Pro Football Hall of Fame Board Selects Semi-Finalists for Class of 2008
November 28, 2007 by David Kindervater
Filed under Pro Football HOF
Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL
Wide receiver Cris Carter and cornerback Darrell Green are the only first-year eligible players to make the list of 26 semi-finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2008. The Hall of Fame’s Board of Selectors chose the 26 semi-finalists from the recently announced list of 124 preliminary nominees today. The list includes one more than the required 25 nominees since there was a tie for the twenty-fifth position. Hall of Fame selection by-laws provide for the inclusion of all ties for the twenty-fifth position on the ballot.
Nominees included on the semi-finalist list for the first time, although eligible prior to this year, include linebacker Rickey Jackson and defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy. Each of the remaining 22 nominees has been on the semi-finalist list at least once prior to this year. The complete list of 26 modern-era semi-finalists is as follows:
Cris Carter, Terrell Davis, Dermontti Dawson, Fred Dean, Richard Dent, Randy Gradishar, Darrell Green, Kevin Greene, Russ Grimm, Ray Guy, Lester Hayes, Rickey Jackson, Joe Jacoby, Cortez Kennedy, Bob Kuechenberg, Randall McDaniel, Art Monk, Andre Reed, Ken Stabler, Paul Tagliabue, Steve Tasker, Derrick Thomas, Andre Tippett, George Young, and Gary Zimmerman.
I know some of you have had very strong opinions about who should be in the 2008 class. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this latest round of finalists. The list of 26 semi-finalists will be reduced by mail ballot to 15 modern-era candidates (announced in mid-January). That list will increase to 17 finalist nominees with the inclusion of the two recommended candidates of the Hall of Fame’s Seniors Committee. The Seniors Committee nominees, who were announced in August, are Marshall Goldberg and Emmitt Thomas. The Class of 2008 will be determined at the Selection Committee’s annual meeting on Saturday, February 2, 2008, in Phoenix, AZ the day before Super Bowl XLII.
Ken Stabler should be a Hall of Fame inductee, and it is long overdue!! He had one of the highest completion ratios, won a Super Bowl, Led the Raiders to numerous playoffs and AFC championship games, and delivered clutch performances in some of the greatest games played in the NFL. He was definitely one of the 3or 4 dominant QB’s of the 1970’s, and was better than some people already in the Hall of Fame who did not have his coolness under pressure or his presence.
I don’t see that Stabler is any better than a bubble candidate at best. Stabler had 4 great years surrounded by about 11 mediocre to bad years. He did win a Super Bowl, but despite a reputation as a last-minute heroics specialist, fell short in his 6 other trips into the post-season. He went to 4 pro bowls, was a 1st team all-pro once, and is on the all-70s decade team.
I am wondering two things:
1. where exactly does Stabler rank in all-time completion percentage? And more crucially, how important is this stat when evaluating a QBs Hall worth?
2. what’s the argument saying that he’s more deserving than, let’s say, Ken Anderson? Anderson’s stats look better, if memory serves. And sorry, but I’m not swayed by arguments based on intangibles.
Stabler played more years than Namath. Threw about the same amount of passes, completed 400
more and had a 59.8 passing percentage compared to Namath’s 50.1. Threw 20 more TDs. These are
tangibles you are looking for. So, Namath must have
got in on intangibles because Stabler beats him in every category except number of superbowl victories. Take Namath out or put Stabler in.
Any argument in favor of a HoF possibility comparing him to its weakest members already in is not a good one. And while the HoF voters have mostly done well keeping such selections out, a few have managed to sneak through, specifically Wayne Millner, Paul Hornung, Lynn Swann, and yes, Joe Namath.
Because of injuries, Namath only played 8 full years with an even shorter peak, though that peak is admittedly excellent, so comparing Stabler to Namath doesn’t wash (it’s like arguing that Ottis Anderson should be in because his stats look better than those of Gale Sayers). Namath appears to be in the HoF primarily for a major intangible reason — he was the QB on the Jets Super Bowl winning team that finally gave the AFL parity with the NFL. While admittedly not an inconsequential accomplishment, one can of course rebut that other standouts from that game, like Matt Snell or Larry Grantham could have the same argument. But as often happens, it’s the QB who reaps the glory.
I can certainly see the argument for Namath not belonging in.
I’m interested in why Jim Patton DB of the 1950’s and 1960’s New York Giants teams and selected All-Pro a couple of times and selected to 5 Pro Bowl games is not in the HOF. Is there a Veteran’s Committee for the earlier players? He was one great defensive back for the Giants and the NFL.
How about Charlie Conerly????
There is indeed a Veterans Committee that brings up two possible names for induction each year. But there’s a big backlog of deserving and potential deserving players.
I’m all for Jim Patton being in the HoF (5 time 1st team all pro, 5 pro bowls) as I think he’s deserving, but he’s not the only such DB vying for a slot — so are Johnny Robinson, Abe Woodson, Jack Butler, Bobby Dillon, Cliff Harris, and Lemar Parrish.
Charlie Conerly is arguably the best QB from his era not in the HoF, though that position is probably deeper than any other in the Hall. Other QB contemporaries already in include Norm Van Brocklin, Y.A. Tittle, Bobby Layne, and George Blanda, while guys such as Otto Graham, Johnny Unitas, Bart Starr, and Bob Waterfield overlap either the first half or last half of his career. That may already be perceived as enough QBs from that time — hard to say.
jesse tuggle should be in the hall of fame, if he had not played for the falcons he would have been a superstar
I would really like to see TD get in. I know his career was cut short because of injuries (I will forever curse Brian Greise), but he had arguably the best first 4 years for any running back ever. He rushed for 2000 yards in 1998, was Super Bowl and League MVPs, and he averaged 4.6 ypc (brought down some by his comeback attempts in 2000 and 2001 even). I know he’s not a first or second balloter but the man was a horse and a great back and I think he deserves the Hall.
Re this:
“jesse tuggle should be in the hall of fame, if he had not played for the falcons he would have been a superstar”
Um, what’s wrong with this picture? Why are non-superstars getting touted? Tuggle BTW was never a 1st team all pro and made 5 pro bowls — not bad, but these numbers are less than several peer LBs who haven’t gotten a sniff yet and would appear to be more deserving (Rickey Jackson, Kevin Greene, Cornelius Bennett, Sam Mills, etc.).
Regarding Terrell Davis: he may yet get elected, but his short career hurts his HoF chances a lot. Consider that HoF-er Gale Sayers also played seven years, had 5 great years to Davis’s 4, and has stellar KR stats that Davis doesn’t have. And Sayers is the rare exception — very few short career players are in the HoF who played after 1950.