primetime
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2005
- Messages
- 13,636
- Reaction score
- 15,379
Morten Andersen: A compiler, he was never the best kicker in the league. Doesn't belong. Vinatieri is the only kicker of the last 30 years who belongs.
Tony Boselli: One of the best tackles of all-time and one of the main reasons Mark Brunell had success with an expansion team, but Boselli had a short career. The world wonders what David Carr could have been had Boselli come back for the Texans. I'd put him in.
Isaac Bruce: He was very good for a very long time, but he's the kind of guy I struggle with. Was he ever a top-3 wide receiver? Heck, was he ever the best receiver on his own team?
Don Coryell: Had good offenses but never won a Super Bowl. To be fair, he was hamstrung by ownership trading away his best players like Jefferson and Dean over money.
Terrell Davis: I have a soft spot for TD, and I think he was the best of the Shanahan backs, but short career and relative success of the likes of Olandis Gary and Mike Anderson have him on the outside looking in.
Brian Dawkins: I think he was overhyped by the media because of the Weapon X stuff. Good player, but owes his reputation as much to the birth of YouTube as to his play. He'd have been my fourth safety of those eligible (Atwater, Lynch, Woodson, then him).
Alan Faneca: Going to be tough to get in as a guard, but he was a very good one. I might vote for him as one of my five.
Joe Jacoby: It's kind of nuts to me that Jacoby isn't in the Hall of Fame yet. I assume it's because they put Russ Grimm in and putting too many members of a single offensive line unit in at one time was too much, but Jacoby belongs. I'd vote for him as one of my five.
Ty Law: Law was a good corner for a long time, but he was never a shutdown corner in the mold of a Deion Sanders or Darrelle Revis. He was a better tackler than both of them, and probably one of the better run support corners ever. I'm not sure Law would be in my 5 this year, but he's deserving eventually.
John Lynch: I'm a bit torn here. I would have taken Atwater over Lynch. I think he was a bit overrated once he left the Buccaneers, and there he was somewhat a product of a very good system. I'd put him in the Hall of Fame, but I'm not sure if this is the year.
Kevin Mawae: One of the best centers of all-time. He's deserving, but he's going to be competing with three other deserving players for what's likely to be a single offensive line spot. I'm not sure I would vote for him over Boselli or Jacoby, but the voters might.
Terrell Owens: Along with Moss, he was one of the best wide receivers in the league for a long time and is the best eligible receiver not yet in the Hall and third best (after Moss and Calvin Johnson) among all retirees. He'll be docked votes because of his personality, but he should be in the Hall of Fame.
Jason Taylor: I may overrate Taylor because he killed the Patriots, but he killed the Patriots and a lot of other teams as well. He wiled away his career on mediocre teams, but he was a great player and deserves a Hall of Fame berth.
Ladainian Tomlinson: My only lock this year, LDT is a top-5 all-time running back and deserves to go in first ballot. He was a terrifying beast every time he touched the ball and could kill you on the ground or in the air.
Kurt Warner: Going to be a polarizing opinion on this board, but I think Warner deserves a Hall of Fame berth. I wouldn't have after his disastrous stint with the Giants, but his rebirth in Arizona cemented his belonging in my mind. I don't think he was a first ballot guy, but he wasn't voted in first ballot, so I have no problem with him going in this year.
My final five would be: Tony Boselli, Joe Jacoby, Terrell Owens, Ladainian Tomlinson, and Jason Taylor. I only vote Jacoby over Mawae or Faneca for eligibility reasons.
Next year, Ray Lewis and Randy Moss are first-ballot locks. Steve Hutchinson, Ronde Barber, and Takeo Spikes are three players I think will get in from that group, but not first ballot; Brian Urlacher will probably get in as well, and possibly before Spikes, but I always thought Urlacher was more media creation than actually good player. Thus next year I'd put in Lewis, Moss, Mawae, Lynch, and Warner.
In 2019 you can add Ed Reed and Tony Gonzalez as first-ballot locks. Brian Waters, Champ Bailey, London Fletcher, Adrian Wilson, and Tedy Bruschi round out the class. I'd put in Reed, Gonzalez, Faneca, Atwater, and Hutchinson.
In 2020, you've got a pretty dud class. Lance Briggs, Patrick Willis, Osi Umeniyora, Reggie Wayne, Justin Smith, and Troy Polamalu all gain eligibility, but none are first-ballot guys. I'd put in Fletcher, Spikes, Dawkins, Bailey, and Waters.
2021 is an historically good class. Peyton Manning, Charles Woodson, and Calvin Johnson should all make it on the first ballot. Kevin Williams, Logan Mankins, Jared Allen, and Marshawn Lynch are all up for consideration. I'd put in Manning, Woodson, Johnson, Law, and Wayne. (There's something appropriate about Law going in with Manning and Wayne.)
