Brian Urlacher mentioned recently that he would be honored to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame with his counterpart from the Ravens, Ray Lewis. He also picked Lewis over Dick Butkus as the greatest ever NFL linebacker even though Butkus is already a member of the Hall of Fame.
Ray Lewis, at least, is pretty much a shoe-in for the next Hall of Fame ballot. He joins a list of guys that are as good as any who have ever played the game. It remains to be seen if Terrell Owens and Randy Moss will be working in the league this coming season but both are probably headed to Canton next time around.
It could turn into a double-whammy for Hall of Fame quarterback Archie Manning as two of his sons, Peyton and Eli are both up for election into the Hall.
Since moving to Denver, Peyton Manning has done much more that was to be expected from just a quarterback. But then again, Peyton has never been just a simple quarterback. He is a team leader and his statistics need not even be considered when it comes time to make the HOF selections.
His little brother Eli doesn’t seem to have had any problems playing in the shadow of his famous older brother. Eli has made a reputation for himself leading the New York Giants to consecutive winning seasons and a couple of prime Super Bowl victories. Remember the one in the snow?
What else can we say about Tom Brady? Obviously he is one of the best field generals to have ever played the game. Just in post-season play, Brady has a 17-7 record throwing 42 touchdown passes.
The other quarterback up for consideration is Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints. Drew has proved his capabilities both on and off the field for the Saints and led them to the Super Bowl in 2010. Brees has a 94.3 quarterback rating.
It is probably time for the great Tony Gonzalez to be mentioned in the Hall of Fame discussion. He was all set to retire from the Falcons at the end of last season, but they talked him into coming back for one more year to top off a stellar career.
