Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith were the two shoe-ins for election into the NFL Hall of Fame this year. The rest of the class was a crapshoot. But in the end another deserving class of players got the call they had been waiting for.
Stephen A. Perry, the president and executive director of the Hall of Fame, made the announcement this afternoon on the NFL Network.
The Class of 2010 is:
WR Jerry Rice
RB Emmitt Smith
DL John Randle
LB Rickey Jackson
OL Russ Grimm
RB Floyd Little*
DB Dick LeBeau*
*Senior candidate
While the entrants are deserving some of the guys who didn’t make it are surprising. Cris Carter was left out again, not even making the list of 10 finalists. Neither did Tim Brown. Shannon Sharpe made the final 10, but didn’t survive the final cut. Charles Haley and Richard Dent also have to wait at least another year.
Viking John Randle surprised both of us here at Zoneblitz, not because he wasn’t worthy, but because of other candidates along the defensive line such as Dent, Haley, and Cortez Kennedy.
Jackson, who was called Randy when Perry first read the list, was another surprise. But he gets elected on the eve of his team’s first Super Bowl appearance.
This year’s senior finalists, Floyd Little and Dick LeBeau, were controversial when they were announced in August. But in the end both made the cut.
As we wrote a few months ago, this was the first year the fans got a say in the polling. While it didn’t count in the induction process, Van Heusen counted fan votes all season. Rice and Smith were the top vote getters, followed by Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Haley and Cris Carter.
We’ll have more on the selections in the days ahead. We’ll also be posting a 2011 Hall of Fame preview in a couple days as well – the guys that got in this year were great players, but some of the ones who were left out coupled with the guys eligible for the first time in 2011 make for a crowded list of future finalists.
What do you think of this year’s list?
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I’m fine with the 5 modern-day era folks who got in. Russ Grimm may be the weakest of these, but he wasn’t as bad as the two Senior candidates. Neither of the Seniors were good choices, and they should have both been voted down if you ask me.
WOW….
I feel like I’ve just been hit in the stomach after hearing this election class.
However, I love the selections of Smith, Rice, Randle and Grimm(a ‘HOG’ is finally in). After that, this class falls off severley.
I’m in utter shock over the selection of Jackson who wasn’t even a semi-finalist his first year of eligibility. It was just last year he finally made it to the semi-final round but wasn’t a finalist in the round of 15. Now this year he for the first time makes it to the round of 15 and already gets elected to the HOF.
Unless I’m wrong, this may be the first time a candidate who wasn’t a 1st ballot inductee or a Senior nominee made it into the HOF in his first year as a finalist(round of 15). I wonder if the Saints being in the SB had anything to do with Jackson’s election….I sure hope not!
I just don’t remember Jackson ever being a HOF when i watched him. He was certainly a very good player with some nice career totals, but again, I never thought of him as a HOF. In fact, I’m not so sure Pat Swilling wasn’t every bit the player Jackson was. When my team played the Saints(especially in that noise crazy Superdome), it was Pat Swilling I feared more than Jackson.
Simply put, Dick Lebeau the CB and Floyd Little are simply not HOF’s and to me go down as argualby the weakest inductees ever.
Shannon Sharpe was also a surprise for me. I thought this would be his year.
I wonder what this says for Cris Carter today that he didn’t even make it to the round of 10 and Andre Reed did. Carter may have a longer wait than any of us thought. I thought Tim Brown would’ve made it farther in the process too. We officially have a log-jam at WR with these 3 and it looks like Andre Reed could have a leg up on the other two.
Here is what a NFL HOF is to me: a player of such greatness(skill and/or stats) that he just passes the eye-ball test right away like Smith and Rice today; a player of less than all-time greatness(Smith and Rice above) but still a worthy nominee who combined play on the field with him also either changing the game, pausing the game with greatness or contributing to a system or team whose legacy will live forever.
Also, can the worthy nominees’ career tell the sotry of the NFL and can you write the history of the NFL without him.
This would have been my HOF today by that standard above:
Don Coryell, Shannon Sharpe, John Randle, Emmitt Smith, Jerry Rice, Russ Grimm
Just misses(these are players I think fit my formula above in one way or the other but weren’t as strong this year as my candidates i chose above; I think these players though will eventually get in the HOF):
Cris Carter, Tim Brown, Andre Reed, Charles Haley, Dirt Dawson
On the Fence:(a 50/50 toss-up)
Richard Dent and Roger Craig
Not HOF’s to me:
Cortez Kennedy, Floyd Little, Dick Lebeau the CB, Rickey Jackson
boardgame wrote: “Unless I’m wrong, this may be the first time a candidate who wasn’t a 1st ballot inductee or a Senior nominee made it into the HOF in his first year as a finalist(round of 15).”
