Читать книгу The 50 Greatest Players in Chicago Bears History - Robert W. Cohen - Страница 16

Butkus performed brilliantly for the Bears as a rookie in 1965, leading the team in tackles, interceptions, and fumble recoveries, with his magnificent play helping them limit their opponents to 104 fewer points than they scored the previous season. Butkus also had a huge year in 1967, recording unofficial totals of 111 solo tackles, 35 assists, and 18 quarterback sacks, with Chicago statisticians later tabulating that he was involved in 867 of 880 defensive plays for the Bears. And, of course, Butkus earned NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors in both 1969 and 1970, concluding the second of those campaigns with 132 solo tackles, 84 assists, three interceptions, and two fumble recoveries. But Butkus recorded 182 tackles and three interceptions in 1968, with football researcher John Turney of Pro Football Journal writing in 2016, “after talking to people who studied Butkus, they feel 1968 was his best season overall.” We will not dispute that opinion here.