HOF Voting is a Joke!

I have no complaints about Ogden or Parcells getting in.  Larry Allen is borderline, but no real complaints.

But how does a pothead like Warren Sapp get in on the first ballot over Michael Strahan?  And how does Cris Carter get in before Andre Reed, Tim Brown and Jerome Bettis?  Reed should have been in years ago, and Brown and Bettis shouldn't have had to wait this long.  Sapp and Carter are way overrated and sully the greatness of the Hall of Fame.

Guess the voters thought there were already enough Steelers in the HOF.

But how does a pothead like Warren Sapp get in on the first ballot over Michael Strahan?

Warren Sapp was the key reason the Bucs went from being the joke of the league to superbowl champions.  Strahan was not.

And how does Cris Carter get in before Andre Reed, Tim Brown and Jerome Bettis?

Cris Carter ended his career second to only Rice is practically every major receiving statistic. 

You seem to think off the field stuff matters.  This is about their production on the football field.  Carter should have been in years ago

Bettis is only in his 2nd year of eligibility. He isn't there yet. He will end up in the hall, but he wasn't so good that he won't have to wait. 

If you think for a second that Reed or Brown were better WR's than Carter, you didn't watch football during their careers. Cris Carter had the best hands of any WR in the league. He is one of the only ones that I can truly say if he touched it, he caught it.

Reed was a good wr, but spent a lot of time in the slot before it got any recognition, and Brown was all speed and longevity. His routes weren't crisp, and he dropped a lot of balls. He lasted forever and will get in at some point, but neither he or Reed is nearly as good as Carter.

Sapp and Strahan was about a coin flip for me. Perhaps the fact that Sapp was a much bigger weapon against the run and that he also basically led the charge to change the losing ways in Tampa tilted the scales in his favor. I would have been ok with either of these guys getting in or having to wait a year or two.  

I think I read Sapp got the most votes out of all of them. 

You gotta go back to the 70s to find a DT like him. He deserved it.

Haley hurt Strahan, one voter on NFLN said he wouldnt vote for Strahan until Haley got in.  

As for Jerome, I had some hopes for him this season because at least he wasnt going against any other running backs....but this season was stacked. We do know he was somewhere between 6 and 10 on the voting. Seems like he will have a pretty good shot along with maybe Andre Reed next year. 


the bottom 5(11-15) were, in no particular order:

Art Modell
Ed DeBartolo
Tim Brown
Will Shields
Kevin Greene

I don't think Greene ever gets in. Shields should. I don't care if Brown ever makes it. Owners and coaches should have their own wing and not have to compete against players.

Still waiting on jerry kramer..

cmon    SAPP= 1st balott.....Defensive player of the year + S.B. Champ CONSTANTLY beat the DOUBLE team........get ready for  #55 Derick BROOKS to get in 1st balott next yr ALSO

I believe the NFL explicitly states that off-the-field stuff does not matter at all. It isn't the same as Baseball HOF voting.

And yes, Sapp was one of the most dominant DTs to ever play the game. Until he came along, I had never seen a man his size move as fast as he could. Amongst his peers, there was no one better when he was at the peak of his career IMO.

"You gotta go back to the 70s to find a DT like him. He deserved it.".....................That's straight stupid. Sapp wasn't even the best of his generation Randall was! So why would we have to look back to the 70s? Sapp wasn't the reason the Bucs turned around either. He was the mouth of the Bucs. Nickerson, Brooks, and company had alot to do with the turn around. For that matter booger did the dirty work while sapp ran his mouth and ignored the run, try to get sacks. Sapp wasn't a first ballot player in my opinion.

You seem to think off the field stuff matters.  This is about their production on the football field.  Carter should have been in years ago

That's true, if off the field stuff mattered, then L.Taylor, and M.Irvin would still be on the outside looking in.

Also Reed deserves to be in before Carter. How can Reed be knocked for playing in the slot? I mean the fact Reed lined up in the slot changed the game forever. He created that position and all reciever have benefitted since! He changed the way the game is played. What did Carter do to change the game again? Oh that's right, he made complaining acceptable for that particular position my bad. (sigh)

I have no complaints about Ogden or Parcells getting in.  Larry Allen is borderline, but no real complaints.

The fact you think an 11x Pro Bowl, 7x All Pro guard named to two NFL All-Decades teams (1990s and 2000s) is "borderline" says enough.

 How can Reed be knocked for playing in the slot?

It's not just that he played in the slot a high percentage of the time. I think it has a lot to do with the run and shoot offense he was in. No one really runs it anymore.

 No doubt he deserves to get in, but to say he was better than Carter, who is 2nd only to Jerry Rice in pretty much everything is just plain inaccurate. Carter had better hands, ran better routes, and made TDs like it was routine (because it was).

Oh that's right, he made complaining acceptable for that particular position

Can't disagree there, but it doesn't change the fact that he was a flat out bad ass on the field.  

The fact you think an 11x Pro Bowl, 7x All Pro guard named to two NFL All-Decades teams (1990s and 2000s) is "borderline" says enough.

^^^^^ This.

Hell, Larry Allen almost single-handedly made people think that Emmit Smith is a top ten RB.  

Sttahan is not a HOF'er.

Can't say it enough Reed changed the game forever Carter did not! Reed was a key part of one of the most prolific offenses in history that went to four straight bowls, Carter wasn't ever really a key in all honesty. Carter also was very good in big games Reed was. In my opinion both Carter and Sapp leap frogged some players because of their self promotion more than their contribution. If a player changes the way a position is played that's a hall of fame player!

^^^^^should say wasn't very good in big games^^^^^^^^^^^

 In my opinion both Carter and Sapp leap frogged some players

Carter waited 6 years when he should have been a first timer. Reed will get there, but he is not the WR that Carter was. Not only does he not have the numbers, but if you watched them both play, the eye test is won by the guy with the best hands ever. 

Most people are going to say their problem with Sapp is that he wasn't great for that long.  What was it 1999 to 2003 or 2004 he was that dominant.  However for the Bucs to win it all without a good offense he was far above average in his limited time.