There were a lot of things that ran thru my mind when I heard Dick passed away. He is in the very highest tier of all NFL players. I went back and watched some tape and observed some of his skills that had slipped my mind. He was so great at his tackling mechanics. At 6,3" 245 he would hammer runners chest to chest. At the same time, he would wrap up the rb's arms and crash them into the ground. His goal was to make the back loosen his grip on the ball to break his fall. By the 3rd quarter or so, that's what would happen. Dick was also a demon at tearing the ball out for a strip during the tackle. Most of the time he would double up the play by recovering the football.

I loved to watch him play, but not vs the Pack. Sayers and Butkus were Packer killers during their time in Chicago.

Dick made one play that I'll never forget. He blitzed and sacked the QB. The passer made a flip pass just before he hit the turf. His desperation toss was competed 5 yards downfield to a TE. Like a blur, Dick got off the ground and made the tackle! A near sack + a tackle of the receiver? Not a real common play.

Rest in peace Dick.

Hope they have beer up there or wherever you are.