Bears Blitz

Published by Bryan Dietzler on December 3, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Have you ever bought a lottery ticket?  Have you ever sat in front of the television as they called off the numbers and realized that they were calling off the same numbers on your ticket only to miss the last two and miss getting any money whatsoever?  

Imagine how former Bears defensive end Richard Dent must have felt the past few years.  Imagine him being selected as a semifinalist for the Hall of Fame only to be told that he wasn’t selected.  This has gone of a few consecutive seasons now.  It’s time that Dent finally made it in.

There is no question that Dent deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame.  After all, he was a big part of that 1985 Bears defense, the one that helped lead them to the Super Bowl and eventually win it.  Dent was even named the MVP of that game, a rarity for defensive players.  

Dent came to the Bears as an eighth-round draft pick in the 1983 NFL Draft out of Tennessee State.  The Bears plugged him in at one of their defensive end positions and he had almost immediate success.  He racked up an incredible 34.5 sacks during the 1984 and 1985 seasons and was a big part of the Bears success on defense.

The 1985 season was a great one for Dent and the Bears.  During that season, he recorded a total of 17 sacks along with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.  During the Bears romp through the playoffs that year, Dent had what some consider to be the best “run” by a defensive lineman in NFL playoff history.  In Chicago’s game against the New York Giants, Dent recorded a total of 3.5 sacks to go along with seven tackles and two forced fumbles.  During their Super Bowl win against the New England Patriots, Dent earned his MVP honors by creating two forced fumbles, sacking the quarterback twice and knocking down a pass.  

It was a truly remarkable performance.

But is Dent’s career performance enough to get him voted into the Hall of Fame, finally?  He has missed getting the NFL’s biggest honor for the past eight years now and his time has come.  He needs to be voted into the Hall.

Voting for the Hall of Fame has become an oddity over the past few years.  It seems as if more players who are eligible to get in on their first try are getting into the Hall of Fame sooner than others who have been semifinalists for quite some time.  Just look at how many first-year players have gotten into the Hall on the first try.  Guys like former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin and his partner quarterback Troy Aikman got in on the first ballot.  There have been others but for some reason the voters are not getting Dent into the Hall.

Perhaps some of it has to do with the fact that the voters’ memories are getting shorter and shorter.  Perhaps they tend to vote more the guys that they remember easily than they do for the guys they don’t.  Dent’s career ended a while ago and the voters may not remember what he did as a Chicago Bear and that may be why he’s not getting that final vote to get into the Hall.

Dent is definitely someone that deserves to be in the NFL Hall of Fame.  His career numbers are good enough to get him in and his impact over the course of his career should be enough to punch his ticket to Canton.  This needs to be the year he gets into the Hall.

What are your thoughts?  Does Dent deserve to get into the Hall of Fame?

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