25 NFL HOF semifinalists

[andrew8798]

The complete list of 25 modern-era semifinalists is as follows:

Cliff Branch, WR – 1972-1985 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders
Tim Brown, WR/KR – 1988-2003 Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, 2004 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Cris Carter, WR – 1987-89 Philadelphia Eagles, 1990-2001 Minnesota Vikings, 2002 Miami Dolphins
Don Coryell, Coach – 1973-77 St. Louis Cardinals, 1978-1986 San Diego Chargers
Roger Craig, RB – 1983-1990 San Francisco 49ers, 1991 Los Angeles Raiders, 1992-93 Minnesota Vikings
Terrell Davis, RB – 1995-2001 Denver Broncos
Dermontti Dawson, C – 1988-2000 Pittsburgh Steelers
Richard Dent, DE – 1983-1993, 1995 Chicago Bears, 1994 San Francisco 49ers, 1996 Indianapolis Colts, 1997 Philadelphia Eagles
Chris Doleman, DE/LB – 1985-1993, 1999 Minnesota Vikings, 1994-95 Atlanta Falcons, 1996-98 San Francisco 49ers
Kevin Greene, LB/DE – 1985-1992 Los Angeles Rams, 1993-95 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1996, 1998-99 Carolina Panthers, 1997 San Francisco 49ers
Russ Grimm, G – 1981-1991 Washington Redskins
Ray Guy, P – 1973-1986 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders
Charles Haley, DE/LB – 1986-1991, 1999 San Francisco 49ers, 1992-96 Dallas Cowboys
Lester Hayes, CB – 1977-1986 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders
Rickey Jackson, LB – 1981-1993 New Orleans Saints, 1994-95 San Francisco 49ers
Cortez Kennedy, DT – 1990-2000 Seattle Seahawks
Art Modell, Owner – 1961-1995 Cleveland Browns, 1996-2003 Baltimore Ravens
John Randle, DT – 1990-2000 Minnesota Vikings, 2001-03 Seattle Seahawks
Andre Reed, WR – 1985-1999 Buffalo Bills, 2000 Washington Redskins
Jerry Rice, WR – 1985-2000 San Francisco 49ers, 2001-04 Oakland Raiders, 2004 Seattle Seahawks
Shannon Sharpe, TE – 1990-99, 2002-03 Denver Broncos, 2000-01 Baltimore Ravens
Emmitt Smith, RB – 1990-2002 Dallas Cowboys, 2003-04 Arizona Cardinals
Paul Tagliabue, Commissioner – 1989-2006 National Football League
Steve Tasker, Special Teams/WR – 1985-86 Houston Oilers, 1986-1997 Buffalo Bills
Aeneas Williams, CB/S – 1991-2000 Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, 2001-04 St. Louis Rams

[PaperStreetBrigade]

Wow, Art Modell? Really?

Isn't Cleveland a little too close to Canton for him to get in without Browns fans trying to burn down the Hall.

[Grendel]

Ah, Steve Tasker. I remember when he announced his retirement the last game of the season against Green Bay, and I think he got ejected on the opening kickoff for some sort of malfeasance or something like that. Poor guy ... excellent special teamer.

There's quite a list of talent there. Cris Carter might go yet another year without getting in the hall.

[jobber2thestars]

Emmitt Smith, John Randle and Jerry Rice are definite locks. I can see Cris Carter, Tim Brown and Shannon Shapre getting in, too.

[stealthamo]

What has to happen for Ray Guy to actually get in? He definitely deserves it.

I see Rice and Smith getting in this year for sure. Out of these, I think Carter, Guy, Reed, Rice, Sharpe, and Smith all deserve in. But, I don't have the biggest knowledge of defense, so I don't know which defensive guys get in.

[Killah Ray]

Cris Carter,Russ Grimm,Ray Guy,Jerry Rice,Shannon Sharpe,and Emmit Smith would be good picks for this year....

I could see Grimm and Guy not making it even though they deserve it...and John Randle should make it sometime too...Kevin Greene would be a great pick even though he is highly overlooked by a lot of people...

