Fred Dean: Heading to Canton

Citação :

Former Chargers defensive end Fred Dean was relaxing in front of the TV in his Louisiana home Saturday afternoon when a news crawl came across the bottom of the screen that lifted him out of his easy chair.

“I felt my blood pressure rise a little bit,” Dean said. “All of the sudden I started sweating like I’d been doing something outside. It was quite a moment.”

Shortly after seeing his name on the sports ticker, Dean received a call from the Pro Football Hall of Fame that confirmed what he’d just seen. After waiting 15 years, Dean is headed to Canton. He was one of six players voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday.

“I’ve been pretty speechless,” Dean said. “It means the world to me. I never really pictured being in the Hall of Fame. It’s like my whole career. I never pictured playing in the NFL. I just kept working hard and had opportunities come my way. I know this is the tip of the iceberg. I’m just ecstatic at the thought of it. To be selected is just a blessing all around.”

A standout college linebacker at Louisiana Tech, Chargers selected Dean in the second round of the 1975 NFL Draft and moved him to defensive end, where he spent his entire professional career. Dean represented a new breed of smaller but quicker defensive ends and was one of the most feared pass rushers of his era. He used his speed and quickness to fly past offensive tackles and reach opposing quarterbacks.

The NFL did not make sacks an official statistic until 1982, but numbers kept by teams indicate that he recorded nearly 100 sacks during his 11-year career. In 1978, Dean unofficially posted 15.5 sacks, which would be the third-highest single-season mark in Chargers history were it official. He unofficially logged nine sacks in 1979 and 10.5 in 1980.

Early in the 1981 season, Dean was traded to the San Francisco 49ers where he continued to thrive as a disruptive force. Dean recorded 12 sacks in 11 games for the 49ers en route to the team’s first Super Bowl victory.

Dean played for five division winners during his 11-year career. He played in three NFC championship games and in two of San Francisco’s Super Bowl victories. Dean earned all-conference honors four times – twice with the Chargers and twice with the 49ers. He was also named to four Pro Bowls (1980-1982, 1984) and selected All-Pro twice (1980-1981).

Dean is joined in the 2008 Hall of Fame class by a pair of former Washington Redskins, cornerback Darrell Green and wide receiver Art Monk, as well as former Patriots linebacker Andre Tippett, Vikings and Broncos offensive lineman Gary Zimmerman and Chiefs cornerback Emmitt Thomas.

Inductions will be at the Pro Football Hall of Game in Canton, Ohio on Aug. 2. That means Dean will have seven months to gather his thoughts and put his thoughts into words, which was something he had a hard time doing Saturday.

“It really hasn’t sunk in yet,” Dean said. “It’s a feeling that is really overwhelming. Finding words to speak about it is difficult. I just thank God and I thank the selection committee. I feel so blessed.”

Pra quem não sabe ler inglês, ou tá com preguiça de ler, eu vou falar um pouco sobre a história de Fred Dean.

Fred Dean nasceu em 24 de Fevereiro de 1952 no estado de Louisiana. Ele jogou como Linebacker e como defensive lineman na universidade de Lousiana Tech.

Em 1975, ele foi draftado no segundo Round pelo San Diego Chargers, e o técnico Tommy Prothro passou Fred Dean para a posição de Defensive End. Pelo Chargers, ele foi o melhor da divisão duas vezes, em 1979 e em 1980 comandando a linha defensiva do Chargers.

Ele saiu do Chargers no seu auge, em 1981 depois de um holdout e foi para o San Francisco 49ers. Na sua primeira temporada na linha defensiva do 49ers, ele registrou vários sacks e ganhou seu primeiro Super Bowl se mostrando um jogador muito valioso na defesa do 49ers e uma aquisição espetacular sendo eleito o NFC Defensive player of the year.

Na temporada de 1983, Fred Dean registrou 17 sacks, incluindo o recorde de 6 sacks em uma partida, já batido. Na temporada seguinte, ele ganhou seu segundo Super Bowl pelo 49ers comandando a linha defensiva. Em 1985 ele se aposentou com dois anéis de Super Bowl.

Fred Dean é principalmente conhecido por sua habilidade como um pass rusher. Na sua primeira temporada pelo Chargers, em 1975 ele registrou 7 sacks. Ele também registrou 15.5 sacks em 1978, 9 em 1979 e 10.5 em 1980 o que dá números a habilidade em atacar o passe adversário. Foi ao Pro Bowl e foi eleito para o all-pro team duas vezes pelo Chargers (1979 e 1980) e duas vezes pelo 49ers (1981 e 1983). Ele registrou 93 sacks e uma interceptação em 141 jogos em sua carreira.

Em 2008, ele foi eleito para entrar no Hall of Fame, se tornando o sexto jogador que já jogou no Chargers a ir para o Hall of Fame.

Legal este post, falar de um novo Hall of Famer...

Kaminski,

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