The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the highest individual honor bestowed to a player once his playing career ends. The Denver Broncos features the likes of John Elway, Terrell Davis, Peyton Manning and more than a dozen others in Canton. However, two notable defensive stars are currently not in the Hall of Fame.
Barney Chavous and Lyle Alzado played six seasons together in Denver and according to John Turney of the website Talk of Fame Two, Chavous and Alzado are the eleventh-best defensive end duo in NFL history not to enter the NFL’s Hall of Fame.
“Both were extremely good vs. the run, and both were solid pass rushers, especially Alzado,” Turney wrote on TalkOfFameTwo.com. “Their peak was during the early ‘Orange Crush’ years, including 1977 when the Broncos won the AFC championship and faced the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XII.”
Perhaps Alzado’s admission of steroid use could have derailed his Hall of Fame status. Alzado retired with 112.5 sacks, three All-Pros and two Pro Bowls. As for Chavous, his 75 sacks are minimized by his lack of All-Pro and Pro Bowl nods.
Alzado was first-team All-Pro in 1977, second-teamer in 1978 and a Pro Bowler both seasons. Chavous never went to a Pro Bowl nor was All-AFC, but he was one of the best players never to gain all-star notice.
