As of now, only one player from the 2000s Chicago Bears teams has made it to the Hall of Fame. That was Brian Urlacher. The big debate now is whether any of his teammates will join him. Most believe Devin Hester has the best chance considering he’s the greatest return man in NFL history. Lance Briggs and Charles Tillman deserve to get in, considering their contributions. Yet people might not be talking enough about Olin Kreutz.
The guy was arguably the best at his position for the better part of a decade. He made six Pro Bowls and captained one of the most physical offensive lines the Bears have ever produced. You must’ve been pretty good when opponents respect and fear you equally. Kreutz had a chance to discuss the topic on Sports Talk Chicago with Jon Zaghloul. He offered some fair points about why he thinks his candidacy for Canton is strong enough.
Olin Kreutz managed to stand out in rough circumstances.
Put it this way. This wouldn’t even be a debate if he’d played with better quarterbacks. It isn’t his fault the Bears saddled him with guys like Cade McNown, Shane Matthews, Jim Miller, Craig Krenzel, Jonathan Quinn, Rex Grossman, and Kyle Orton. That he could still make six Pro Bowls and land on the 2000s All-Decade team regardless is a testament to his ability. Missing only one game in ten years also indicates his reliability.
If the Bears had managed to win the Super Bowl in 2006, there is a strong likelihood Olin Kreutz would already be in. That is, unfortunately, how skewed voting can be. Either a player must put up otherworldly stats if they have no ring or win several rings if their stats are good but not great. In Kreutz’s case, it’s even worse because there are no stats to help illustrate how dominant he was. The only glimpse we have comes from Pro Football Focus. From 2006 to 2011, Kreutz gave up a total of 62 pressures and eight sacks in 84 games.
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That is greatness personified. Hopefully, the Hall of Fame voters see sense someday.
I don’t why everyone in the media kisses this guy’s butt. He was an ok center ,but hall of famer is a stretch. Plus he can’t help himself but get in passing matches with ownership. So why would they promote him to the H of F
Kreutz couldn’t hike the ball clean to Grossman. There were a lot of bad exchanges including in the Super Bowl. No, not Hal of Fame caliber..
Should he be a Hall of Famer? Yes. But Jay Hilgenberg deserves it more.
Makes me wonder how many guys in the HOF had similarly bad luck.
And how many lacked Mr K’s talent, but got the “Fame” part by getting drafted by better teams.
Olin and Jay Hilgenberg were the best . Other than the 85 win you couldn’t split them . Great leadership and best at their position