Hall of Fame Overlooks Blitzing Bear Richard Dent
Not only was Richard Dent once again on the outside looking in as the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees were announced last week, but the former Bears great seems to be moving farther away rather than getting closer to Canton.
But Dent -- who wasn't even a finalist this year after making it to the final cut the previous two years -- said he's used to having to overcome a lack of appreciation.
"My old college coach used to say that the hay is in the barn,'' Dent said Monday before an appearance at the Holmes Place Health Club in downtown Chicago. "Once you did your work throughout the week and it's time to play, you've just got to make sure you're prepared and you play your best. When I came into the league, my first three years, I led the league [in sacks] two years in a row and I didn't get anything for it. I didn't get Defensive Player of the Year or Defensive Lineman of the Year. But I did get a Super Bowl ring, and I did get Super Bowl MVP.
"Sure, you want to be recognized for what you did throughout the season, especially from your peers. But since I didn't get anything much when I played, I'm not expecting to get anything now. I never was a chosen child from the Chicago Bears to be promoted that way. I was always fighting against the odds. If I did those same things today and was a second- or third-round pick, then the whole world would know.''
Dent was an eighth-round pick out of Tennessee State in 1983 and went on to play 14 NFL seasons, 11 with the Bears. He remains their all-time sack leader.
"At this point, I'm just enjoying my life,'' Dent said. "My hay is in the barn, I know what I did and I know it's more than a lot of guys who are in the Hall.''
Dent was among the former Super Bowl MVPs honored before Sunday's game. He thought the Bears would have fared better against the champion Pittsburgh Steelers than the Seattle Seahawks did.
"They had played the Steelers before, were more familiar with them and like to hit you in the mouth like the Steelers do,'' Dent said. "Still, the Bears are a talented young team that can come back and take this league by storm in the next couple of years.''
Former Bears linebacker Otis Wilson, a teammate of Dent's for four seasons, said he believes Dent will make it into the Hall of Fame sooner or later.
"It took Lynn Swann 13 years to make it,'' Wilson said, "and he was one of the most celebrated wide receivers who won four Super Bowls and kept his nose clean.
"At the same time, when you see some players make the Hall in their first shot when they haven't done half as much as Lynn or Richard, it makes you wonder who is driving the car.''
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