Subjugating admission to an ego that athletic abilities have waned is tough for many professional athletes. Especially when the person is under 40 years old and feels years of acquired knowledge have made them more valuable than ever before.

Hines Ward recently told reporters that he has no plans to retire and wants to play with the Pittsburgh Steelers next season. Having spent all of his career with Pittsburgh, the 14-year veteran told reporters he is willing to take a reduction in pay off his 2011 salary of $4 million.

Ward says he will be "devastated" if he cannot finish his career with the only professional team he has played for, but Pittsburgh will have to decide in a few months if they want to give the wide receiver a roster bonus in order to give him a chance to make the team in training camp.

Not only is he the the eighth player in NFL to accumulate 1,000 career receptions, Ward is coming off maybe his worst NFL season since his rookie season in 1998. A reserve behind Courtney Hawkins and Charles Johnson that season, it was the only year of Ward's career he didn't start a game.

Antonio Brown began to take starts away this year from Ward, whose nine starts in 2011 were his fewest since the 1998 season. Brown and fellow wide receiver Mike Wallace would be named to the Pro Bowl this year, further pushing Ward into a role of the sage veteran who is more of a coach than player at this stage of their career.
His 46 receptions in 2011 were the fewest Ward has had since his rookie season. Burt it wasn't just a decline in production there that may have the Steelers brass undecided as to whether or not they bring him back for another year.

He was always a possession receiver whose game was more noted for leadership and a run blocking ability that was truly bone-jarring. But Ward averaged a career low 8.3 yards per reception this year, and the two touchdown receptions Ward scored were his fewest since he failed to score as a rookie.

Wanting to hang on another year is nothing new for the NFL player. There has been a ton of wide receivers who wanted to extend their careers one last season, but few who went out to the retirement pastures having left an indelible mark on those last gasps for glory.

Jerry Rice is thought of by many to be the finest wide receiver in NFL history. The Hall of Famer spent 16 years with the San Francisco 49ers, but the team decided to part ways when Rice wanted to keep playing. He joined the Oakland Raiders and remained extremely productive for three season, one of which included a Pro Bowl nod, but wanted to keep playing in 2004.

Father Time finally caught up to Rice by then, so the Raiders traded him to the Seattle Seahawks early in the season. He still tried to play in 2005, but ultimately decided to retire after realizing he would never top the depth charts of any team again.

Rice broke the all-time receptions record of fellow Hall of Famer Art Monk, who is the first NFL player to ever have over 100 receptions in a season. Monk himself extended his career perhaps too long, just as did Rice and many others.

After having spent 14 seasons with the Washington Redskins, the team decided to trim their payroll and parted ways with Monk. He joined the New York Jets for a year and was a moderately effective player, but decided to try and keep playing. Monk joined the Philadelphia Eagles for three games in 1995 before deciding to retire.

Monk wanting to keep playing the game was no different than what his mentor, Charley Taylor, did. The Hall of Famer, who left the NFL as the all-time leader in receptions, tried to play his 13th season for the Redskins in 1977.

Taylor, who had missed the entire previous season due to injury, began the season starting and eventually lost his job to Danny Buggs. He retired as a player, but soon rejoined Washington and coached the wide receivers to three Super Bowl victories.

These are just a few examples of how Ward's NFL future could play out. Few end their careers on a high note, as Wes Chandler and Max McGee did.

Chandler spent 11 years with the New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers, which included four Pro Bowl nods. He joined the 49ers in 1988 and played just four games, but garnered a Super Bowl ring that season before finally retiring.

McGee spent 12 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, but had just 16 receptions for 325 yards and four scores in his last two years with the Packers. Yet his nine receptions for 201 yards and three touchdowns in the postseason helped Green Bay win two consecutive Super Bowls and helped McGee retire at the top.

Whenever Ward does decide to retire, he will most likely receive a few votes for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Despite making the Pro Bowl just four times, he is the Super Bowl XL MVP and was named MVP of the team Steelers times. Ward is the Steelers all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches.

Recruited by Georgia University as a quarterback, Pittsburgh had Ward throw just three passes in his career but did run the ball 57 times for 428 yards and a score. He was a precision route-runner who was the only dependable weapon Pittsburgh's passing game had for several seasons.

Yet his leadership skills was perhaps as important as his playing ability. Ward's desire to win would have fit well with the famous "Steel Curtain" defense that won four titles, and his helping the franchise win two more just helps Pittsburgh stay one of the more respected teams in the NFL.

His blocking ability allows Ward to stand out from the rest of the wide receivers in the league. Unfairly termed a dirty player by some, all Ward did was out-think opponents and put himself in the right position to make crucial blocks that also happened to break bones.

In 2008, he laid out a unsuspecting Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers. While not penalized for the play, the ever-softening NFL did change rules in 2009 by making it illegal a blindside block if it comes from the blocker's helmet, forearm or shoulder and lands to the head or neck area of the defender. It is called the Hines Ward Rule by many.

Whether or not Ward remains in the NFL, let alone with Pittsburgh, remains to be seen. It is obvious he is nearing the end of a fabulous career, one that can continue thanks to rules that cater to the offensive side of the football.

