Pro Football Hall of Fame 2011 Breakdown Part 2 of 3

11. Jerome Bettis. This is his first year of eligibility. Nothing about Jerome Bettis screams "First Ballot Hall of Famer" to me. The good news is, he will get in eventually. If for no other reason than he played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and went out of the game Elway-style, as the last game of his career was a Super Bowl 40 victory. Also, he's number five on the All-time rushing list. On the other hand, Floyd Little retired as the seventh All-time leading rusher and it took 35 years to get him in the Hall of Fame.

8. (tie) Richard Dent, Chris Doleman, and Charles Haley. I debated for some time about which of these pass rushers was most Hall-worthy. Doleman played 15 seasons, compiled 150.5 quarterback sacks, made 8 Pro Bowls, and was twice named 1st Team All-Pro. Haley played 14 seasons, has 100.5 sacks to his credit, was selected to 5 Pro Bowls, and was also twice named 1st Team All-Pro. And when you add his two Super Bowl rings, he pretty much had an equal career to Doleman. And then there's Richard Dent. 15 seasons, 137.5 sacks, two Super Bowl rings, 4 Pro Bowls, 1 All-Pro.

So that's three pretty comparable guys, and I can't really put one ahead of the other. I imagine Hall voters have the same problem. I think it's clear that Richard Dent will be the first one of these three to get in - this is his 7th time as a finalist. The fact that he was MVP of Super Bowl 20 probably puts him slightly ahead of the others.

What finally convinced me that none of them should go in right now is that they failed the Neil Smith Test. Neil Smith was a contemporary of the aforementioned defenders who played 13 seasons, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos. He had 104.5 career sacks, made 7 Pro Bowls and one 1st-Team All-Pro. Plus he won two Super Bowl rings with the Denver Broncos. You can't tell me that Doleman, Dent, or Haley are clearly better candidates than Smith. Yet you never hear of Neil Smith getting a sniff at the Hall of Fame. It doesn't make sense to me.

As a result, I had to say no to all three. If your career was basically the same as a guy who doesn't get mentioned, then I think that seriously weakens your case.

So if I was forced to rank the three, I think it would go like this:

10. Charles Haley
9. Chris Doleman
8. Richard Dent

But I'm not forced to do anything, because it's my blog. So they remain tied.

Pro Football Hall of Fame 2011 Breakdown Part 1 of 3

I've always wanted to break down my thoughts on the vote for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which takes place the day before the Super Bowl. However, this vote coincides with the time of year when I'm really starting to get busy at work, so I don't have much time for writing such a piece.

This year, I made time. For you.

You're welcome.

There are 15 finalists. Ultimately, 5 will be chosen to be inducted this coming summer in Canton, Ohio. In this series of posts, I will rank these candidates from 15 to 1 according to my book. In this post, I will cut the first four. In my next post, I will cut another four. In the final post, I will give you my top seven, along with the five who I feel should be chosen. And then we'll have the fun of finding out on February 5th how closely my thoughts align with those of the Hall voters.

Let's begin.

15. Ed Sabol. The only non-player on the list, the founder of NFL Films looks like a strong sentimental choice this year. I don't think players and non-players should be on the same ballot. I think they should choose 5 former players, and 1 former non-player. No more Ralph Wilson edging out Shannon Sharpe, which happened last year. Sorry, Ed.

14. Tim Brown. The former WR spent most of his 17 seasons with the Raiders. He put up some good numbers by hanging around so long, and was selected to 9 Pro Bowls. He was consistent, catching at least 75 passes every year from 1993 through 2002, but he was never selected AP 1st Team All-Pro. And as the voters love to remind people, it's the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Very Good.

13. Curtis Martin. The argument against this former Jet and Patriot RB is the same as the one given above. He was consistent - enjoyed 10 straight seasons of 1,000 yards rushing. But he was never great. Only one AP 1st Team All-Pro. No Super Bowl rings. Plus he fails the name recognition test. It just doesn't seem like Curtis Martin belongs in company with Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, and Eric Dickerson. He'll eventually get in, because somehow he wound up as the fourth All-time leading rusher in history. And he spent most of his career in New York.

12. Andre Reed. The former Buffalo Bills WR is a fifth-time finalist this year. He probably deserves to get in at some point, with 951 career receptions. But again, although he was selected to seven Pro Bowls, he was never selected AP 1st Team All-Pro. He did play in four Super Bowls, but the Bills lost them all. Sorry, Andre, but I have to let you go.

In case you haven't noticed, I really like AP 1st Team All-Pro selections as a measuring stick.

The number of Pro Bowls is often cited, but it is kind of a distorted statistic. Because no one actually wants to play in the Pro Bowl, this is how it usually goes. They name the Pro Bowlers, then after half the team elects not to go, they name a bunch of alternates. And there are separate teams for the AFC and the NFC. So the actual Pro Bowl selection list becomes a bit bloated. In one year I looked at, there were 8 Pro Bowl quarterbacks. That's 25 percent of the league's starting quarterbacks! It's hardly a measurement of the truly elite.

