Dolphins LB Zach Thomas’ numbers are Hall of Fame-worthy but his absence is a mystery | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Dolphins LB Zach Thomas’ numbers are Hall of Fame-worthy but his absence is a mystery

Not being a first ballot inductee is not the end though.
 
Bob Kooch says"WTF!!! What about me?
 
Urlacher does have a DPOY award and lead a great defense to a super bowl loss with Rex Grossman as the QB, and has about 20 more sacks than Thomas. I think Thomas will go in eventually, just not this year.
 
Why must phin fans tear down one player to advocate for another?

Urlacher, had his issues, but his numbers outside Chicago were respected.
 
Zach Thomas’ numbers aren’t clearly better than Urlacher’s; if anything, Urlacher has the edge. And I don’t know how Cote is defining “better career,” but there’s certainly no way you can say that Thomas has a clearly better career than Urlacher.

Maybe Thomas gets in, maybe he doesn’t. But the fact that Urlacher is in this year instead of Thomas is no injustice.
 
Urlacher was a hell of a LB and made a ton of splash plays...on top of that he was perhaps one of the, if not the most popular players in the NFL during his time as a player. While the Hall of Fame should not be about popularity, it does have an impact.
 
Zach Thomas was a quiet guy and not a media darling. He didn't have a sack dance and he didn't run up and down the sideline rallying his teammates. He just did his job every week, and better than just about anyone during his era. There is no reason this guy shouldnt be on the ballot.
 
Zounds said:
Zach Thomas was a quiet guy and not a media darling. He didn't have a sack dance and he didn't run up and down the sideline rallying his teammates. He just did his job every week, and better than just about anyone during his era. There is no reason this guy shouldnt be on the ballot.
Click to expand...

When the lights were the brightest...
 
Urlacher's career got more notoriety because throughout most of it he was the only player on their defense, make that their entire team. Thomas shared the spotlight with three other first team all-pros (Taylor, Madison, & Surtain) on defense alone.
 
While Zach was a great player he was not the "monster in middle" that Urlacher was. I don't know how this author can possibly make the case that "they are the same player" when anyone with eyes could see that they were not at all similar (except for maybe their intensity). But full credit to Zach - the numbers he put up in spite of his size/speed deficits - truly amazing. A huge tribute to his smarts, instincts and toughness. Not a prototypical MLB, but a great one nonetheless.
 
Just because "Zach isnt in", doesn't mean "Urlacher shouldnt". Urlacher was a MONSTER, and absolutely deserves the HOF, and as much as I love Zach ... and believe me, I LOVE HIM, I miss him so much ... Urlacher clearly had the better career: 8 Pro Bowls ... 5x 1st or 2nd Team All-Pro ... got to a SB ... was 2000 DROY ... the DPOY in 2006 ... and hes on the 2000s All-Decade Team. To be fair, Urlacher's credentials are better than Zach's to be brutally honest, and it is not an injustice, travesty, or in any way "unfair" that he is in before Zach.

Now here is the good news for Zach Thomas fans that want him in the HOF (myself included):

If another MLB is to get elected to the HOF, Zach should be the next to go. His credentials are there, and are certainly worthy: 7 Pro Bowls ... 7 1st or 2nd Team All-Pros (5x First Team All-Pro - one edge that ZT has over Urlacher. ZT was voted an All-Pro more times) ... 2x LB of the year ... and he is on the 2000s All-Decade Team with Lewis and Urlacher ... And with Lewis and Urlacher going in at the same time so fast, that leaves Zach plenty of time to get in without having to compete against Lewis or Urlacher in the coming years in regards to MLBs. Now some years might be more difficult with a whole bunch of guys coming up on the ballot (2019 - Gonzalez, Bailey, Reed ... 2020 - Polomalu, Wayne ... 2021 - P. Manning, Woodson, C. Johnson) ... but Zach could get in one of these years, once the committee gets caught up, assuming they put at least 5 modern-era candidates in each year, which they pretty much do anyway.

Zach has until the year 2033 to get in as a modern-era candidate. Ill give it to year 2028 ... if he is not in by then, then honestly, I would worry about him not getting in.
 
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