The Pro Football Hall of Fame voters narrowed the list of contenders for 2017 enshrinement to 15 modern-era candidates Tuesday.
They are:
K Morten Andersen
T Tony Boselli
WR Isaac Bruce
Coach Don Coryell
RB Terrell Davis
S Brian Dawkins
G Alan Faneca
T Joe Jacoby
CB Ty Law
C Kevin Mawae
S John Lynch
WR Terrell Owens
DE Jason Taylor
RB LaDainian Tomlinson
QB Kurt Warner
They join Senior candidate Kenny Easley and Contributor candidates Jerry Jones, who owns the Cowboys, and Paul Tagliabue, who succeeded Pete Rozelle as Commissioner in 1989.
The finalist group includes 12 of the 15 we predicted it would in March. Most surprising to me is the continued strength behind the candidacy of Don Coryell, not because I don’t think he’s deserving, but because he’s been out of the game so long. Fervor for his election has seemed to grow just within the last few years.
While I have no issue with Coryell, I am disappointed that it seems as though his momentum has come at the expense of the case of Cowboys Coach Jimmy Johnson, who I thought should have been elected before Tony Dungy. Johnson did not make the final 15.
Other observations:
No Edgerrin James – for the time being, it looks like Terrell Davis has more movement for his induction than James does.
Isaac Bruce is a finalist and Torry Holt is not. Bruce did have more catches (1,024-920), yards (15,208-13,382) and TDs (91-74) than Holt, but it took Bruce 16 years to accumulate his stats while Holt reached his in 11. Plus, Holt had seven Pro Bowls and one first-team Associated All Pro award, along with one second-team AP honor, while Bruce has just four Pro Bowls and he never was named to the AP’s first team. It’s always seemed to me that Holt had the stronger case.
Two safeties are still alive. While I’m disappointed Steve Atwater’s case has slipped another year or more into the future, Brian Dawkins and John Lynch both have strong cases. There is a logjam awaiting, if the voters can’t start getting stars at this position enshrined.
I think the selections this year are a lot more wide open than they have been in recent years. Tomlinson and Owens seem like no brainers. And I’d really like to see one of the safeties – Dawkins would be my first choice – inducted. Otherwise there are probably eight legit candidates you could see voters deciding to support and none would be a bad choice.
Running back LaDainian Tomlinson, WR Hines Ward, Safety Brian Dawkins and Defensive end Jason Taylor are the four first-time eligible candidates for Hall of Fame enshrinement in 2017.
Chris Hinton, who played tackle and guard, was a first-time semifinalist, though he has been eligible for several years.
Hall of Fame voters named 26 semifinalists Wednesday night. The deepest positions are running back and safety, where four candidates remain from the initial group of 94 total nominees. There also were six offensive linemen, four of whom played most their careers at tackle.
Strong returning semifinalists include Terrell Owens, the controversial wide receiver who bounced around to several teams due to character issues, and Kurt Warner, who was great several years and less so others.
Warner, Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt represent the “Greatest Show on Turf” Rams that won the Super Bowl after the 1999 season.(more…)
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)
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…)
We’ve been doing this now for eight years, and we’ve seen a lot of changes to the Hall of Fame induction process—mostly around the coverage the event receives, as the league utilizes it’s NFL Network to add more hype to the election process.
Still, at the end of the day, the formula has remained largely consistent over the years—25 gets cut to 15, then to 10, and most of those 10 make their way back to the 10 the following year, with only one or two possibly missing out if there is a special first year eligible player. Generally speaking, someone knocked out in the 11-15 spots in one year won’t jump past someone to the final five—but they’re usually a good bet to make the final 10 themselves.
So who does that give us in 2017? Well, the final five eliminated in the 2016 election were QB Kurt Warner, T Joe Jacoby, RB Terrell Davis, S John Lynch, and coach Don Coryell. In my personal estimation, not the most awe inspiring class ever—but that’s what we’re looking at.
Following them, eliminated in the 11-15 spots were K Morten Andersen, S Steve Atwater, WR Terrell Owens, G Alan Faneca, and RB Edgerrin James—perhaps more star power in Owens and James, and probably a better offensive lineman in Faneca than Jacoby, but still facing a difficult road to jump into the top.
As for first year nominees, there are five names that would appear to stand out above the rest in RB LaDanian Tomlinson, DE Jason Taylor, S Brian Dawkins, WR Hines Ward and QB Donovan McNabb. Tomlinson and Taylor are probably the most likely to not only jump into the top 10, but even possibly make the finalist ballot. Dawkins has the profile (9/4) to the finalist round for sure, but with Lynch and Atwater already there, and a position that’s never gotten a lot of love, top 10 might be a stretch in his first year. Undoubtedly some Steeler fans will argue that Ward deserves first ballot consideration (he doesn’t), but he has a chance to make the finalist round, and an outside chance at the top 10. McNabb…well…
Finishing outside the top 15 in 2016 were some other interesting names, that could possibly push to make the rare leap past a player like Andersen or Atwater—names like Kevin Mawae, Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, Ty Law and of course Jimmy Johnson.
Our guess?
Finalists:
Warner
Jacoby
Davis
Lynch
Coryell
Atwater
Faneca
Andersen
Owens
James
Tomlinson
Taylor
Dawkins
Mawae
Johnson
We see Andersen, Mawae, James, Atwater and Johnson getting dropped in the first five. From there…
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…)
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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