JO should get in tomorrow.
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JO should get in tomorrow.
Art's not getting in this year.
I've said for 17 years, Art would one day be in the HOF - his accompishments are too great to keep him out forever. But his "punishment" for moving the team would be that he wouldn't live to see that day come.
I still believe it happens, but maybe not for another 5 years or so. Look, if you took every HOF voter, held their feet to the fire and forced them to tell the truth, I think you'd easily find 75% who would say yes, he deserves to be voted in. But that doesn't mean they WANT to. And given the top-heavy slate of candidates this year, it's just way too easy for them to avoid the controversy altogether, and vote instead for other guys they also feel are deserving. If a worthy candidate's going to get left out, it might as well be the one with a "stain" on their record, right?
Read what John Clayton had to say about the situation recently: In the same article in which he praises Art Modell as "mostly a model owner", he also stated this:
"A majority of people in the HOF room -- including me -- never felt comfortable enough to vote him in. Canton is too close to Cleveland. It just didn't feel right."
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/83...wner-many-ways
Really John?! So if the HOF was in, say, New York, rather than Ohio, you'd vote for him? I personally think that's a cowardly position to take. But if that's what Art is up against - not just the Tony Grossi's, but also voters like John Clayton, whom I believe understands intellectually that he deserves to be in, but is basically looking for an excuse not to vote for him - then he's still got a long climb ahead to make it in.
I hope I'm completely wrong.
Parcells should be #1 in the entire class. I was never a fan of ANY of his teams, but he was a hell of a coach and talent evaluator.
The list of five that GOTA came up with, of who 'should' get in, I agree with.
It's hard to tell but I think JO is a no brainer. I also think Parcells is the most likely of the non-players. That leaves three spots. Many people say that Larry Allen is the best O lineman of all time. He makes three. The three wide receivers are all worthy but one gets in at best. I think it is Carter. Finally, I think it is a toss-up between Haley & Strahan. I'm guessing Haley. Overall, I think Sapp, Strahan, Shields, Greene, Reed, Brown, and Modell (plus maybe Debartalo) are all worthy. One interesting point is that I hear Marvin Harrison is eligible next year? That messes up the WR eligibles.
Ryan
If JO isn't a first ballot HOFer then I don't know who is. A decade long career as the universally acknowledged best left tackle in his conference and top two in the league (with a strong case for best league wide as well) should make this an easy EASY decision.
In the past decade the only offensive lineman to go in the HOF on the 1st ballot was Bruce Matthews. JO made 11 Pro Bowls and 4 All Pro teams. Matthews was a 14 time Pro Bowler and 7 time All Pro.
From what I've heard Pro Bowls and All Pros mean more to offensive lineman because the voters just don't have too many stats they can look at. They really need to have seen these guys play week in and week out and unless they cover that team it doesn't happen. It's going to come down to reputation, awards and how well JO is pushed by the local voters.
The fact that Tim Brown isn't in yet is a bit ridiculous. Does anyone here even consider his HOF qualifications borderline?
Excluding Rich Gannon for 2-3 years, the guy had a bunch of noodle-armed bozos throwing him the football and he still is 5th all-time in catches, 5th in receiving yards, 7th in receiving TDs. That makes him a slam dunk right there. Even if it wasn't enough, he is also 5th in punt return yards and all-purpose yards. He was a magnificent receiver and one of the best punt returners in NFL history.
Yet, Richard Dent and Russ Grimm get in ahead of him? Cmon man
Was it him who also doubled as a CB?
Maybe I'm thinking of TROY Brown?