Nearing the end of his 18th season, Charles Woodson announced on Monday that 2015 would be his final season. With the Raiders eliminated from playoff contention, barring injury, his final game in Oakland will be this Sunday, and final game overall will be 1/3/16 in Kansas City.
He most likely retires in the 5th overall spot for interceptions, with 65 (and an outside chance of catching Night Train Lane, who has 68, and tied for second overall in interceptions returned for touchdowns, one behind Rod Woodson. Barring injury, he will have played in 254 games, and also amassed 18 fumble recoveries, 20 sacks, 155 passes defensed, and at least according to Pro Football Reference, just under 1,000 career tackles.
He has 8 Pro Bowl appearances—four in his first four seasons, then four more consecutively with the Packers from 2008-2011, and three First Team All-Pro selections (and for those that care, he was also a three time 2nd Team All-Pro). He was the 1998 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, the 2009 AP Defensive Player of the Year, and was on the 1st team for the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-2000s Team.
Frank Schwab of Yahoo! Argues that he is a Hall of Fame lock, and the kind of player that shouldn’t have to wait five years to be tabbed. He has even argued that Woodson is the greatest defensive back of all time. For my money, I’m not even sure that Charles is the best defensive back named Woodson of all time–and I would still put Deion Sanders (and maybe a couple others) ahead of him for pure coverage skills, but as an overall defensive back, he’s certainly in the top tier, and probably top 5 in the last 20 years. I’m not sure he’s a lock for his first ballot, but I don’t think he’ll be waiting long.
But let’s hear it Zoneblitz regulars—is he a first ballot HOFer, given the position change, and the difficulty some DBs have had making the Hall? Is he in your Hall of Good, but not quite Great, due to those years from his injury in 2002 through 2007, before his resurgence in Green Bay?
It’s a good week for Brett Favre. The former Packers QB will get his number retired in Green Bay Thanksgiving
Courtesy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
night. Today he was named one of 25 modern-era semifinalists who remain in contention for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2016 class.
Favre, Steelers and Jets guard Alan Faneca and multi-team WR Terrell Owens are the three first-time eligible candidates to be named semifinalists. Jacksonville tackle Tony Boselli and the late Sam Mills, a linebacker for Carolina and New Orleans, also are semifinalists for the first time.
There are 15 offensive players, six defensive players and a special teams star among the 25 semifinalists. The remaining three are coaches.
The 15 finalists will be named in January. Voters will then meet during Super Bowl weekend and cull the list to 10 and then five. Those final five will need 80 percent yes votes to earn enshrinement. Two senior committee members – Dick Stanfel and Ken Stabler – already have been announced, as has one contributor, Edward DeBartolo Jr. Those three advance directly to the final vote, where they also will need 80 percent of the vote to be enshrined.
Brett Favre and Alan Faneca headline the first-year eligible players nominated for enshrinement in the Pro Football
Courtesy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame’s 2016 class.
Favre, who spent most of his career in Green Bay (after spending his rookie year on the bench in Atlanta) before finishing up with the New York Jets and Minnesota, restored glory to the Packers’ organization, winning a Super Bowl and producing 11 Pro Bowls and three Associated Press All Pro first team awards.
Faneca split his career between Pittsburgh and the Jets, going to the Pro Bowl nine times and winning AP First Team honors six times.
Terrell Owens (6/5), who spent eight years in San Francisco before joining four other teams, and Lawyer Milloy (4/1), who played with New England, Buffalo, Atlanta and Seattle, also are well-known first-year nominees, as is Redskins and Broncos RB Clinton Portis (2/0).
Eleven first-year nominees are joined by 97 others, including 10 finalists from 2014 who ultimately did not get enshrined. They include: (more…)
Eddie DeBartolo Jr. ran into some controversy off the field, but his career as an NFL owner is rivaled by few.
Courtesy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
DeBartolo took over ownership of a foundering San Francisco 49ers team in 1977, brought Bill Walsh on board as head coach and together they built the team of the 1980s and 90s.
DeBartolo was selected Tuesday as the “contributor” candidate for the Hall of Fame’s 2016 class. He joins senior candidates Ken Stabler and Dick Stanfel as finalists who will be voted on by the full voting committee the week of the Super Bowl.
DeBartolo gave up control of the 49ers in 2000 after getting caught up in the corruption case of then-Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards. But during his tenure, the 49ers posted double-digit wins in 17 of 18 seasons from 1981 through 2000, appeared in 10 NFC Championship games and won five Super Bowls.
“I’m truly humbled. My football life is going through my mind right now,” DeBartolo, Jr. says in a statement posted at the Hall of Fame website.
He, along with others selected for the final vote, need a thumbs up from 80 percent of the voters to earn enshrinement. We’ve done less discussion on contributors than seniors here on the site, but I’d be hard pressed to find an owner who had more success than DeBartolo during his reign. Solid candidate? Who else should be considered?
The 2016 class will be enshrined August 4-7, 2016.
Eddie DeBartolo is the "contributor" candidate for 2016 Hall of Fame enshrinement. That's ...
Disappointing. What did he have to do with building that 49ers dynasty? (44%, 4 Votes)
Great - his work in the NFL warrants a bronze bust in Canton. (33%, 3 Votes)
Okay pick, but other candidates would have been better (tell us who). (22%, 2 Votes)
The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Senior Committee has chosen two recently deceased former greats as its senior
Courtesy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
candidates for 2016 induction.
Dick Stanfel, who played guard for Washington and Detroit over a seven-year career in the 1950s, is getting his third look from the senior committee, his second in the last five years. He passed away in June at 87.
Former Raiders, Oilers and Saints QB Ken Stabler, who led Oakland to victory over Minnesota in Super Bowl 11 died in July. This is his first appearance in front of the senior committee. He died in July. (more…)
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