Actually, this has happened several times before, and not just in the case of some Senior candidates. In fact, two such players were elected in 2003, Joe DeLamielleure (13th eligible year, 1st time as finalist) and Elvin Bethea (15th eligible year, 1st time as finalist). Other such players for whom this has occurred (with number of eligible years in parentheses) include Lee Roy Selmon (6th), Jimmy Johnson (13th), Bobby Mitchell (10), Bobby Bell (3), Ron Mix (3), Pete Pihos (8), Tom Fears (8), and Jack Christiansen (7).
I’m very much not convinced of the “unless you can’t tell the story of the NFL without mentioning the player, he doesn’t belong in the HoF” argument. One cannot, for example, discuss the history of the NFL draft without mentioning the first ever such player taken, Heisman winner Jay Berwanger — but he never played a single down in the pros.
bachs….
WOW, I’m really surprised with most those names not being finalists more than once before they were inducted, but i had not researched it either.
It still doesn’t change my mind on Jackson though.
Berwanger clearly wouldn’t be in any HOF discussion or be considered a “worthy” nominee.
boardgame:
Your HOF class is not possible as you have listed 6 names from the modern era candidates. Only a maximum of 5 modern era names can be elected. Add on the two senior nominees and it makes a max Class of 7.
My list was way off. I don’t mind the class. I just think Dawson deserved it more than Russ Grimm. Next year my man C-Mart will finally get his chance, but Marshall Faulk will get in before him though.
I wonder what Kevin Greene with his 160 sacks and Charles Haley with his alcolades is thinking about Jackson getting in before them? I predicted it but I still don’t believe it!! IMO both Greene and Haley had a better reputations for being leaders and hard workers than Rickey Jackson. Oh well.
I’m alright with Grimm but not before Kuechenberg. These Voters are so frustrating!! Kooch was from the Top OL of the 70’s and Grimm the OL of the 80’s. Next should be Kooch than Joe Jacoby.
I think I picked Randle. He’s deserving. I need to go back and check.
You’re right Brad. I see Faulk and Deon Sanders being 1st Ballot guys. Martin gets in later but he does get in!!
Cortez Kennedy not a HOF is a joke. The guy was far more dominant as a presence in the middle than John Randle or Warren Sapp. He commanded double and triple teams from the time he won defensive player of the year until he retired. Micheal McRary, Phillip Daniels and Micheal Sinclair. Do you know who these guys are? That is O.K. Most people do not, because they were average players at best. They all also had multiple double digit sack seasons while lining up in the same front four as Tez. The only other 4-3 tackle who is comparable to Tez is Jerome Brown. I believe he is in the HOF.
Congrats to the Viking’s fan for another HOFer in Randle. Those were some really good teams and still are to this day. Randle was a great player and a real character too!! Pretty good to get in after only a one year wait just like McDaniel.
I wonder if he could come back and play NT for the Dolphins next year?
Anyone think the Oilers DT Ray Childress has a chance? He was a great one for a few year stretch than played well for Dallas. Career was a lot like Big John Dutton who was great with the Colts before moving on to Dallas. That Colts DL in the 70’s was scary!!
Looking at the Finalists:
T. Brown and Coryell 1-time finalists, Kennedy, Sharpe and Dawson 2-times now, Carter 3, Reed 4, Dent 6. Dent might be cooked ? Personality maybe won’t keep you out of the HOF but as Carter is finding out it can be a bitch. :)
Tony P. – McDaniel had to wait two years to get in–his first year he wasn’t even a finalist. Guess the HOF just doesn’t respect guards at all.
Maury – I agree that Cortez Kennedy is a worthy player for HOF consideration. Unfortunately, stats play a big role in induction, and they play a big role in the awards (All-Pro, Pro Bowls) that also play a big role in induction. And in the statistical category, Randle was a way better DT than Kennedy.
Yes, no doubt Kennedy was commanding double and triple teams, and freeing up others to get sacks–but Randle was actually getting the sacks. And he faced plenty of double teams as well–a lot of the defenses that he played on in Minnesota were terrible, and Randle was the only DL worth paying attention to.
boardgame, I think Rickey Jackson is a good HoF choice, and here why.
