2014 Pro Football Hall of Fame Finalists

They don't have to be there but they get a $25,000 appearance fee so I'm sure most see that as easy money.

 

If Reed is worthy, then Henry Ellard's case needs to be looked at.

 

Bruce and Holt join the WR logjam next season. Harrison will get in at some point. I'm not so sure about Tim Brown anymore. I have no idea how voters will look at Bruce and Holt.

Seau is a first-ballot lock next season. I don't know if Orlando Pace is a lock, but he might be close. Ogden and Jones getting in on the first ballot certainly won't hurt him.

I think voters are making Haley wait because he was such a dick. He should be in by now.

 

Haley once threw a wad of soiled toilet paper at a coach during a meeting.
I think it was pure psychological-level malfunction rather than ordinary mischief.

 

I've heard a lot of stories about Haley. He sounds like a complete asshole.

He'll get in eventually, but if you're deciding between Strahan, who is understandably beloved by the media and someone like Haley, who is justifiably despised, it's easy to see why one gets in and the other doesn't.

I'm going to be very curious how long Moss and Owens have to wait, if at all... I tend to think they'll have to wait 2-3 years, same as Michael Irvin.

 

I think Moss is most answerable for his football crimes, notably saying he only goes full-tilt when he feels like it.
I can't think of anybody in Canton who took downs off and bragged about it.
It's not the kind of comment people forget.
And it's not a mark of greatness.

 

True, but he's still getting in. I don't care how douchey Moss and Owens were at points during their careers, they are both Hall of Fame locks. Not first-ballot locks, but HOF locks.

 

If Harrison can't get in on the first ballot, Moss and Owens are in for a wait.

The only first ballot WRs:

2010 Rice
1995 Largent
1983 Warfield
1978 Alworth
1973 Berry

 

For comparison:

Ogden 177 games 4 first-team All-Pro, 11 Pro Bowls, All-Decade
Jones 180 games, 4 first-team All-Pro, 9 Pro Bowls, All-Decade
Pace 169 games, 3 first-team All-Pro, 7 Pro Bowls

I think Pace is a step below those two and Will Shields has a better resume (224 games, 12 Pro Bowls, 2 first-team All Pro), not to mention he's waited three times already.

 

http://mmqb.si.com/2014/02/03/seattle-seahawks-super-bowl-xlviii/7/

1. Finally, I supported Ray Guy. Big upset. It even surprised me a little bit. I just think as a voter (and a person), it’s important to be open-minded. I do go into these meetings open-minded, and I heard a few different reasons this year, some of them quantifying things like hang-time and inside-the-20 punts more clearly than they had in the past, and his peers, on and off the record, were so unwavering in their support that I thought, “Maybe I’m wrong.” I still have some grave questions—Shane Lechler’s inside-the-20 average, for instance, is far better—but I do understand you compare guys to players in their era. So good for Ray Guy. I’m happy he finally achieves the dream.

2. I did not support Andre Reed. I covered a lot of Buffalo games in the Bills’ prime, and I believe he was a very good receiver but not one of the all-time greats. I like Tim Brown better, and Marvin Harrison significantly better. As I’ve felt since the day I got on the committee more than two decades ago, the 46-member panel is a democracy, and if 80 percent of the group thinks one of the five finalists is a Hall of Famer, then he’s a Hall of Famer, and good for him. But I want to be honest with you, because so many of you care so deeply about the Hall.

5. I think Jerome Bettis, 3.9 yards per carry and all, belongs. I believe he’s the best big back of the last 25 years. I saw him outrun Bucs defensive backs once on a long run in Tampa; I saw him steamroll an in-his-prime Brian Urlacher—and I mean steamroll—in a snow bowl must-win game for the Steelers late in the Bus’ career, when he gained 100 yards in the second half against the league’s number two rush defense. He made the final 10 this year, and I hope he goes farther next year.

6. Now for the case of Charles Haley. I strongly believe in him, because I think he’s the most violent pass-rusher I have covered. By that I mean he had some of the Deacon Jones viciousness to him, a fearsome combination of moves, and he has the five Super Bowl rings, which is significant, of course. I cannot speak for the group and wouldn’t intend to, but I have always felt what hurts his candidacy is as good a rusher as he was, he only averaged 8.4 sacks per regular-season. I believe he tilted the field when he played, and sometimes it didn’t result in sacks for him; it resulted in sacks for others, like Jim Jeffcoat when Haley was in Dallas.

7. My sense of the logical 2015 order for candidates who didn’t make it this year, at least at the head of the list: Marvin Harrison, Will Shields, Charles Haley, Jerome Bettis, Tim Brown, Tony Dungy.

8. My sense of the best new candidates for 2015: Junior Seau, Orlando Pace, Kurt Warner. Warner’s candidacy will be very interesting because he was a Super Bowl quarterback for two franchises—and very nearly a Super Bowl winner for two franchises.

 

Bruce: 1,024 catches; 15,208 yards, 91 TDs, 4 Pro Bowls, 8 1,000 yard seasons, 4 were consecutive
Holt: 920 catches, 13,382 yards, 74 TDs, 7 Pro Bowls, 1 All-Pro; 8 straight 1,000 yard seasons

 

I'll take Holt over Bruce. Holt had six straight seasons over 1300 yards. Bruce had 2-3 great seasons and was very good the rest of the time. He may still get in, but I think it will take him longer.