2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class

Correct -- 25 years after your retirement you get shifted to the senior committee. Anybody who finished before 1999 can no longer be a Modern finalist

 

I agree.

When I think about the term “bounced around,” I think more of a guy like Shaq, who played for four teams in four years on the tail end of his career, when he probably should’ve retired after that Miami title.

Watters was a productive star player everywhere he went.

 

My five:
Patrick Willis
Torry Holt
Antonio Gates
Jared Allen
Eric Allen

First two alternates:

Darren Woodson (as much as it pains me, a Dallas guy)
Ricky Watters

Roger Craig not being in, basically for one fumble in the 1990-91 NFC championship game, is a disgrace.

 

Lack of Devin Hester love is astounding. He was the best to ever play his position, which is a real position. He also added some OK numbers as a receiver.

And, IIRC, he's finished either 6th or 7th both years he's been on the ballot. He's getting in at some point. Y'all need to accept it.

 

I think the general belief was that Craig was going to get in this year, but Steve McMichael might have bumped him for a year.

 

No problems with Hester getting in, hell I would have put him in over Ronde Barber.

 

Is he hampered by half of his job being wiped out by rule changes? I believe he should be in, by the way. He changed games like few others.

Among the others, I think Steve Smith deserves more consideration than he’s getting. Since he was a clown, though, he’s chances are slimmer.

 

What's weird is he's on that semifinalist list as a wide receiver (also PR/KR), rather than special teams (KR/PR also WR) like Josh Cribbs and Brian Mitchell.

If he gets in, it will not be a result of his work as a wideout.

 

Without seeing who gets to the final 15 yet, I think it's going to be Gates, Peppers and then who knows. Right now I would go Gates, Peppers, Willis, Evans and Holt as who gets in.

The wide receivers keep cancelling each other out.
I don't understand why we are on Year 3 for Willis.
I don't understand how Evans wasn't a finalist and have no faith he gets there this year.

 

Ask anyone who tried to tackle Fred Taylor if he belongs in the HOF. I've done that. 100 percent unanimity.

 

You asked them all?

 

New league record for quote posts? But as I read these, it struck me that Ricky Watters is Tim Raines, who only led the majors in steals twice b/c he came up just after Rickey Henderson and never led the NL in steals after his age-24 season b/c that's when Vince Coleman arrived. He also tailed off, running-wise, in his late 20s b/c the Olympic Stadium turf was murderous. The best Expos team Raines played on was in his rookie season in '81, when they of course fell to the Dodgers on Blue Monday. They never finished higher than third thereafter but played in the same division as the pennant winner five times.

Raines got traded after the 1990 season to the White Sox, where he finally played in the playoffs again in 1993 but was overshadowed by the MVP & Cy Young Award winners. Their potential championship team in 1994 was derailed by the strike. He was traded to the Yankees following the 1995 season and was never a full-time player again, though he was a valuable role player for the 1996 & 1998 champs.

tl;dr just b/c he got overshadowed by Hall of Famers in his prime, played on a spate of non-playoff teams and wasn't the best player on his championship-caliber teams doesn't mean Ricky Watters isn't a Hall of Famer (well, he's not yet, but he should be)