And then there were 17. There are four first-year eligible players — John Randle, Shannon Sharpe, Bruce Smith, and Rod Woodson — among the 17 finalists who will be considered for election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The HOF’s Board of Selectors meets in Tampa on Saturday, January 31, the day before Super Bowl XLIII. There are nine modern-era players, two contributors and two players nominated earlier by the Hall of Fame’s Senior Committee. The nine modern-era players are Cris Carter; Dermontti Dawson; Richard Dent; Russ Grimm; Cortez Kennedy; Bob Kuechenberg; Randall McDaniel; Andre Reed; and Derrick Thomas. The contributors are former National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and Buffalo Bills founder/owner Ralph Wilson, Jr. And the Senior Committee nominees are former Dallas Cowboys receiver Bob Hayes and former Atlanta Falcons defensive end Claude Humphrey.

This is a very interesting and diverse group. The first-year eligibility players alone are impressive enough to have a spot in the Hall. Rod Woodson is the NFL’s all-time leader in interceptions returned for touchdowns. Bruce Smith is the NFL’s all-time leader in sacks with 200. When Shannon Sharpe retired he was the NFL’s all-time leader in receptions for tight ends. He also went to eight Pro Bowls. And John Randle had 137.5 sacks and was a seven-time All-Pro. I can’t wait for the announcement. The Class of 2009 can be no more than seven and no fewer than four.

Source: ProFootballHOF.com

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

17 Finalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

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 announced the 25 semifinalists today from the recently revealed list of 133 preliminary nominees. Even though 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. And while 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:

• Cris Carter, WR
• Roger Craig, RB
• Terrell Davis, RB
• Dermontti Dawson, C
• Richard Dent, DE
• Chris Doleman, DE/LB
• Kevin Greene, LB/DE
• Russ Grimm, G
• Ray Guy, P
• Charles Haley, DE/LB
• Lester Hayes, CB
• Cortez Kennedy, DT
• Bob Kuechenberg, G
• Randall McDaniel, G
• Art Modell, Owner
• John Randle, DT
• Andre Reed, WR
• Shannon Sharpe, TE
• Bruce Smith, DE
• Ken Stabler, QB
• Paul Tagliabue, Commissioner
• Steve Tasker, Special Teams/WR
• Derrick Thomas, LB
• Ralph Wilson, Owner
• Rod Woodson, CB/S

The list of 25 semifinalists will be reduced by mail ballot to 15 modern-era candidates. That list increases 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 Bob Hayes and Claude Humphrey. Bob Hayes is a three-time All-NFL pick spent 11 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys (1965-1974) and one season with the San Francisco 49ers (1975). Claude Humphrey is a five-time, first-team All-Pro defensive end who played with the Atlanta Falcons (1968-1978) and Philadelphia Eagles (1979-1981). The results of the modern-era reduction vote to 15 finalists will be announced in early January.

To be considered for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a nominated player or coach must have been retired at least five years. A contributor, who is a nominee who has made outstanding contributions to pro football in capacities other than playing and coaching, may still be active in his career.

Although there is no set number for any class of enshrinees, the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s current ground rules do stipulate that between four and seven new members will be selected each year. No more than five modern-era nominees can be elected in a given year and a class of seven enshrinees can only be achieved if both senior nominees are elected.

The Class of 2009 will be determined at the Selection Committee’s annual meeting on Saturday, January 31, 2009, in Tampa, Florida the day before Super Bowl XLIII. The election results are announced immediately following the meeting at a press conference at the Super Bowl media headquarters.

Source: NFL Media, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Pro Football HOF Modern-Era Semifinalists

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

Defensive end Bruce Smith, defensive back Rod Woodson and tight end Shannon Sharpe are among the first-year eligible candidates on a list of 133 players, coaches and contributors who make up the preliminary list of modern-era nominees for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2009. From this preliminary list of modern-era nominees, Hall of Fame selectors will choose 25 candidates who will advance as semifinalist nominees. The list of 25 modern-era semifinalists will be announced later next month. The 25 modern-era semifinalists list will be reduced by a mail ballot to 15 modern-era finalists. The final list of nominees that will be considered for election will consist of the 15 modern-era finalists and the two previously announced senior nominees, Bob Hayes and Claude Humphrey.

Hayes and Humphrey were selected this past August by the Hall of Fame’s Senior Selection Committee. Hayes, a three-time All-NFL pick, amassed 371 career receptions for 7,414 yards and 71 touchdowns during his 11-season career with the Dallas Cowboys (1965-1974) and the San Francisco 49ers (1975). He also returned 104 punts for 1,158 yards and three touchdowns and had 23 kickoff returns for 581 yards. Humphrey, a defensive end, was selected third overall in the 1968 draft by the Atlanta Falcons. The NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year he earned first team All-Pro honors in 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1977 and was named to six Pro Bowls during his career with the Falcons (1968-1978) and Philadelphia Eagles (1979-1981).

