Voters, fans frustrated with Hall of Fame announcement

by | Feb 6, 2012 | Hall of Fame, NFL Random Thoughts

Well, the 2012 season is over. By and large the Twittersphere would seem to indicate that people are reasonably satisfied with the Super Bowl they just finished watching. New York and New England put on quite a show again as Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning once again edged out Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in an exciting game that came down to the last play.

That result seemed more satisfying to people than the results of Saturday’s Pro Football Hall of Fame voting. From the exclusion of Cris Carter, Andre Reed, Bill Parcells and Will Shields to the inclusion of Cortez Kennedy or Chris Doleman, most fans seemed to be upset about something – and with the immediacy of the Internet, many of them decided to let the voters know they were upset.

Some spewed epithets. Others called for entirely new voting panels. Most would benefit their arguments by at least spelling correctly the names of the candidates they support … but I digress.

At least a couple of voters invited discussions with the fans, acknowledging both the voters’ frustrations and, notably in some cases, even their own. Peter King from Sports Illustrated noted that all six players who were selected ultimately deserve to be inducted to the Hall – and on that I agree with him. There isn’t anyone going to Canton in 2012 who I would argue does not belong there. (more…)

Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2012 announced

by | Feb 4, 2012 | Hall of Fame

The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 50th class will include modern-era candidates Dermontti Dawson, Chris Doleman, Cortez Kennedy, Curtis Martin and Willie Roaf.

Joining them at the Aug. 4 induction ceremony will be senior Jack Butler, a senior nominee.

The Steelers fared particularly well, with Dawson and Butler entering the Hall. Dawson played center for Pittsburgh from 1988 to 2000. Butler was a four-time Pro Bowl defensive back for them from 1951 to 1959.

Doleman was an eight-time Pro Bowl defensive end for Minnesota, San Francisco and Atlanta from 1985 to 1999. Kennedy spent his entire 11-year career with Seattle. He made eight Pro Bowls during that span.

Five-time Pro Bowler Martin played split his 11-year between New England and the New York Jets. He ran for 14,101 yards and reached the 1,000 yard mark during his first 10 years in the league. And Roaf was a dominant left tackle for New Orleans and Kansas City during a 13-year career that included 11 Pro Bowls.

The new class was selected by a 44-person selection committee Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis. The group was announced this evening on the NFL Network’s Road to Canton show.

Other finalists included Cris Carter, Charles Haley, Andre Reed, Aeneas Williams, Bill Parcells, Tim Brown, Jerome Bettis, Kevin Greene, Will Shields, former San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr. and Dick Stanfel, a second senior nominee.

The new class helps reduce an abundance of offensive linemen that will only get deeper starting next year when Larry Allen and Jonathan Ogden become eligible.

Perhaps surprising is that the class does not reduce the long list of wide receivers attempting to gain entry to the Hall. Carter, Brown and Reed will soon face additional competition from other star wideouts, such as Marvin Harrison, Terrell Owens and Randy Moss become eligible in years ahead.

The committee’s decision to not enshrine Haley and Parcells this year was mentioned by some analysts as surprising.

The selection committee had narrowed the field to 15 modern era finalists in January. Before that they had reduced the list to 26 from an original group of 105 preliminary nominees.

Stanfel and Butler were nominated in August 2011. Senior nominees are selected by a special committee that reviews the qualifications of players whose careers ended more than 25 years ago. Unlike the modern-era candidates, who are discussed and winnowed throughout the process, senior nominees move directly to the finalist vote.

We predicted in November that Reed, Roaf, Dawson, Martin and Parcells would get in from the modern-era nominees. Several readers posted their guesses today.

Last year’s inductees were Richard Dent, Marshall Faulk, Chris Hanburger, Deion Sanders, Shannon Sharpe, Les Richter and Ed Sabol, the man who started NFL Films.