Peanut Tillman's hall of fame case
With the 2022 Hall of Fame class being official, it is a great moment to take a look at the case of former Bears defensive back, Charles Tillman. Tillman played for the Chicago Bears from 2003 to 2014.
First of all, let me start by saying that I truthfully believe Tillman deserves to have a gold jacket. "Peanut" made a first-team all-pro and 2 other pro bowls. You could make a case he should have been nominated a lot more times than that.
The best ability that Charles had was his natural talent for taking the ball away. He has 38 interceptions in his career and a staggering 44 forced fumbles. For a cornerback, 44 forced fumbles is absolutely crazy. That number is tied for sixth all-time and he is the only defensive back inside the top 10.
Tillman was a key part of pretty much all of the Bears' team in his career. He helped the Bears make runs to the Super Bowl in 2006 and to the NFC Championship game in 2010. During those years, it was the defense that was carrying the offense most of the time.
The Chicago native was truly feared by opposing teams. His special ability to turn the ball over was scary for all of his opponents. He did not have the best help from his team all of the years. For the major part of his career, he played with a bad offense and an even worse quarterback. He still managed a way to affect the game in crucial moments and he literally won a lot of games with his game-changing plays.
I am aware that there is a great possibility he never gets in Canton, but I believe Tillman has made an impact that goes so much beyond the stat sheet and he deserved his shot in my mind.
