A Tribute to Charles Woodson

Greetings, G-Force.

It's rare that I write a double take for the week. But, I figure that instead of including Charles Woodson in the weekly take, I'd write a short blog entirely devoted to him.

Without question, Woodson is the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year. He's the first player to ever win 2 NFC Defensive Player of the Month awards. Each week, he's been the player that seems to have the biggest impact on the game. I'd argue that he's having the best defensive year of any Packer in my lifetime. The only men that have come close was Reggie White in 1998 when he was the NFC's Defensive Player of the Year and LeRoy Butler in 1996.

For the year, in 13 games, Woodson has 60 tackles. 8 interceptions. 4 Forced Fumbles. 1 Fumble Recovery. 2 sacks. 2 TD's. 14 passes defensed. 1 Heisman Trophy pose.

The Packers record for interceptions in a year is 10. 10 times - a Packer has had 9 interceptions. If Woodson plays in 16 games this year, he's likely to grab at least one more interception and possibly two more to tie the record.

For comparison sake, in 1998, Reggie White had 16 sacks. He forced 3 fumbles and recovered 2. He had 46 tackles. While Reggie was spectacular, he faded down the stretch with only 1 sack over the last 5 games.

In 1996, LeRoy Butler was the anchor of our Super Bowl Champion defense. It should be mentioned that - as a whole - the '96 Packers defense is extremely underrated in the history rankings. Butler finished with 87 tackels, 6.5 sacks, 5 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 TD, 1 Lambeau Leap and 149 return yards. Sadly, today, LeRoy Butler lives in national anonymity when he should be in the NFL Hall of Fame.

Regardless of where Woodson's '09 season ranks, he's clearly having a remarkable year that will long live in the legends within the great history of the Green Bay Packers organization.

I'm hoping for another TD.

Cheers,

Talkin' S-Mac.
talkins-mac.blogspot.com