One of the players I was surprised hasn't been a finalist yet is Zach Thomas. If he's any indication, deserving linebackers like Fletcher, Spikes, and Bruschi won't see a sniff.
Tony Boselli: One of the best tackles of all-time and one of the main reasons Mark Brunell had success with an expansion team, but Boselli had a short career. The world wonders what David Carr could have been had Boselli come back for the Texans. I'd put him in.
Isaac Bruce: He was very good for a very long time, but he's the kind of guy I struggle with. Was he ever a top-3 wide receiver? Heck, was he ever the best receiver on his own team?
Don Coryell: Had good offenses but never won a Super Bowl. To be fair, he was hamstrung by ownership trading away his best players like Jefferson and Dean over money.
Terrell Davis: I have a soft spot for TD, and I think he was the best of the Shanahan backs, but short career and relative success of the likes of Olandis Gary and Mike Anderson have him on the outside looking in.
Brian Dawkins: I think he was overhyped by the media because of the Weapon X stuff. Good player, but owes his reputation as much to the birth of YouTube as to his play. He'd have been my fourth safety of those eligible (Atwater, Lynch, Woodson, then him).
Alan Faneca: Going to be tough to get in as a guard, but he was a very good one. I might vote for him as one of my five.
Joe Jacoby: It's kind of nuts to me that Jacoby isn't in the Hall of Fame yet. I assume it's because they put Russ Grimm in and putting too many members of a single offensive line unit in at one time was too much, but Jacoby belongs. I'd vote for him as one of my five.
Ty Law: Law was a good corner for a long time, but he was never a shutdown corner in the mold of a Deion Sanders or Darrelle Revis. He was a better tackler than both of them, and probably one of the better run support corners ever. I'm not sure Law would be in my 5 this year, but he's deserving eventually.
John Lynch: I'm a bit torn here. I would have taken Atwater over Lynch. I think he was a bit overrated once he left the Buccaneers, and there he was somewhat a product of a very good system. I'd put him in the Hall of Fame, but I'm not sure if this is the year.
Kevin Mawae: One of the best centers of all-time. He's deserving, but he's going to be competing with three other deserving players for what's likely to be a single offensive line spot. I'm not sure I would vote for him over Boselli or Jacoby, but the voters might.
Terrell Owens: Along with Moss, he was one of the best wide receivers in the league for a long time and is the best eligible receiver not yet in the Hall and third best (after Moss and Calvin Johnson) among all retirees. He'll be docked votes because of his personality, but he should be in the Hall of Fame.
Jason Taylor: I may overrate Taylor because he killed the Patriots, but he killed the Patriots and a lot of other teams as well. He wiled away his career on mediocre teams, but he was a great player and deserves a Hall of Fame berth.
Ladainian Tomlinson: My only lock this year, LDT is a top-5 all-time running back and deserves to go in first ballot. He was a terrifying beast every time he touched the ball and could kill you on the ground or in the air.
Kurt Warner: Going to be a polarizing opinion on this board, but I think Warner deserves a Hall of Fame berth. I wouldn't have after his disastrous stint with the Giants, but his rebirth in Arizona cemented his belonging in my mind. I don't think he was a first ballot guy, but he wasn't voted in first ballot, so I have no problem with him going in this year.
My final five would be: Tony Boselli, Joe Jacoby, Terrell Owens, Ladainian Tomlinson, and Jason Taylor. I only vote Jacoby over Mawae or Faneca for eligibility reasons.
Next year, Ray Lewis and Randy Moss are first-ballot locks. Steve Hutchinson, Ronde Barber, and Takeo Spikes are three players I think will get in from that group, but not first ballot; Brian Urlacher will probably get in as well, and possibly before Spikes, but I always thought Urlacher was more media creation than actually good player. Thus next year I'd put in Lewis, Moss, Mawae, Lynch, and Warner.
In 2019 you can add Ed Reed and Tony Gonzalez as first-ballot locks. Brian Waters, Champ Bailey, London Fletcher, Adrian Wilson, and Tedy Bruschi round out the class. I'd put in Reed, Gonzalez, Faneca, Atwater, and Hutchinson.
In 2020, you've got a pretty dud class. Lance Briggs, Patrick Willis, Osi Umeniyora, Reggie Wayne, Justin Smith, and Troy Polamalu all gain eligibility, but none are first-ballot guys. I'd put in Fletcher, Spikes, Dawkins, Bailey, and Waters.
2021 is an historically good class. Peyton Manning, Charles Woodson, and Calvin Johnson should all make it on the first ballot. Kevin Williams, Logan Mankins, Jared Allen, and Marshawn Lynch are all up for consideration. I'd put in Manning, Woodson, Johnson, Law, and Wayne. (There's something appropriate about Law going in with Manning and Wayne.)
One of the players I was surprised hasn't been a finalist yet is Zach Thomas. If he's any indication, deserving linebackers like Fletcher, Spikes, and Bruschi won't see a sniff.
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