Being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame is the highest of honors. Being elected and enshrined in Canton, Ohio is in the minds of every football player before they even step into their first pair of cleats. To say the least, Saturday will make more dreams even closer to being achieved. Tomorrow afternoon, 15 of the 26 semifinalists will be deemed as finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Looking through the list of semifinalists reads like a who's who of football greats and contributors. Today, I will guess who will be the finalists, as if I was crafting my own ballot.
Let's go.
Steve Atwater
The hard-hitting, trash-talking safety made his first appearance in the semifinalist pool this year, and will make his first appearance as a finalist as well in 2012. Few players could intimidate like Atwater could when he patrolled the secondary in his 11-year career, and few could deliver powerful and punishing hits like #27 could either. And it wasn't just the hits or intimidation either that make the case for Atwater, his accolades do as well. An 8-time Pro Bowler, 2-time All-Pro selection, and 2-time Super Bowl Champion with the Denver Broncos are tough to argue against. It's time for Atwater to be recognized.
Jerome Bettis
The NFL's sixth all-time leading rusher should have no problem busing his way (see what I did there) towards a second consecutive year as a finalist. Bettis, a powerful runner, was arguably the face of the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense for his entire tenure there before the torch was passed to Ben Roethlisberger upon Bettis' retirement following the Super Bowl XL victory, a storybook ending to a terrific career. While I do not believe that he will get enshrined in Canton just yet, the time will come for Bettis in a few short years, and there are few and far between as deserving as "The Bus" is.
Tim Brown
The wide reciever logjam that will grow even bigger as the years pass by starts today with Tim Brown. Brown was a staple of the Oakland Raiders' offense for his career in the Bay Area, and could not only do it as a receiver, but he made a successful career as a kick and punt returner. From 1991 to 1994, Brown finished no lower than fifth in return yards, including his '94 campaign where he amassed 487 yards as a return man, first in the NFL that year. Brown never touched the All-Pro team due to his lack of separation from the better receivers he was playing with, so while he may make it as a finalist, enshrinement is still up in the air.
Cris Carter
As the logam continues on, many are confused as to why this man has not been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I too, join in their gathered befuddlement. Only three players are ahead of Carter all-time in receptions: Jerry Rice, Tony Gonzalez, and Marvin Harrison. Pretty good company I'd say. Moving on, only seven players are ahead of Carter all-time in receiving yards: Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens, Isaac Bruce, Tim Brown, Randy Moss, Marvin Harrison, and James Lofton. Again, solid company. And finally, only three players have more receiving touchdowns than Carter: Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens, and Randy Moss. That's 1 Hall of Famer, the greatest receiver of ALL-TIME in fact, and two future slam dunk Hall of Famers. A note to the selection committee: get this man in Canton.
Don Coryell
One of the tougher things to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame is to be a coach. Currently, a mere 7% of the Pro Football Hall of Fame houses coaches, and those coaches are some of the greatest to ever walk the sidelines. But few coaches were such innovators like Don Coryell was, so that is why I have him as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Coryell may have never won a Super Bowl and may have had a 3-6 record in the postseason, but Coryell was instrumental in the innovation of the vertical passing game. The "Air Coryell" offense was unlike anything the league had seen before his implementation of the system, and his hand-crafted innovation of the passing game. The question often asked is, "could you write the history of the NFL without [insert player's name here]?" Well, if you insert Coryell's name there, I don't believe you could say yes to that question.
Dermontti Dawson
This staple of Pittsburgh offensive line followed in the footsteps of the late, great Mike Webster and the process was seamless. Dawson never missed a regular season game from 1989 to 1998 and was one of the best, if not the best center during his time. A member of the 1990s All-Decade Team, 7-time Pro Bowler, and a 6-time All-Pro are just some of many of the accolades that Dermontti racked up as a Pittsburgh Steeler. Any defensive lineman that tried to bullrush him had a tough time doing it, and his incredible pass-blocking technique was second to none. With as long as he did it, with as much class as he showed, and the consistency he had in his tenure, Dawson seems like a no brainer to not only be a finalist, but to be known as a Hall of Famer.
Chris Doleman
One of the premier pass-rushers of his era, Chris Doleman should have no problem in getting his second straight appearance as a Hall of Fame finalist. He was a 5-time All-Pro, 3 of those times ('87, '89, '92). Doleman in his 15 year career racked up an incredible 150 1/3 career sacks. To put that in perspective, there are only three players currently that are ahead of him in career sacks: sackmasters and Hall of Famers Bruce Smith and Reggie White, and should-be Hall of Famer Kevin Greene. Doleman's ability to get to the quarterback and bring him down was both fearsome and fantastic, and a finalist appearance should be about as easy as it was for him to bring down the QB.
Kevin Greene
The man who is 3rd all time in sacks checks in to our finalist list. When you think of the greats who have brought down the QB better than anybody, Kevin Greene may be a name that escapes you, or one that casuals may not know. The truth is, Kevin Greene was one of the best to ever rush the quarterback. Greene was an integral part of the 'Blitzburgh' defenses, the work of defensive mastermind Dick LeBeau, even while playing alongside players like Greg Lloyd, Hardy Nickerson, and Chad Brown, who all had their fair share of putting their respective stamps on a long line of great Pittsburgh linebackers. A man who resides in the territory of The Minister of Defense, and BRUUUUCE should no doubt, in my mind, be a finalist, and should get strong consideration to be enshrined in Canton sooner rather than later.
