The yearly snub of Philadelphia Eagles legend continues.
At this point, you have to ask what anyone who has a vote for the Pro Football Hall of Fame is thinking. From 1998 until 2001, Eric Allen was one of those rare and special athletes that redefined what it meant to play the cornerback position as he became a Philadelphia Eagles legend. He’s deserved his spot in history for quite some time.
Unfortunately, on the fifth day of our new year. We were reminded of something. Flash sometimes wins over substance, and awards and recognition are sometimes reduced to popularity contests.
Right around November 24th, 25 modern-era NFL legends were named as semifinalists for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Allen was among the list of football icons. On January 5th, his run was over as the list was slimmed to 15 names. In what’s become sort of an annual tradition (or screw job), Allen’s name was left off of the list.
Here are the 15 semifinalists: defensive end Jared Allen, defensive end and defensive tackle hybrid Richard Seymour, defensive backs Ronde Barber and Charles Woodson, tackle Tony Boselli, safeties LeRoy Butler and John Lynch, guard Alan Faneca, linebackers Clay Matthews, Sam Mills, and Zach Thomas, wide receivers Torry Holt, Calvin Johnson, and Reggie Wayne, and quarterback Peyton Manning.
Let’s talk about one of the greatest Philadelphia Eagles of all time.
Now, this isn’t one of those ‘who should be on or off the list stories’, but ask any football pundit with an opinion that you respect and they’ll tell you that you could search for years and never find a better player than Eric Allen. He’s equally as deserving as anyone on that list to have his bust carved, but the longer it takes, it becomes easy to wonder if his day will ever come.
His 789 career tackles are 277 more than Hall-of-Famer Deion Sanders and trail Hall-of-Fame inductee Ty Law‘s total by only 49 even though Law played one more season. His 54 interceptions mean that he has seven more than Ronde Barber, one more than Prime and Ty Law, and two more than Champ Bailey.
Allen also turned defense into offense as he returned nine turnovers for touchdowns. That’s five more than Champ, two more than Ty Law, and, if we aren’t counting Deion’s nine touchdowns as a returner, one fewer defensive touchdown than the man many see as the best to ever play the position (no disrespect to anyone like Rod Woodson, who the same can be said about). And, you still don’t see Allen as a legitimate Hall of Famer?
These days, defensive backs often wear the number 21 because Neon Deion wore the number 21. In Allen’s case, though he has respect for Prime, their sharing of that now-iconic jersey number was merely a coincidence. Eric Allen created his own legacy. Sanders himself was even quoted once as saying that he felt that it was past time to put Allen in.
It’s just a shame that this six-time Pro Bowler, member of the Eagles 75th Anniversary Team, and member of the Eagles Hall of Fame’s legacy continues to be ignored and has been ignored for approaching 20 years now. As Eagles fans, we demand a recount. Eric Allen’s spot in football immortality is long overdue.