Like I said last article, the Outlaws are the best team in the league in large part to their defense, which despite having been remodeled every year, has been among the best all three years. One thing that has constantly been regarded as the best in the league unit wise has been the Outlaws' linebackers, which featured three pro bowlers last year. Hariff Ernston, Luke Luechly, and Jaylon Lee are regarded as three of the best linebackers in the NSFL, constantly getting pressures, making tackles, and being cogs in the middle of this defense. Today I will take a look at how they are doing this year and try to figure out just what makes them so dominant.
Luke Luechly
I have long said that Luke Luechly is one of the most underrated linebackers in the game. Even when it was time for him to be drafted, he had a number of scrubs taken in front of him while we knew that he was going to turn out to be a star linebacker and would be a perfect replacement for Brady Stropko. He is a guy who knows the sim engine well and knows how to play the game. He has raw athletic ability and is a player who has more talent than most of the guys taken upon him. Madden ratings already have him at an 86, one of the highest rated linebackers in the league. So far this season he leads the Outlaws in tackles with 81 tackles. He also has 1 forced fumble and has recovered 2 to go along with a tackle for loss. He also has 10 sacks, 5 pass deflections, and an interception to show that he is a well-rounded linebacker. He has recently shifted to the middle linebacker spot and has been shining, racking up tackles and leading the defense very well. Luechly is like a missile in the middle as he shoots up the gap and makes plays for this defense. He is consistently improving and is going to be scary for years to come, he might end up being the best linebacker to grace the field when it's all said and done.
Hariff Ernston
![[Image: jaylon-smith.jpg]](https://sportshub.cbsistatic.com/i/r/2016/12/21/bb937a03-e11b-4e33-9b2c-cff176d50292/thumbnail/770x433/a34e52eea1b85c599a532c85287e4217/jaylon-smith.jpg)
Ernston is one of the most colorful players in the league. He has a big mouth and a big heart for the game. He loves playing for the Outlaws and he makes it known, always talking about their successes or failures. Some of the league thinks he is too vocal for the Outlaws' own good, but he backs it up with his play. He constantly makes plays and was the linebacker of the year last year. He is an animal and constantly makes plays for the team. He has had a bit of a down year statistically this season, but he has still managed to perform at a high level and do what he needs to as a self-proclaimed coverage linebacker. Ernston has 68 tackles, 2 of which have been for a loss, but that is not where the Outlaws expect him to make an impact. Ernston has 9 sacks off the edge as well as 7 pass deflections in coverage. With this he has been able to get 2 interceptions and has a safety. He has constantly made plays when called upon, but with the improvement on the defensive line, it has gotten harder for him to have the chance to make plays, as it has with the other linebackers. For Ernston, he needs to really embrace his coverage linebacker role and use his speed to get to the quarterback more as well as dropping back into coverage and sticking to his man. Ernston sees his flaws and is always talking about improving, so there is no doubt that he will try to improve on his flaws as soon as possible.
Jaylon Lee
It always feels weird talking about myself in articles because I don't know if I'm giving myself more or less credit than I deserve. I have always regarded myself as the best middle linebacker in the league, but I was recently not getting a chance to show off my skill set, so I asked to be moved to a different linebacker spot and I have thoroughly enjoyed the change so far. Since I changed I have gotten 5 sacks in 3 games, which is my highest total through 3 games in my career. I have become rejuvenated in my excitement to improve now that I am being exposed to a new type of chance to record my stats. I led the league in tackles last year and have the highest total through 2 years, but I wasn't even getting tackles this year. My tackles and sacks and pass deflections are improving so I am happy. I have gotten 77 tackles and 4 tackles for loss, but those numbers have been growing at a faster rate since the change. I've also forced and recovered a fumble as well as having gotten 10 total sacks and 11 pass deflections. I am taking off as an outside linebacker and am improving at a very fast rate. With that, it is going to be a process to stay among the best linebackers as I have recently fallen behind in my development. I will need to improve quickly if we wish to remain the best linebacker corp in the league.
