2023 NFL Hall of Fame Class

2023 NFL Hall of Fame:  I always enjoy NFL Hall of Fame selections and all the talk that goes with it.  The 2023 class was released this week.  No arguments with any of them.  I don't always think about every players as a Hall of Famer when I watched them play but that's why there are smarter guys than me helping vote these guys in.  This year's class was defense heavy but Joe Thomas headlined the class in my opinion.  Elected his first time on the ballot he was a six-time All-Pro, Pro Bowl selection every year he played and a member of the 2010s All-Decade Team.  I always got a good vibe from the guy and no matter how bad Cleveland was he was a class act and a beast on the offensive line.

Zach Thomas waited a while for his induction but he was a 2000s All-Decade team pick, five-time All-Pro, and seven-time Pro Bowl selection.  Happy to see him get in as well and well deserved.  Just took too long.

Ken Riley is a guy I knew about growing up.  He was always talked about amongst the best corners but somehow never made a Pro Bowl but was selected as an All-Pro once.  Still talked about as one of the greats I'm happy to see him join elite.

I could say a lot about all these guys.  I watched Joe Klecko growing up and wow how is Don Coryell just now getting in?  Such an innovator and many offenses can thank him for where the league has gone.  Again, no issues with any of the selections this year.  I know these selections don't mean as much to others but I always enjoy it.  Congratulations to all those who made it into the NFL Hall of Fame.

2021 NFL Hall of Fame Class

The Pro Football Hall of Fame will induct Peyton Manning, Charles Woodson, Calvin Johnson, Drew Pearson, Alan Faneca, Bill Nunn, John Lynch, and Tom Flores as part of their 2021 class.  No arguments with any of these.  I love the Hall of Fames across all sports and the honor it is to be inducted so I look forward to this time of the year.  Manning, Woodson and Johnson were no brainers.  Superstars in the sport they probably took the least amount of debate.  I'm a big fan of Drew Pearson from my days growing up in New Mexico and watching the Cowboys every week.  You can see the video of him getting the news here and it was nice to see.  I know Flores' overall coaching record won't wow folks at first look but he won two Super Bowls with the Raiders while winning 61% of his games coaching in Oakland and Los Angeles.  I was a bit surprised Lynch got in but he was definitely one of best safeties in the game.  Faneca was excellent as well.  Seems like NFL players have to wait a long time to be inducted and this guy was one of those but none the less deserving.  Reading up on Nunn he sounds like he had a lot to do with those legendary Steelers teams that started in the seventies.  Great class this year.  I love Peyton Manning as much off the field as I did when he was between the lines.  Woodson is a Michigan alum who was so dominant.  Fun to go down memory lane during this time of year.  Congrats to all the inductees.

2018 NFL Hall of Fame

The 2018 NFL Hall of Fame class was announced and included Bobby Beathard, linebacker Robert Brazile, safety Brian Dawkins, guard Jerry Kramer, linebacker Ray Lewis, wide receiver Randy Moss, wide receiver Terrell Owens, and linebacker Brian Urlacher.  

 I think this is a great class led by Ray Lewis.  A true great among historic linebackers this was a no brainer.  I really enjoyed seeing Brian Urlacher get in as well.  Watching him, he was a machine and so good.  Not quite the bawdy resume that Lewis had but a true hall of famer.

Brian Dawkins was another defensive guy who truly deserved to be on this list.  Man he could cover receivers.  Speaking of, two of the all-time greats got in in Randy Moss and Terrell Owens.  Like others I was OK to overlook Owens to some extent due to his personality and off the field issues but he really should have been voted in on the first ballot.  Moss was just a freak who was fun to watch.

No issues with the rest of this class as well.  It'll be interesting to see what next year's ballot looks like.  I don't think we'll see quite the slam dunk picks while maybe some of those who are deserving may finally get the call.  

2017 NFL Hall of Fame Class

Over the weekend the 2017 NFL Hall of Fame Class was announced with LaDainian Tomlinson, Kurt Warner, Terrell Davis, Kenny Easley, Jason Taylor, Morten Andersen and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced as the most recent inductees.  

LaDainianTomlinson – Definitely my favorite inductee out of this class.  He was a great running back who was also a great receiver out of the backfield.  I loved watching him play for San Diego and he is truly deserving of getting into the Hall on the first ballot.

Kurt Warner – This guy could sling it.  I think he is one of those guys who despite a relatively short career has the resume for the Hall.  He took two teams to three Super Bowls while throwing for a ton of yards efficiently and racking up some monster years. 

Terrell Davis – Davis’ short career always made it tough on voters and even me.  But he was truly great even if he only had four effective years.  Those years, though, were outstanding – 1117, 1538, 1750 and 2008 yards while averaging a whopping 4.8 yards per carry during that timeframe before injuries limited him to 17 more games over three seasons. 

Kenny Easley – One of my favorite hard hitters from when I was a kid.  Glad to see him make it.

Jason Taylor – I kind of overlooked Taylor.  I was surprised at his sack totals, 139.5 good for 7^th all-time, but I do remember him being a force throughout his career. 

Morten Anderson – You can say what you want about kickers but they do deserve a place in the Hall and Anderson deserves his enshrinement.  A look at his stats will show you he is at the top or near the top in totals for kickers all-time in multiple categories.  And he was the all-time leading scorer for two different teams.  wow

Jerry Jones – Love ‘em or hate ‘em, he has done much to influence the NFL even if it is just due to the debates he starts.   

