On Zoneblitz, we obviously spend a lot of time thinking & discussing who should be elected to the Hall of Fame–but something I hadn’t really considered much was whether or not anyone should have their bust removed from Canton altogether. I’m not even sure if there is a way to go about doing that (given a couple people who haven’t been), although obviously there are some that are probably not really welcomed back each year for the ceremony, and likely not promoted in exhibits through the Hall.
What got me thinking about this was an article–or rather a listicle–that came up in my Facebook feed last week (although it was written back in January of 2022). It’s one of those articles designed to make you scroll for half a mile, see about 8-dozen ads, and then share it on your own socials–but I’m not going to make you go read the article (although you’re welcome to, if you’d like), unless you really want to see their logic.
While some of them <cough>OJ<cough> aren’t a big surprise, curious what you’ll think of the rest of the list. From SportScroll.com, here’s 30 NFL players that should be removed from the Pro Football Hall of Fame:
Came across a thread on Reddit about ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter going off on Mike Shanahan not being elected to the Hall of Fame this year. According to the article linked from DenverSports.com, Schefter’s rant was on the “Schlereth and Evans” show on 104.3 The Fan this morning. Schefter covered the Broncos early in his career, first at the the Rocky Mountain News and then the Denver Post.
“I think it’s a bunch of BS. Mike Shanahan is a Hall of Famer yesterday, today and tomorrow. I mean, its ridiculous. Who made these 50 people the voices of God and the deciders of fate? Like, who comes up with these stupid rules?”
Schefter said he does trust the voters, but he thinks there are other people who know even more about football. Ultimately, he feels the process feels unfair, and that unfairness is going to mean Shanahan waits longer.
“These are mistakes. Mike Shanahan is a Hall of Famer. He’s just not in the Hall of Fame. He belongs in the Hall of Fame, he should’ve been in before. He’s going to get in. But let’s just make him wait to 2024 or 2026… until the judges of the game, the arbiters of the truth, get to issue that pass to go to the Hall. Like, okay, give me a break.”
I generally don’t disagree that there could be tweaks to the process–but if I’m looking to make an argument for someone who hasn’t made it yet–especially as a non-player–I’m not sure Shanahan is the guy I hang that argument on. I have no issues with him making the Hall, but I also have no issues with him waiting while others get considered–and I don’t have a huge desire to make the Hall more inclusive, just to get some fringe guys that a small (but often vocal) fan base thinks belongs in because of what the player/coach/person meant to their team–it’s about what that person meant to the league and the game in general, and many players–even that we discuss on this site–just don’t fit that bill.
Another quick Hall of Fame post from a site I just found recently–The33rdTeam.com. With a content team that features several former NFL Coaches, Executives & Players, in theory they should know what they’re talking about.
They recently put out a post about current NFL players that they believe are going to make the cut to Canton–and some that are on the fence.
Their verdict:
IN:
DL Aaron Donald
WR Julio Jones
TE Travis Kelce
QB Patrick Mahomes
G Zack Martin
LB/DE Von Miller
QB Aaron Rodgers
K Justin Tucker
LB Bobby Wagner
OT Trent Williams
LIKELY IN:
RB Derrick Henry
WR Tyreek Hill
DE Cam Jordan
C Jason Kelce
G Quentin Nelson
OT Jason Peters
QB Russell Wilson
POTENTIAL:
WR Davante Adams
G Joel Bitonio
DT Fletcher Cox
DE Myles Garrett
LB/DE Khalil Mack
WR/RB/KR Cordarrelle Patterson
CB Jalen Ramsey
QB Matt Ryan
QB Matthew Stafford
DT Ndamukong Suh
What do you think of their list? Who was miscategorized? Who did they forget? Let us know!
We should have our new post about the HOF announcements soon–but in the mean time, there’s additional Hall of Fame talk going on elsewhere…
To start, Corey Dillon was recently interviewed for a story by Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic for a story–and Dillon decided to take the opportunity to make it known that he’s not happy about the fact that he’s not getting more consideration for the Hall of Fame.
“You know the f—ery that’s going on,” he said. “We can shoot this straight. That’s the only way I like it.”
The crux of his argument? Dillon is one of 10 running backs in the Super Bowl era whose career featured 10,000+ total yards, 4.3 yards per carry, and 70 yards rushing per game. Eight are in (or will arguably be first-ballot for, in Adrian Peterson, according to Dehner) the Pro Football Hall of Fame; the others are Dillon and Fred Taylor.
I’ve never really given a lot of thought to Dillon’s HOF credentials–and I would argue that Fred Taylor is another player that is nice, but not over the threshold for me.
What do you guys think–does Dillon have an argument? Will he eventually get some more consideration? Let us know in the comments!
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I guess what I am saying Andy P is that transparency is great, just doubt that it improves the results
So what do you mean where you say transparency?
Paul I don’t know what are you trying to say
Let’s say we had a lot more transparency during class of 2025 election - would it have changed outcome?
Paul what do you mean it doesn’t improves outcome