With the AP 1st Team All-Pro designation, you know that the player was either THE BEST at his position or ONE OF THE TWO BEST at his position. And it includes the entire NFL - no separation of NFC and AFC.

So check back soon as I make the cut from 11 to 7.

Sometimes I Read Books Too

There are people who read a lot. I'm not one of those people. I read a couple of books a year, wheras some people read a couple of books a month. Maybe that makes me lame. Maybe it doesn't. I don't know. I probably would read more if I wasn't so disappointed by the things I read.

I finally caved and read the first book in J.K. Rowling's beloved Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Maybe you've heard of it? The writing was good enough. But reading this book was a bit of a chore for me. I couldn't wait to be done so I didn't have to be always thinking, "oh, yeah, I need to finish that Potter book." And since I've finished, I haven't had any desire to read the next one. Now if you are sitting there thinking, "Wait a minute - I LOVE Harry Potter," know this - it's not you, it's me. I've never really been into the whole wizards and warlocks and fantasy-type stuff. It just doesn't interest me that much. The things that bothered me the most were that the wizards would just cast a spell to make their fine banquets appear. That just seemed entirely too easy - I don't think they should be able to do that. Also, that Dumbledore cat was entirely too random in how he handed out points to the various halls as they competed for the Wizard Cup or whatever that Hogwarts championship was called. Maybe it's the accountant in me, but you've got to have some sort of basis for how you're allocating points. I kind of feel like those Slytherin guys were robbed, even if they were butts.

The other book chronicled the history of the famous California-based restaurant chain In-N-Out Burger. This book was really boring at first as it delved into the genealogy of Harry & Esther Snyder. I skipped at least one chapter. It became more interesting as they talked about its humble beginnings and how the rise of fast food coincided with the explosion of the automobile and suburbs in the 1950s. Harry Snyder focused on quality food and treating employees right. He never borrowed money - only building a new store when he had enough cash saved. And they didn't sell out through franchising like so many of his contemporaries did - McDonald's, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken. He wanted to retain control over his product and sacrificed the big payday.

Through the years, In-N-Out achieved cult-like status among burger fans in California. It was only after Harry Snyder turned over the reins to his son that the company really started to grow. The middle part of the book was probably the most interesting as it described a series of plot twists that seem like something out of a Hollywood screenplay.

It seemed like the story was headed for a grand climax, with plenty of family intrigue and legal battles. But it ended up with some sort of confidential settlement, so the reader never finds out exactly how the conflict was resolved. Kind of a bummer. I did get lots of material for a potential future post about the pitfalls of a family business - very interesting topic.

So those are pretty much the two books I read in 2010. Maybe I could step it up to three for 2011.

The Cat Could Draft

As John Elway takes the reins of the Denver Broncos once again, here's hoping he follows in the footsteps of another man who came from Stanford University to the Broncos. John Ralston was hired away from the college game back in 1972, when the Broncos were almost in as bad of shape as they are right now. The Broncos were in the Super Bowl six years later. Granted, Ralston had been fired as head coach by then, but he shares quite a bit of responsiblity for building the team that went 40-22, made three playoff appearances, won two AFC West titles, and played in a Super Bowl during Red Miller's stint as head coach from 1977-1980.

Let's quickly review the Broncos drafts from 1972 to 1976.

1972
Drafted TE Riley Odoms in the first round. Odoms went on to play 12 seasons with the Broncos. He was a four-time Pro Bowler, and was twice selected First Team All-Pro. Today he is still ranked sixth in team history in receptions and tied for eighth in touchdowns with 44.

1973
Drafted RB Otis Armstrong in the first Round. He played eight seasons for the Broncos and is currently fourth on the Broncos' all-time career rushing list. His signature year was 1974, when he led the NFL in rushing and was named First Team All-Pro.

Drafted DE Barney Chavous in the second round. He was a starter for all 13 of his seasons with the Broncos. Sacks were not an official stat for a large portion of his career. However, the Broncos estimate he had 75 career sacks, which would be good enough for third on the Broncos' all-time list.

Drafted G Paul Howard in the third round. He played 13 seasons and was a starter for 10 of them. In addition to starting on the 1977 Super Bowl team, he also started during the Broncos' 1986 Super Bowl season.

Drafted LB Tom Jackson in the fourth round. He played 14 seasons. Like Howard, he started for the 1986 Super Bowl team as well as the 1977 team. He was selected to three Pro Bowls, made First Team All-Pro in 1977, and is a member of the Broncos' Ring of Fame.

1974
Drafted LB Randy Gradishar in the first round. He played 10 seasons, made seven Pro Bowls, was twice selected First Team All-Pro, and was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1978. He is also a member of the Broncos' Ring of Fame, and was a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist or semifinalist every year from 2003 to 2008, although he was never selected due to East Coast bias.

