If Brian Urlacher gets into the HoF, shouldnt Zach Thomas get in also?

at end of the day, it won't surprise me (although it will depress me) if Zach doesn't get into HoF. just look at the media discussion after both guys retired. With Urlacher - the discussion is 1st ballot or 2nd ballot HoFer. With Zach - the discussion was HoF at all.

 

I think both should and will get in eventually, whether or not they'll be first ballot is another matter. I think one of the problems Zach has compared to Urlacher is that he was playing in the same conference as Ray Lewis; arguably the dominant linebacker of his generation. Given that the Bears and Ravens have been more successful than us over the respective players careers it leads to the notion that it was Lewis vs Urlacher for the best in the NFL.

I also don't think the fact that Zach was undersized should come into it, the HOF is a place for those that have achieved the most during their careers; how big or fast should be irrelevant in such a discussion, its simply about who were the best players.

 

The All Pro argument is the thing that really stands out to me.

The AP has been doing an All Pro list for nearly 50 years and there have been 544 offensive and defensive players voted to 1085 spots. Only 49 players have made All Pro 5 or more times, and only 69 players have made All Pro 4 or more times.

There have been exactly 100 players drafted from 1965 through present day that have been elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This suggests that not only should Zach Thomas get into the Hall of Fame, but that he is one of the better candidates for it.

Of the 69 players that have 4 or more All Pro honors, 21 of them (including Zach Thomas) are stuck in "To Be Determined" status on their Hall of Fame enshrinement because they're not yet eligible. That would be 22 if you count Michael Strahan (4-time All Pro) whom most didn't expect to be snubbed this year. Only TWO other guys have been eligible for Hall of Fame status but haven't made it (yet).

Michael Strahan - Like I said he only just became eligible this past year, was a finalist, and was surprisingly snubbed. He's a 4-time All Pro and high on the list of all time sacks. I think he's virtually guaranteed to get in relatively soon, if not next year.

Chuck Howley - This is the one that is disturbing. Howley played through the 60's and early 70's and racked up 5 All Pro honors and 6 Pro Bowls. He hasn't even appeared on the ballot yet. I suppose the argument against him could be that he made the All Pro list for the first time in the second year of the list's existence 1966, and from there made the next 4 lists. Perhaps this achievement is denigrated a little bit because the selection process was considered not very sophisticated back then? He did NOT make the 1960's All Decade Team, FWIW.

LeRoy Butler - Not quite as disturbing as Howley. LeRoy Butler was a 4-time All Pro, like Michael Strahan. But he only went to 4 Pro Bowls as well, and there have been suggestions that while those 4 seasons were great, his other seasons were really just so-so. He's 88th on the all time interceptions list.

So I mean...there you have it. Only 3 out of 48 eligible players with 4 or more All Pro 1st Team honors have been snubbed, and one is virtually guaranteed to make it anyway.

Only ONE player of the 36 players with 5 or more All Pro 1st Team honors has been eligible for enshrinment and still been snubbed. Zach Thomas would have to be another Chuck Howley not to make it.

 

Zach is da' man! As Phil Simms always said, "The smartest defender in the league." He compared him to Peyton Manning in football smarts. NOBODY could watch film like Zach and diagnose a play. He should become a DC.

Here's an old wallpaper I did.

 

There needs to be a process to grandfather in players 20+ years removed from NFL activity to free up space for younger guys. I think that might be the only way Zach is kept out for a significant period of time (someone older taking his spot).

 

The most disturbing Hall of Fame snub is probably Chuck Howley, if you're a Zach Thomas fan.

However I think it's important to note that the Selection Committee decides the All Decade Teams, and they did NOT select Howley for the 1960's All Decade Team. However, they DID select Zach Thomas for inclusion on the 2000's All Decade Team.

In a Q&A on why Howley is yet to be enshrined, Rick Gosselin focused on that, the fact that Howley was snubbed from the All Decade team by the same people who select the Hall of Fame. He said it's a good indication of which way the wind is blowing for them. But Gosselin said that the committee has Howley on their priority list of seniors and he seemed to think it a matter of when, not if.

If indeed the All Decade voting is an indication of which way the wind is blowing on a guy, I would say that Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher will indeed be priorities to get in over Zach Thomas, and that Derrick Brooks COULD be a priority as well. Urlacher and Lewis won't be eligible for 5 years whereas Brooks and Zach are eligible next year. That means there will be 4 vptes where Zach and Derrick could make the Hall before they can even consider Ray and Brian.

Again, we can try and out-think ourselves on this, but this is a matter of when, not if. Zach Thomas is going to the Hall of Fame.

 

Zachs legend will continue to grow, at a position known for the true beasts playing it, he will get recognized for him being able to accomplish the same result with much less to work with and with a cerebral approach.

 

I wonder why DT Tim Bowens isn't a candidate for the hall of fame he sure has earned it as far as I m concern.

 

I don't think Tim Bowens has earned a Hall bid.

 

It's the "Hall of fame", not the "Hall of Pretty Good."