His wisdom, blocking ability and leadership should attain a job offer next season, but Pittsburgh may end up being forced with giving Ward's roster spot to a younger and cheaper player. It may not be what the teams wants, but the examples of Rice and Monk are proof that sometimes the bottom line of a fiscal situation outweighs the heart.

Subjugating admission to an ego that athletic abilities have waned is tough for many professional athletes. Especially when the person is under 40 years old and feels years of acquired knowledge have made them more valuable than ever before.

Hines Ward recently told reporters that he has no plans to retire and wants to play with the Pittsburgh Steelers next season. Having spent all of his career with Pittsburgh, the 14-year veteran told reporters he is willing to take a reduction in pay off his 2011 salary of $4 million.

Ward says he will be "devastated" if he cannot finish his career with the only professional team he has played for, but Pittsburgh will have to decide in a few months if they want to give the wide receiver a roster bonus in order to give him a chance to make the team in training camp.

Not only is he the the eighth player in NFL to accumulate 1,000 career receptions, Ward is coming off maybe his worst NFL season since his rookie season in 1998. A reserve behind Courtney Hawkins and Charles Johnson that season, it was the only year of Ward's career he didn't start a game.

Antonio Brown began to take starts away this year from Ward, whose nine starts in 2011 were his fewest since the 1998 season. Brown and fellow wide receiver Mike Wallace would be named to the Pro Bowl this year, further pushing Ward into a role of the sage veteran who is more of a coach than player at this stage of their career.
His 46 receptions in 2011 were the fewest Ward has had since his rookie season. Burt it wasn't just a decline in production there that may have the Steelers brass undecided as to whether or not they bring him back for another year.

He was always a possession receiver whose game was more noted for leadership and a run blocking ability that was truly bone-jarring. But Ward averaged a career low 8.3 yards per reception this year, and the two touchdown receptions Ward scored were his fewest since he failed to score as a rookie.

Wanting to hang on another year is nothing new for the NFL player. There has been a ton of wide receivers who wanted to extend their careers one last season, but few who went out to the retirement pastures having left an indelible mark on those last gasps for glory.

Jerry Rice is thought of by many to be the finest wide receiver in NFL history. The Hall of Famer spent 16 years with the San Francisco 49ers, but the team decided to part ways when Rice wanted to keep playing. He joined the Oakland Raiders and remained extremely productive for three season, one of which included a Pro Bowl nod, but wanted to keep playing in 2004.

Father Time finally caught up to Rice by then, so the Raiders traded him to the Seattle Seahawks early in the season. He still tried to play in 2005, but ultimately decided to retire after realizing he would never top the depth charts of any team again.

Rice broke the all-time receptions record of fellow Hall of Famer Art Monk, who is the first NFL player to ever have over 100 receptions in a season. Monk himself extended his career perhaps too long, just as did Rice and many others.

After having spent 14 seasons with the Washington Redskins, the team decided to trim their payroll and parted ways with Monk. He joined the New York Jets for a year and was a moderately effective player, but decided to try and keep playing. Monk joined the Philadelphia Eagles for three games in 1995 before deciding to retire.

Monk wanting to keep playing the game was no different than what his mentor, Charley Taylor, did. The Hall of Famer, who left the NFL as the all-time leader in receptions, tried to play his 13th season for the Redskins in 1977.

Taylor, who had missed the entire previous season due to injury, began the season starting and eventually lost his job to Danny Buggs. He retired as a player, but soon rejoined Washington and coached the wide receivers to three Super Bowl victories.

These are just a few examples of how Ward's NFL future could play out. Few end their careers on a high note, as Wes Chandler and Max McGee did.

Chandler spent 11 years with the New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers, which included four Pro Bowl nods. He joined the 49ers in 1988 and played just four games, but garnered a Super Bowl ring that season before finally retiring.

McGee spent 12 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, but had just 16 receptions for 325 yards and four scores in his last two years with the Packers. Yet his nine receptions for 201 yards and three touchdowns in the postseason helped Green Bay win two consecutive Super Bowls and helped McGee retire at the top.

Whenever Ward does decide to retire, he will most likely receive a few votes for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Despite making the Pro Bowl just four times, he is the Super Bowl XL MVP and was named MVP of the team Steelers times. Ward is the Steelers all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches.

Recruited by Georgia University as a quarterback, Pittsburgh had Ward throw just three passes in his career but did run the ball 57 times for 428 yards and a score. He was a precision route-runner who was the only dependable weapon Pittsburgh's passing game had for several seasons.

Yet his leadership skills was perhaps as important as his playing ability. Ward's desire to win would have fit well with the famous "Steel Curtain" defense that won four titles, and his helping the franchise win two more just helps Pittsburgh stay one of the more respected teams in the NFL.

His blocking ability allows Ward to stand out from the rest of the wide receivers in the league. Unfairly termed a dirty player by some, all Ward did was out-think opponents and put himself in the right position to make crucial blocks that also happened to break bones.

