Some big names are already being discussed for 2019 NFL Hall of Fame class
If you thought the this year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame class was loaded — with Randy Moss, Brian Urlacher, and Ray Lewis all going on the first ballot, joined by Terrell Owens and Brian Dawkins — the best may be yet to come.
After all, next year’s class includes a few greats clearly worthy of the honor of being first-ballot Hall of Famers.
Tony Gonzalez, Champ Bailey and Ed Reed — who between them went to 35 Pro Bowls — will be in their first year of eligibility, potentially crowding out guys on the ballot who have been waiting awhile to get in.
Every year, the Hall of Fame is a bit like a training camp in the way players are selected as “modern era” selections, the guys we hear the most about on the sports talk shows.
Fifteen preliminary finalists are selected for consideration in the early part of the voting process. The committee then trims that to 10 before taking another vote to select the five guys who then proceed to have the media and fans in sports bars, on television, and on Twitter to debate whether they belong.
Those five finalists are given a simple up-or-down vote by the committee and must receive approval from 80 percent of the voters. Once they pass that final hurdle, they can be fitted for gold jackets and practice the speeches they’ll deliver in Canton, Ohio.
But the fact that only a maximum of five guys can get in creates a logjam when a golden age for football comes to an end and the players from those glory days have to get whittled down.
Miss your chance and there’s a bumper crop of guys coming up to leapfrog you into the Hall, and that problem is only going to get worse as time goes on.
After all, in 2020, Troy Polamalu, Reggie Wayne and Patrick Willis join the club of guys competing for those coveted five spots in the Hall.
And in 2021, Peyton Manning, Charles Woodson, Calvin Johnson and Jared Allen join the race.
Remember, the voters can only choose 15 players to even start the process. If you think there’s a lot of ink spilled over Hall snubs now, just wait until someone who isn’t already in has to be pushed aside to make room for the new blood.
Of course, if a guy goes all the way through his eligibility without getting voted in, all is not lost. They can also be elected by the Seniors Committee.
That’s how Jerry Kramer, the offensive guard on those Packers teams that won the first two Super Bowls, and Robert Brazile, a.k.a. “Dr. Doom”, got in this year.
For Joe Jacoby and Everson Walls, that’s the road they’re on now. They were not selected in their final year of modern-era eligibility, so into the seniors pool they go.
In addition, Broncos safety Steve Atwater found himself dropped from the 15-man ballot. He was simply crowded out by all the new blood.
Plus, defensive players have another disadvantage. Unless you were a monster whose name is spoken in reverent terms by people too young to remember your playing days (think Butkus, Taylor, and Singletary), you’ll be behind the eight ball compared to the quarterbacks and receivers who dominate the conversation.
On the other hand, not every defensive player is necessarily going to be overshadowed, as three of the five enshrinees this year played on that side of the ball.
One thing’s for sure: no matter what the future of the NFL, its past will shine in the Ohio summer for years to come.
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