Hall of Fame Posted 32 minutes ago 25 semifinalists named for Pro Football Hall of Fame National Football League
CANTON, Ohio -- Four first-year eligible players, John Randle, Shannon Sharpe, Bruce Smith, and Rod Woodson, are among the 25 semifinalists being considered for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2009. The Hall of Fame's Board of Selectors chose the 25 semifinalists from the recently announced list of 133 preliminary nominees.
Although he has been eligible since 1999 this is first time that Roger Craig has been a semifinalist. Each of the remaining 20 nominees has been on the semifinalist list at least once prior to this year. Although no coaches are among the semifinalists, the list includes three contributors, Art Modell, Paul Tagliabue and Ralph Wilson.
The complete list of 25 modern-era semifinalists is as follows:
National Football League Lester Hayes -- a five-time Pro Bowler -- played on two Super Bowl championship teams. » Cris Carter, WR - 1987-89 Philadelphia Eagles, 1990-2001 Minnesota Vikings, 2002 Miami Dolphins » Roger Craig, RB - 1983-1990 San Francisco 49ers, 1991 Los Angeles Raiders, 1992-93 Minnesota Vikings, » Terrell Davis, RB - 1995-2001 Denver Broncos » Dermontti Dawson, C - 1988-2000 Pittsburgh Steelers » Richard Dent, DE - 1983-1993, 1995 Chicago Bears, 1994 San Francisco 49ers, 1996 Indianapolis Colts, 1997 Philadelphia Eagles » Chris Doleman, DE/LB - 1985-1993, 1999 Minnesota Vikings, 1994-95 Atlanta Falcons, 1996-98 San Francisco 49ers » Kevin Greene, LB/DE - 1985-1992 Los Angeles Rams, 1993-95 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1996, 1998-99 Carolina Panthers, 1997 San Francisco 49ers » Russ Grimm, G - 1981-1991 Washington Redskins » Ray Guy, P - 1973-1986 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders » Charles Haley, DE/LB - 1986-1991, 1999 San Francisco 49ers, 1992-96 Dallas Cowboys » Lester Hayes, CB - 1977-1986 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders » Cortez Kennedy, DT - 1990-2000 Seattle Seahawks » Bob Kuechenberg, G - 1970-1984 Miami Dolphins » Randall McDaniel, G - 1988-1999 Minnesota Vikings, 2000-01 Tampa Bay Buccaneers » Art Modell, Owner - 1961-1995 Cleveland Browns, 1996-2003 Baltimore Ravens » John Randle, DT - 1990-2000 Minnesota Vikings, 2001-03 Seattle Seahawks » Andre Reed, WR - 1985-1999 Buffalo Bills, 2000 Washington Redskins » Shannon Sharpe, TE - 1990-99, 2002-03 Denver Broncos, 2000-01 Baltimore Ravens » Bruce Smith, DE - 1985-1999 Buffalo Bills, 2000-03 Washington Redskins » Ken Stabler, QB - 1970-79 Oakland Raiders, 1980-81 Houston Oilers, 1982-84 New Orleans Saints » Paul Tagliabue, Commissioner - 1989-2006 National Football League » Steve Tasker, Special Teams/WR - 1985-86 Houston Oilers, 1986-1997 Buffalo Bills » Derrick Thomas, LB - 1989-1999 Kansas City Chiefs » Ralph Wilson, Owner - 1960-current Buffalo Bills » Rod Woodson, CB/S - 1987-1996 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1997 San Francisco 49ers, 1998-2001 Baltimore Ravens, 2002-03 Oakland Raiders
I don't see how you cannot put John Randle in there on the first go. I suspect he's on a lot of people's top 10 lists at DT. I would love to see 'Tez go especially given how terrible those 90s Seahawks teams were, how dominating he was, and how teams had to gameplan around him (and nobody else on those defenses) but I think people are going to look strictly at the numbers and he'll get passed by.
Other than that, I'll continue to think Cris Carter should be there even though I think there's quite a bit of discussion there; I DON'T think Terrell Davis should be considered (too short of a career, even if it was great when healthy) and unless the NFL thinks it would be best for Ohio to burn to the ground they had best not consider putting Art Modell in.
Oh man, I almost missed Shannon Sharpe. He should definitely go too.
biju wrote:Other than that, I'll continue to think Cris Carter should be there even though I think there's quite a bit of discussion there; I DON'T think Terrell Davis should be considered (too short of a career, even if it was great when healthy) and unless the NFL thinks it would be best for Ohio to burn to the ground they had best not consider putting Art Modell in.
