The Chicago Bears have more representatives in the Pro Football Hall of Fame than any franchise in the NFL. Richard Dent was their most recent addition a few years back, the key pass rusher of the famed 1985 team. Hopes were high coming into 2018 that another iconic defender who receive his call. That being middle linebacker Brian Urlacher.
He certainly left behind quite the legacy with eight Pro Bowl appearances, a Defensive Rookie of the Year award, a Defensive Player of the Year award and standing as a man who revolutionized his position. Nobody had ever seen a player with his size and athleticism before. Throw in one of the sharpest defensive minds on the field and it made for a dominant force that made Bears football so much fun to watch.
Well, today the rest of the football world was reaffirmed of that greatness. The voters at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio saw fit to make Urlacher the 28th Chicago Bears player in history to be enshrined.
Brian Urlacher gets well-deserved validation for his brilliance
#Bears MLB Brian Urlacher has been voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Congrats to him. Tribune story: https://t.co/BeVL5c3h07
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) February 3, 2018
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There was genuine concern from many Bears fans over this selection process. While nobody fear he would get in at some point, the feeling was he might be kept off the first ballot. Not because he wasn’t worthy but because the selection committee might not want to put two players from the same position in at the same time.
Urlacher retired in 2013. Unfortunately, he had the hard luck to walk away the same year fellow middle linebacker Ray Lewis did as well. If one were to go by the numbers alone, Lewis was an undoubted lock to get in on his first try. He’s a 13-time Pro Bowler, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time Super Bowl champion.
He’s superior to Urlacher in every important stat category. It shouldn’t diminish the fact Urlacher was superior to nearly all the other candidates, but this is what makes the voting process flawed. Thankfully the voters had some common sense and didn’t let position dictate the fact that both men defined defensive football in the NFL for over a decade.
Some have even said that pound-for-pound, Urlacher was actually the superior player. He just didn’t have the benefits Lewis did of playing on better teams. Either way, Bears fans can rest easy. Their former hero is where he belongs now.
