View Full Version : 2010 Semifinalists
http://www.profootballhof.com/story/2009/11/28/class-of-2010-semifinalists-announced-/
The biggest surprises to me here are Tasker and Cliff Branch. Biggest omissions IMO are Knox, Atwater, Mecklenberg, Shell and maybe an OL or two.
Rice should be unanimous. Emimitt Smith is a lock. At least one senior will get in. After that, who knows?
KHenry14
12-01-2009, 12:59 AM
Rice and Smith are locks, then it gets sticky.
Because there are a lot of deserving WR's, I expect one more will join Jerry. Of the notables, I think I'd vote for Carter first, then Brown and Reed. But I expect the HOF to elect Brown first because he's had the double threat of returns, which the others didn't.
I expect Kennedy to get a lot of support, and Grimm should too.
But more importantly, IT'S TIME THE HALL RECOGNIZE THE SINGLE GREATEST PUNTER THE GAME HAS SEEN (not counting Sammy Baugh) in Ray Guy. The only reason he's not in is the Hall is that players consider them to be part time,sissy,players,which is funny since any Raider or Raider fan who knows Ray Guy will tell you that he was one of the toughest Raiders ever.
I'm also intrigued by Aeneas Williams. A true leader of his team and a great player who played in obscurity in Phoenix for most of his career.
I also love the inclusion of Cliff Branch. An integral part of 3 SB teams, he has a ridiculous 17 yards per catch average. Nobody exemplified the downfield passing game more than Cliff. Not as famous as running mate Biletnikoff, but actually at least as good as Freddie, just in a different way.
football junkie
12-04-2009, 01:01 PM
The fact that Aeneas Williams was included in the 25 semifinalist in his first year of eligibility is impressive. The cut down to 15 finalist comes on 7 January 2010. If Williams is on that list, I'll be extremely surprised -- in a good way.
We know CB Dick LeBeau or RB Floyd Little will get a bust in Canton via the Seniors Committee. Frankly, I think LeBeau deserves to be in as a player and an assistant coach but that will never happen.
I'll hold off my final predictions until I see what players make the final 15(17) cut.
The fact that Aeneas Williams was included in the 25 semifinalist in his first year of eligibility is impressive. The cut down to 15 finalist comes on 7 January 2010. If Williams is on that list, I'll be extremely surprised -- in a good way.
We know CB Dick LeBeau or RB Floyd Little will get a bust in Canton via the Seniors Committee. Frankly, I think LeBeau deserves to be in as a player and an assistant coach but that will never happen.
I'll hold off my final predictions until I see what players make the final 15(17) cut.
Do you think Little has a shot? I was a little surprised by his candidacy. He was a fine back for his day but he doesn't stand out so much. Maybe they're trtying to do better by the old AFL.
I think LeBeau is in, and it's long overdue. It would be nice if they mention his coaching (outside of what he did/didn't do with the Bengals.) I have to check, but I think Tom Landry's playing career is mentioned in the writeup next to his bust.
Williams was a pleasant surprise for me, too. I didn't mention him in the first post because, frankly, I felt he deserved at least that much.
KHenry14
12-08-2009, 12:41 AM
The thing about Aeneas Williams is that he had incredible respect around the league. All the players knew his value as a player and more importantly as a leader and mentor. I think that plays a big part in candidacy. But with that said, I doubt he makes the final 7.
I have to agree that Floyd Little has virtually no chance. He was a good player, but IMO he doesn't compare to those already in nor anyone likely to come up soon.
Dick LeBeau was an outstanding DB in his time and exactly the type of player the HOF likes to induct. Just like how they inducted Dave Wilcox of the Niners not to long ago, LeBeau's candidacy got better with time.
Chevy114
01-08-2010, 12:50 PM
I hope tim brown gets in soon! Do you think Tarell Davis will get in ever?
KHenry14
01-08-2010, 04:13 PM
I hope tim brown gets in soon! Do you think Tarell Davis will get in ever?
Davis' career was way too short IMO. He certainly had a couple of HOF calber years, but not enough of them.
football junkie
01-08-2010, 07:27 PM
Now that the NFL has cut the list to 17 Canton finalist, I'm ready to post my completely non-official and inconsequential votes.
