Each NFL team’s biggest Hall of Fame omission

Baltimore Ravens: OLB Peter Boulware

It was as fearsome of a unit as has ever been seen in the long history of the National Football League. Regardless of the era, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens’ defense played with the kind of fury often associated with teams from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s. It was a club that would go on to capture Super Bowl XXXV thanks to a group spearheaded by Pro Football Hall of Fame middle linebacker Ray Lewis. However, one of the more overlooked performers for that club was talented outside linebacker Peter Boulware.

He could do a little bit of everything and did it very well. The fourth overall pick in the 1997 NFL Draft, the former Florida State Seminole had a somewhat brief but very productive career with the Ravens.

The talented defender was named to the Pro Bowl four times in his first seven seasons. Over that stretch, he racked up 67.5 sacks in 111 regular-season contests. He would miss 2005 due to injury but bounced back in ‘06 (his final season in the league) to play 15 games and total 2.5 sacks. Who knows what he would have accomplished if he had remained healthy?

It’s safe to say Boulware (who totaled 10 or more sacks 3 times) was also a huge part of that 2000 postseason run in which Baltimore allowed one offensive touchdown in four games. Combine the Ravens’ regular-season and playoffs and the club allowed a total of 188 points in 20 games.
Relentless defender Terrell Suggs, part of the Ravens’ Super Bowl XLVII title team in 2012, will first be eligible for the Hall of Fame Class of 2025.