2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class

Sorry it was early -- 0 not 9

 

Just glad Patrick Willis made it. About damn time.

 

Compare Willis' career stats with those of Seth Joyner who has been overlooked for the Hall over the last 20 years. I totally agree that Willis belongs in the Hall - - and so does Joyner.

 

That’s definitely a great Ward argument given his Super Bowl MVP and how good he was in the postseason, in general. Ward and Andre Johnson are much closer statistically than I would’ve thought.

 

considering one played 80 more games, that’s not a good thing.

and one has 5 first team all pros and a second and the other has two second teams

 

Watching highlights of Willis this weekend reminded me of how fast he was, combined with his sure tackling and ability to be in the right place at the right time. He was truly amazing.

 

It's been a busy week and I'm just getting to FMIA for Peter King's annual look at the voting:

On the Hall of Fame
The 62nd Pro Football Hall of Fame selection meeting was supposed to be in-person this year, in Atlanta on Jan. 17, but the wave of snow and bad weather coast-to-coast made full attendance impossible. So the day before the meeting, we pivoted to virtual. The 8-hour, 23-minute meeting, as usual, was an all-day sucker—more contentious than usual, but with deep and I thought important discussions on several candidates.

Our discussions are confidential, and so I’m not able to give many specifics from the meeting. But I’ll go over the headlines and tell you my opinions and as much as I can about the latest seven men to make the Hall, pushing Hall membership to 378.

The 19 who entered the day as candidates: coach Buddy Parker, linebacker Randy Gradishar, defensive tackle Steve McMichael, receiver Art Powell (Seniors and Coach/Contributors candidates) … Modern-era: cornerback Eric Allen, edge player Jared Allen, tackle Willie Anderson, guard Jahri Evans, edge player Dwight Freeney, tight end Antonio Gates, safety Rodney Harrison, returner Devin Hester, receiver Torry Holt, receiver Andre Johnson, edge player Julius Peppers, running back Fred Taylor, receiver Reggie Wayne, linebacker Patrick Willis, safety Darren Woodson.

The five modern enshrinees. I got the feeling Peppers, Hester and Freeney were the leaders in the clubhouse after the discussion period. Peppers and Freeney were superior edge players at the time the position came of age. I was surprised Hester didn’t make it last year. Nobody’s had a two-year period of dominance in the return game that Hester had in his first two seasons with the Bears. He returned 11 kicks and punts for touchdowns in 2006 and ’07, and then most teams started managing special teams so Hester couldn’t beat them. In 11 seasons, another really good return man, Desmond Howard, returned eight for scores. Total. I explain Andre Johnson below. As for Willis, tremendous respect in the NFL community. Tremendous.

How Andre Johnson broke the receiver logjam. My points about Johnson, written often, have never changed. He ran about the same 4-4-range 40- as Holt and Wayne, and at 6-3 and 230, he was 30 pounds heavier and three inches taller than Holt and Wayne. A tree trunk. He played with one B quarterback for much of his career, Matt Schaub. Holt played with a Hall of Famer, Kurt Warner, in his prime, and Wayne played with Peyton Manning. Stats are pretty close, but Johnson is 132 catches ahead of Holt, with the same yards-per-catch (13.4) as Wayne, and a bit shy of both in TD catches. I always looked at Johnson playing, and watched his speed and physicality and thought, If he keeps going, he’ll make it to Canton. Glad he did.

Biggest surprise: probably Antonio Gates not making it. I never thought he was a first-ballot lock, but he had a good chance in going in as a rookie candidate. With more touchdown catches (116) than any tight end ever, he’s got a great case. And he will make it. My opinion is the cases for those thought perhaps to be farther away than Gates—Patrick Willis, Devin Hester, Jared Allen—had good sessions in the voting Zoom. I always say this: Making the Hall is hard, and only five of 15 can make it in a given year. My feeling is Gates didn’t knock down the door, but I’m one voter, and others might disagree. I bet he makes it in 2025.

Buddy Parker. I was unhappy with Parker not making it. It was one of the longest debates in the history of Hall voting—70 minutes, 38 seconds—and I’m unable for reasons of voting security to say something significant that was discussed. Parker was 4-1 in his Detroit coaching era versus the best coach in the first 50 years of pro football, Paul Brown (and maybe ever), including 2-1 in league championship games. He improved the Steelers when he went there, and he was most responsible for developing the nickel defense in pro football.

Next year: A healthy class of new candidates comes up for the five modern-era slots. My guess, in order, of the top candidates for the Class of 2025, with ^ denoting first-year eligibles:

1. TE Antonio Gates
2. ^ K Adam Vinatieri
3. ^ LB Luke Kuechly
4. ^ QB Eli Manning
5. ^ Edge Terrell Suggs
6. ^RB Marshawn Lynch
7. DE Jared Allen
8. T Willie Anderson
9. WR Torry Holt
10. CB Eric Allen
11. ^ G Marshal Yanda
12. WR Reggie Wayne

Now for some detail work. How I voted:

On the cutdown to 10: Eric Allen, Jared Allen, Anderson, Freeney, Harrison, Hester, Gates, Johnson, Peppers, Woodson.

On the cutdown to 5: Jared Allen, Freeney, Johnson, Hester, Peppers.

On the Seniors/Contributor (yes or no): Gradishar yes, Parker yes, Powell no, McMichael yes.

I’m going to list the order of candidates discussed, and time of discussion for each candidate. But do not draw much from it; most often, but not always, the discussions for those deemed very likely to enter are short. Times of discussions, with asterisks on the seven who were elected:

Parker, 70 minutes, 38 seconds; *Gradishar, 15:26; *McMichael, 10:02; Powell, 15:00; *Hester, 22:22; Gates, 35:55; Holt, 13:00; *Johnson, 22:45; Wayne, 37:30; Anderson, 13:40; Evans, 11:58; Jared Allen, 14:05; *Freeney, 11:35; *Peppers, 7:50; *Willis, 12:55; Eric Allen, 10:52; Harrison, 19:18; Woodson, 13:53; Taylor, 12:08.

 

If it takes 7.5 hours, you’re doing something wrong. And fuck this Vatican voting secrecy omertà shit. Self-important fucks.

 

Imagine spending 35 minutes on ANTONIO GATES, a guy who only 13 people scored more TDs than and is seven on the all-time receiving list.

 

If a kicker gets in ahead of Marshawn Lynch, go ahead and condemn the property for a new Kroger.

 

Like King, I am still pissed Buddy Parker didn't get in.

 

Joe Dimaggio wasn't a first ballot HoFer.

Or did someone already post that?