Big Blue Wrecking Crew

The Big Blue Wrecking Crew was the defense for the New York Giants during the 1980s that won two Super Bowl Championships, the first in Super Bowl XXI in 1986 and the other in Super Bowl XXV in 1990. A 3-4 defense, it was among the greatest NFL defenses of all time, and featured Lawrence Taylor as its star, considered by many to be the greatest defensive player in NFL history.

The New York Giants, while historically a successful franchise, suffered a long playoff drought lasting from 1964 after losing the 1963 NFL Championship to the Chicago Bears until 1981 when they clinched their first playoff berth in 17 seasons on the last day of the regular season by defeating the Dallas Cowboys with a game winning field goal in overtime.

The New York Giants of the 1970s struggled, posting losing records in 9 of the 10 seasons from 1971 to 1980. The Giants fortunes began to shift in 1981 with the drafting of Lawrence Taylor, as well as the shrewd management of general manager George Young, and the leadership of linebacker coach, defensive coordinator and eventual head coach Bill Parcells. The personnel moves of Young and the hard-line attitude and aggressive coaching of Parcells would be the primary factors of the rise of the Giants in the 1980s. Additionally the drafting of Taylor began the era of perhaps the greatest linebacker corp in NFL history: the Crunch Bunch.

The Crunch Bunch was an impressive group of linebackers, including future Hall of Famers Harry Carson and Lawrence Taylor as well as five-time Pro Bowler Brad Van Pelt and Brian Kelley. As a unit they totaled 24 Pro Bowl selections and though they only played together for three seasons from 1981 through 1983 it set the foundation for Giants defensive dominance through the 1980s. The unit was anchored by Taylor, who NFL Network named the 3rd greatest player of all time and the best defensive player. The defensive coordinator of the Giants during this span was Bill Belichick, who would go on to coach the 2000s New England Patriots to three Super Bowl Championships in four years.

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