My finalist are these players: Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Shannon Sharpe, Charles Haley, John Randle, Richard Dent and senior nominee Dick LeBeau.
Rice and Smith need no explanation. Sharpe helped reshape the tight end position into what it is today. Haley has, I think five Superbowl rings and over 100 sacks -- all he did was win. John Randle may have been the best defensive tackle of the modern NFL era. Richard Dent was a key part to the 15-1, Superbowl Champion Chicago Bears' "greatest team ever". LeBeau, I hope, will be the first person inducted as both a player and eventually as a coordinator.
KHenry14
01-08-2010, 08:30 PM
Beyond Rice and Smith, my vote goes to Grimm, Carter, Sharpe, LeBeau and Haley.
Haley's an interesting choice. Had he been a baseball player, he'd have a hard time getting in, since he was almost universally disliked by the media, Charles wasn't exactly friendly to them you see. But since the NFL elects them differently, I fully expect him to get in at some point.
BTW, robbing Ray Guy again is just criminal.
Seattle1
01-09-2010, 02:48 PM
http://www.profootballhof.com/story/2009/11/28/class-of-2010-semifinalists-announced-/
Cortez Kennedy was better at what he did than anybody else on that list. If he had played his whole career for an East Coast Bias team he would be a household name and he would already be in the Hall of Fame.
Cortez Kennedy was better at what he did than anybody else on that list. If he had played his whole career for an East Coast Bias team he would be a household name and he would already be in the Hall of Fame.
I'd watch the bias calls, Homer.
Chevy114
01-12-2010, 08:21 AM
Is there an east coast bias in football? I feel like the 49ers, Raiders, and cowboys get brought up a lot in football talks.
Is there an east coast bias in football? I feel like the 49ers, Raiders, and cowboys get brought up a lot in football talks.
The Cowboys? Who talks about ESPN'smostbestestbeloveddespitezilchinthelastdecad e the Cowboys?
KHenry14
01-12-2010, 12:55 PM
In terms of the HOF, it seems like people want to elect every member of the '72 Dolphins, the Steel Curtain Defense, and the 46 Defense of the Bears. Good teams all, but not all of them are HOFers. :wave:
In terms of the HOF, it seems like people want to elect every member of the '72 Dolphins, the Steel Curtain Defense, and the 46 Defense of the Bears. Good teams all, but not all of them are HOFers. :wave:
One day, they'll finally do Bob Kuechenberg right.
Chevy114
01-13-2010, 06:26 AM
In terms of the HOF, it seems like people want to elect every member of the '72 Dolphins, the Steel Curtain Defense, and the 46 Defense of the Bears. Good teams all, but not all of them are HOFers. :wave:
I feel you about trying to get the entire 72 dolphins in. But when will Ray Finkle get his fair justice???
Seattle1
01-14-2010, 12:55 PM
I'd watch the bias calls, Homer.
What I said was accurate and I stand by it 100%.
It's like this. In the week leading up to last year's Super Bowl, Matt Hasselbeck was on a preview show being interviewed by several guys, maybe ESPN or NFL Network. (I think he was in Tampa doing promotional work for Chunky Soup or EAS, or both.) He is asked "who is the best cornerback in this game?"
Matt doesn't hesitate, looks them right in the eye and says "Antonio Rogers Cromartie."
The interviewers look at him like he has three heads or something. "What? You would take Rogers Cromartie over so-and-so from the Steelers?"
Matt says "yes absolutely. What you guys have to understand is that good players are good. They don't need your validation to be good. Just because you guys don't pay attention to him doesn't mean he's not good. You don't have to play for a high-profile team to be good."
So you see, even players who play for "second-tier" teams, so to speak like the Seahawks....teams that don't draw the ratings for ESPN (and therefore $$$$$$$) like the Patriots, Colts, Steelers, and Cowboys can be good players. They don't need the validation of the East Coast Bias media to be good. They just need to be good.
Facts are facts, as the goblin said to the ghost.
What I said was accurate and I stand by it 100%.
It's like this. In the week leading up to last year's Super Bowl, Matt Hasselbeck was on a preview show being interviewed by several guys, maybe ESPN or NFL Network. (I think he was in Tampa doing promotional work for Chunky Soup or EAS, or both.) He is asked "who is the best cornerback in this game?"
