Harold Jackson had two great seasons in Philadelphia, leading the league in receiving yards in 1969 and 1973.  It is too bad that Jackson was the only one playing well for those dreadful Eagles teams.

This isn’t to say that Jackson didn’t have good campaigns at other times in his career.  He became a Ram and was part of a very good squad there.  Ironically, he went from being hidden on a bad team to being overshadowed on a fairly good one, even despite finishing second in MVP voting in his first year there (1973).  Jackson was a Red Zone Specialist and a serious threat throughout his career.

Harold Jackson’s career numbers are quite good (10,372 Yards and 76 Touchdowns), especially considering that he tallied most of his numbers at a time when Wide Receivers were not setting the NFL on fire.  However, since he wasn’t selected to the 1970s All-Decade team, it is hard to see how he can make the Hall, especially since other great wideouts from the ’70s are still out.

The Chicago Bears had many stars throughout the 1980s, and many were flashy and unforgettable.  Jay Hilgenberg was an unsung hero of that squad and an anchor of the Offensive Line.

For eleven seasons, Jay Hilgenberg played Center for Chicago.  On seven of those campaigns, Hilgenberg was named to the Pro Bowl and twice was a First Team All-Pro.  His game really blossomed in the magical Super Bowl Season of 1985, and it was there that he became one of the most consistent centers of the decade, though he is often overlooked because of the loaded team he played on.

Despite those seven consecutive Pro Bowl appearances, he was always in the shadow of much bigger stars in Chicago.  Still, his resume may warrant a look from the Hall in the future.

During the early 1960s, the Los Angeles Rams had a terrible reputation. This began to change when Roman Gabriel became their quarterback. By the late 60s, Gabriel had become one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. He won the NFL's Most Valuable Player award in 1969 and helped the Rams become a respectable team and a legitimate championship threat. Gabriel's strong arm made him formidable, but he often played it safe to avoid turnovers. During the 1960s and early 1970s, Gabriel's touchdown-interception ratio of 201-149 was considered very good.

In 1972, Gabriel was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, where he won his first Passing Yards Title with 3,219 yards and his second TD Title with 23 touchdowns. Statistically, this was the best year of his career, but he regressed afterward. He retired after the 1977 season with 29,444 passing yards.

Gabriel and other offensive stars from his time have struggled to make it into the Football Hall of Fame, possibly because their records were surpassed by the huge offensive statistics of the 90s and 00s.

As the second draft pick of 1969, George Kunz had the fortune of playing for Notre Dame (when that mattered) and winning a National Championship there.  He didn’t have the same luck when the Atlanta Falcons selected him.

This isn’t to say that it was all bad, but the Falcons could only reach average status at best during the 1970s.  This was no fault of Kunz, who earned five Pro Bowl selections during his tenure in Atlanta.  It got better for Kunz as he was traded to a better Baltimore Colts team, and he received a First Team All-Pro selection and three more Pro Bowls.

George Kunz was one of the better Right Tackles of his era, and had he made it to the All-Decade Team, he might have received some serious Hall consideration.