My turn! My turn! I want to get in on the fun of listing a list! Here's my foray into the off season listfest. The Chicago Bears wore their 40's style throwbacks with pride in 2010, and they seem to have re-embraced the moniker, The Monsters of the Midway. That makes me happy. So to keep the Monstrous Chicago Bears in our consciousness, I wanted to debut the Top 5 Most Frightening Chicago Bears. Someone cue the scary music and Vincent Price laugh!
5) Charles Tillman - His unique defensive style brings fear into any ball carriers running to his side of the field. He is quite simply, the Master of the Strip. Three more forced fumbles, five more interceptions, and a couple more fumble recoveries in 2010. Tillman has a knack for taking the ball away from the offense.
4) Brian Urlacher - Offensive players don't see someone of Urlachers size roaming the deep zone very often. Quarterbacks have to be wary of his length when throwing across the middle, and receivers have to be sure to settle down in the zone's holes rather than run through into an Urlacher hit. Somehow he has a rep for not being a "facemask bender", but when he gets his 260 pounds moving as fast as he does he can lay it on with the best of them.
3) Chris Harris - The Chicago Bears have a history of Hitmen patrolling their secondary and Harris brings his own Hitman style to Soldier Field. This Hitman has been knocking out receivers for 6 years now, but he brings more to the table than just the KO blow. As a young Chicago Bear he was taught the Art of the Strip from Tillman, and he still has that in his repertoire.
2) Devin Hester - Hester brings a different kind of fear to opposing teams. His play-making ability scares special teams coaches into kicking out of bounds rather than take a chance on Mr. Ridiculous. The sheer fear of his talents causes defenders to locate him before every snap. It's that fear and respect (but mostly fear) that led the NFL players to put him at #32 in their top 100 players list.
1) Julius Peppers - Anyone that single handily can draw penalty, after penalty, after penalty, on an offensive line is a scary man. Factor in his Jason Vorhees like size and sticktoitiveness and you can see why offenses are afraid of him. Peppers can overpower an offensive lineman or chase down a tailback. His comfort in switching from right defensive end to left defensive end makes an offensive line be extra aware when facing him, and it gives an offensive coordinator fits. They always have to know where to have help ready for Peppers.