HALL OF FAME VOTING IS TODAY, WHO WILL MAKE IT?
Bright & early this morning the 44-voters who make up the selection committee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame will meet for their annual day-long process to choose new members to be inducted this August. There are 15 finalists, of which up to 5 can be selected for August induction. Two others can be selected by the veteran's committee. The voters from each players area gives a short speech on that person's behalf. After all 15 speeches are heard, the first vote is taken to cut the field from 15 to 10. They open the floor to discussion & after an hour or so, another vote is taken to reduce the field to five. This is where it gets sticky, to reach the plateau of five, a candidate must receive "X" amount of votes. Until they get all five to that level, the discussion/arguing will continue. When they cut the field to five, another vote is taken to make certain each candidate receives enough votes to make the Hall. Often times the talks bog down again at this point as it just takes a few non-supportive votes to keep a candidate from being selected. Lately, we've seen five selections, there have been quite a few truly deserving candidates & I'm expecting five to come out of this meeting today with the news they have been selected to join the most exclusive football fraternity in the world.
Here are the fifteen candidates:
Coach/executive/owner--Eddie DeBartolo Jr. & Bill Parcells
Running back--Jerome Bettis & Curtis Martin
Wide receiver--Tim Brown, Cris Carter & Andre Reed
Offensive linemen--Dermontti Dawson, Willie Roaf & Will Shields
Defensive linemen/linebackers--Chris Doleman, Kevin Greene, Charles Haley & Cortez Kennedy
Defensive back--Aeneas Williams
So who gets in? Let's start at the top.
DeBartolo was banished from the game after making a loan to a Louisiana casino company in order to get on the ballot. So no, he doesn't make it in this year. Parcells has so many enemies in the media, I think it might take him a few years.
Bettis will make it eventually, but not in this class, too many candidates with better resumes. Martin could make it, but I'm going to say no by a slight margin.
Brown, like Bettis, will make it to Canton eventually, just not in 2012. Carter should get that anticipated phone call sometime this afternoon telling him he made it. Reed will need to make the finals in a year with much less competition, I make him 11th or 12th in this class.
Since three players in one position group has never made it in the same season, odds of Dawson, Roaf & Shields all getting enough votes this year are remote. But that's the best part of having your own website, I can do whatever I want to do & I choose to approve all three for induction this year. Everytime I open my closet, I see my Will Shields #68 jersey hanging there, so I have to vote for my favorite Chiefs O-lineman of all-time.
That only leaves one candidate left who can make the top-5 & my choice is a guy who's been a finalist the past two years, but like Parcells, there are those on the committee who haven't forgiven Haley for some of his antics as a player. He wasn't friendly toward the media & that has cost him. Haley is the only player walking around with five Super Bowl rings. It's those rings & how well he performed in the playoffs that gets my vote over the other three who have better career stats.
So my Pro Football Hall of Fame class for 2012 would include Cris Carter, Dermontti Dawson, Willie Roaf, Will Shields & Charles Haley. In reality, it will probably be Curtis Martin, Dermontti Dawson, Willie Roaf, Cris Carter & Cortez Kennedy.
Here are the fifteen candidates:
Coach/executive/owner--Eddie DeBartolo Jr. & Bill Parcells
Running back--Jerome Bettis & Curtis Martin
Wide receiver--Tim Brown, Cris Carter & Andre Reed
Offensive linemen--Dermontti Dawson, Willie Roaf & Will Shields
Defensive linemen/linebackers--Chris Doleman, Kevin Greene, Charles Haley & Cortez Kennedy
Defensive back--Aeneas Williams
So who gets in? Let's start at the top.
DeBartolo was banished from the game after making a loan to a Louisiana casino company in order to get on the ballot. So no, he doesn't make it in this year. Parcells has so many enemies in the media, I think it might take him a few years.
Bettis will make it eventually, but not in this class, too many candidates with better resumes. Martin could make it, but I'm going to say no by a slight margin.
Brown, like Bettis, will make it to Canton eventually, just not in 2012. Carter should get that anticipated phone call sometime this afternoon telling him he made it. Reed will need to make the finals in a year with much less competition, I make him 11th or 12th in this class.
Since three players in one position group has never made it in the same season, odds of Dawson, Roaf & Shields all getting enough votes this year are remote. But that's the best part of having your own website, I can do whatever I want to do & I choose to approve all three for induction this year. Everytime I open my closet, I see my Will Shields #68 jersey hanging there, so I have to vote for my favorite Chiefs O-lineman of all-time.
That only leaves one candidate left who can make the top-5 & my choice is a guy who's been a finalist the past two years, but like Parcells, there are those on the committee who haven't forgiven Haley for some of his antics as a player. He wasn't friendly toward the media & that has cost him. Haley is the only player walking around with five Super Bowl rings. It's those rings & how well he performed in the playoffs that gets my vote over the other three who have better career stats.
So my Pro Football Hall of Fame class for 2012 would include Cris Carter, Dermontti Dawson, Willie Roaf, Will Shields & Charles Haley. In reality, it will probably be Curtis Martin, Dermontti Dawson, Willie Roaf, Cris Carter & Cortez Kennedy.
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