiron in his time came easy for Taylor, who played for the Giants from 1981-1993 and punished opposing offenses with his brutal aggressiveness and physicality en route to an accomplished career. Along with his two rings, the 64-year-old was a former MVP, three-time defensive player of the year and 10-time Pro Bowler. He earned the league's sack title in 1986 with 20.5 takedowns.
Keeping the fearsome linebacker from wrecking the backfield was always a challenge for the other side, as the former first-round pick collected nearly 1,100 career tackles, 142 sacks, 33 forced fumbles, 11 recoveries, nine interceptions, and two defensive touchdowns. Yet, he considers the prime years he had to be a folktale in today's game, partly "because of the rules."
"The game has changed a little bit, you know?" Taylor said. "Just a couple weeks ago, I saw a running back [D'Andre Swift] get fined for trucking. What the hell is trucking? He got fined for running over the DB. I don't understand that. The game has changed a little bit. I like the era that I played in because if I was playing nowadays, I probably wouldn't last the game."
Shockingly enough, Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl champion and NFL all-time passing yards leader, didn't give full credence to the current rules for his unmatched success as a player. Instead, he felt that the game was governed more similarly to Taylor's era and opined that the sport has recently lost its defensive aggressiveness.
"I say the rules now are a lot different even than when I started," proclaimed Brady. "And I've been on record for saying this, I've told Jim a thousand times, I don't like the way that it's gone because there are people like, every time you would've hit the quarterback, there would've been a flag. And the reality is defenses should be aggressive.
"There was a hit on (Chiefs quarterback) Patrick Mahomes last night where he was running outta bounds, where he wasn't even outta bounds. And, you know, the quarterbacks need to learn how to throw the ball away. They need to learn how to read defenses so that they can get the ball outta their hands. I always felt like my best protection was getting rid of the ball. Even in my day, it would've been hard for you to sack me just because I knew how great you were and how fast I needed to throw the ball that day."
Gray asked Taylor if he could see him thriving in the current league or if his play style would prevent him from conforming to the present rules. His answer was pretty simple, stating he would undoubtedly be thrown out of the game.
"Have you ever known me to conform to anything? (laughs) I would get thrown out. It'd been hard for me to play. I may have ended the season owing them money!"
Albeit his grievances against the NFL's state of competitiveness, Taylor shared with the co-hosts a slew of defensive players that impressed him, and he could foresee taking their skills and play styles into the form that shaped his career for over a decade.
None of the names on his explicit list were current Giants players, but perhaps with time and a mastery of the NFL's rule book, the team could unearth it's next diamond in the rough.
"I do understand the younger guys that are coming up that are playing good football. You look at [Micah] Parsons and at [Aaron] Donald, and you look at the Watt brothers--those guys can play. Everybody can play, but there's an era for everything. Listen, back in my era, I was pretty good. Nowadays, I don't think I could finish a game nowadays."
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