Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones and former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue took the roles they are most
Courtesy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
known for in the same year and they could go into the Hall of Fame at the same time, as well.
Voters selected the pair as Contributor candidates for 2017 enshrinement in Canton, OH.
Jones bought the Cowboys in 1989, hiring Jimmy Johnson in controversial fashion to replace Tom Landry as head coach. The duo endured a tough first season but, thanks in part to fleecing Minnesota in a deal for Herschel Walker, enjoyed a few really good seasons and two Super Bowl championships before the relationship soured.
Tagliabue succeeded long-time commissioner Pete Rozelle in 1989 and presided over one of the longest eras of labor peace in the league’s modern era.
More on this later. My initial thoughts: I think Tagliabue belongs, but as with many of these picks, I’m not sure he’s the best candidate awaiting enshrinement at this time. Regarding Jones … I’m not sure I understand this one at this time. He’s definitely involved in league matters behind the scenes but outside those first few years with Johnson, the team itself has mostly been mediocre under his watch. Why he’s a better choice than Pat Bowlen in Denver or even (as mentioned by Zoneblitz commentators Paul, Rasputin and maybe others) Cowboys scouting legend Gil Brandt, I’m not sure I understand.
Hall of Fame voters selected Jerry Jones and Paul Tagliabue as 2017 Contributor candidates. That's ...
... Terrible. Neither of these two are obvious candidates. (40%, 12 Votes)
... Meh. Tabliabue is worthy, but Jones doesn't deserve it. (33%, 10 Votes)
... Great - both are well deserving. (17%, 5 Votes)
... Meh. Jones is great, but what did Tagliabue do? (10%, 3 Votes)
Donte Moncrief headed into the 2015 season with a lot of hype and early on he came through, putting up usable fantasy numbers through six of the first seven games.
Then Andrew Luck was injured. Things didn’t spiral down the tubes or anything like that, but Moncrief got a lot more inconsistent. He finished the uneven campaign with 64 catches, 733 yards and six TDs on 105 targets, a fine second season, but short of what his owners had hoped for after the hot start.
Now Luck is healthy and the Colts are hoping to rebound from a disappointing 8-8 season. Moncrief is projected to be one of the key pieces of that puzzle, as a complement to T.Y. Hilton and a catalyst on what will have to be a pass-heavy offense.
He amassed five Pro Bowls and three AP First-Team All Pro awards, according to Pro Football Reference, and he was first-team on the All-1980s team. He was the AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1981, AFC Defensive Player of the Year in 1983 and NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1984.
The problems? The biggest is that his career was cut short after seven seasons due to a damaged kidney. He also plays safety, where voters have created a logjam by enshrining them nearly as infrequently as they do punters and kickers. (more…)
Once the five modern-era finalists had been selected, selectors voted yes or no on each of those candidates and on Stanfel, Stabler and DeBartolo. Each needed 80 percent yes votes to earn enshrinement. The class of 2016 hits the max number of eight that can be inducted in any given year. (more…)
Road teams ruled the wild card round, but home teams have come back with a vengeance. In the six games since they are undefeated.
That means it’s number one versus number one in the Super Bowl – as it probably should be for the league’s 50th big game.
Tony nailed the conference championship winners. He’s tied with John Vomhof for the entirety of the postseason. The rest of us split the championship games. Here are the standings heading into the Super Bowl.
Conf Champ
Postseason
Tony
2-0
8-2
John Vomhof Jr
1-1
8-2
Anthony Maggio
1-1
7-3
Andy
1-1
6-4
And after 21 weeks of football, it all comes down to this. Two suffocating defenses and two great QB storylines – the young, brash rising star and the old, breaking down, hall-of-famer to be – squaring off for the Lombardi Trophy. Here’s how we see it: (more…)
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I’m surprised Charles Haley and Ronnie Lott knocked on the door of Roger Craig I thought it would be Joe…
Paul totally but would you agree it would make a great book
Thought many times about writing one but would take inside knowledge from those who were there (voters) to really have…
I’m surprised no one has written a complete book about the Pro Football Hall of Fame one about the history…
Hard to say at this point, but I guess and recent finalist not elected in 2027 & 2028