With this, we can see why these 3 linebackers have helped the Outlaws have one of the best defenses. Yellowknife is arguably the only team that could challenge for that title, but its hard to see how they could have three that work as well together and do their jobs as well as the Outlaws' players do. If the Outlaws keep up their development and continue to be their defense, it is hard to see how they could not have the best linebacker corps in the league. They just need to play well behind their dominant defensive line and the linebacking corp will continue to be part of what makes the Outlaws so damn good.
GRADED
Luke Luechly
I have long said that Luke Luechly is one of the most underrated linebackers in the game. Even when it was time for him to be drafted, he had a number of scrubs taken in front of him while we knew that he was going to turn out to be a star linebacker and would be a perfect replacement for Brady Stropko. He is a guy who knows the sim engine well and knows how to play the game. He has raw athletic ability and is a player who has more talent than most of the guys taken upon him. Madden ratings already have him at an 86, one of the highest rated linebackers in the league. So far this season he leads the Outlaws in tackles with 81 tackles. He also has 1 forced fumble and has recovered 2 to go along with a tackle for loss. He also has 10 sacks, 5 pass deflections, and an interception to show that he is a well-rounded linebacker. He has recently shifted to the middle linebacker spot and has been shining, racking up tackles and leading the defense very well. Luechly is like a missile in the middle as he shoots up the gap and makes plays for this defense. He is consistently improving and is going to be scary for years to come, he might end up being the best linebacker to grace the field when it's all said and done.
Hariff Ernston
Ernston is one of the most colorful players in the league. He has a big mouth and a big heart for the game. He loves playing for the Outlaws and he makes it known, always talking about their successes or failures. Some of the league thinks he is too vocal for the Outlaws' own good, but he backs it up with his play. He constantly makes plays and was the linebacker of the year last year. He is an animal and constantly makes plays for the team. He has had a bit of a down year statistically this season, but he has still managed to perform at a high level and do what he needs to as a self-proclaimed coverage linebacker. Ernston has 68 tackles, 2 of which have been for a loss, but that is not where the Outlaws expect him to make an impact. Ernston has 9 sacks off the edge as well as 7 pass deflections in coverage. With this he has been able to get 2 interceptions and has a safety. He has constantly made plays when called upon, but with the improvement on the defensive line, it has gotten harder for him to have the chance to make plays, as it has with the other linebackers. For Ernston, he needs to really embrace his coverage linebacker role and use his speed to get to the quarterback more as well as dropping back into coverage and sticking to his man. Ernston sees his flaws and is always talking about improving, so there is no doubt that he will try to improve on his flaws as soon as possible.
Jaylon Lee
It always feels weird talking about myself in articles because I don't know if I'm giving myself more or less credit than I deserve. I have always regarded myself as the best middle linebacker in the league, but I was recently not getting a chance to show off my skill set, so I asked to be moved to a different linebacker spot and I have thoroughly enjoyed the change so far. Since I changed I have gotten 5 sacks in 3 games, which is my highest total through 3 games in my career. I have become rejuvenated in my excitement to improve now that I am being exposed to a new type of chance to record my stats. I led the league in tackles last year and have the highest total through 2 years, but I wasn't even getting tackles this year. My tackles and sacks and pass deflections are improving so I am happy. I have gotten 77 tackles and 4 tackles for loss, but those numbers have been growing at a faster rate since the change. I've also forced and recovered a fumble as well as having gotten 10 total sacks and 11 pass deflections. I am taking off as an outside linebacker and am improving at a very fast rate. With that, it is going to be a process to stay among the best linebackers as I have recently fallen behind in my development. I will need to improve quickly if we wish to remain the best linebacker corp in the league.
With this, we can see why these 3 linebackers have helped the Outlaws have one of the best defenses. Yellowknife is arguably the only team that could challenge for that title, but its hard to see how they could have three that work as well together and do their jobs as well as the Outlaws' players do. If the Outlaws keep up their development and continue to be their defense, it is hard to see how they could not have the best linebacker corps in the league. They just need to play well behind their dominant defensive line and the linebacking corp will continue to be part of what makes the Outlaws so damn good.
GRADED
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