Champ Bailey, Ed Reed and Tony Gonzalez Among 2019 HOF Finalists
The finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2019 have been announced, and the list features such luminaries as Champ Bailey, Ed Reed and Tony Gonzalez among the 15 modern-era finalists.
Let the honor, the glory, the jackets the color of the upholstery in your grandmother’s living room, and the media hot takes begin.
Bailey, Reed and Gonzalez represent the strongest crop of potential first-ballot Hall of Famers since … well, since last year, when Ray Lewis, Brian Urlacher and Randy Moss all were voted in, and nobody could seriously object to any of those three getting what their careers and accomplishments clearly earned.
Bailey is one of the best defensive backs in recent memory in his 15 years with the Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos.
Congratulations to @champbailey who is a #PFHOF19 Finalist!
– 12X Pro Bowls
– 2000s All-Decade Team
– Career 52 INTS & 908 tackles pic.twitter.com/1fa9NO4k67— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) January 3, 2019
Reed was, along with Baltimore Ravens teammate Lewis, the heart and soul of one of the greatest team defenses ever, an unparalleled ball hawk and playmaker.
Congratulations to @TwentyER who is a #PFHOF19 Finalist!
– 9X Pro Bowls
– 2000s All-Decade Team
– Career 64 INTs, 7 TDs, 6 Sacks pic.twitter.com/O58TBagbXc— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) January 3, 2019
Gonzalez holds the record for yards and receptions by a tight end, his 1,325 career catches with Kansas City and Atlanta trailing only Jerry Rice, full stop.
Congratulations to @TonyGonzalez88 who is a #PFHOF19 Finalist!
– 14X Pro Bowls
– 2000s All-Decade Team
– Career 1,325 receptions, 15,127 receiving yards, 111 TDs pic.twitter.com/IdMpHosG7G— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) January 3, 2019
Joining the triumvirate of viable first-ballot selections were running back Edgerrin James; wideout Isaac Bruce; cornerback Ty Law; safeties Steve Atwater and John Lynch; defensive lineman Richard Seymour; O-line stalwarts Tony Boselli, Alan Faneca, Steve Hutchinson and Kevin Mawae; and coaches Don Coryell and Tom Flores.
As well, Johnny Robinson, Pat Bowlen and Gil Brandt will be on the committee’s ballot, the first as a “seniors finalist” and the latter two as “contributors.”
Coryell gets his fifth attempt at enshrinement, and inventing the “Air Coryell” offense that laid the groundwork for the modern NFL’s pass-happy offenses should be enough to send him to Canton, when you consider that Bill Walsh is in, even though Walsh had more success in San Francisco than Coryell had in San Diego.
Atwater is a legend in Denver and Lynch is one in Tampa Bay, two of the most feared tacklers the game has ever known, and for Lynch especially, it’s beginning to look like now or never as he’s in his sixth year as a finalist.
James is renowned in Indianapolis, part of an incredible skill position core — along with Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison — during the franchise’s greatest years in Indiana.
Bruce was the featured pass-catcher of “The Greatest Show on Turf” in St. Louis as the Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV and came within a legend-launching two-minute drill by Tom Brady of winning Super Bowl XXXVI.
Law was on the other team in that latter Super Bowl, an anchor of the Patriots’ defense during the latter part of the Drew Bledsoe era and into the first few years of the Bill Belichick/Brady era. His teammate Seymour arrived a bit later, his rookie year coming in that same 2001 title season, but both men were on the first three New England championship teams.
Offensive linemen are often overlooked, but each of the four finalists earned his name as a brick wall.
And finally, Flores owns two Super Bowl rings from his time coaching the Raiders in the early 1980s.
Some of those guys have standout Hall of Fame cases; for others, you can see why someone would think they were deserving even as you think “Hall of Fame? That’s a bit much.” (And, of course, of those guys, which ones you think belong might just depend on your favorite or least favorite team.)
The committee will meet on Feb. 2, the day before the Super Bowl, to make their decisions on who will be called upon to give a speech in the summer sunshine of Canton, Ohio, come July.
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