Here are the 15 finalists with the number of times that they've been finalists in parenthesis.
Champ Bailey
Tony Gonzalez
Ed Reed
Steve Atwater (2)
Tony Boselli (3)
Isaac Bruce (3)
Don Coryell (5)
Alan Faneca (4)
Tom Flores
Steve Hutchinson (2)
Edgerrin James (3)
Ty Law (3)
John Lynch (6)
Kevin Mawae (3)
Richard Seymour
Champ Bailey, Tony Gonzalez, and Ed Reed are in their first year of eligibility.
Senior finalist:
Johnny Robinson (7)
Contributor finalists:
Pat Bowlen
Gil Brandt
I see two easy choices to be in Canton in August:
Tony Gonzalez
Ed Reed
From there, Johnny Robinson should've made it long ago. His Hall absence has been on of the most glaring. He's in. Pat Bowlen and Gil Brandt should make it as well.
After that, I can see the voting going too many ways to count. But if it were up to me, it will go something like this.
Some might have Champ Bailey as an easy choice in his first year of eligibility. I don't think it's so easy. Making it in the first year of eligibility has to start meaning something. It should be reserved for players like Reed and Gonzalez. Players that changed the game, changed the way their position is played. Bailey was a terrific player, a Hall of Fame player. He'll make it soon. Ty Law was also a terrific player, a Hall of Fame player. He played the same position as Bailey and he's been waiting a while. If Bailey and Law came up at the same time I'd give the edge to Bailey. Since Law's been waiting he gets the edge. Bailey's time will come soon.
I see this as a Hall of Fame Class that unblocks the logjam that's building with offensive linemen. If injuries hadn't cut his career short, Tony Boselli would be in Canton already. He was one of the best offensive tackles in the league in a era that included Willie Roaf, Jonathan Ogden, Walter Jones. and Orlando Pace. Those four are in the Hall of Fame. Boselli should join them. Then comes the interior lineman trio of Steve Hutchinson, Alan Faneca, and Kevin Mawae. I'm going with Hutchinson. I followed his career more closely than the others so that gives him a bit of an unfair advantage. I've never seen an interior offensive lineman change an offense as Hutchinson did when he joined the Minnesota Vikings in 2006. If he had done nothing else the fact that he helped make Bryant McKinnie look like an occasionally effective left tackle makes him Hall of Fame worthy. Hutchinson destroyed defensive linemen like no other guard I'd seen since Larry Allen and no guard I'd seen in Minnesota since Randall McDaniel.
I conveniently toss out the "Bailey-Law-who's waited longer" argument to bump Hutchinson ahead of Mawae and Faneca. Perhaps there's some bias there but watching Hutchinson dominate the line of scrimmage in Minnesota for six years gives him the edge. Then you add the five terrific seasons that he had in Seattle. He's a Hall of Famer and I think that his time should be now. Ahead of Mawae and Faneca. But, that's just me. And, I have no vote.
These Hall of Fame thoughts produce the following 2019 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class:
Tony Gonzalez
Ed Reed
Ty Law
Tony Boselli
Steve Hutchinson
Johnny Robinson
Pat Bowlen
Gil Brandt
But I can see the actual voters hacking up all my work and coming up with this Class:
Champ Bailey
Tony Gonzalez
Ed Reed
Tony Boselli
Ty Law
Johnny Robinson
Pat Bowlen
Gil Brandt
Either way, there will be an excellent group of new Hall of Famers in Canton this August. I'll be there for my fellow Golden Bear Tony Gonzalez. And hopefully Steve Hutchinson.
I'd wish all 15 finalists "Good Luck" but it's not about luck. Their Hall of Fame fates are in the hands of the 48 voters. The five years that Cris Carter had to wait made me think that the voters were incompetent. I've learned and grown a lot since 2013. Selecting and and voting on a Hall of Fame Class is a ridiculously difficult task. There are always more deserving candidates than spots. No matter how they vote they are going to get endless, and sometimes viscous, grief from disappointed fans. That being said, something really has to be done to get Lavvie Dilweg, Al Wistert, Mac Speedie, and Alex Karras into Canton. Their continued absence is getting absurd.
I'd wish all 15 finalists "Good Luck" but it's not about luck. Their Hall of Fame fates are in the hands of the 48 voters. The five years that Cris Carter had to wait made me think that the voters were incompetent. I've learned and grown a lot since 2013. Selecting and and voting on a Hall of Fame Class is a ridiculously difficult task. There are always more deserving candidates than spots. No matter how they vote they are going to get endless, and sometimes viscous, grief from disappointed fans. That being said, something really has to be done to get Lavvie Dilweg, Al Wistert, Mac Speedie, and Alex Karras into Canton. Their continued absence is getting absurd.
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