And Tim Brown and Andre Reed will be in one day...

[4TheGlory]

Dawson should go in, one of the most dominating Center's of all time. He'd anchor an entire offensive line on his own

[FrankGotch]

Art Model will never ever get into the HOF as long as there are still fans alive who remember the move. If he ever does get into the Hall of Fame, his bust and write-up won't last a week ... They'll need security on that thing 24/7! The fact that Canton is +/- 1 hr. away from the city he betrayed seals the deal. It would be a public relations nightmare. I would actually feel bad for the rest of the class he was being inducted with.

[Deleted]

Smith and Rice are locks. I call shenanigans if neither gets in.

I could live a fulfilling life without Sharpe in there, mostly because he was a total punk as a player and probably the most annoying boothman on the planet. I would get a full color tattoo of the man who would just go "Shannon...shut up, just shut your mouth." on air...but i'm sure he's getting in...or we will ALL hear about it.

Carter deserves in, just because we'll all get alot of lip service from him too...though he is deserving and not on Sharpe's level of jackassery.

[Impact Zone's #1 DUMMY...YEAH]

Nov 30, 2009 11:52:50 GMT -5 FrankGotch said:

Art Model will never ever get into the HOF as long as there are still fans alive who remember the move. If he ever does get into the Hall of Fame, his bust and write-up won't last a week ... They'll need security on that thing 24/7! The fact that Canton is +/- 1 hr. away from the city he betrayed seals the deal. It would be a public relations nightmare. I would actually feel bad for the rest of the class he was being inducted with.

Along those same lines, is Bob Irsay in the Hall? Because what Irsay did to Baltimore is almost as bad, and some may consider it much worse, than what Modell did to Cleveland.

And I understand what you and others have said about how the closeness of Canton to Cleveland would make it more dangerous, but I believe Irsay would be in the same boat.

[Drillbit Taylor]

Nov 30, 2009 13:23:50 GMT -5 Impact Zone's #1 DUMMY...YEAH said:

Nov 30, 2009 11:52:50 GMT -5 FrankGotch said:

Art Model will never ever get into the HOF as long as there are still fans alive who remember the move. If he ever does get into the Hall of Fame, his bust and write-up won't last a week ... They'll need security on that thing 24/7! The fact that Canton is +/- 1 hr. away from the city he betrayed seals the deal. It would be a public relations nightmare. I would actually feel bad for the rest of the class he was being inducted with.

Along those same lines, is Bob Irsay in the Hall? Because what Irsay did to Baltimore is almost as bad, and some may consider it much worse, than what Modell did to Cleveland.

And I understand what you and others have said about how the closeness of Canton to Cleveland would make it more dangerous, but I believe Irsay would be in the same boat.

Irsay is the worst. Modell and Adams are the next level down.

[FrankGotch]

Nov 30, 2009 13:33:31 GMT -5 Drillbit Taylor said:

Nov 30, 2009 13:23:50 GMT -5 Impact Zone's #1 DUMMY...YEAH said:

Along those same lines, is Bob Irsay in the Hall? Because what Irsay did to Baltimore is almost as bad, and some may consider it much worse, than what Modell did to Cleveland.

And I understand what you and others have said about how the closeness of Canton to Cleveland would make it more dangerous, but I believe Irsay would be in the same boat.

Irsay is the worst. Modell and Adams are the next level down.

You're wrong, and this is why.

What Irsay did was wrong, but at the time Baltimore fans weren't exactly turning out to support the team. Irsay was having trouble selling tickets, games were blacked out, and the Baltimore economy was in a pit with no signs that it was going to improve.

All that most people focus on was Irsay moving the Colts at night. But to suggest it came out of nowhere is silly: everyone knew the move was coming-he was openly courting other cities. People who talk about the Colts always point to how, and when the team actually left without discussing the REASONS for the night move.

The Baltimore city council was set to vote the following day on an attempt to take the team from Irsay based on a ridiculous "emminent domain" argument. While that would likely have never stood up in court, it would have been a messy, expensive legal battle. The easiest and most effective means of hamstringing that effort by city council was simply to move the team before they could pass their "law". If the team's not in Baltimore, Baltimore can't take it from him.