Drafted T Claudie Minor in the thirdd Round. He was a nine-year starter for the Broncos.

1975
Drafted CB Louis Wright in the first round. He played 12 seasons for the Broncos, started for both the 1977 and 1986 Super Bowl teams, was a five-time Pro Bowl pick, was twice voted First Team All-Pro. He is also a member of the Broncos' Ring of Fame.

Drafted WR Rick Upchurch in the fourth Round. He made his name as a dangerous punt returner - his 8 career punt returns for touchdowns remain a team record. During his nine-year career, he was selected to four Pro Bowls and was three times First Team All-Pro.

Drafted DT Rubin Carter in the fifth round. He played 12 seasons for the Broncos and was a starter for 10 of them.

Drafted DB Steve Foley in the eighth round. He was a quarterback in college, but converted to defense and played 11 seasons for the Broncos, including both the 1977 and 1986 Super Bowl teams. He holds the Broncos career record for most interceptions with 44.

1976
Drafted G Tom Glassic in the first round. He played eight seasons and was a starter for seven.

So there you have it. Twelve players. All played a significant role on the 1977 Super Bowl team. Six of them were members of the Broncos' famous Orange Crush defense. Four of them stuck around long enough to play on the 1986 Super Bowl team as well. There are a total of 25 Pro Bowls in this group, and 11 First Team All-Pro Selections. Additionally, all of these men played their entire careers for the Denver Broncos.

That's how you draft, my friend.

I understand that times are different now with free agency and everything. It's pretty rare for players to spend their entire career with one franchise. But it's still true that to build a team that is going to be a winner for a long time, you have to be excellent in the draft. And the Broncos haven't been for many, many years. Which is how they wound up in their current predicament.

There isn't another five-year period of drafts in Broncos history like 1972-1976. The only one I could come up with that even compares is 1980-1984, when the Broncos drafted Rulon Jones, Mike Harden, Keith Bishop, Dennis Smith, Ken Lanier, Sammy Winder, Gary Kubiak, Karl Mecklenburg, Clarence Kay, and of course, John Elway (who wasn't technically a Broncos draft pick, but he kind of was). That group accounts for 27 Pro Bowls, three members of the Broncos' Ring of Fame, and a Hall of Famer.

Anyways, my point is that the Broncos won 7 AFC West titles, played in the Super Bowl four times (and narrowly missed a fifth) between 1977 and 1991. Even though they did win the Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998, they haven't been as consistently good since then. Did you know the Broncos have won only three AFC West titles since 1992? Just three.

As the Broncos clean house organizationally, I hope they realize that only one thing will make them consistent winners again. Nailing the draft year after year. There can be no more Marcus Nash, no more Willie Middlebrooks, no more Jarvis Moss.

Football Nostalgia

For Christmas I received the DVD set Denver Broncos Greatest Games. The set is pretty limited, including only three games - 1977 AFC Championship Game, Super Bowl 32, and Super Bowl 33. I'm not sure how the 1986 AFC Championship Game aka "The Drive" or the 1987 AFC Championship Game aka "The Fumble" aren't also included, but whatever.

I'm a card carrying Broncos fan, yet this was my first time seeing the 1977 game between the Raiders and Broncos, because I was two years old at the time. I enjoyed watching the game even though I obviously already knew the result.

I guess the Rob Lytle fumble was controversial. I don't think the call necessarily lost the game for the Raiders or won it for the Broncos. Oh, if they only had challenge flags and replay booth officials back then. . . NOT.

I kind of miss the NFL of that era before money and politics and five ESPN channels running around the clock. I miss the crappy graphics on the broadcast where you can watch an entire quarter without them ever showing the score or the game clock. That's actually kind of frustrating. But I miss having just football on the screen - not a scroll on the bottom, the game clock/score/down and distance permantently stampted at the top, along the with the network logo in the bottom, and a dozen different electronically generated lines on the field.

I miss Dick Enberg. That guy said stuff wrong even back when he was young. At one point, he stated that his broadcast partner Len Dawson was quarterbacking the Raiders.

I noticed a distinct lack of showboating in this game. If a defensive lineman dropped the quarterback for a sack, he usually then offered a hand to help the QB up instead of the whole dancing/gyrating/flexing thing we see today.

Anyways, I think the Broncos owe that win to Haven Moses, which I never realized. Number 25 was sensational in that game. Five catches, 168 yards, two touchdowns. Also Craig Morton, who obviously threw the passes that Moses caught.

I'm not really understanding Jim Turner in the Ring of Fame. He missed three field goals in that game, plus the Broncos messed up the snap on an extra point. Lonnie Perrin, a backup running back, did the kickoffs. They're lucky the kicking game didn't cost them the game.

But I kind of miss crappy kicking games, back before teams were keeping one guy on their roster specifically to do long snapping, and before kickers were practically automatic.

I need to get me some more vintage NFL action.