Courtesy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
With the Hall of Fame induction this past weekend comes the annual tradition of the large media outlets chiming in on future HOF elections (what a concept), often seemingly displaying less knowledge of the reality of the voting process than virtually all of our regular HOF commenters.
In fact, during Sunday Night’s Hall of Fame game, I heard Al Michaels mention that Adrian Peterson will one day be giving a speech in Canton (after Peterson himself told reporters that he thinks he’s got a good case for the Hall even if he didn’t play another snap).
So I grabbed a couple of articles that I saw on larger sites to put up for debate here.
First up, Doug Farrar and Chris Burke at SI.com weigh in on six candidates for the Class of 2016: http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/08/07/nfl-hall-of-fame-2016-candidates-brett-favre-terrell-owens-kurt-warner
Their picks: Don Coryell, Brett Favre, Kurt Warner, Tony Dungy, Terrell Owens and Kevin Greene.
Our thoughts: Not sure why they go with six players in the list, other than to give each three guys to pick, and hedge their bets. Both Andy and I agree with Greene and Favre, but it seems unlikely to get two coaches in the same year, especially with the introduction of a contributor category meaning more non-players likely getting in each year. I have Warner and Dungy on my list, although (especially in the case of Dungy) its less because I think it’s a great pick, more because I think the voters will.
And while I can’t disagree with their contention that Owens deserves a spot in the HOF in a vacuum, it isn’t a vacuum—and I would be shocked if he gets in this first year…
Next, NFL.com weighs in (with a photo essay, of course) of current NFL players that are bound for Canton: http://www.nfl.com/photoessays/0ap3000000506755
Our thoughts:
No arguments on Tom Brady or Peyton Manning (although surprised that Manning isn’t higher on the list—not sure if it’s a ranked list). Drew Brees seems like a shoo in at some point, although his contemporaries might make him wait a year or two. Rodgers isn’t a lock in my book right now, but barring a career shortening injury will get there. Roethlisberger will provide another interesting case of how much weight winning Super Bowls vs. overall stats carry with voters (not to mention off-field transgressions), although if he plays a few more years like 2014, he may have the stats too.
Calvin Johnson probably already has the credentials, although as a WR, he’ll need to continue to put up amazing seasons for another 3-4 years to be in consideration for a first ballot. Adrian Peterson might be spot on that he’s in, but if he didn’t play another snap I think he would face a couple years of waiting.
Jason Witten would seem like a lock, although it never seems to be easy for TE to make it—at least he seems to be a ‘tweener’ when it comes to contemporaries, as the only other TE he may be competing with would be Antonio Gates.
Joe Thomas is just another no name, lunch pail toting offensive lineman who shows up, dominates, and doesn’t draw press—in part just the nature of his position, in part because he toils in Cleveland. Probably not a lock today (see Boselli, Tony), but give him 3-4 more solid years, and he’s probably there.
The defensive side of things really starts to get interesting. Darrelle Revis is a fine pick, although in today’s game I would be a bit surprised if he’s a first year guy. Charles Woodson could seemingly get in just for the longevity of his career, although he’s got the credentials as well.
But putting Ndamukong Suh on the list, after just five years in the league? Especially with his reputation for dirty play? And J.J. Watt has certainly been dominant for the last three seasons (of his four year career), but in both of these cases, while their career trajectories are certainly headed towards Canton, neither can be considered a lock right now. More fitting for this list would have been Jared Allen, Julius Peppers, or possibly DeMarcus Ware or John Abraham.
Also interesting that there are no linebackers on the list—while I’m sure Packer fans would be arguing for Clay Matthews makes the grade, I’m actually thinking I agree with this part of the list—linebacker isn’t as “flashy” of a position as it used to be, and I’m not sure there’s a Junior Seau or Ray Lewis in the game right now, at least not one that’s 8-10 years into a career of dominating to the point of HOF (unless you throw Ware or Peppers on the list, but I still consider them DE, despite what they’ve done the last couple of years).
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.
Loading ...
“Roethlisberger will provide another interesting case of how much weight winning Super Bowls vs. overall stats carry with voters (not to mention off-field transgressions)”
Keep in mind that he was never even charged with anything. If a voter wants to go against putting him in because of stuff he was accused of, then Marvin Harrison should have to continue to wait and Ray Lewis, who was actually charged and convicted of something, should also be a ‘no’ vote.
Re: Joe Thomas not drawing press. Can you elaborate on this? Certainly playing for mostly bad Browns’ teams hasn’t stopped him from racking up All Pro and Pro Bowl nods.
Agree that’s it too early on players like Watt and Suh. They might as well have added other “trajectory” players like Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowsi while they were at it. I’d add on Suh that, besides the “dirty player” rep, I also think he’s a tad overrated relative to the amount of accolades he’s gotten.
That’s true on Roethlisberger, although Harrison’s incident came at the end of his career (possibly even after he played his last game? can’t remember) and seemed to draw diminished coverage, whereas Roethlisberger’s incident was early in his career, and drew a lot more coverage. He’s still referenced by his infamous nickname in a lot of the fantasy drafts I participate in.
Agree on Thomas racking up postseason honors, but you just don’t hear much about him outside of that. A big part of it is just being an offensive lineman. Another big part of it seems to be his attitude towards it all–I believe he was the guy who went fishing on draft day?
Agree on your points on Brown, Gronk, and especially Suh–glad I’m not the only one. I mean, he’s good…but not sure I’ve seen the consistency out of him yet to call him that good. Let’s see if he lives up to the payday he got…
The NFL.com article is by Gil Brandt, who was a Contributor finalist. It’s actually a good list, though some on the list have some work still to do (Suh, Johnson, Rodgers, Big Ben, Watt). There are other players he could have easily listed, who were mentioned above. I’d have also added folks like Jahri Evans, Andre Johnson, and Larry Fitzgerald, for three.
Agreed that the SI list is just bizarre.
While I have been a Greenbay Packer Fan since the 1980’s, I wouldn’t consider Clay Matthews III for Hall of Fame talk yet. Talk to me about him in 2017
Clay only has been the league for 6 years and his Pro Bowl and 1st team all pro ratio is already the same as Cornelius Bennett’s career is, The thing is while Clay has a great start, but how much longer can he continue his level is the big question. He has being healthy enough to play 16 games in a season and that is going to affect Clay’s performance at some point with him being 29 now.
Out of the current players that play for the Packers, Rodgers has best chance for Canton due to his 2 MVP awards. I didn’t mention Peppers because I think of him as a Panther and as a Bear, despite being a Packer currently despite the fact he’s going to be inducted into Canton at some point.
I do not think the list by SI is that bad (except the fact that they should have stuck at just 5 names!) as it is very likely they will have 3 or 4 of the final 5 modern slots correct for 2016: Favre, Harrison, Greene, plus Dungy or Warner. Although I can agree that Coryell is deserving, as the 3rd coach possible among the 15 finalists for 2016 I see he will fall short especially with Dungy most likely to advance to final 10 again, and may be elected in 2016. Also I given that most WRs not named Rice have had to wait a few years for election, I foresee the same for TO as many voters will most certainly hold his disruptive actions against him. Not sure why SI gave no love for another 2015 final 10 player, Orlando Pace who I would see as a strong possibility for election in 2016 given the recent tendency for HOF voters to select OL. With QB Favre on the ballot I can envision HOF voters continuing to have questions regarding Warner’s career to delay his election until 2017 (but would not be total surprise to me if he is elected in 2016).