(Photo: Pro Football Hall of Fame)
1. Antonio Gates: I still remember when he broke into the league and I was asking myself, who’s this guy wearing the number 85? Well, he was an undrafted free agent out of Kent State and was a basketball star before making his name in the NFL. Who would come to know that this guy who was told he was a tweener by NBA scouts would turn to football and the rest is history? Antonio Gates is one of the five greatest Tight Ends I’ve had the privilege of watching. I saw him use his basketball moves on the football field and it worked for him because he was able to create a little bit of separation, then almost box out the defender as if he were going up for a rebound. Antonio finished his career with 116 touchdowns which is the most by a Tight End in NFL history and what makes this more impressive is he never played a down of college football. This gold jacket is more than deserving.
2. Jared Allen: You know me quite well by now and you should know the rule. You better have game if you have two first names and this man did. Jared may have not received a ton of recognition, but he was always a force within his defenses. Jared had one of the quickest releases off the snap of the ball and had such a strong sense of reading tackle sets. In other words, if you weren’t low in the trenches, he had the speed to dip and drive underneath to get to the Quarterback. At 6’6, Jared used the long arms, height and long strides to his full advantage and one aspect of his game was his athleticism and his ability to twist, turn and be slippery against anyone attempting to block him. If you weren’t on your p’s and q’s against him, he would exploit that and use it to his advantage. Jared is 12th all-time on the sacks list with 136 in his career.
3. Sterling Sharpe: We can all say this together- It’s about time! Sterling Sharpe was a force to be reckoned with and who knows how his career would’ve panned out if injuries didn’t derail him. Sterling was a Wide Receiver that had it all such as the hands, the quickness to get open to catch the ball, the ability to power himself up the field and in single man coverage, just throw it in his direction and he was coming away with it. Deion Sanders even stated Sterling was one of his toughest matchups and when an all-time great in Prime is saying this, you’re valid as far as I’m concerned. Only if that neck injury didn’t happen and he wasn’t forced to retire early, he and Brett Favre were on their way to being one of the best Quarterback/Wide Receiver tandems. Today, Sterling will join his brother, Shannon in Canton as they will become the first set of brothers inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
4. Eric Allen: The “Gang Green” defense had their group of star players such as the late Jerome Brown and Reggie White, Andre Waters and Clyde Simmons and if you ask me, Eric Allen was just as vital to this group as the others I just mentioned. Eric fell to the Eagles in the second round of the 1988 NFL Draft in the second round and the rest is history. Eric was a ball hawk and a shutdown corner that always wanted to travel with the opponents number one receiving option. He never depended on the interception to make an impact as he would deflect the ball away and when one of his teammates would tip the ball, Eric knew to be in the right position at the right time. He spent the first seven years of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles, played for the Saints and ended his career with the Raiders.
