That is why Derrick Brooks,arguably the greatest OLB to play in the Tampa 2, was so valuable to the Tampa Bay Bucs, and why he made 11 pro bowls and was named All Pro 5 times. He wasn’t lauded because he made a lot of sacks or int’s for that matter. Simply put, he was paid to make a lot of tackles, and that is exactly what he did, and what Greenway did this year.

Additionally, the reason that I question your knowledge of the Tampa 2 is because, you you under-value Greenway and tackling. Your comment about expecting more “impact plays such as forcing fumbles, making sacks and a handful of interceptions” tells me you me you might should consider writing about other subjects such as gardening, for instance. We all like FF’s, sacks and ints, but FF’s are few and far between for any player, LBs are not supposed to get many sacks in the Tampa 2 (its designed to have fast LBs dropping back in coverage, and relies on getting pressure by the DL; you will note the Vikings don’t blitz Greenway much, in keeping with the scheme; its mighty hard to get sacks as a LB when you don’t blitz).

You suggest that Greenway should be more interested in Getting a handful of interceptions than in leading the league in tackles for outside linebackers…. really? Tell me, just who does consistantly get “handfuls” of Ints from the LB position?

For the record, the aforementioned Brooks got a grand total of 25 interceptions in his 14 year career, during which he was a full time starter. This is an average of 1.8 per year. Seven times he got 1 or none for 1/2 of his career. As far as sacks go he had a whopping 13.5…… not in his best season, but in his career! He averaged less than one per year!

To illustrate how you need to re-consider the value of sacks and ints to an outside linebacker in the Tampa 2, consider that in 2000 Brooks was in the Pro Bowl, and voted All Pro, and he had a grand total of 1 sack and 1 interception! He did have 146 tackles, but what does that matter?