Hall of Shame

Right before the Super Bowl, the NFL announced it's Hall of Fame class.  Needless to say I was shocked at the omissions.  I'm not saying that these guys didn't deserve a shot at the Hall of Fame, but some of the omissions have left me angry at the NFL and the way people are elected into the Hall of Fame.

Cris Carter is second all-time among receivers with 130 TD receptions.  He is also one of eight players to have over 1,000 receptions.  He has been eligible since 2008 and yet he still finds himself on the outside looking in.  Carter led the league in receptions one year (1994) with 122.  The following year, Carter tied his career high with another 122 receptions.  He led the league in touchdown catches three times.  He was an 8x Pro Bowler to boot.  There is no way Cortez Kennedy is more valuable than Cris Carter.

Let's talk about Cortez Kennedy.  He was elected to the Pro Bowl 8 times, never led the league in a single category, and recorded double digit sacks just once, 14 in 1992.  He was a good player but not Hall of Fame worthy in my opinion.  His 568 tackles and 58 career sacks don't come close to the numbers that other, more deserving players put up.  One of those players was Charles Haley.

Charles Haley did get elected to the Pro bowl as many times as Cortez Kennedy.  Haley was only elected 5 times.  However, Haley ended his NFL career with 100.5 sacks.  More importantly, Haley led the 49ers defense to Super Bowls and then helped Dallas do the same.  He was the heart of several Championship defenses and a terror to opposing quarterbacks.  I know he had more of an impact on the game than Cortez Kennedy did.  I'm not trying to diminish what Kennedy did but Haley was the best on some of the best defenses in the game.  That has to count for something.

How Bill Parcells is left off is beyond me.  That is just ludicrous.  He turned around a pathetic Giants team and brought 2 Super Bowl Championships to New York.  Then he took New England from the depths and brought them to a Super Bowl.  Then, he became the head coach of the Jets and turned that franchise around.  Next, he took a struggling Dallas team and remade them into title contenders.  He even almost rejuvenated a Dolphins franchise.  Everywhere he has gone he has won.  He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, period.

Andre Reed was the number one receiving option on one of the most explosive offenses in football history and yet did not get elected.  Tim Brown is another of the best receivers of his generation and yet did not get elected.  Something is fishy about the way the NFL allows people to vote.  Surely it wouldn't hurt if they made people make their ballots public like they do in baseball.  I say they do it so people can explain how they voted.