While one may argue that Jackson was never named to an AP 1st team all-pro squad, he did appear on two NEA 1st team all-pro squads (1986 and 1987) and went to 6 pro bowls. Back a few years ago, Mike Singletary and Lawrence Taylor were the only LBs in the HoF from the 80s and 90s, which is too thin representation at this position for a 20 year period. Jackson was essentially part of the upper crust of a huge logjam of LBs from the 80s and 90s not in, with Andre Tippett, Charles Haley, Kevin Greene, Harry Carson, and Derrick Thomas being the rest of that upper crust. Their postseason honor profiles (Tippett and Greene at 2/5 and Thomas at 2/9 with all being named to all decade teams; Haley at 2/5, Jackson at 0/6, and Carson at 0/9, none being on an all decade team) aren’t far off from each other. What often happens in cases like this is that the logjam keeps them all out, but for a change, it looks like the voters are deciding that they belong in. I can’t say I disagree.
Jackson, like Tippett, also had a reputation of playing decently in pass protection and very well against the run as well as being a great pass rusher. And that’s something you can’t say about Thomas (great pass rusher, not so great on the other stuff) and Carson (great against the run, less so otherwise). Having a complete game has historically seemed to make a difference to HoF voters when they consider LBs.
boardgame, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people ranging from sportswriters to sportscasters to casual fans parrot the notion that “if you can’t write the history of the NFL without mentioning his name, he doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame.” Too often, it seems like a vague excuse to keep someone out of the HoF without having to give a tangible reason.
I’m saying that like several truisms, this is not worth the breath it takes to utter. You simply cannot write the history of the NFL draft without talking about Jay Berwanger. And Berwanger does not belong in the PFHoF. Therefore, the “write the history” truism isn’t necessarily true.
More importantly, what’s this “history” like? How in-depth is it? And who’s writing this history, anyway? The Ken Burns multi-part series on baseball, for example, does not once mention Eddie Plank but does talk about Moses Fleetwood “Fleet” Walker. Does Plank not belong in the baseball HoF? Does Walker belong in? I don’t see why in either case.
Sorry, the above should read: ““if you can’t write the history of the NFL without mentioning his name, he belongs in the Hall of Fame.”
I don’t agree with this sentiment, of course, as outlined above.
I am very disappointed in the commits I am reading here. Yes, Dick LeBeau may not be remembered as well as other great defensive players in his era. However, the man had 62 interceptions in his career during an era where teams seldomed passed. That is impressive. In my opinion the man should have made the HOF years ago. Remember, just because he played with Jack Christiansen, Yale Lary, Lem Barney and Night Train does not mean he wasn’t good. He was just as good as they were. He just didn’t have speed. He had talent and intelligence to read the plays. Please remember to look at what these players have done for the game and what they have changed in the game. Jack Christiansen and Joe Schmidt are great examples. Christiansen changed how teams would punt and Schmidt, though did not create the position, showed the intelligence that was needed at MLB and frankly put paved the way for all MLBs as to how to play the position.
I agree Jackson was not as good as Swilling in my book, but he was a great LB. Infact I think all the Saints LBs back then should be in the hall. Sam Mills, Vaughn Johnson, Pat Swilling and Rickey Jackson were all Pro-Bowlers. On a few occassions two or more went to the Pro-Bowl in the same year.
No question or argument on Rice or E.Smith. I never cared for Smith. He was behind a great OL. If Barry Sanders would have been behind that same line, he probably would have had double the yards he finished with in his career.
John Randle I never cared for. However, his defensive skills were of a cat, but a loud one.
Floyd did well on a team that lacked a rusher and finished high in the rankings for yards when he retired. Alot of guys have obliterated his stats by now, but he had good numbers for the time he played.
As for you folks who are disagreeing with Dick LeBeau or Little, what are you guys smoking?
Shawn, Come’on Man!! Can’t someone have a different opinion from yours without being stoned?
If you take time to look around I think you would find your overall opinion of the players you support or dislike is a minority position.
Most people aren’t saying Little and LeBeau were bad players but when we think of the HOF we believe the standard needs to be high. To me it says something really strong especially for LeBeau and Little that they were never Finalists in almost 35 years. They were both remembered just fine in the Voter’s memories five or ten years after they played and they said No, you’re not a HOFer and we don’t care that you have 63 ints. or 6.300 yds rushing. Those years after say alot to me. And for LeBeau it’s only now that he’s a high profile Defensive Coach on a winning team who everyone likes that he’s pushed out there with everyone saying look at Dick he’s a genius now and by the way look at what he did 45 years ago with 63 ints. He must be a HOF player now. In contrast after Johnny Robinson (57 ints) became eligible he was Finalist 6-times so I can see him coming into the picture again but not these guys.