The Class of 2009 will be selected from the list of 17 finalists (15 modern-era and two senior nominees). The actual voting will be conducted at the Hall of Fame Selection Committee’s annual meeting, which will be held on Saturday, January 31, 2009, in Tampa, Florida the day before Super Bowl XLIII. The election results will be announced immediately after the meeting at a press conference in the media headquarters. While there is no set number for any class of enshrinees, the ground rules provide that between four and seven new members will be selected.

The preliminary list includes 110 players, seven coaches and 16 contributors, including former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and longtime team owners Bud Adams, Jerry Jones, Art Modell and Ralph Wilson. To be considered for Hall of Fame election, a nominated player or coach must have been retired at least five years. A contributor, who is a nominee who has made outstanding career contributions to pro football in capacities other than playing or coaching, may still be active in his pro football career.

PRELIMINARY LIST OF NOMINEES FOR THE CLASS OF 2009

First-Year Eligible Nominees

RUNNING BACKS – Larry Centers, Brian Mitchell (also KR/PR)

TIGHT ENDS – Shannon Sharpe, Frank Wycheck

OFFENSIVE TACKLE – Lincoln Kennedy

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN – John Randle (DE/DT), Bruce Smith (DE), Dana Stubblefield (DT)

LINEBACKER – Jessie Armstead

DEFENSIVE BACKS –Darren Woodson (S), Rod Woodson (CB/S)

Additional Nominees

QUARTERBACKS – Ken Anderson, Boomer Esiason, Jim Plunkett, Phil Simms, Ken Stabler, Joe Theismann, Doug Williams

RUNNING BACKS – Ottis Anderson, Roger Craig, Terrell Davis, Greg Pruitt (also KR/PR), Herschel Walker, Ricky Watters

WIDE RECEIVERS – Cliff Branch, Harold Carmichael, *Cris Carter, Wes Chandler, Gary Clark, Isaac Curtis, Henry Ellard, Irving Fryar, Roy Green, Harold Jackson, Herman Moore, Stanley Morgan, *Andre Reed, Sterling Sharpe

TIGHT ENDS – Mark Bavaro, Todd Christensen, Ben Coates, Russ Francis, Brent Jones, Steve Jordan

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN – Tony Boselli (T), Lomas Brown (T), Jim Covert (T), Randy Cross (G/C), Dave Dalby (C), Dermontti Dawson (C), Ray Donaldson (C), *Russ Grimm (G), Jay Hilgenberg (C), Kent Hill (G/T), Chris Hinton (G/T), Kent Hull (C), Joe Jacoby (T), Mike Kenn (T), *Bob Kuechenberg (G), Jim Lachey (T), Henry Lawrence (G/T), Mark May (G/T/C), *Randall McDaniel (G), Max Montoya (G), Marvin Powell (T), Steve Wisniewski (G)

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN – Ray Childress (DT/DE), *Richard Dent (DE), Chris Doleman (DE/LB), Carl “Big Daddy” Hairston (DE/DT), Charles Haley (DE/LB), Ed “Too Tall” Jones (DE), Cortez Kennedy (DT), Joe Klecko (DE/DT/NT), Steve McMichael (DT/NT), Leslie O’Neal (DE), Fred Smerlas (NT), Art Still (DE)

LINEBACKERS – Cornelius Bennett, Robert Brazile, Kevin Greene (LB/DE), Ken Harvey, Rickey Jackson, Tom Jackson, Clay Matthews, Karl Mecklenburg, Sam Mills, Hardy Nickerson, Chris Spielman, Pat Swilling, Darryl Talley, *Derrick Thomas

DEFENSIVE BACKS – Eric Allen (CB), Steve Atwater (S), Joey Browner (S), LeRoy Butler (S), Deron Cherry (S), Raymond Clayborn (CB), Kenny Easley (S), Lester Hayes (CB), Albert Lewis (CB), Ken Riley (CB), Eugene Robinson (S), Donnie Shell (S), Louis Wright (CB)

PUNTERS/KICKERS – Rich Camarillo (P), *Ray Guy (P), Nick Lowery (K), Reggie Roby (P)

SPECIAL TEAMS/WIDE RECEIVER – Steve Tasker

COACHES – Don Coryell, Tom Flores, Jimmy Johnson, Chuck Knox, Buddy Parker, Dan Reeves, Clark Shaughnessy

CONTRIBUTORS – Bud Adams, Gil Brandt, C.O. Brocato, Leo Carlin, Ed DeBartolo, Jr., Ben Dreith, Bob Harlan, Jerry Jones, Art Modell, Art Rooney, Jr., Ed Sabol, Steve Sabol, *Paul Tagliabue, Ralph Wilson, Jr., Ron Wolf, George Young

*On 2008 17 finalists list

Source: NFL Media, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2009 Nomination List Features 133 Former Players