Eagles legend Eric Allen snubbed by Pro Football Hall of Fame again
If you had never seen any of the Philadelphia Eagles games and all you had to rely upon was numbers and the eyeball test, you’d probably assume that Eric Allen was already in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He isn’t though. Neither is Asante Samuel, and while the latter’s inclusion is also puzzling (just ask Darius Slay), we’ll argue that point another day.
In 2022, right before the next NFL regular season begins, another class of inductees will be enshrined into pro football’s immortals in Canton, Ohio. All will be deserving. No one’s stating that they won’t be. The issue is, for some reason, that the voters of this great honor continue to behave as though Allen isn’t.
One day before New Year’s Eve, the Pro Football Hall of Fame revealed its list of modern-era finalists after revealing 26 semi-finalists in November. Here’s the list: Andre Johnson, DeMarcus Ware, Devin Hester, Patrick Willis, Sam Mills, Zach Thomas, Jared Allen, Richard Seymour, Bryant Young, Reggie Wayne, Torry Holt, Ronde Barber, LeRoy Butler, Tony Boselli, and Willie Anderson.
Again, all of those guys are deserving, but again, what the heck is going on?
At this point, one must ask if the Hall of Fame has something against Eric Allen.
In terms of Allen, he has the numbers. He has the support of other Hall of Famers, like Deion Sanders. What he doesn’t have is a gold jacket, and ladies and gentlemen, each time another class is introduced, and Eric Allen isn’t included, it has to be taken as a slap in the face.
We mentioned the numbers earlier. Let’s discuss them. For his career, Allen amassed 54 interceptions, six forced fumbles, just under 800 career tackles, and eight defensive touchdowns in 217 regular-season games.
20 Former Eagles who deserve HOF consideration. light. Trending
He was named to six Pro Bowls (1989, 1991–1995). He was a First-Team All-Pro nod in 1989 and a Second-Team All-Pro in 1991 and 1993. He has one more interception than Deion Sanders (and 275 more tackles). If Eric Allen isn’t a Hall of Famer, we need to start re-evaluating what it takes to become one.