A few Chicago players and a coach made the team!
By now, I hope you’ve all had the chance to check out the recent Fanpost by 10mphilbin, where he picked a Chicago Bears All-Quarter Century Team. It’s a fun trip down memory lane, remembering some great Bears. Earlier today, ESPN‘s Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder named their own All-Quarter Century Team for the NFL, and a few Bears made the cut.
A quick tangent before getting into the ESPN list: Our Fanpost section, for those who aren’t aware, is a great place for all our WCG members to share their thoughts on the team. You can write your own articles there, and occasionally we’ll bump them to our front page. It’s also where we first look when adding front page contributors here. That’s where I started a long, long time ago, and it’s also where most of our team got started.
In the last quarter century, the Bears have only made the playoffs six times and they’ve only had a winning record seven times, so we aren’t talking about a lot of choices for ESPN, but the Lovie Smith era did have some well put-together teams.
Here are the Bears who played all or most of their careers in Chicago who made the cut.
Brian Urlacher
Teams: Bears (2000-12)
Résumé since 2000: 41.5 sacks, 11 forced fumbles, 22 interceptions, one-time DPOY, five-time All-Pro
The Urlacher-led Bears had the third-best defense in terms of EPA per play from 2001 to 2012. His 22 career interceptions are the second most by any linebacker in the past 25 years, behind only Lewis’ 26. Urlacher ranks fourth among all players in plus-EPA per game at minus-3.59, too. — Walder
Urlacher could do it all on the field, and he proved that by playing in two very different styles of defense in Chicago. Just becuase he was the prototype mikkeld linebacker for Lovie’s Tampa 2, don’t forget how great he was for Dick Jauron in Greg Blache’s scheme. He was definitely worthy of his first ballot Hall of Fame honor.
Devin Hester
Teams: Bears (2006-13), Falcons (2014-15), Ravens (2016), Seahawks (2016)
Résumé since 2000: 20 return touchdowns, 11,028 total return yards, four-time All-Pro
Though Hester is remembered for scoring on the opening kickoff in Super Bowl XLI, he was actually more prolific as a punt returner. Fourteen of his return touchdowns came off punts; no other player recorded more than four in that same span. In 2024, he became the first return specialist to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. — Walder
Hester changed the game with his ridiculous return ability, but the hidden yards gained by teams who would avoid him on kicks and punts are often overlooked by pundits when discussing his impact.
ESPN also picked a practice squad for their team, and Cordarrelle Patterson, who spent two of his All-Pro seasons in Chicago, made it as a special teamer.
This next player spent part of his prime in the Windy City, but he’s best known for his time in Carolina.
Julius Peppers
Teams: Panthers (2002-09, 2017-18), Bears (2010-13), Packers (2014-16)
Résumé since 2000: 159.5 sacks, 51 forced fumbles, six-time All-Pro
No player recorded more sacks this quarter century than Peppers. There’s a fair critique that his numbers are a product of longevity, but he also had almost 20 more sacks than anyone in this span and a higher plus-EPA than any other player since 2001, period. One reason why he led that latter category over star linebackers — who are favored in the stat — is because Peppers’ 51 forced fumbles were the most since 2000. — Walder
Peppers made a couple of All-Pro squads and three Pro Bowls as a Bear, and Lovie Smith’s free agent recruitment of him that started at 12:01 am is legendary.
Jared Allen also made the All Quarter Century Team, but his Bears time was forgettable.
There was one final Bear who made the team, and he spent 2004-2012 as a coach in Chicago.
Dave Toub, special teams coordinator
Toub holds one of the most impressive streaks a coach can have. He coordinated a top-five special teams unit in every season from 2006 (when ESPN’s efficiency ratings began) to 2017, including the postseason. That completely absurd streak — almost impossible considering the fickle nature of special teams — was broken in 2018 when Toub’s Chiefs finished … sixth in the category. — Walder
At 63 years old, he’ll likely never get a chance to run his own team, but he’ll still go down as one of the best coaches of all time. The Hall of Fame really should start recognizing assistants and coordinators for their work.