Oh man, I almost missed Shannon Sharpe. He should definitely go too.
i agree with everything here.
people are going to disagree with carter just like they did monk, but i agree he deserves to go...and i felt monk deserved it when he went also.
i dont think terrell davis should go for the same reason. he was a beast, but he just didnt do it for long enough to put him up there with the elite of all time.
sharpe was a beast...he needs to go for sure. as do bruce smith and rod woodson. lots of talent on this list.
Lots of good choices this year, many of them can make great cases for the hall, but the only sure things as far as I'm concerned are: Cris Carter Shannon Sharpe Bruce Smith Derrick Thomas Rod Woodson
If these five don't make it, I'll be very, very surprised.
biju wrote:Other than that, I'll continue to think Cris Carter should be there even though I think there's quite a bit of discussion there; I DON'T think Terrell Davis should be considered (too short of a career, even if it was great when healthy) and unless the NFL thinks it would be best for Ohio to burn to the ground they had best not consider putting Art Modell in.
Oh man, I almost missed Shannon Sharpe. He should definitely go too.
i agree with everything here.
people are going to disagree with carter just like they did monk, but i agree he deserves to go...and i felt monk deserved it when he went also.
i dont think terrell davis should go for the same reason. he was a beast, but he just didnt do it for long enough to put him up there with the elite of all time.
sharpe was a beast...he needs to go for sure. as do bruce smith and rod woodson. lots of talent on this list.
These 2 guys are smart, not much more for me to add. As I was reading through the names, these are the guys that jumped out for me and the reason for and against
Art Vandelay wrote:Lots of good choices this year, many of them can make great cases for the hall, but the only sure things as far as I'm concerned are: Cris Carter Shannon Sharpe Bruce Smith Derrick Thomas Rod Woodson
If these five don't make it, I'll be very, very surprised.
i can agree with that...Thomas would be the only one i might swap out for Randle or Dermonti Dawson
no way TD belongs in the hall
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Art Vandelay wrote:Lots of good choices this year, many of them can make great cases for the hall, but the only sure things as far as I'm concerned are: Cris Carter Shannon Sharpe Bruce Smith Derrick Thomas Rod Woodson
If these five don't make it, I'll be very, very surprised.
i can agree with that...Thomas would be the only one i might swap out for Randle or Dermonti Dawson
no way TD belongs in the hall
Randall and Dawson would be my next two, but I wanted to pare my list down to five. I'd also put Haley up there with those two. As much as I liked Kennedy and would like to see him get consideration, I think he misses out. Same with Doleman and Greene, who were both very good, but somewhat one dimentional.
Lester Hayes -- a five-time Pro Bowler -- played on two Super Bowl championship teams. » Cris Carter, WR - 1987-89 Philadelphia Eagles, 1990-2001 Minnesota Vikings, 2002 Miami Dolphins » Terrell Davis, RB - 1995-2001 Denver Broncos » Dermontti Dawson, C - 1988-2000 Pittsburgh Steelers » Richard Dent, DE - 1983-1993, 1995 Chicago Bears, 1994 San Francisco 49ers, 1996 Indianapolis Colts, 1997 Philadelphia Eagles » Kevin Greene, LB/DE - 1985-1992 Los Angeles Rams, 1993-95 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1996, 1998-99 Carolina Panthers, 1997 San Francisco 49ers » Randall McDaniel, G - 1988-1999 Minnesota Vikings, 2000-01 Tampa Bay Buccaneers » John Randle, DT - 1990-2000 Minnesota Vikings, 2001-03 Seattle Seahawks » Shannon Sharpe, TE - 1990-99, 2002-03 Denver Broncos, 2000-01 Baltimore Ravens » Bruce Smith, DE - 1985-1999 Buffalo Bills, 2000-03 Washington Redskins » Steve Tasker, Special Teams/WR - 1985-86 Houston Oilers, 1986-1997 Buffalo Bills » Derrick Thomas, LB - 1989-1999 Kansas City Chiefs » Rod Woodson, CB/S - 1987-1996 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1997 San Francisco 49ers, 1998-2001 Baltimore Ravens, 2002-03 Oakland Raiders
I honestly can't narrow it down anymore than that. I believe all of these guys should end up in the Canton.
TD I believe should absolutely be put in. The guy was the best in the league for several seasons. Yes, his career was cut short, but he's a RB. You can't expect him to put up 1500+ for 14 seasons. Let's see. 2000 yard club? Check. 20 TD club? Check. Two time SB champ, with a SB MVP, and regular season MVP? Check, check and check. Before his rash of serious injuries, he was on pace for about 13,000 yards in 8 years, along with 108 TDs. He absolutely shined in his two Super Bowls.
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