The Professional Football Hall of Fame has announced the Class of 2014, and we are sure that is going to be satisfying for many as the mixture of first time inductees and long time snubs makes this a very interesting class. Let’s take a look shall we?
In our eyes, the headliner is first time nominee and the number one on our list, Derrick Brooks. In the eyes of many (including us) Brooks is the best player to ever suit up for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and his selection had to happen.
Michael Strahan will also be joining the Hall of Fame. His name has come up often in the past week, though not in recapping his accomplishments on the field, but the criticisms from Warren Sapp, who was inducted last year. Strahan was ranked #4 on our list, though due to his post career success as an analyst on the Fox NFL broadcast team and as the co-host of Live with Kelli and Michael, he is the one who has the highest public visibility.
After many years waiting, Andre Reed from the Buffalo Bills has gotten in. Interestingly, we have to wonder if this has come at the expense of Marvin Harrison, who put up better numbers than Reed did, but is entering his first year of eligibility. Perhaps the Hall thought that Andre has waited long enough, and he certainly did do enough for the Hall. Long time Raiders Wide Receiver and multi time Finalist, Tim Brown did not make the cut either.
The Seattle Seahawks who are in the Super Bowl will certainly have a new Hall of Famer cheering them on. Former Seattle Offensive Tackle has also been chosen.
Former Linebacker, Aeneas Williams has also been nominated often and has broken through the bubble. He was ranked at 24 on our list and has 55 total career Interceptions.
Both Senior Nominees were selected. A lot of the focus is on Ray Guy, who becomes the first Punter to enter the Football Hall of Fame. Professional Football has long looked down on Special Teams, and blogger upon blogger have complained about Ray Guy has been passed over and the continued disrespect of the position. Guy changed the face of Punting and as such is a deserving inductee. The other Senior candidate was Claude Humphrey who had 122 unofficial Quarterback Sacks and was the 1968 Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Another notable pass over is five time Super Bowl Champion, Charles Haley who is the only player in history with five rings. Will Shields was also an interesting omission
to us, as we had him ranked higher than Walter Jones who got in. Jerome Bettis, Kevin Greene, Tony Dungy, Morten Andersen and Eddie DeBartolo Jr. were the other Finalists who did not get inducted.
We would like to congratulate the Class of 2014 and we will be watching them receive their acknowledgements during the Super Bowl.
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