Hall of Fame Thoughts
Posted by Kevin

  • How did Rudy Gauy not make it? I hear constantly from coaches and talking heads that they way to win championships is with defense and running. Control the clock, win the battle of field position, and don’t let those silly quarterbacks lose the game. Super Bowls have been won and entire coaching careers built around that notion. Well, punters are field position. A good punter can reverse, all by himself, a bad field position situation. A bad one can make you defense defend a very short field. So if field position is so important, and punters are the primary weapon for creating advantageous field position, how come the consensus greatest punter ever can’t get into the Hall of Fame?
  • I am a bit surprised that Tagliabue didn’t make the cut. Yes, I realize that his legacy is not complete until the effects of his last CBA are determined, but, really, unless that CBA destroys the League, how could it possibly hurt his reputation that much. There used to be a Big Four of professional sports in the United States. Now there is just the NFL and a bunch of also-rans. Tagliabue managed that transition. The NFL became the money making machine that is is today in large part because of Tagliabue. He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame
  • The selection process is dumb. A list of finalists is determined and then forty media people meet one day before the Super Bowl and debate about who should be allowed into the Hall. Voting is usually arranged so that there is one paring down and then another round of debate. That’s all fine with me. My problem is with the voting — only a certain number of people can get in each year. So instead of a Hall of Fame, we have a Hall of People Who Fit Into an Arbitrary Number of Allowed Entrants in a Given Year of Eligibility. The idea that any year’s class of eligibles can only produce a certain number of entrants is silly. Greatness is greatness, not matter if it stands alone at the vote or with ten other great players. Each finalist should get a straight yes or no vote.

February 4th, 2007 | Sports, NFL | 4 comments