Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists for 2012

Unless an owner created a league or coached, there is no place for them in the Hall.

He built a stadium, he negotiated an awesome TV deal, he hired a great staff or he spent a lot of money on players is not enough as far as I am concerned. Same for commissioners.

 

Webster, I think that standard is fair. But Tagliabue has my support due to the whole "replacing the legend" burden he had to bear.

 

I guess that I have a hard time with team execs, owners or commissioners being judged with players. Coaches as well, but that is a little closer to the line.

 

I think he's one of the better owners in the league, but I don't see him as a Hall of Famer.

He didn't necessarily "save the franchise". The only thing is that the St. Louis Patriots would have won three Super Bowls, beating the Houston Rams for their first title.

 

This is getting funny now. The Patriots are one of the league's most important franchises? Since when? This was a dumptruck organization for the better part of 40 years.

 

I let that one go, because I was wary of the response that "Uh . . um . . .Kraft turned them into an important franchise!!!!!"

Not really. They've had a great decade, largely because of a great coach (and builder of the team) and a great quarterback.

But aside from a great playoff run in 1985, the franchise was mostly a dumpster fire before that. It's why Bill Simmons still bitches about a 1976 playoff loss.

 

DeBartolo hired Walsh. Kraft hired Belichick. That's it, ultimately. Thats not Hall of Fame stuff.

 

Belichick's greatness is hitched to a great quarterback. So all Hall of Famer Bob Kraft did was luck into Brady. As Belichick did. As the franchise and fans did.

Art Modell did more for the NFL than Kraft ever has, and Modell's case is not easy to make.

 

So does that mean that Modell has . . . 200 TIMES the impact that DeBartolo has?

 

Pat Bowlen won a couple of Super Bowls, we're going to have to put his ass in, too.

 

I was thinking the same thing. He has been there a lot longer too.

 

Actually, given his impact in the TV area as the league began to ride its TV deals to unparalleled popularity and riches, Modell's case is very easy to make. But he created so much ill will by moving the Browns (which was Cleveland's fault probably as much as Modell's) he'll never make the Hall.