2021 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class

At some point, I'm thinking the Pro Football Hall of Fame Veterans Committee steps in for him. Excuse me for coming across as a fanboy ...

 

I hope you are right. He deserves it. The problem with the Hall is, there are no Phil Riuzzutos or Highpockets Kellys and like that. Canton doesn't admit marginal guys. The nature of the game means there's always a surplus of deserving members. They need to move the annual number of entrants from 5 to 7. What the hell, the rosters were 33 when the Hall set that standard and now they are 53.

 

But only 22 get to play when the ball is snapped.

 

Obviously, I agree. Thanks for remembering him. Gotta say it ...

-Five time Pro Bowler
-One All-Pro team, two All-Pro second teams
-Was a lynchpin in one of the great linebacking groups in league history. Ask Pat Swilling and Rickey Jackson who called the plays and led the defense (RIP to Sam and Vaughan Johnson, his fellow inside linebacker who hit like a runaway train ... Sam hit hard, VJ hit harder).
-Ask the Carolina Panthers how important signing him was. Ask any old Panthers - or Dom Capers or Jerry Richardson - about the example he set on and off the field.
-Made the All-Pro team and a Pro Bowl at age 37.
-Since it's supposedly the "Pro Football Hall of Fame" - they've always claimed it's about more than just the NFL - ask about the difference he made for the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars during the USFL years. Won two titles and came a point short of all three during the league's existence. Might have been the league's second-best defender ... and, last I checked, second to Reggie White is more than merely acceptable.

(Also worthy of note is while Panthers owner David Tepper rolled Jerry Richardson's statue away from the stadium in Charlotte, he not only kept Sam's where it should be in front of the stadium, but also has made May 1 (5-1) Keep Pounding Day, a day of community service to honor the legacy of the man.)

First-ballot HOFer? No. Not even sure he should get in before, say, Patrick Willis.

But he should be there. Keep in mind, though, that I'm just a little biased ...

 

I covered the Panthers in their first season, and I legitimately thought Mills should have been considered for NFL defensive player of the year. As it was, he somehow didn't even make the Pro Bowl.

That season he had five interceptions, five forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and 4 1/2 sacks. That included the epic interception and touchdown return of Bubby Brister's shovel pass in the last minute of the first half that gave the Panthers their first lead and sparked the first win in franchise history, and an amazing play in Carolina's road victory over the defending Super Bowl champion 49ers in which he ripped the ball out of Brent Jones' arms and recovered the fumble he had just caused.

He was THE driving force on an expansion team that by the end of the year was playoff caliber (especially defensively). And he was the best defensive player I saw that season.

 

Still no Roger Craig?

 

He is no longer eligible for the Modern Ballot, as is anyone who retired before 1995. His path lies with the Seniors Committee. He was a finalist last year as part of the Centennial choices

 

I agree with you, but I'm a little biased, too. I loved the USFL. I think you could make an argument for Mills being the best defensive player in that league. White was great, but he didn't really play his best ball until he got to the NFL. Mills was certainly more consistent.

I have also retained a soft spot for the Saints since I lived in New Orleans for a few years. Jackson was a fantastic player on bad teams when I lived there, so it was great to see him surrounded by that kind of talent. Mills was just fantastic for them, and he remained at that level for a long time.

 

I don't have a problem with Mills getting in the HOF. But there are a glut of linebackers with similar credentials trying to get in. Randy Gradishar, Bill Bergey, Isiah Robertson and Chuck Howley come to mind as guys who have similar credentials. And there would be others if I thought about it long enough.

I don't understand how the veterans committee picks linebackers. Dave Robinson made it in. He was good on the Packers 1965-1967 championship teams and had one All League selection and three Pro Bowls. Bill Forrester, who was a linebacker on 1961 and 1962 Green Bay championship teams, made All-League three times and the Pro Bowl four. And Forrester is forgotten.

 

Going down the rabbit hole after the announcements got me to Jimmy Patton, was a five-time first team All-Pro and has been long forgotten.

It’s really amazing how many guys couldn’t get in originally based on their credentials and are stuck waiting

 

When I was a lad, 22 was 22. In the average down progression in the NFL today, maybe 35 people are in that 22. When I was a lad, rosters were 33, then 40. Now, they're 53. Of course the Hall standards should be expanded. Pro football itself has been expanded.

 

I miss Dr. Z.

I look at these lists and it’s really hard to distinguish many of the candidates, especially across positions. Pretty hard to compare a safety to a guard to a running back.