Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

First-time eligibles for HOF Class of 2017 include:
S Brian Dawkins
QB Donovan McNabb
DE Jason Taylor
RB LaDainian Tomlinson
WR Hines Ward

My guess is that Tomlinson goes in first ballot and both Dawkins and Taylor will be first year finalists getting in a couple years later. Dawkins probably goes in after Lynch and Atwater in that order.

Ward might get in a long way down the road, not that I'm especially taken with his candidacy. He probably languishes a long time like Isaac Bruce or Torry Holt, who I think do belong in.

Don't think McNabb is ever elected, which is fine with me.

bachslunch wrote:My guess is that Tomlinson goes in first ballot and both Dawkins and Taylor will be first year finalists getting in a couple years later. Dawkins probably goes in after Lynch and Atwater in that order.

Ward might get in a long way down the road, not that I'm especially taken with his candidacy. He probably languishes a long time like Isaac Bruce or Torry Holt, who I think do belong in.

Don't think McNabb is ever elected, which is fine with me.

Pretty much agree. Safeties are going to be the WRs of the next 5-7 years.

JohnTurney wrote:Safeties are going to be the WRs of the next 5-7 years.

Agreed. Lynch, Atwater, Dawkins, Reed, and Polamalu have already come up or will be coming up in successive years. Plus Leroy Butler and Darren Woodson have plenty of eligible years left and might come into play later on.

Lynch surviving the cutdown from 15 to 10 this year suggests they know there's an upcoming bottleneck and are trying to address the issue in timely fashion. Smart approach.

Who would you guys picked to be the 15 finalists, 2 Contributor Category nominees and Senior nominee?
15 Modern Era Finalists
Steve Atwater, Terrell Davis, Joe Jacoby, Alan Faneca, Terrell Owens, Ty Law, Don Coryell, John Lynch, Kurt Warner, Jason Taylor, Brian Dawkins, Isaac Bruce, LaDainian Tomlinson, Morten Andersen, Edgerrin James and Jimmy Johnson. 2 Contributor: Bobby Beathard and Gil Brandt. 1 Senior Chuck Howley.

My guess is that 13 of the finalists are pretty much a given: Faneca, Jacoby, Owens, Davis, James, Tomlinson, Warner, Andersen, Coryell, Taylor, Lynch, Atwater, and Dawkins. The last two could be any from a group comprising Bruce, Holt, Johnson, Law, Mawae, Mecklenburg, and Kenn -- no idea who that would be.

As far as predicting Seniors or Contributors, good luck. I can say who I'd like to see, but that and $5.00 will get you coffee most anywhere.

I think with Stabler being inducted there will be a push to get Ken Anderson into the HOF, which I think is long overdue. I expect Anderson to be a Senior Candidate next season.

Rupert Patrick wrote:I think with Stabler being inducted there will be a push to get Ken Anderson into the HOF, which I think is long overdue. I expect Anderson to be a Senior Candidate next season.

Anderson or Chuck Howley would be nice

JWL wrote:

Rupert Patrick wrote:I think with Stabler being inducted there will be a push to get Ken Anderson into the HOF, which I think is long overdue. I expect Anderson to be a Senior Candidate next season.

Anderson or Chuck Howley would be nice

Yes, along with Lavern Dilweg, Howley is one of the next 2 Veteran candidates on my own personal list. Of course, Howley has been in my personal top two VC candidates for over a decade now, and is always shut out.

Rupert Patrick wrote:I think with Stabler being inducted there will be a push to get Ken Anderson into the HOF, which I think is long overdue. I expect Anderson to be a Senior Candidate next season.

Anderson and Gradishar should be senior nominees next year. They deserve it the most.