“Typically, the participating teams for the preseason classic are announced by the National Football League shortly after the newest class of enshrinees is elected.”

Should have an answer this month.

He should be a first ballot lock.

2011 will see a big influx of excellent players, though, which will not hasten the election of a lot of leftover finalists next year (Deion Sanders, Marshall Faulk, Jerome Bettis, and William Roaf are coming up for sure and so is Curtis Martin if he wasn’t on the Jets’ roster in 2006). That’s 4 or 5 more sure things tossed into the mix right off, with Sanders and Faulk most likely to be “first ballot.” 2012 will be a lighter year, with Bill Parcells and Will Shields (and Martin if that’s the year he’s eligible) — Tiki Barber will also be qualify, but I don’t think he gets in. Then there’s a bunch more again in 2013: Warren Sapp, Michael Strahan, and Jonathan Ogden.

I’ll also be very surprised to see more than a few of the ’70s players Tony P. listed above get elected — and given how unpredictable the Senior nominees have been lately, I couldn’t begin to guess who they will be.

I just read how teams have a professional stat guy with several other folks helping to watch so I don’t know if it would be hard to tell the difference between a tackle and a assisted one if that’s a problem. Plus they go back and look at the film. I think in the old days they probably used someone like the equipment manager to keep track of stats so it wasn’t too good.

My list above figures in the number of positions I think remain to be filled based on the 50’s and 60’s results. There have already been like 5 LB’s who career’s started in the 80’s and now Jackson. There could be one more but I seriously doubt two. Greene and Haley might be done!!

I think the 50’s and 60’s are tapped out by the HOF Voters. There should be some AFL players left to enter maybe as a package deal like baseball’s Negro League. The 70’s and 80’s are about equally behind and the Voters need to get cracking on the 1970’s.

There are 25 players from the 70’s that remain to enter HOF : Ken Anderson and Phil Simms, Chuck Foreman, Drew Pearson, Cliff Branch and Stanley Morgan, Bob Kuechenberg, Leon Gray and Russ Washington, Riley Odoms, Joe Klecko, Fred Smerlas and Bob Baumhower, Harvey “Too Mean” Martin, Isiah Robertson and Randy Gradishar, Lemar Parrish, Louis Wright and Ken Riley, Jake Scott, Cliff Harris and Donnie Shell, Ray Guy, Mark Mosley and Pat Leahy

And as for tackling — sure, agreed that tackling a RB behind the line of scrimmage is a very good thing to do. But as I’m sure you remember, I have grave problems with how this stat is compiled and feel it’s meaningless as currently arrived at.

Did it look like Grimm wasn’t that happy to be honored at the SB. I guess those OL players inheiritly don’t like to stand out. Maybe he felt a little guilty about being the “only Hog now in the HOF? I think Joe Jacoby will end up in the HOF if there’s any justice.

Sometimes the HOF Voters put themselves in a box by letting the lesser teammate in for ex. Lynn Swann than they almost have to put in the teammate in because they were the better player for ex. Johnn Stallworth. If not they clearly look bias.

It might be the case with Jackson although there might not be the howling as there was from the fans of such a winner as the Steelers. Jackson and swilling are almost mirror images of one another although it does appear that Jackson was the better overall player. Swilling scored TD’s and Jackson didn’t. It will be interesting if Jackson supports his teammates like Swann did in his speech.

Although not the same position it will be hard to let Jason Taylor into the HOF and not teammate Zach Thomas. They were nearly equally as important for the team’s success IMO.

Does it seem like the Voters appreciate sacks over tackles? Isn’t tackling the RB in the backfield just as impressive as a QB sack?