Packer Central

Butler, Woodson Presented to Hall of Fame Selectors

Will this be the year for LeRoy Butler after losing out to Steve Atwater last year?

Bill Huber

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Before last year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame vote, only two members of the all-1990s team were not enshrined in Canton: former Green Bay Packers safety LeRoy Butler and former Denver Broncos safety Steve Atwater.

With Atwater’s selection last year, Butler is the last man without a bronze bust and gold jacket.

“I just like to be gracious whenever I win or lose,” Butler said last year from Miami after not getting the coveted knock on the hotel door by Hall of Fame President David Baker. “And I don’t necessarily look at it as losing, though. I know some of my fans might but I think it’s actually winning because there’s a good chance your case will be heard in the future and it will resonate with somebody. Sooner or later, I know I’ll be a Gold Jacket winner.”

By the numbers, Butler probably should have been selected ahead of Atwater.

Atwater played from 1989 through 1999 while Butler played from 1990 through 2001. Having played 14 more games than Atwater, Butler won in sacks (20.5 to 5.0), forced fumbles (13 to 6) and interceptions (38 to 24). Atwater did have a big advantage in tackles (1,078 to 720).

That statistical difference was part of the Hall of Fame presentation made by the Green Bay Press-Gazette's Pete Dougherty to selectors on Tuesday.

While voting will take place on Tuesday, the Hall of Fame Class of 2021 will be announced on Feb. 6, the day before the Super Bowl. Also up for election is former Packers defensive back Charles Woodson, whose Hall of Fame chances seem much more certain than Butler's.

Safety long has been a neglected position in the Hall of Fame but the selectors are starting to make headway. Until last year’s selections of Atwater and Troy Polamalu, there were just 11 pure safeties enshrined in Canton. However, Ed Reed made it in 2019, Brian Dawkins in 2018 and Kenny Easley in 2017. With Polamalu and Atwater, that’s five safeties in four years.

“If a safety gets in other than Troy, they’re going to start a debate. Did you go by stats? Did you go by championships? You just don’t know,” Butler said.

Butler and John Lynch are finalists for the second consecutive year year. Lynch played 224 games to Butler’s 181 but had only 20 more career tackles. While Lynch beat Butler in tackles for losses (28 to 10) and forced fumbles (16 to 13), Butler won in sacks (20.5 to 13) and interceptions (38 to 26).

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.

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