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HOF Finalists Named


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Smith, Woodson among four first-time Hall of Fame finalists

Associated Press

 

CANTON, Ohio -- Career sacks leader Bruce Smith, Rod Woodson, Shannon Sharpe and John Randle are among the 15 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the only first-year eligible players to make the final round this year.

 

 

 

Joining them will be two contributors: former commissioner Paul Tagliabue and Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson, as well as two senior nominees selected last August by the Senior Committee: former Atlanta defensive end Claude Humphrey and former Dallas wide receiver Bob Hayes.

 

Between four and seven candidates will be elected in the balloting that will take place in Tampa on Jan. 31, the day before the Super Bowl. The field was narrowed by the Hall's 44-member board of selectors from 133 to 25 before reducing it to the final 15.

 

Of the other finalists, only former Pittsburgh center Dermontti Dawson and former Seattle defensive lineman Cortez Kennedy have not been finalists before.

 

The rest: wide receivers Cris Carter and Andre Reed; defensive end Richard Dent; guards Russ Grimm, Bob Kuechenberg and Randall McDaniel; and linebacker Derrick Thomas.

 

Smith played from 1985-1999 with Buffalo, then spent four years in Washington. He finished with 200 sacks, the most since they began an official statistic in 1982.

 

Woodson, who played cornerback and safety from 1987-2003 with Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Oakland -- and also played some offense -- had 71 interceptions. Sharpe, who played for Denver and Baltimore from 1990-2003, holds the records for receptions by a tight end with 815. And Randle had 137.5 sacks at defensive tackle for Minnesota and Seattle from 1990-2003.

 

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

 

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This is a few years too early for Cortez to really have any kind of decent shot at the hall, but man it feels good to see a Seahawk on that list. A Seattle player even being mentioned is something that hasn't happened often in Seattle's relatively brief sports history. Well deserved, couldn't have happened to a better guy. One of my true childhood idols. I've still got "The Tez" tee with Tez in uniform being morphed into the Taz tornado. Congrats big Tez!

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This is a few years too early for Cortez to really have any kind of decent shot at the hall,
Why do people say that a player isn't a first ballot HOFer, but maybe in a a few years? Don't take this against Cortez, I just mean in general.

 

I understand that there is a limited number of players let in each year and that not all 15 players can make it. But it's not as if a players accomplishments marinate into something much better the longer they sit around. Every year there are at least 8 players that don't make it in, so every year the list grows faster then it can shrink.

 

To me, it just seems that either you are a HOF player or your not, and if you are not, you might be for the senior committee.

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Why do people say that a player isn't a first ballot HOFer, but maybe in a a few years? Don't take this against Cortez, I just mean in general.

 

I understand that there is a limited number of players let in each year and that not all 15 players can make it. But it's not as if a players accomplishments marinate into something much better the longer they sit around. Every year there are at least 8 players that don't make it in, so every year the list grows faster then it can shrink.

 

To me, it just seems that either you are a HOF player or your not, and if you are not, you might be for the senior committee.

Well said.

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Why do people say that a player isn't a first ballot HOFer, but maybe in a a few years? Don't take this against Cortez, I just mean in general.

 

I understand that there is a limited number of players let in each year and that not all 15 players can make it. But it's not as if a players accomplishments marinate into something much better the longer they sit around. Every year there are at least 8 players that don't make it in, so every year the list grows faster then it can shrink.

 

To me, it just seems that either you are a HOF player or your not, and if you are not, you might be for the senior committee.

 

Isn't there a limit on how many they will induct in a certain year? Sounds like they are only taking up to seven this year, and IMO not making one of the three remaining spots with Tagliabue, Ralph Wilson, Shanon Sharpe, Bruce Smith is not knock on a player, it just means the player didn't have quite the impact on the game as some others. Still HOF worthy, but won't make the cut this year.

 

EDIT: BTW, I also think Woodson and Carter are shoe-ins...so that really only leaves one spot up for grabs.

Edited by Caveman_Nick
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Isn't there a limit on how many they will induct in a certain year?
Yes. The first post mentioned there must be at least 4 but no more then 7.

 

But even with an exceptional class that has in excess of 7, I can see going a year or two as "overflow". But more then that? Everyone's favorite example of a multi-year finalist, Ray Guy, has been nominated 7 times (1992, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2007-2008). If he wasn't a finalist in 92, 95, or 97, why should he be in 99, 02, or 07 or 08? What changed?

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If I had to pick 6....

 

1. Bob Hayes - Had a major impact on how the game was played, new defensive schemes were invented just to stop him

2. Dermontti Dawson - Could be one of the best Centers to play the game

3. Bruce Smith - One of the best, put the fear of god in Offensive Coordinators

4. Shannon Sharpe - Redefined the position for guys like Witten and Gates

5. Russ Grimm - Ever hear that song "Like a Rock", they are singing about Russ

6. Rod Woodson - One of the inventors of the Wooooooooo hit.

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"Sharpe, who played for Denver and Baltimore from 1990-2003, holds the records for receptions by a tight end with 815. "

 

Not true. T. Gonzales broke that record and now has 820 and is the record holder.

Edited by Pancake
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Why do people say that a player isn't a first ballot HOFer, but maybe in a a few years? Don't take this against Cortez, I just mean in general.

 

I understand that there is a limited number of players let in each year and that not all 15 players can make it. But it's not as if a players accomplishments marinate into something much better the longer they sit around. Every year there are at least 8 players that don't make it in, so every year the list grows faster then it can shrink.

 

To me, it just seems that either you are a HOF player or your not, and if you are not, you might be for the senior committee.

You are only eligible for so long before you have to get voted in by the senior committee. I'm just saying that since there are already so many "overflow" guys that figure to get into the hall in the next few years, the guys with an outside shot aren't going to make it, where they might make it if they were first nominated in a few years, when several of these players in waiting were already in. Basically, the crop from the last 15-20 years looks bigger than the crop in the next 15-20. Guys that get nominated a few years down the road would have a better shot to get in than the guys nominated now, by sheer numbers.

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Bruce Smith, Paul Tagliabue, Ralph Wilson, and Randall McDaniel are absolutes on my list.

 

The next group of people I'd consider are Rod Woodson, Dermontti Dawson, John Randle, Shannon Sharpe, and Derrick Thomas.

 

Everyone else I kind of had to think about a little more about, which made me figure they aren't probably HOFers.

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C.Carter should get in!

 

As time has moved on, I see Carter's numbers as a product of his longevity. Not sure I think he's a gimme pick.

 

Let's get Bullet Bob in there already! :D

 

Why? 3 Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl title? Led the Cowboys in receiving in just 5 seasons. :wacko:

 

Not dissing Bob Hayes, he was a TD machine, but he wasn't exactly considered the best at his position while he played, and Charlie Taylor, Fred Biletnikof, Paul Warfied all made the HOF in their first cracks at it.

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seems like the no-brainers would be bruce smith, sharpe and woodson. those three are among the very best ever at their positions. and I guess tags. carter and dawson after that.

Tags is at least one of the top 5 NFL commissioners.

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Not dissing Bob Hayes, he was a TD machine, but he wasn't exactly considered the best at his position while he played, and Charlie Taylor, Fred Biletnikof, Paul Warfied all made the HOF in their first cracks at it.
Hayes is being kept out for off-field stuff; IMO Hayes is the second-most significant WR in NFL history (the most significant being Don Hutson; the greatest is obviously Jerry Rice).
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:D You just became one of my favorite Huddlers :D

 

I wasn't already? :wacko:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:D DT was and always will be, one of my all-time favorite people. He just happened to be a fantastic football player.

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