Bears’ Dent relieved by Hall of Fame call

Former Bears defensive end Richard Dent waited nine years before he got the call he believed would eventually come from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“It’s a relief because it’s been some time,” Dent said Wednesday at Halas Hall. “But I’ve always felt that you can’t take a star from the sky. It can be cloudy, but sooner or later you have to shine, and I guess this is my shining time.”

On Aug. 6 in Canton, Ohio, Dent will become the fourth player inducted into the Hall from the 1985 Bears team that won Super Bowl XX. Dent was voted the MVP in that 46-10 rout of the New England Patriots with 1 ½ sacks and 2 forced fumbles.

The 6-foot-5, 265-pound Dent was also voted to the Pro Bowl four times, but he said the Hall of Fame recognition for his lifetime achievements is the crowning glory for a 15-year career, including 12 with the Bears.

“This is my first award for my career, and baby it just doesn’t get any better than this,” Dent said. “It was worth the wait.”

Although he wasn’t drafted out of Tennessee State until the eighth round in 1983, Dent burst onto the scene with a franchise-record 17 ½ sacks in just his second season, and he followed that up with an NFL-best 17 the next year, which ended with the Super Bowl victory.

Dent will join former teammates Walter Payton, Mike Singletary and Dan Hampton in Canton, each of whom he mentioned as integral to his success, along with many other teammates and coaches.

“You can never get here by yourself,” Dent said. “You can only get there with the people that gave you the opportunity to do what you do best, once you earn that opportunity.

“Being able to come to Chicago and practice and play against a guy like Jimbo Covert made my game easy,” Dent said. “I knew I wasn’t going to face a guy better than him in the National Football League, and I appreciate him so much.”

Dent admits he was somewhat awestruck as a rookie, but he credits defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan with giving him an opportunity to maximize his talents by letting him and his teammates play their own game, but within the framework of his scheme.

“Buddy gave the players the game, meaning we were making our own calls,” Dent said. “He put that responsibility on the players. That’s one way to make the players be the best that they can be.

“But, when I first came in here, I looked up and I saw (6-foot-6, 265-pound offensive tackle) Keith Van Horne and I was like, ‘Oh My God,’ ” Dent recalled. “Coming from Tennessee State, I had never seen a guy so (darn) big. (But) once we got out on the field, I put my hand down and my memory came back. You question whether you belong somewhere, but once you get back into your comfort zone, it’s amazing.

“Everybody is a little shaky; a little nervous. But when you strap that chinstrap up, that’s when your memory comes back and that’s when you start performing.”

Dent racked up a franchise-record 124 ½ sacks with the Bears and finished his career with 137 ½, which was third in NFL history at the time of his retirement and is still sixth best all time.

Unlike some other great players, Dent was not known for spending endless hours studying his opponents by watching film. He says the playing field was his classroom.

“Mike Singletary and I were talking about this the other day,” Dent said. “I was telling him I’d study a lot. He said, ‘You didn’t study a lot. I didn’t see you around the office late.’

“I said I didn’t need to. ‘Some of us have a gift, Mike. You might not have this gift of breaking a guy down.’ I looked at the guy in front of me for 15 minutes and understand the problems that he had, and I tried to work on those things and work on his weakness and show my strength when it was play time.”

Dent said that, after figuring out the man across from him, he could focus on other aspects of the offense.

“I want to understand the offensive coordinator, the quarterback, and the situation, so I’ve got an 80 percent hit on what’s taking place (when it happens),” Dent said. “I already know the guy in front of me. I don’t even worry about him anymore. You’ve got to figure out what’s around you. You’ve got to understand that. If you understand that, it makes the game easier.”

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