The Pro Football Hall of Fame isn’t the most accurate depiction of the sports’ greatest players, coaches and executive. If that were true then it would’ve involve a voting process by several human beings with different beliefs and opinions. There’s a reason why some players who have gotten in thanks to the equivalent of massive political campaigns. That’s perhaps the biggest reason the Jimbo Covert Hall of Fame induction didn’t happen decades ago.
Veteran Bears columnist Dan Pompei has brought this subject up a number of times over the past few years. He, among many others, believe Covert belongs in Canton. It’s difficult to find legitimate reasons why he’s been left out. Sure his career ended a bit prematurely due to neck problems but he still accomplished more than enough to earn his gold jacket.
Especially when one hears stories of just how dominant he was during his peak years in the 1980s. Pompei took to The Athletic in order to plead the case of Covert, this time using an amazing story about his run-ins with iconic pass rusher Lawrence Taylor. Not to mention the personal opinion of the great Bill Parcells.
Jimbo Covert Hall of Fame push starts with his dominating LT
“Perhaps the most feared pass rusher in NFL history was Lawrence Taylor. With a crazed look in his eyes, LT broke quarterbacks’ bones and shredded offensive coordinators’ game plans. He was voted Defensive Player of the Year three times.
There was one offensive tackle, however, who was able to handle him with no help from his teammates.
Jimbo Covert held Taylor without a sack in the three games they squared off. They were big games, too. Two of them were in the postseason, and the third was the season opener in 1987 that pitted the previous two Super Bowl champions against each other.
“Covert was better than all of those guys in the NFC at the time — way better,” former Giants coach Bill Parcells said. “It’s not close. He was one of the best in my 30 years in football. Other guys had to have help against Taylor.”
Offensive linemen by nature struggle to get into the Hall of Fame. This primarily due to not having any stats to back up their exploits. It’s why those positions, more than any other, have so many notable names still absent from Canton. Covert isn’t the only member of that Bears offensive line who remains a huge snub. Former center Jay Hilgenberg has been kept out as well. He was a seven-time Pro Bowler.
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How is it possible that an offensive line that paved the way to four-straight years of being the #1 ranked rushing team in the NFL not have at least one Hall of Famer? It boggles the mind and puts the voting process in a bad light. Hopefully they’ll finally see sense with Covert becoming eligible for the senior vote in 2018. Maybe telling one or two stories like the Taylor one to them may help his case.
Not that watching his tape would have a similar effect.