Matt doesn't hesitate, looks them right in the eye and says "Antonio Rogers Cromartie."
The interviewers look at him like he has three heads or something. "What? You would take Rogers Cromartie over so-and-so from the Steelers?"
Matt says "yes absolutely. What you guys have to understand is that good players are good. They don't need your validation to be good. Just because you guys don't pay attention to him doesn't mean he's not good. You don't have to play for a high-profile team to be good."
So you see, even players who play for "second-tier" teams, so to speak like the Seahawks....teams that don't draw the ratings for ESPN (and therefore $$$$$$$) like the Patriots, Colts, Steelers, and Cowboys can be good players. They don't need the validation of the East Coast Bias media to be good. They just need to be good.
Facts are facts, as the goblin said to the ghost.
The Colts, Steelers and Cowboys don't play on the East coast. Pittsburgh may be in Pennsylvania but it's a heck of a lot closer to Ohio than it is to any ocean.
East coast refers to media outlets overhyping teams and players from the East coast. More specifically, New York and Boston.
It was a Tennessee Titan who was offensive MVP this year. It was a Green Bay Packer who was defensive MVP. A Dallas Cowboy and a San Francisco 49'er (for the great majority of his record smashing career) are mortal locks for the HOF this year, along with a Seniors candidate Lion who has a better chance than the Senior candidate Bronco. There are more of your Seahawks this year as finalists (Randle still was a factor when he got there) than Giants, Patriots, Jets or Eagles.
It's not a valid complaint when it comes to awards of honors. Especially for football.
football junkie
01-15-2010, 10:05 PM
I hate it when people play the blame it on the biased media game.
Seattle1
01-17-2010, 07:22 PM
I hate it when people play the blame it on the biased media game.
Well, it's true.
Look at Sports Illustrated. They almost never, and I mean never, put a Seahawk on their cover. The first time they did, in December of 2005, it was Shaun Alexander in his MVP year. Guess what, they couldn't even get that right. They spelled his name "Shawn" on the cover! What a bunch of freakin' unadulterated obtuse twits!
Surf-Bat
01-17-2010, 08:39 PM
I would put LC Greenwood in before Charles Haley.
Well, it's true.
Look at Sports Illustrated. They almost never, and I mean never, put a Seahawk on their cover. The first time they did, in December of 2005, it was Shaun Alexander in his MVP year. Guess what, they couldn't even get that right. They spelled his name "Shawn" on the cover! What a bunch of freakin' unadulterated obtuse twits!
Maybe when the Seahawks do something besides non-performing in their one Super Bowl . . .
football junkie
01-20-2010, 12:52 AM
Maybe when the Seahawks do something besides non-performing in their one Super Bowl . . .
Hey, that's cruel! But it's funny, lol. I still have to disagree with this biased media junk. As a person holding both a B.A. and M.A. in Journalism and having been a member of the "mass media" for the last 11 years, I can tell you this whole media bias idea is junk. Yes, sometimes the media is lazy -- okay, extremely lazy. But we're not biased. (Except TV "news") We're professionals.
Seattle1
01-22-2010, 08:30 PM
Maybe when the Seahawks do something besides non-performing in their one Super Bowl . . .
Not true, the Seahawks absolutely whaled on the Steelers in that Super Bowl in every category, but the refs openly threw the game to the Steelers. Don't make me post a long litany of play-by-play cheating. Thanks for proving my point though about thinking of the Seahawks in a typical dismissive nothing-to-do-with-reality way though. Point proved.
Not true, the Seahawks absolutely whaled on the Steelers in that Super Bowl in every category, but the refs openly threw the game to the Steelers. Don't make me post a long litany of play-by-play cheating. Thanks for proving my point though about thinking of the Seahawks in a typical dismissive nothing-to-do-with-reality way though. Point proved.
Yup, no hometown bias at all here. Thanks for setting me straight with your compete objectivity. Reality can truly only come from completely jaded points of view. As easily the most biased poster on this board, yours is not a viewpoint from which you can cast dispersions on anyone else.
But, we've hijacked the thread enough. HOF. And there's a new thread on the current voting stage. Conspiracy theories that are solely homegrown and blinded by that viewpoint should not be humored.