London Fletcher Talks College Hall of Fame, Rams Super Bowl, Trent Williams and the Goodyear Blimp

Four-time Pro Bowl linebacker London Fletcher spent his entire 16-year career as the embodiment of Northeast Ohio: durable, punishing, and cold.

It's only natural that one of the most constant presences in the NFL landscape of the '90s and 2000s would be rewarded for his efforts; the John Carroll University star (a small, D-III program at a Jesuit university just outside of Cleveland) will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame this year, and is currently reaping the benefits.

In fact, when Fletcher spoke to us about his remarkable career, it was just moments after he'd stepped out of the Goodyear Blimp, a fellow inductee in the 2019 class.

"I got a chance to ride on the Goodyear Blimp with Mike Moran (Fletcher's former coach and mentor), another Northeast Ohioan. You see the Blimp and you know there's a big moment waiting to happen," Fletcher said. "I grew up in Northeast Ohio as a big-time Browns fan, a big time college football fan with Ohio State, and whenever you'd hear Keith Jackson on the call and see the aerial shot with the blimp, you knew you were in for something."

Some players, particularly those from Northeast Ohio, must feel like they have to grind their entire lives in order to get their just reward. Fletcher spent his collegiate career doing just that, but in actuality, his reward came near-immediately upon graduation. In 1998, he was a John Carroll graduate and an undrafted linebacker. By the end of 1999, he was second-team All-Madden on a Super Bowl champion Rams team, his rise in many ways mimicking that of his QB, Kurt Warner, someone Fletcher knew would be a winner almost from minute one.

"That '99 season started off, we played a Ravens team at home in The Dome, we had a good win, and Kurt played well," Fletcher remembered. "But the fourth game, when we played the 49ers, he had a phenomenal game, and that's when you knew he was something special."

That victory pushed St. Louis to 4-0, and featured a virtuoso Warner performance, the type that would become commonplace by the end of his NFL journey -- 20-of-23, five TDs, and a single pick. Soon, this season would become indelible, every moment mentally catalogued by everyone involved... right down to the very last iconic shoestring tackle by Mike Jones, which sealed victory, eternity, and hardware for the second-year Fletcher.

"On that last play, I was covering Eddie George," Fletcher recalls. "We were playing man-to-man, and I was supposed to vacate the middle of the field. But I was still peeking, looking at Steve McNair, who'd made plenty of plays with his legs on that drive. From my angle, while I'm peeking, it wasn't totally clear if [Kevin Dyson] had scored. But then the celebration started, and I knew we won."

After four years in St. Louis, Fletcher's journey then took him to Buffalo without skipping a beat ("They were rabid fans, but they weren't doing the jumping onto tables, as far as I can recall," Fletcher assured us).

And we truly do mean...without...skipping...a beat. Fletcher's remarkable durability (Northeast Ohio, born and raised) featured a record 215 consecutive starts at the linebacker position. Was he ever close to taking a break? Sure. Did he ever hit the breaking point?

What do you think?

"I had a bad hamstring injury during my time in Buffalo that almost broke the streak. Had a significant foot injury in Washington. But I always got out there," Fletcher assured us.

In retirement, Fletcher remains closely associated with his final team, the Washington Redskins, and was inducted into the team's Ring of Honor during their Week 3 Monday Night Football matchup. These days, the team is more in flux than it was during Fletcher's tenure, in the middle of a transition that isn't fully formed, and without their foundational left tackle.

"I have no knowledge of Trent Williams' situation, but I want Trent to come back and play with the Redskins," Fletcher reiterated. "I know there are some things that still need to be worked out from Trent's standpoint. He's a great player and I look forward to seeing him."

Fletcher, of course, had no intention of leaving the field unless he was dragged off of it, kicking and screaming. That's why he earned the blimp ride over Northeast Ohio, why he was given a chance to see the high school fields and backlots where young kids were doing the same eternal grinding he'd staked his reputation on. Aerial shot. You know something big is happening, even if it looks small from up there.