Initial Pro Football Hall of Fame Candidates

Carolina is going to turn Newton into a receiver?

 

Alexander will be very interesting.

Who would you rather have on your team for 10 years, Dunn or Alexander?

 

It is your contention that if Carolina put Neton on the market they couldn't get a first round pick? They'd get a hell of a lot more than that.

 

If you beleive that higher ticket prices are in any way tied to players salaries I have some prime Detroit real estate that you might be interested in purchasing.

There are not less free televised games, the game has never been better for fans if they want to access other games.

 

If Carolina put Newton on the market, which they will never do, they would get nothing less than two No. 1s and additional high picks in exchange for him.

 

Yeah, I have mixed feelings about whether Eddie D. should be in and I'm a diehard 49ers fan. No way should he be in before Modell...

Here is my issue with Jones. If you put him in, does Pat Bowlen get in? Jack Kent Cooke?

 

I don't think Alexander gets in. I won't be upset if he does, but I don't think he will... You can make a better case for him than Terrell Davis, although, I don't think people will be lobbying for him the way they do for Davis.

He had five monster seasons, including one of the best seasons for a RB ever.

 

I think Alexander's chances are the same as Fred Taylor's - not real good.

 

The debate over which running backs will make it to Canton is an interesting one... LDT is a first ballot lock. Bettis will eventually get in. I don't know if there is another lock, but there are probably 10-15 guys who you could make a decent argument for, admittedly, some better than others... I'm sure I'm forgetting a couple, but it will be very interesting to see how many, if any, of these guys get in. Of active players, Peterson is probably a lock, even if his career ended tomorrow. Steven Jackson has a solid chance if he can have 2-3 more good seasons and can get into the top 10 all-time.

Edgerrin James
Fred Taylor
Shaun Alexander
Eddie George
Corey Dillon
Jamal Lewis
Clinton Portis
Terrell Davis
Ahman Green
Thomas Jones
Priest Holmes
Ricky Watters
Roger Craig
Warrick Dunn
Tiki Barber

 

I don't think the standards of the Hall suffer if you don't induct anyone from that list. All great backs in their time, but they all seem to be lacking the sustained peak or the consistent greatness. Davis probably has the best case, and given his Super Bowl wins will probably get an added boost despite his relatively short career.

 

I won't have a problem is none of those guys get in. I would probably vote for James and would give strong consideration to Alexander. I think the over/under of guys on that list getting in is probably two or three.

 

I am curious how the panel judges owners, it seems just handling business matters or being successful won't do it unless you were around during the merger.
Handling TV deals or labor negotiations? How did they advance the game? I think I'd put the 1 and 10 line guy in ahead of an owner who is only looking out for their own interests.
And I'll retract my Debartolo thinking.
Owners just want a bigger number, it has been the TV people who innovate their way to make a TV deal profitable for them and do it by making the product more appealing.