It’s all about politics for these guys. Floyd Little has overwheming support from the Denver Broncos fans which are some of the loyalist fans in the NFL. As for LeBeau he was able to get Steeler Nation and one of the most admired and powerful owners in Rooney behind his nomination. Does anyone really think if he was still sucking as the Head Coach for the Bengals that this would be happening?
As for Emmitt, you don’t rush for as many yards as he did without being a great back. He had great vision like all the greats, had good moves and speed and was extremely durable. I’m someone who saw most of his games. I will tell you that there’s a lot of jealousy about him being the top rusher of all-time. Emmitt has never said he was the best RB of all-time but people love to pick apart his game anyway because of what he’s achieved. What are people complaining about now? Are they saying he doesn’t belong in the HOF? That is silly and people just hating because they can. To some degree they complained about Walter too when he passed Jim Brown. Everyone had to point out he was no Jim Brown. Many were critical of Franco Harris’s game too. Can you imagine if he was the top rusher? They hated that he would step out of bounds to avoid a hit. I think it’s called sel-preservation. :)
Remember, it’s just an opinion. Rarely will you find someone who will agree with you 100%. That would be boring, IMO. LOL!! You can take it or leave it. I appreciated your opinion. :)
Shawn–
What those of us who think Floyd Little and Dick LeBeau were poor Seniors nominees and bad HoF choices are “smoking” are plain old facts. And we here who think this have plenty of company elsewhere. There are two good articles over on the blog section of the pro-football-reference website that outline cogently the cases against both:
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/blog/?p=5757
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/blog/?p=5592
The short versions, with a few things I’ve added in:
Against Little. His stats are pretty much identical to those of contemporary RB Larry Brown, and not far off from those of near contemporaries Chuck Foreman, Don Perkins, and Ken Willard — and no one’s beating down the door for these other guys. Little’s stats are sufficiently weak that at present he’s the worst RB in the HoF by a pretty good margin, adjusted to era. It’s not clear why the standards of HoF RBs needed to be lowered this far, especially when they’re far more stringent at other positions, notably safety, wide receiver, and pre-1980s outside linebacker, for three.
Against LeBeau. There appears to be a very good reason he got all those INTs. He was the CB playing opposite more HoF worthy CBs, first Dick Lane, then Lem Barney — and one reason a DB can get a lot of INTs is if QBs throw on him instead of someone else. LeBeau’s postseason honors profile is also the worst of any HoF DB — zero 1st team all pro selections by any organization and only 3 pro bowl squads in a very long playing career. Those making the case that he was a great coach (assistant or otherwise) need to look at what he accomplished in Cincinnati as well as in Pittsburgh — suffice to say that his head coaching reign in Cincy was both brief and terrible, and the quality of his defenses as defensive coordinator there was undistinguished. Some even go so far as to say that his Pittsburgh assistant coaching stint in Pittsburgh is overrated, that he was essentially the beneficiary of the work Dom Capers left him, which is admittedly more debatable. His biggest claim to the HoF is likely the fact that he’s credited with inventing the zone blitz. And if that’s enough to get him in, LeBeau should have been nominated as a contributor and elected this way instead of as a player, where he simply did not perform at a HoF level. Furthermore, as he is still an active coach and the HoF’s guidelines specify that coaches must be retired for 5 years before they are considered for the HoF, any coaching accomplishments LeBeau attained should have been off limits — though it seems that wasn’t the case here. Which Senior-eligible DBs (corners and safeties) would have been better HoF choices than LeBeau? Let’s start with Johnny Robinson, Jimmy Patton, Lemar Parrish, Cliff Harris, Abe Woodson, Bobby Dillon, Jack Butler, Dave Grayson, Bobby Boyd, Cornell Green, and Eddie Meador.
I only have 2 words to say Jim Plunkett, 2 superbowls, single handedly destroyed the Redskins in the Superbowl. I guess they don’t want any Mexicans in the Hall, oh yeah we have 1 Anthony Munoz.
Jim Plunkett was the QB for two Super Bowl winning teams, but his regular season numbers are simply not HoF-worthy. And that goes for the coach of these two teams, Tom Flores. But that has nothing to do with their heritage.
And I’ve got six words for you, Ernie Boy. Playing the race card is despicable.