Top 5 Packers awaiting HOF

packerboiI lick rainbows

This week, Packer Plus examines the top five retired Green Bay players who are not hall members.
5. RICH McGEORGE
Tight end, 1970-'78
116 regular-season games
The Packers selected the 6-foot-4, 235-pound McGeorge, both a football and basketball standout at Elon, with their second selection (16th overall) in the first round of the 1970 NFL draft.
McGeorge was underutilized in run-orientated offenses and played with 15 quarterbacks in his nine seasons. The steady blocker and receiver totaled 175 receptions for 2,370 yards and 13 touchdowns in his tenure.
"Rich was a real talented individual," teammate Larry Krause said. "I wish he was in the NFL today where the tight end is more involved in the passing game. Rich didn't get a lot of opportunities, with the way the game was then and the Packers' emphasis on running the ball. If we did throw, it was mainly to the wide outs."
4. EMLEN TUNNELL
Safety, 1959-'61
37 regular-season games
Tunnell only played three seasons for the Packers, but the future Pro Football Hall of Famer's value to Vince Lombardi's team went far beyond the playing field.
Lombardi traded for Tunnell from the New York Giants, anchoring his defensive backfield with a proven player who knew his system. Tunnell led the team with two interceptions in 1959 and was selected to the Pro Bowl and was a key starter on Green Bay teams that advanced to the NFL title games in 1960-'61.
"We had three black players on the team at the time," Willie Davis said. "Things were quite different in the NFL and society in the 1950s and '60s.
"Emlen and I sat up and talked about the likelihood of us choosing Green Bay, a city where many folks hadn't even seen a black person before. There is no question in my mind that Coach Lombardi brought diversity to his team, and other teams throughout the league joined in the movement."
3. JIM CARTER
Linebacker, 1970-'75, 77-'78
106 regular-season games
Carter faced the unenviable task of following a Green Bay legend and fan favorite Ray Nitschke.
Pat Peppler, former personnel director from 1963-'71, said: "I really liked Jim, he was a good hard-nosed football player, a good leader and a personable guy. Fans couldn't expect him to replace Nitschke, a legend, who had a great supporting cast throughout the 60s."
Carter admitted he did not handle the negative fan reaction well and had some off-field issues that complicated the situation. On the field, he was the defensive leader and starter on the 1972 NFC Central Division championship team and a Pro Bowl selection in 1973.
He led the team with 157 total tackles that season and was a consistent performer on some suspect Green Bay defenses for eight seasons.
2. BRIAN NOBLE
Linebacker, 1985-'93
117 regular-season games
Noble, a former standout prep linebacker, tight end and punter from Anaheim (Cailf.) High School, was the Packers' fifth-round draft choice out of Arizona State in 1985.
Noble was a warrior, a throwback 6-foot-3, 250-pound linebacker built to stuff the run. And he fulfilled that role for nine seasons in Green Bay.
He was the Packers' leading tackler four times (113 in 1986; 89 in '87; 138 in '89; 121 in '91) in his career. His best season was 1989, when Noble recorded 71 solo tackles and 67 assists, along with two sacks and two interceptions in Green Bay's 10-6 season.
Just as the Packers were becoming a consistent winner under Mike Holmgren, Noble's career ended on a horrific leg injury in the second game of the 1993 season against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lambeau Field.
1. TIM HARRIS
Linebacker, 1986-'90
76 regular-season games
Harris was an instant impact player on some porous Green Bay defenses under Forrest Gregg and Lindy Infante.
A nonstop talker on the field, Harris backed it up by leading the Packers in sacks in each of his five seasons in Green Bay. He earned Pro Bowl and all-pro honors with a team-record 191/2 sacks in 1989 and ranks third in team history with 55 sacks.
In his 10-year NFL career, he totaled 81 sacks, with 26 coming with the San Francisco 49ers. In the Packers record books, he ranks behind only Reggie White (681/2 from 1993-'98) and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (741/2 from 2000-'08).
"Tim lived up to his brag — everyone respected him," Gregg said. "He didn't ask for any quarter, and he didn't receive any. I was spot playing him as a rookie.
"Then I asked my defensive coaches who our best pass rusher was and he became a starter. Tim worked hard to develop his skills."

6/27/143:26 PM

Original Post

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packerboiI lick rainbows

To be clear, this is awaiting the Packers HOF.

If Majik Man is in there, pretty sad that #1 and #2 are not.