2014 NFL Hall of Fame Class Announced

Front row (from left): Ray Guy and Claude Humphrey and Derrick Brooks. Back row: Aeneas Williams and Andre Reed and Walter Jones.

The NFL Hall of Fame class of 2014 was announced this weekend.  I love the hall of fame's of each sport and Saturday's announcement was very fun.  While I was excited for the entire class (Claude Humphrey, Michael Strahan, Derrick Brooks, Walter Jones, Aeneas Williams, Andre Reed and Ray Guy) there are always those whom I'm especially happy for.  Ray Guy, Claude Humphrey and Andre Reed fall in to that category that this year. 

I grew up watching Ray Guy kicking the ball.  He was the best there was and was widely recognized as the best of the best punters when he retired.  I don't know why Guy, a punter, resonated with me.  Maybe because punting is something as a kid I always thought I could do since I didn't have the arm to be a good quarterback.  I was one of the thousands of kids who competed in the Punt, Pass and Kick competition in the 70's.  I didn't win but it was fun.  I'm sure part of my love of Guy was his being a part of the Raiders and the mystique that came with being one of the black and silver.  No matter why, I'm very happy to see him finally get in.  Not sure the reason voters have such a hard time voting kickers and punters in but hopefully this will help open the door to future inductions. 

Being a Buffalo Bills homer seeing Andre Reed get in is fun.  He'll join Thurman Thomas and Jim Kelly from the great Bills teams that went to four straight Super Bowls.  It is too easy to say that receivers accumulate numbers and that they weren't quote "Hall of Famers".  There is truth to that in some cases but it shouldn't obscure the fact that many of these receivers are legit hall of fame players.  Art Monk and Lynn Swann were others who had to fight this argument for years.  Back to Reed.  His is deserved of this honor and I'm always happy to see another Bill enter the hall.

Speaking of being a homer, Claude Humphrey of the Atlanta Falcons (and Eagles) also gained induction to the hall.  While I have scant memory of his playing everything I've read he has deserved this honor for some time.  Sacks weren't an official stat when he played but I've read that 122 is what he has been credited with including 14.5 sacks with Philadelphia helping them get to Super Bowl XV. 

Derrick Brooks was definitely a player I always enjoyed.  He was a beast on defense and helped Tampa Bay win their only Super Bowl title.  Glad to see him get in on his first ballot.  Walter Jones is also a guy who deserved to get in first time out.  Aeneas Williams was a surprise to me.  Having played for the St. Louis Rams I've heard talk about Williams quite a bit on the local radio stations.  While they all said the right things they weren't convinced he'd make it either.  Michael Strahan is a guy who while I acknowledge how good he was resisted his getting in until late.  I didn't appreciate him while he played mostly due to the fact his Giants kept beating Tom Brady in the Super Bowl.  But once he retired and I've gotten to see him on Fox and his morning show how can you not like this guy?  It opened me up to really looking at him as a hall of fame candidate.  And he deserves his spot among the other greats.

I can't argue with any of this year's class which is nice.  Of course with the NFL's back log of good players waiting to get in I may not have any good arguments for a while.  Big names who will be first time eligibles next year are Kurt Warner, Junior Seau, Orlando Pace, and Isaac Bruce among others.  I do like the NFL Hall of Fame selection process.  It is very unique in that voters get to be in the same room and make their case for players.  That is just too awesome.  I would love to hear some of those conversations.  Well only one more year to see who will get in.  I'm thinking Seau and Pace are locks but won't be surprised if Warner also gets in.  His career is a bit of an enigma so it is hard to define but that is a story for another day.  It will be fun talking about when the time comes and I'm sure I'll post something then.

2013 NFL Hall of Fame Inductees

The NFL Hall of Fame class of 2013 includes head coach Bill Parcels, guard Larry Allen, wide receiver Cris Carter, tackle Jonathan Ogden and defensive tackle Warren Sapp. Seniors candidates Curley Culp and Dave Robinson will also be inducted.  I love the Hall of Fame for the different sports as well as the debate the election process brings up each year. 

 

The NFL is the one of big three sports in which I rarely have issues.  The process itself isn't perfect but I do like it.  A bunch of smart football guys in a room hashing out who will be inducted.  That is the way it should be.  Folks in the know making the case for different players and being able to argue it out when there are disagreements.  Compared to the very flawed drive by voting process of Major League Baseball football has something I can at least feel content with.

 

When it comes to players in any sport I have two critiria for making the respective hall of fame.    1)When you watched them play during their career did you think they were a hall of famer?  Some players become hall of famers after their career.  For those players I think sentimentality tends to weigh more heavily as time goes by.  I won't say time doesn't shed a different light on eras or players but it should be obvious in the day.     2)The stats must be there.  The numbers have to back up the arguments to some extent but there are of course those exceptions due to injuries or eras.    If those two factors pass the test then the other arguments should fall in line. 

 

To this year's NFL class I won't argue against any of them.  They are all deserving (though I can't speak to Culp and Robinson) and I'm happy for each.  I was just wetting my feet with this post.  I'm much more passionate in my MLB Hall of Fame discussions which I hope to have up soon.