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Five of those selections received the necessary votes, the exceptions being Carter and Martin. Of the seven I selected, two were absolute slam dunks, Sanders and Faulk. A 10 year old, who may have only seen them in highlight films and never live could have made those choices. I think all were deserving, including Shannon Sharp and Richard Dent, whom I did not select.
Today, I would just like to offer some brief commentary on some of the finalists and two people that I would like to see enshrined one day.
Inductees
Marshall Faulk - No brainer #1. Marshall Faulk is the greatest all purpose back in the history of the NFL, in my opinion. When the last name is "Ever" and the first name is "Greatest" (and the sport is NOT baseball), voting for Hall of Fame induction does not require much strain on the old gray matter.
Deion Sanders - Prime time...PRIME time...PRIME TIME!!! Greatest cover corner of all-time.... See above for guidelines on voting on members of the "Ever" family.
Shannon Sharpe - Sharpe is arguably the greatest receiving tight end of all time. Note use of the word "arguably". Tony Gonzalez, currently of the Atlanta Falcons, would be the example that could be offered as a counter to that argument. I think that Sharpe is very deserving of his Hall of Fame induction and were it not for the extremely talented field of finalists in 2011, I would place him in the "no brainer" category, too. Congratulations to "Old Horse Face", a champion on the field and a character both on and off it.
Richard Dent - I personally believe that Dent was the weakest link of the non-seniors inducted into the Hall this year. So what? He was still an outstanding, dominant, and deserving recipient of the honor. Dent's Chicago Bears defensive line teammate, Dan Hampton, was inducted into the Hall several years ago. I would never suggest that Hampton was undeserving, just not more deserving than Dent.
Dent is one of a tiny group of defensive players to win the MVP of a Super Bowl, Super Bowl XX in a brutal 46-10 throttling of the upstart New England Patriots in New Orleans, and the only defensive lineman to win the award outright (DE Harvey Martin and DT Randy White of the Dallas Cowboys were the co-MVPs in their Super Bowl XII win over the Denver Broncos in New Orleans). His greatness was not limited to that one day. It was a microcosm of his career.
Ed Sabol - The Father of NFL Films. I was concerned that because Sabol was not a player, and that there was such an abundance of great players on the ballot, that Sabol may be passed over. At age 94, there can only be a relatively small number of opportunities remaining for Sabol to be elected into the Hall of Fame while still living. This was a pleasant surprise for me (as I am sure it was for the Sabol family). The NFL would be NOTHING like what it is today, in terms of how we get to see the game, without Sabol and NFL Films.
Chris Hanburger - I never saw the long time Washington Redskin play as he retired when I was a toddler. Being a linebacker in the pre-ESPN era, there were not many highlight reel opportunities for him. I do believe, though, when you rack up more than a half-dozen Pro Bowl appearances among numerous other awards, you should probably be inducted into the Hall one day.
Les Richter - Richter, who passed away last year, ended his career before I was born. The long time Los Angeles Ram, like Hanburger, toiled in relative anonymity in an era in which few games were televised, let alone had the technology to highlight the contributions of a linebacker. Richter's efforts were clearly not lost on his peers, however, as he also stacked enough Pro Bowl skins to wallpaper a small bedroom and received numerous All-Conference and All-NFL honors. Sixteen career interceptions from a front seven position in the 1950s and 60s, when the seasons were only 12 games long, does not hurt Richter's cause, either.
Passovers
Cris Carter - This snub is outrageous to me. I could go on a day long rant of why I think it is was absurd that Carter was not elected on the FIRST ballot, in 2008, let alone the fourth. I challenge anyone to make an argument for why Carter should not have been inducted yet. Be warned that I will publish any such argument in a future edition of The Daily Hat Trick and I plan to tear such an argument into little, biddy pieces.
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| Carter is STILL not in the Hall of Fame? C'MON MAN!!! 2 |
Curtis Martin - This was my weakest link among the five non-seniors that I selected for enshrinement. Curtis Martin is the NFL's fourth all time leading rusher. I have little doubt that he will be elected sooner than later. However, in a media-driven era of professional sports in the 1990s and 2000s, Martin was neither an endorsement king nor often jaw-dropping in his highlight reels with the Patriots and Jets. His track record, however, speaks for itself.
In contrast, while a fairly quiet player, Marshall Faulk's moves on the field were eye popping, as were many of his box score stats. Deioncornerback position. Martin was a silent champion. Still, "men lie; women lie; numbers don't" (Jay-Z, "Reminder" - 2009). It is only a matter of time before Martin has a bust in Canton, Ohio.
