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It seems in 2020, more than in previous years, players are doing their best to help their NFL brethren get into the Hall of Fame. Maybe it is the power of social media, but players, not always former teammates, are doing what they can to draw positive attention to those vying for enshrinement.
For the Pittsburgh Steelers, we’ve already seen this as Tom Brady and Ray Lewis both gave verbal support for Troy Polamalu to be a first ballot Hall of Famer. As for Alan Faneca, who has been a finalist for the Hall of Fame for several years, he got a boost from an unlikely source in former Chicago Bears LB Brian Urlacher.
Check out what Urlacher had to say:
Former #Steelers G Alan Faneca has been a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist 5x while also being a 6-time First-Team All-Pro & 2-time Second-Team All-Pro. HOFer Brian Urlacher had this to say about Alan's football career: pic.twitter.com/Jscl7PusFz
— Burt Lauten (@SteelersPRBurt) January 27, 2020
Here is Urlacher’s full quote:
“Alan’s athletic ability and physicality at the guard position set the tone for their whole team. He played at such a high level for such a long time. You know who the good players are. To do it as long as he did it — and as good as his teams were all those years, I think success with a team has a lot to do with it as well and the way you win as a team. They won up front. They rant the ball. They protected their quarterback. Like I said, that started with him. He was the guy up front.”
The difference between Faneca and Polamalu is most everyone believes Polamalu will be wearing a gold jacket this summer in Canton, OH. However, the same hasn’t always been true for Faneca. As stated earlier, Faneca has now waited several years as a finalist, only to be passed up year after year. His career is Hall of Fame worthy, but the guard position on the offensive line isn’t as glorious as a center or tackle.
Will Urlacher’s praise and support put Faneca over the top? It certainly can’t hurt, and is largely why these players are voicing their opinion to possibly sway the committee who votes on every class which enters the Hall of Fame.
Both Faneca and Polamalu will learn their fate this week leading up to the Super Bowl, and Steelers fans can only hope for both to get in, joining Bill Cowher and Donnie Shell as inductees of the 2020 Hall of Fame class.
Stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the 2020 regular season.