Was Antrell Rolle the Giants best safety ever, post -1975?

but I don't remember how good he was.

Spider: Terry Kinard was good as was Myron Guyton. Those three came up in my mind almost immediately.

.

Terry Kinard was a very good player.

had some great hits

It was quoted once (I forget the source) that he didn't miss a tackle all year in 1990 until the Super Bowl (when Thomas broke a tackle in the open field).

Garnes was also really good for a few years.

A lot of the guys mentioned were really good, none were great, but more than half of them were better than Rolle.

Just curious.

Wooten.

You're welcome.

In comment 12208259 wgenesis123 said:

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Just curious.

Bizzarre post. We are talking Giants on a Giants forum. Who gives a shit what you do or don't care about? If you don't care, why post?

Dick Lynch pretty significant in Giants lore.

was a very solid player for us too but I would say rolle has been the best of the bunch. Lets not forget Gibril Wilson either. Shaun Williams I always remember as a guy with all the talent that never developed to be the player I expected

Gibril Wilson's 3rd year many of us were laughing at the Redskins for selecting Shawn Taylor with their 1st pick of the 2004 draft. Wilson was our 5th round pick. After his 3rd season, he was playing really, really well.

I believe he got injured shortly thereafter and was never quite as good. For a short period of time, he looked to be among the best safeties in the NFL.

In comment 12208368 mrvax said:

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Gibril Wilson's 3rd year many of us were laughing at the Redskins for selecting Shawn Taylor with their 1st pick of the 2004 draft. .

People were laughing? S. Taylor may have been the Lawrence Taylornof safeties he was great. He was the best safety I've ever seen.

but I still have to mention Emlin Tunnell.
Defensive back/safety along with Tom Landry in the Giants' innovative "umbrella defense" who was the first African American Giant and 1st African American inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. After a brief stint with the Packers he came back as Asst Head coach, and mentored what became known as "Emlin's Gremlins" - he gave Carl Lockhart the nickname "Spyder".

I ever saw. Kenny Phillips had a lot of potential but not much luck. That was a real shame.

In comment 12208398 Giants2012 said:

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In comment 12208368 mrvax said: ... S. Taylor may have been the Lawrence Taylor of safeties he was great. He was the best safety I've ever seen.

Ronnie Lott was the best safety I've ever seen play. Sean Taylor was great, but he even at his best, he wasn't Ronnie Lott.

that didn't exactly play to his strengths, but he was the quintessential good solder and did well regardless the assignment. We saw glimpses of the playmaker he good be roaming centerfield but he was too often asked to play in the box or support some other ailing aspect of the defense.

I think the one guy who comes close would've been Gibril, had the injuries not slowed him down. He was a human missile his rookie year until that stinger. Even after leaving he still had productive stints in Oakland and Miami. His status as a journeyman is owed more to bad management giving him contracts that made him an easy target for clearing cap space. Not counting the final year of his career when he sat on the bench in Cincy in the two seasons he played after leaving NY he had 220+ tackles, 2 picks, 2.5 sacks, and 8 passes defended. He's still only 33, had the game not taken his toll on his body so quickly he may very well still be playing. Gibril was a good one.

In comment 12208258 Milton said:

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It was quoted once (I forget the source) that he didn't miss a tackle all year in 1990 until the Super Bowl (when Thomas broke a tackle in the open field). Garnes was also really good for a few years. A lot of the guys mentioned were really good, none were great, but more than half of them were better than Rolle.

That last line is a huge stretch. You're underrating rolle big time. He wasn't perfect but no NYG saftey left a bigger mark on this franchise than rolle. When you factor in rolle's leadership and overall personal here, the guy was practically the face of this defense since his arrival.. Never missed a game, damn good player despite some limitations, and he won a ring...

Yes rolle was the best. Kinard could have been special but couldn't stay healthy same with phillps...Jackson and guyton were very good but rolle left a bigger mark here and it's obvious.

Should read persona but my iPhone speck check sucks big balls.

In comment 12208259 wgenesis123 said:

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Just curious.

You must be a lot of fun at parties

I must have missed that. I remember a guy with lots of talent who got beat frequently. Maybe he would have been great at some point, but to mention him in the same breath as LT or Ronnie Lott is absurd.

but Will Hill was right up there.

was better.

Oh and Sean Taylor has become enormously overrated. That guy was never a problem.

9/11. That game stunk. Another vote overall for Phillips, but there's no standout candidate as the absolute best in the sample.

A lot of these guys had some great seasons, but none of them had more than two or three seasons of plus player production.

In comment 12208553 mfsd said:

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In comment 12208259 wgenesis123 said: Quote: Just curious. You must be a lot of fun at parties

Sometimes, I think some people must have real emotional issues.

but nothing special. For the amount of money he made he should have been a difference maker - a playmaker. Didn't see it.

A lot of the guys mentioned were just as good as Rolle, if not better.

a bunch of the guys we've drafted have gotten major injuries just when they were starting to look great.

was the best I've seen from a Giants S in that time. wasted on an almost unwatchable team

Rolle didn't miss one single game here since he signed with NY back in 2010. NOT ONE. The guy played nickel when asked to and was never a liability on the field save for his last season in 2014 when the entire front 7 played like chicken fried dog shit for 12 games. Rolle at his best was a good physical player that could adequately cover and was a stud in the box.

He's the best safety to play for this franchise when you add everything up. Phillips was a freakish talent but he couldn't stay on the field. Wilson was very good for a year then solid for 2. I'm just grateful the Giants got one or two big time seasons out of Kenny Phillips because they don't win the super bowl without his services in 2011.

Rolle left a bigger mark than any safety has for this franchise since the 70s. IT's not even close.

The sum was greater than the individual parts. Neither one was more than merely "good" individually, but together they represented the best pair I've ever seen on the Giants.

my top 4 Safeties in my lifetime:

Tunnell(though nearing end when I started following)

Patton

Lockhart

Rolle

Those guys laid the lumber.

Rolle was an up and down player. He could look really good at times and really bad at other times.

was Guyton Jackson although Rolle Phillips was really good in 2011, especially December through early February. Remember heading into the 89 season and a lot of people were down on the Giants. They were in transition but it was a great transition... Guyton and Jackson were unknowns but they kicked ass for a few years, notably 89 and 90. They both laid the wood back there. I think Jackson was capable of and did more but Guyton seemed to be the heavy hitter if memory serves.

What I wouldn't give to see some young talents emerge like that this coming season. Man we'd be set in the secondary for years to come...

as much as I respected his tenure here and it was a definite success it's more me somewhat condemning the position than praising Rolle. We just haven't seen very much long term stability at the position. Rolle's pretty much set the bar since the 70s.

They're really different positions now from what they were back then. A lot more passing, rules that basically outlaw the kind of hits that were commonplace at the time.

The one thing that sticks out to me about the safeties (and corners) we had back then was how physical they were, and how teams' WRs would just give up at some point during the game. Granted, the personnel there were just damn good at it, but even if our current day guys wanted to, you can't play the game that way anymore.

=)