6/27/143:27 PM

heywardKaty Perry is bouncy

Originally Posted by packerboi:

To be clear, this is awaiting the Packers HOF.

If Majik Man is in there, pretty sad that #1 and #2 are not.

Agree. In fact, Harris was better than most of the players voted in recently. And how in the world did Majkowski get in? If the bar is set that low, the PHOF will run out of space for inductees by 2025.

6/27/143:43 PM

Fond Du ArrigoNostradamus

I never heard of Emlen Tunnell until Jim Harbaugh referenced him in response to Matthews' late hit on Kaepernick in last season's opener.

6/27/143:58 PM

StarrToDowlerMember

If you weren't around in the '60's, Fond, that's not surprising. For those few of us who were... he was a HELL of a player. Vince knew it, and went above and beyond to bring him to Green Bay.

6/27/144:17 PM

PackdogMember

I knew it, you're just a "casual".

6/27/144:20 PM

fightphoe93Member

I loved Tim Harris. He was like a 1 man wrecking crew on defense. I was happy to see him get a Super Bowl ring even though it was with the '49ers.

Agree that if Majkowski got in, Harris should as well. I suppose some might not like the fact that he held out and got traded, but the NFL is a business and back in those days there was no free agency for guys of his caliber. There was the Plan B stuff, but Harris wouldn't have fallen under that plan.

6/27/145:00 PM

EC PackMember

Met Tim Harris once. He was signing autographs at a sports store I worked at in college. Big dude, but had skinny calves for a guy that size. Catts would have liked him.

Gave me the keys to his black Jag and had me fill up his beverage container with some, ahem, adult beverage that he had in a cooler in his car. Then he got picked up for a DUI.

Still have the mini Packer football he signed for me.

6/27/145:18 PM

BorisPerson Man Camera Dildo Shop - NFLFU®

Way to go.....enabler

6/27/145:47 PM

EC PackMember

In my defense, he didn't get DUI until he was in SF.

Hell, I was 20 or 21. He's lucky I didn't take the Jag for a spin!

6/27/147:12 PM

BorisPerson Man Camera Dildo Shop - NFLFU®

6/27/147:33 PM

Shoeless JoeMember

6/27/147:59 PM

ammoCheese Master

Jim Carter deserves being in the PHOF. Many people held it against him that he replaced Ray Nitschke. But that was all Dan Bonehead Devines doing. And Ray Himself didn't help the situation any either. Many times he would start to warm up l;ate in the game trying to get fans thinking he was going into the game. And when Carter continued to play the fans booed him.

6/27/1410:05 PM

Dr._BobMember

The failed hostage rescue attempt didn't help matters either.

6/27/1410:26 PM

Blair KielGOOD OL' FAKE BLAIR KIEL - My Hood? nice Henry. Fuck You!

6/27/1410:29 PM

Fond Du ArrigoNostradamus

The long lines to get gas...bad optics.

6/27/1410:31 PM

Satori"...going where the climate suits my clothes"

Originally Posted by Dr._Bob:

The failed hostage rescue attempt didn't help matters either.

...swish...

6/27/1410:38 PM

YooperPackfanMember

Is the guy that ate a hotdog in the PHOF yet?

6/27/1410:58 PM

Shoeless JoeMember

Yes.

6/28/147:46 AM

phaedrusMember

Originally Posted by Fond Du Arrigo:

I never heard of Emlen Tunnell until Jim Harbaugh referenced him in response to Matthews' late hit on Kaepernick in last season's opener.

Check this out:

http://www.pro-football-refere...ayers/T/TunnEm00.htm

Dude was already 35 years old the year Lombardi brought him in (1959).

Great player. NFL HoF. 9 time Pro Bowl and 4 time first team all pro. I never saw him play, I am just going by what I read about him.

Wow, the site says he died in 1975 at only 51 years old.

6/28/148:18 AM

ChilliJonI hate the Vikings!

Vince brought him with him from NY in 1959.

Emlen Tunnell is 2nd on the all time NFL interception list. I did not know this.

6/28/148:40 AM

"We"-Ka-BongYou ungrateful biscuit eating son of a bitch

Tim Harris was a blast to watch. '89 when he had every QB quivering because they didn't want the 6 guns.

And just so people don't think I hate middle linebackers, Johnny Holland doesn't get enough respect. He, along with Noble, were also a blast to watch.

6/28/149:14 AM