Charles Haley
Charles Haley was a loose cannon on and off the field. Never one to be quiet, Haley developed a reputation for being, to be blunt, an absolute lunatic off the field according to some former players and coaches. But with that said, Haley's on-the-field performance over the span of his career is hard to ignore. Few players have excelled as well as Haley has as a 3-4 outside linebacker, and a 4-3 defensive end. Haley managed to pull off both, racking up 100.5 sacks during his career. And there's also that part about Haley having been on 5 Super Bowl winning teams and playing an integral role of each of them. Just something to think about.
Cortez Kennedy
One of the best defensive tackles in NFL history should make his fourth straight appearance as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and in my opinion, he should get into the Hall of Fame itself. Kennedy was as dynamic as a defensive tackle could be. His run-stuffing ability, pass-rushing ability were dominating, and could take control of any given situation. He allowed for unknowns like Sam Adams, Michael Sinclair, and Michael McCrary to benefit just by his presence on the field. And the long laundry list of accolades that he has, including a Defensive Player of the Year award in 1992 on a Seattle team that went 2-14 with one of the worst offenses in modern NFL history. Tez should no longer just sniff the Hall of Fame, he should be enshrined this summer.
Curtis Martin
He didn't play flashy, he wasn't a brusier or a power back, but Curtis Martin got the job done efficiently and with class and excellence. "My Favorite" Martin lies 4th all-time in rushing, as he racked up 14,101 yards in his 11 year career. Martin saved his best performance for (nearly) last, rushing for 1,697 yards in 2004, his last full season, which was his last full season of 1,000+ yards. Martin also excelled as a dual threat, racking up 1,400+ yards from scrimmage in 10 of his 11 seasons in the league, including a phenomenal 1,748 in his rookie season, when he won the Offensive Rookie of the year award. Martin should be a finalist once again, and in my opinion, it's time to let Curtis rumble into Canton.
Bill Parcells
"The Tuna" left a mark everywhere he went in his time as a coach in the NFL, and seemed to have found success nearly everywhere he went as well. Parcells coached up the New York Football Giants for a better part of the 1980s and was the coach of 2 Super Bowl winning teams. Managing to deal with the eccentric, yet dominant linebacker Lawrence Taylor could also rank up there as an accomplishment. In his time in New England, he coached the Patriots to a Super Bowl appearance, and took them out of a few yeas of being in the gutter and feeling irrelevant. One of his proteges went on to coach the Patriots soon after. Name is Bill Belichick, you might have heard of him. While the coach of the New York Jets, Parcells helped them have an AFC Championship appearance in the 1998 season, and he took a dreadful Cowboys team and built them from the ground up to become a more respectable franchise once again (that gets its laughs nowadays of course). Could you write the history of the NFL without Bill Parcells? You may have to think about that for a short while before deciding upon an answer.
Andre Reed
Could you write the history of the NFL without Andre Reed? Good question. To me though, the answer is a simple no. Andre Reed was just as important to the magnificent (yet failure-ridden) Buffalo Bills teams of the early 1990s as Marv Levy, Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, James Lofton, and Bruce Smith. All five of them being Hall of Famers. Andre Reed was a vital piece to the "K-Gun" offense, and while Lofton was no doubt still a great wide receiver at the time, you have to wonder just how much attention he would have gotten had Andre Reed not been lined up on the other side, given the nature. With being 10th all time in receptions, 12th all time in receiving yards, and 12th all time in receiving touchdowns, the logjam of wide receivers at this point ends with Andre Reed, and a forthcoming selection as not only a finalist but as an inductee should start to break away from that logjam.
Willie Roaf
Not much got past Willie Roaf in his career as a New Orleans Saint and a Kansas City Chief. And frankly, I'm shocked that a Hall of Fame induction didn't get past him either last year, yet, Roaf remains an outsider to Canton but he should not be waiting much longer in my opinion. Roaf's resume is incredible: a member of BOTH the 1990s All-Decade Team and 2000s All-Decade Team, an 11-time Pro Bowler, 6-time First Team All-Pro selection, and 3-time Second Team All-Pro selection were some of his acomplishments. But his durability was probably his best. He played in his career 189 games, starting in each of them. Roaf is, no doubt about it, one of the greatest offensive linemen of all-time. And he should be recognized as such.
Steve Tasker
If the Pro Football Hall of Fame is about recognizing the best players at their position, then Steve Tasker should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The special teamers of the world, mostly Ray Guy, and sooner or later, Devin Hester, share the same weight that Tasker carries with him around this time each year. A lot of people say, "he's just a special teamer. He doesn't play evrery down. Why should he get in over players who play every snap?" To quote Peter King:
"No surprise he didn't make the finals. Just sad. We have to realize sometime that special teams is a major part of the game (not a third, the way some people say, but a significant fifth), and Tasker was the best ever to play them."
Little bit of high praise to say the very least. There is a case to be made, as with each man on this list and it's time to recognize Tasker as one of the best to play the game of football, because that's exactly what he was, at the position he played.
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