[CBFF] Yellow Jacket Dreams

[Jerry Madsen]

http://bloggeddrain.typepad.com/cbff/2007/08/yellow-jacket-d.html

by Jerry Madsen

Last night I watched portions of the HOF induction day ceremony.  As I
watching, the scrolling ticker indicated that the Bears lead all teams
with 26 inductees followed by Green Bay's 21 (In what don't catagory
don't we lead Green Bay?).

As I sat there watching, for me, it beged the question, when will we
again see a Bear taking up some space in Canton?  Considering the lean
years we went through in the 90s, I would imagine that there will be
quite a lull for the Bears before we see another one of ours donning a
yellow jacket.

But that aside, here's my top 5 possibilities for future induction in
the Pro Football Hall of Fame:

1 - Brian Urlacher - I think he is the the most obvious choice at this
point, but that presupposes that he continues at this high level of
play for a few more years.  I believe the days of shorter career
inductees is over (e.g. Gale Sayers).

2 - Richard Dent - Richard may have to wait until the last year of his
eligability like Roger Wehrli, but I still believe it will happen for
him... eventually.

3 - Jay Hilgenberg - I'm of the opinion that Hilgenberg was the unsung
hero of the Bears teams that won the division 6 outta 7 years from
1984 to 1990.  But he made it to the Pro-Bowl 7 times and wears Super
Bowl hardware.

4 - Kevin Butler - I know, I know.  A kicker?  Among his 19 team
records, "Butthead" is the Bears all time leading scorer with 1,116
points, easily leading second place Walter Payton's 750 points.  (Not
bad for somebody who made a living kicking in the old Soldier Field).
His leg helped lead the Bears to a Super Bowl win his rookie year.  In
1989 he kicked 24 consecutive field goals and is already a member of
the College Football HOF.

5 - Olin Kreutz - Like Hilgenberg, he was been a stalwart on the Bears
offensive line; and he's had to do it through some pretty dark years
for the franchise.  He's been a regular represenative for the Bears in
Hawaii with 6 pro-bowl trips.  Like Urlacher, I believe he needs to
continue at this level for a few more years.

Honorable Mention - Tommie Harris - He's got a L O N G way to go
before he can legitimately be considered in any HOF discussion, but if
he comes back from his hamstring injury as strong as he was and
continues that level of play for several years to come, he'll have a
shot at getting a bust.