The Colts were going to Indianapolis anyway. Everyone knew that. People in Baltimore always seem upset about the WAY the Colts left rather than the fact that they moved. People in Cleveland were (and are) furious about the fact that Modell moved the team at all.

Modell had a loyal rabid fan base who were still selling out games, and even fought tooth and nail to keep the team in Cleveland.

Modell did what he did out of pure greed. In Municipal Stadium, Art Modell received ALL of the profits--even the Indians had to pay him rent. He paid nominal rent to the city in exchange for maintaining the stadium. Basically he didn't want to go from being de facto landlord to being tenant

Modell turned down participation in the Gateway project (which built the baseball stadium and basketball arena), he told the city publicly that he did not want a new stadium. He insisted that renovations for the old stadium were all he wanted or needed. He ALSO gave the city a deadline: by the end of his existing lease (1999). Remember that maintenance of the stadium was HIS responsabiity (at his insistence). Obviously he decided to meet with people in Baltimore prior to that deadline. The city had a funding issue for the renovations on the ballot before the announcement of the move, which was made just days before the vote. The citizens passed the bill (polls had the issue winning before the move as well). Speculation is that the timing of the announcement was an attempt to sabotage the vote by Modell, thus giving him something to point at to say "see, they don't have the funding to make the renovations."

One very important piece here is that Modell had been in discussions with the city, county, and state about this in 1995. Then, when training camp started, he declared a "moratorium" on talks until after the season -- supposedly because he didn't want to cause a distraction for the team. So, while he refused to talk to the media or the local officials about the situation, he broke his own moratorium to negotiate with Baltimore.

As for the legal dealings, there may have been a class-action suit filed at some point (presumably on the fans' behalf), but the suit that actually made the difference was the city suing Modell for breaking his lease. I believe they may have also sued the NFL for helping him break the lease. Ultimately, the suit was settled, with Modell agreeing to leave behind the name, colors, etc. and the NFL agreeing to provide Cleveland with either a new or relocated team by 1999 (providing we built a new stadium). Technically speaking, Modell got a new franchise in Baltimore, and the Cleveland Browns franchise was held in trust for two years until the expansion team was awarded to Al Lerner.

[Error]

My picks would be:
Tim Brown, WR/KR
Jerry Rice, WR
Russ Grimm, G
Shannon Sharpe, TE
Emmitt Smith, RB
Paul Tagliabue, Commissioner

[Vice honcho room temperature]

f***ing hell no Jim Marshall again.

[bob]

all those guys deserve to get in....except Art Modell

[Joie De Vivre]

Other than Smith and Rice, I'd like to see John Randle, Andre Reed, and Ray Guy in there.

[FrankGotch]

Nov 30, 2009 14:27:17 GMT -5 Vice honcho room temperature said:

f***ing hell no Jim Marshall again.

I guess one backward run is enough to negate a HOF worthy career.

[Tyfo]

Ah, Kevin Greene. My favorite player of all time. Hopefully this is his year to get into the Hall of Fame!

Go 91!!!

[Tyfo]

Nov 30, 2009 17:25:14 GMT -5 FrankGotch said:

Nov 30, 2009 17:21:56 GMT -5 Tyfo said:

Ah, Kevin Greene. My favorite player of all time. Hopefully this is his year to get into the Hall of Fame!

Go 91!!!

You do know that he will be going in as a dirty rotten Steeler, and not a Panther right?

Yeah, but he was my favorite player before the Panthers even existed, so that's fine.

[FrankGotch]

Nov 30, 2009 17:26:46 GMT -5 Tyfo said:

Nov 30, 2009 17:25:14 GMT -5 FrankGotch said:

You do know that he will be going in as a dirty rotten Steeler, and not a Panther right?

Yeah, but he was my favorite player before the Panthers even existed, so that's fine.

Whoops I deleted my post when I went to modify it. Anyway looking at his career I'm really surprised. For some reason I thought he spent a lot more then 3 years in Pittsburgh, and a heck of a lot less time with the Rams.