Willie Roaf - Offensive linemen have to work two times as hard to get credit for the same level of achievement at their positions as any other position on the football field. Even kickers lead their teams, and the league, in scoring almost every year. Roaf was absolutely dominant at his left tackle position with the Saints and Chiefs, often ending plays on top of flattened defensive ends and linebackers (if not both). This is no secret. His induction is only a matter of time.
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| You may not hit a guy with glasses, but THIS guy with glasses, Willie Roaf, will JACK you UP! 3 |
Jerome Bettis - The Bus is one of the all time greats. Simply put: there was too much greatness on the ballot at the same time for the big man to fit in for the 2011 enshrinement. Look for Bettis to be inducted no later than 2014.
Tim Brown - Like Curtis Martin, Brown was very consistent throughout his entire career but let his play do all of the talking and his mouth do none of it. That is admirable, but Brown was so steady that he rarely had performances or statistics that were glaring. The result? His Hall of Fame induction, which I believe is inevitable (but could take several years) will be like his career - tacit yet profound.
Dermontti Dawson - See "offensive linemen". As a center, whose role is to direct the offensive line, Dawson's greatness was even less visually noticeable to the average fan as Roaf's. A center's responsibility is often to either disrupt the middle in inside linebacker, clear a path for a running back, or to assist in a double team. With the exception of the infrequent downfield blocking opportunity on a big running play, centers rarely crack a defender to the ground. That does not take away from Dawson's stellar career. However, I am not entirely certain that Dawson will be inducted into the Hall before he is classified as a senior, if ever.
Chris Doleman - Chris Doleman was a dominant pass rushing force in the 80s and 90s with the Vikings, Falcons and 49ers. He has 150 career sacks, yet is not in the Hall of Fame? C'mon MAN! I think Doleman will be inducted at some point in the next 10 years. His career had the misfortune of coinciding with the greatest sack men of all time, however, including Lawrence Taylor, Rickey Jackson, and Reggie White, all in the Hall of Fame.
Perpetual Borderline
Charles Haley - He is in the 100 Sack Club. Unfortunately, having won five Super Bowl rings may have hurt Haley's Hall of Fame cause. The (stale) argument that football is a team sport and that rings do not necessarily indicate a great individual career comes up often in the media regarding Haley. I am sure whatever media existed in the 15th century often reminded people that the Earth was flat.
Andre Reed - This is yet another example of a player whose stability and consistency, paired with relative quiet for a receiver, may be hurdle for Hall of Fame induction. If we only looked at statistics and box scores, Reed's induction, at the time of his retirement, would seem inevitable at some point. However, the more time passes, the more that quiet consistency, which is not "sexy" to voters, fades in our collective memories. It could be a long time before Mr. Reed gets his bust, if he ever does.
Cortez Kennedy - The eye in the sky don't lie and neither does the stat sheet. I cannot help but wonder if Cortez Kennedy had attended college anywhere but "The U", hence associated with the likes of Michael Irvin, Jimmy Johnson and that era of University of Miami football , would he have waited as long as he has had to to be inducted. Having any significant stat line from the defensive tackle position, let alone one as relative gaudy as Kennedy's (including a 14 sack season in 1992 - better than the vast majority of NFL LBs and DEs) is remarkable. I hope Kennedy gets his due sooner than later.
Hat Trick Pleas
Terrell Davis - Yes his career was short, playing only in four full seasons and injured pieces of three seasons. So what? Gayle Sayers had a short career, too. He still piled up over 7,500 career rushing yards, more than several RBs already in the Hall. He is still one of only 6 men in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season (Barry Sanders, OJ Simpson, Jamal Lewis, Chris Johnson, Eric Dickerson). He is, without a doubt, the difference between John Elway finally winning Super Bowls and the Broncos probably not even making the playoffs in at least one of their two Super Bowl years. Davis was a semifinalist for the Hall in the four years prior to this one. I hope that the voters do not give up the fight.
Roger Craig - As I stated, I think Marshall Faulk is the greatest all purpose back of all time. I think Craig was the greatest at the time of his retirement following the 1993 season. Craig's accomplishments changed the way that the halfback position was utilize. With 13,000 career yards from scrimmage and three Super Bowl rings in 11 seasons, I am baffled as to how Craig was not inducted sooner. Trivia question: how many people not yet elected to the Hall of Fame (cough...Faulk...cough) not named "Craig" have both rushed and received for over 1,000 yards in a single season? Oh! There aren't any!
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| How are you gonna keep out the man that gave us the "Mile High Salute"? 4 |
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1) Image from thebusamblog.wordpress.com
2) Image from yardbareker.com
3) Image from bleacherreport.com
4) Image from iml.jou.ufl.edu
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