A greatest Chicago Bears list is always going to incite debate. That’s expected because these things are based heavily on the opinions of the writer. Still, one would expect some common sense to be injected into the format with certain names belonging on the list. So it was a considerable shock when the NFL’s latest incarnation fell flat in a number of areas.
What makes it even worse is the man who wrote it is columnist Adam Rank, an unabashed Bears fan. He’s made some outstanding points about the team and why it should be taken seriously in 2018. So for him to miss this badly on a greatest Bears of all-time list? It stings a little bit. That said he at least got a few things right.
Here’s the list in its entirety.
Chicago Bears
1) Walter Payton, RB (1975-1987)
2) Gale Sayers, RB (1965-1971)
3) Dick Butkus, LB (1965-1973)
4) Mike Singletary, LB (1981-1992)
5) Devin Hester, RS/WR (2006-2013)
6) Brian Urlacher, LB (2000-2012)
7) Red Grange, RB (1925, 1929-1934)
8) Bronko Nagurski, RB (1930-1937, 1943)
9) Bill George, LB (1952-1965)
10) Richard Dent, DE (1983-1993, 1995)
11) Sid Luckman, QB (1939-1950)
Coach: George Halas (1920-1929, 1933-1942, 1946-1955, 1958-1967)
What he got right:
Alright before people think I’m just tearing the list to shreds, I’m going to give Rank props where he deserves it. Walter Payton is the obvious choice for #1. He’s the standard by which all other Bears are measured, missing just one game in his career. He retired the NFL’s all-time rushing leader and has an argument for being the best all-around football player in history.
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George Halas being the coach is also a no-brainer. He won eight NFL championships and held the record for the most wins in league history until Don Shula finally broke it in 1993. Dick Butkus and Brian Urlacher are also in fair positions respectively at #3 and #6. With that said, it’s time to make some serious corrections.
What he got wrong:
Look I get the impact that Red Grange had. His college success was pivotal to bringing eyes onto the NFL when Halas signed him in the 1920s. It grew the game is so many ways. At the same time, he wasn’t all that remarkable on the field. He missed two entire seasons in 1926 and 1928, one over a contract dispute and the other with a knee injury. His numbers were great early for the time but didn’t sustain for too long.
If he must be on the list, then he should be near the bottom. The same must be said for Devin Hester. This is painful to say because I’m a huge Hester fan but this must be about an objective view. There’s no question he’s the greatest return man of all-time and belongs in the Hall of Fame. Yet for true career impact? It doesn’t belong on the list.
Put it this way. Pro-Football-Reference has a stat called Career Approximated Value that numerically quantifies how successful a player was. Payton is predictably at the top. Hester? He’s in a three-way tie with Adewale Ogunleye and Terry Schmidt. For all his brilliance, Hester scored just 36 touchdowns in his career. Gale Sayers, who is only three spots ahead of him, scored that many in his first three years.
What he got really wrong:
Speaking of Sayers, putting him at #2 is wrong. There’s no denying he was brilliant during his early career, but these lists can’t project what he might’ve been had he gotten hurt. The fact is he did get hurt and only played 68 career games. He doesn’t belong that high. On the flip side, having Sid Luckman barely making the list at #11 is a travesty.
This guy remains the only Hall of Fame quarterback in Bears history. He paved the way to four NFL championships, this despite his team being picked apart by World War II. He still holds the record for most TD passes in a game with seven and won MVP in 1943. So for him to be at #11? That’s an insult.
Then there might be the most glaring oversight of all. How in the world did Dan Hampton not make the list? He’s the best defensive lineman in Bears history. With all due respect to Richard Dent who absolutely belongs on the list, the fact is much of his success as a pass rusher can be attributed to playing next to Hampton.
From the early to mid-1980s, the man was unblockable. He stuffed the run well and was equally devastating as a pass rusher. His official stats say he had 57 career sacks. In truth, that number is considerably higher since sacks weren’t an official statistic during his first three seasons. If people want an idea of how impactful he was, check this out from the Chicago Tribune.
“He played 157 games and the Bears were 103-54. Of the 27 games he missed because of multiple knee injuries, the Bears won only 10.”
Yet he’s not on the list at all.
That’s a crime. All in all the list has some good points but overall it lacks severely in too many areas to be considered solid. There’s a little too much romanticism and not enough hard fact involved with it. Such things are common. Hopefully next year if the NFL gurus end up doing another one they get some of this stuff fixed.
