Gold Jacket Spotlight: Richard Dent ‘definition of dominating’
Gold Jacket Spotlight
Published on : 9/11/2023
Bill Tobin, director of the Chicago Bears’ personnel department at the time, might have said it best while expressing astonishment that RICHARD DENT didn’t come off the 1983 NFL Draft board until the eighth round.
“I don’t know why teams stayed away from him so long. I had a very high grade on him,” Tobin said. “We thought he was the best pass rusher in the draft that year. We would have taken him in the fifth round if we’d had a fifth-round pick that year. But we didn’t have a fifth or a sixth or a seventh. When he was still there in the eighth (round), we jumped at him.”
Richard, the 203rd overall pick of that draft, who, coincidentally, played 203 career NFL games and earned Super Bowl XX MVP honors, steps into this week’s Gold Jacket Spotlight.
During his initial season with Chicago after a stellar collegiate career at Tennessee State University, the Bears inserted Richard into every game, including three as a starter at defensive end. His immediate impact resulted in him becoming a consistent starter in the 1984 season.
The Bears were rewarded with that decision. Richard responded by leading the NFC with a team-record 17.5 sacks. The 1984 season began a 10-year span in which he would record 10 or more sacks eight times.
The Bears’ single-season sack record belonged to Richard until 2021.
Richard was an integral part of a Bears’ “46” defense that ranks as one of the best of all time. Throughout the 1985 regular season, the Bears allowed 198 points – 12.4 per contest – and shut out two of three playoff opponents.
PETE ROZELLE, the National Football League Commissioner at the time and a Pro Football Hall of Famer, remarked, “The Monsters of the Midway have really returned.”
Teammate Al Harris noted Richard’s value to the defense saying, “Richard, to me, turned our defense into a great defense, because you need a great pass rusher.”
An NFL films production titled “The Chicago Bears: Top Ten Defenses of All-Time,” said the Bears’ defense was successful, in part, to “quick-cat rusher Richard Dent.”
“He was just a prototype defensive end,” former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms said at the time of Richard’s enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “He could overpower you, but mainly he could just always get on the edge, and he had the long arms. Even when you blocked him, he reached around.”
Chicago Bears guard Tom Thayer observed, “He could stand up and cover off the line of scrimmage, but he could also dominate tight ends, tackles and double-teams. To me, that’s the definition of dominating.”
In the playoffs following the 1985 season, the defense added additional jaw-dropping numbers on their way to the Super Bowl XX championship. In a span of three postseason contests, the Bears allowed an average of 3.3 points per game, including two shutouts, and conceded one touchdown. That championship path included a 21-0 victory against the New York Giants, a 24-0 shutout of the Los Angeles Rams and a dominating performance in the 46-10 win against the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
“If we’re not one of the best teams of all time,” Richard said, “I’d like to see the others.”
Richard totaled three tackles, 1.5 sacks and forced two fumbles during Super Bowl XX, earning him the MVP award.
“I had a dream I would make MVP. If you’re not a dreamer, you have to be a believer, or you’ll never be a winner,” Richard declared after winning the recognition.
Richard, indeed, was a dreamer, a believer and a winner.
In 2011, Tennessee State University coach Joe Gilliam presented Richard for enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, prompting Richard to declare: “Becoming a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame is something that no one ever will be able to take away from me.”
“I don’t know why teams stayed away from him so long. I had a very high grade on him,” Tobin said. “We thought he was the best pass rusher in the draft that year. We would have taken him in the fifth round if we’d had a fifth-round pick that year. But we didn’t have a fifth or a sixth or a seventh. When he was still there in the eighth (round), we jumped at him.”
Richard, the 203rd overall pick of that draft, who, coincidentally, played 203 career NFL games and earned Super Bowl XX MVP honors, steps into this week’s Gold Jacket Spotlight.
During his initial season with Chicago after a stellar collegiate career at Tennessee State University, the Bears inserted Richard into every game, including three as a starter at defensive end. His immediate impact resulted in him becoming a consistent starter in the 1984 season.
The Bears were rewarded with that decision. Richard responded by leading the NFC with a team-record 17.5 sacks. The 1984 season began a 10-year span in which he would record 10 or more sacks eight times.
The Bears’ single-season sack record belonged to Richard until 2021.
Richard was an integral part of a Bears’ “46” defense that ranks as one of the best of all time. Throughout the 1985 regular season, the Bears allowed 198 points – 12.4 per contest – and shut out two of three playoff opponents.
PETE ROZELLE, the National Football League Commissioner at the time and a Pro Football Hall of Famer, remarked, “The Monsters of the Midway have really returned.”
Teammate Al Harris noted Richard’s value to the defense saying, “Richard, to me, turned our defense into a great defense, because you need a great pass rusher.”
An NFL films production titled “The Chicago Bears: Top Ten Defenses of All-Time,” said the Bears’ defense was successful, in part, to “quick-cat rusher Richard Dent.”
“He was just a prototype defensive end,” former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms said at the time of Richard’s enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “He could overpower you, but mainly he could just always get on the edge, and he had the long arms. Even when you blocked him, he reached around.”
Chicago Bears guard Tom Thayer observed, “He could stand up and cover off the line of scrimmage, but he could also dominate tight ends, tackles and double-teams. To me, that’s the definition of dominating.”
In the playoffs following the 1985 season, the defense added additional jaw-dropping numbers on their way to the Super Bowl XX championship. In a span of three postseason contests, the Bears allowed an average of 3.3 points per game, including two shutouts, and conceded one touchdown. That championship path included a 21-0 victory against the New York Giants, a 24-0 shutout of the Los Angeles Rams and a dominating performance in the 46-10 win against the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
“If we’re not one of the best teams of all time,” Richard said, “I’d like to see the others.”
Richard totaled three tackles, 1.5 sacks and forced two fumbles during Super Bowl XX, earning him the MVP award.
“I had a dream I would make MVP. If you’re not a dreamer, you have to be a believer, or you’ll never be a winner,” Richard declared after winning the recognition.
Richard, indeed, was a dreamer, a believer and a winner.
In 2011, Tennessee State University coach Joe Gilliam presented Richard for enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, prompting Richard to declare: “Becoming a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame is something that no one ever will be able to take away from me.”
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