OK, getting caught up on some recent Hall of Fame articles I’ve seen, and putting a couple names out for debate.
First, a name that I’m sure we’ve discussed before–but possibly a bit of a new spin on it, and a name that I think will get a lot of debate once he retires…Donovan McNabb.
***UPDATE: 2011 Hall of Fame Finalists Announced Here***
Well, for better or for worse the 2010 Hall of Fame inductees have been named. The debates over the merit of those inductees are taking place on other articles on this site.
Now, as per normal, it’s time for us to start looking ahead to next towards 2011.
Many great candidates – Shannon Sharpe, Cris Carter, Andre Reed, Tim Brown, Dermontti Dawson, Charles Haley, and Richard Dent, among others – were held over for at least another year.
Meanwhile the 2011 crop brings several more first time nominees. The most oft-mentioned of that crew is Deion Sanders, the brash, trash-talking cornerback who played in Super Bowls for Dallas and San Francisco after being drafted by Atlanta in 1989. In his first year of eligibility he could join three other top five picks from that 1989 draft in the Hall – Troy Aikman, Derrick Thomas and Barry Sanders.
A trio of upper echelon running backs in Marshall Faulk, Curtis Martin and Jerome Bettis also will take their first turns in front of the Hall voters. Each is in the top 10 all-time leading rushers and both Faulk and Bettis have Super Bowl rings.
Among offensive linemen Willie Roaf gains eligibility.
The list would have been even more crowded if Priest Holmes and Junior Seau hadn’t changed their minds on retiring after 2005. But there’s plenty of competition for slots in the Hall again next year.
Do any of these guys make it on their first go-around? Or do the voters make this collection of players, which is good but not quite as star-studded as this year’s Emmitt Smith/Jerry Rice class, wait while clearing some of the logjam that has collected in recent years?
As always, we’re looking forward to seeing your thoughts. But first, here’s ours:
Drew Brees, not Peyton Manning, displayed the poise and leadership of a Super Bowl champion Sunday night in Miami, leading his New Orleans Saints to their first Vince Lombardi trophy.
Brees completed 32 of 39 for 288 yards and two scores, winning the MVP trophy in the meantime.
His career is far from over and he’s got a lot more history to write in the years ahead. But I asked the question two weeks ago – will Drew Brees make the Hall of Fame? His last four seasons have certainly been trending in that direction.
Super Bowl performances like the show he put on tonight certainly won’t hurt his cause. Sure, it took Tracy Porter’s pick of Manning late in the game to seal the deal. And Sean Payton’s onside kick was a gutty call. But Brees’ performance was nearly flawless. My guess is he leads the Saints to many more playoff victories over the next few years as well.
If he does it’d be hard to keep him out of Canton in a decade, give or take a year or two.
Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith were the two shoe-ins for election into the NFL Hall of Fame this year. The rest of the class was a crapshoot. But in the end another deserving class of players got the call they had been waiting for.
Stephen A. Perry, the president and executive director of the Hall of Fame, made the announcement this afternoon on the NFL Network.
The Class of 2010 is:
WR Jerry Rice
RB Emmitt Smith
DL John Randle
LB Rickey Jackson
OL Russ Grimm
RB Floyd Little*
DB Dick LeBeau*
*Senior candidate
While the entrants are deserving some of the guys who didn’t make it are surprising. Cris Carter was left out again, not even making the list of 10 finalists. Neither did Tim Brown. Shannon Sharpe made the final 10, but didn’t survive the final cut. Charles Haley and Richard Dent also have to wait at least another year.
The NFL Hall of Fame Selection Committee announced its Team of the Decades for the 2000s last night during the Pro Bowl. There weren’t a ton of surprises on the list.
Comments at a few sites have made cases for guys like Priest Holmes and Torry Holt. I can see their points but I also have little disagreement with the players that were picked. Theirs seems largely in tune with the one we published a year ago.
Any major disagreements (Real ones, not complaints about the timing of the list being off because of the calendar starting at year one and not year zero)? Guys you think should have been on the list?
This topic has been addressed before both here and in other places, but now, as Kurt Warner’s career comes to an end (assuming he doesn’t become the next Brett Favre) the debate surrounding arguably one of the most interesting Hall of Fame case studies out there can begin in earnest.
Warner finishes his career with 208 touchdown passes, which doesn’t put him in the top 20 all-time. With 32,344 yards passing, he falls short of the top 20 there, as well.
He was named to four Pro Bowls and was a first team All-Pro just twice. That’s also decent but not overwhelming.
On the other hand, the man led the league in completion percentage and yards per attempt in 1999, 2000 and 2001. He led in touchdown passes in 1999 and 2001 and yards in 2001, as well.
More importantly, he took three teams to Super Bowl appearances in 12 seasons, winning one with the Greatest Show on Turf and coming close in the other two.
Especially impressive, to me anyway, was the third one last year when he took the long moribund Arizona Cardinals on a playoff ride to remember. He came within a couple minutes of leading the Birds to an upset over the far superior Pittsburgh Steelers.
Now, he wasn’t especially durable. In the 11 seasons starting with the year he took over the helm in St. Louis through this year, he played 16 games just three times. But it’s also important to remember that the accomplishments he did compile started in 1999 when he was already 28 years old.
So, there’s a synopsis. Do the ring and multiple Super Bowl appearances win out? Or does the late start to Warner’s career keep him out?
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Help me out guys ... getting older fogs my memory more but I am about to do another write-in ballot…
Paul I guess but did you see my other comment
There is a tight timeline of only a few weeks to schedule these, perhaps Joe and Jerry had previous commitments
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