In 2008, he laid out a unsuspecting Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers. While not penalized for the play, the ever-softening NFL did change rules in 2009 by making it illegal a blindside block if it comes from the blocker's helmet, forearm or shoulder and lands to the head or neck area of the defender. It is called the Hines Ward Rule by many.

Whether or not Ward remains in the NFL, let alone with Pittsburgh, remains to be seen. It is obvious he is nearing the end of a fabulous career, one that can continue thanks to rules that cater to the offensive side of the football.

His wisdom, blocking ability and leadership should attain a job offer next season, but Pittsburgh may end up being forced with giving Ward's roster spot to a younger and cheaper player. It may not be what the teams wants, but the examples of Rice and Monk are proof that sometimes the bottom line of a fiscal situation outweighs the heart.

In just a few weeks, Pro Football Hall of Fame voters will meet in Indianapolis, Indiana and decide who will be inducted into Canton this year. There were many reasonable and dubious characters for the voters to sift through, yet there were several of the dubious choices that made it as finalists instead of glaring omissions.

Wide receivers Tim Brown, Cris Carter and Andre Reed, running backs Jerome Bettis and Curtis Martin and guard Will Shields made the cut, as did the two senior nominees of defensive back Jack Butler and guard Dick Stanfel. Defensive back Aeneas Williams and defensive ends Chris Doleman, Kevin Greene and Charles Haley and defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy and center Dermontti Dawson and offensive tackle Willie Roaf and former San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr. also got into the final stage of the process

A finalist must receive 80 percent of the vote to be selected. Somewhere between four and seven enshrinees are typically announced annually, which will happen the day before the Super Bowl on February 5th, then inducted in August in the Hall's 50th class.

Parcells and Shields were the only two candidates to make the list of finalists in their first year of eligibility. What will happen next is anyone's guess, because it is next to impossible to read the mind of the voters after seeing this list of finalists.

First let's get the obvious choices out of the way. These are players who belong in so much that they shouldn't have to wait, even if there are a ton of worthy candidates who fit that description and have been buried for decades in the senior voters pool.







Jack Butler
Cornerback
Pittsburgh Steelers
9 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
52 Interceptions
10 Fumble Recoveries
9 Touchdowns



I profiled Butler on Crazy Canton Cuts back in 2008.

He is the last person to play in the NFL from Saint Bonaventure University because the school dropped their football program after 1951. Butler joined the Bonnies football team at the request of Bonnie athletic director, Father Dan Rooney, the brother of Steelers owner Art Rooney. Butler then joined Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent rookie.

He retired early because of an injury, but his 52 interceptions in nine seasons were second most in NFL history at the time. He still ranks second in the Steelers history in total interceptions.

When he retired from playing, Butler became an NFL scout. He was the director of BLESTO for over 40 years until he retired at 80 years old in 2007. Butler has helped start the career of innumerable scouts, player personnel directors, and general managers in the NFL.

Butler was one of the hardest hitting cornerbacks to have ever played the game. Yet, he also had shut down ability, which is shown with his 52 thefts. Personally, I think his contributions off the field make him worthy two different ways.

But, sticking to just his play on the gridiron, there is no question that is is truly a disgrace that Jack Butler has not yet been inducted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame already. He goes into Canton if I voted, no question.









Dermontti Dawson
Center
Pittsburgh Steelers
13 Seasons
7 Pro Bowls
6 First Team All-Pro Teams



Dawson first started out as a guard before switching the center and became one of the very best in the business. He has been a semi-finalist three times and and finalist twice. It is time he gets inducted.









Curtis Martin
Running Back
New York Jets
11 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro
14,101 Rushing Yards
484 Receptions
100 Touchdowns



One of the more underrated running backs of his era, Martin rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of the first 10 seasons of his career. Reliable and durable, he led the NFL in carries and rushing yards in his tenth season.

Martin was much more than a guy who carried the ball. He was an effective receiver and fumbled just 29 times in his career. He is easily the most worthy running back in the 2012 class and surely gets my vote.









Willie Roaf
Offensive Tackle
New Orleans Saints
13 Seasons
11 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams



Roaf deserves induction this year. Plain and simple. I think there are a ton of blockers who belong, but the offensive line is usually overlooked.

Even though he missed 17 games because of injuries, Roaf started in every one of the 189 games he played in his career. A cerebral player with immense strength and incredible dexterity, the nimble tackle was rarely beat whether run blocking or protecting the blind side of the quarterback.








Will Shields
Guard
Kansas City Chiefs
14 Seasons
12 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams



Shields better go in immediately. He missed one start, but played in all 224 games in his career. He was always one guards in the AFC annually. He deserves induction now, but I have been saying this about Chiefs legends Jim Tyrer, Johnny Robinson and Ed Budde for years and years as well.










Aeneas Williams
Cornerback
Arizona Cardinals
14 Seasons
8 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
55 Interceptions
23 Fumble Recoveries
12 Touchdowns Scored



Williams is one of many cornerbacks who belong in Canton, joining greats like Lemar Parrish, Pat Fischer, Louis Wright and more, but he may beat them in the race for induction. Like them, he was a premier defender.

One fact easily seen is that Williams made opponents pay when they tried to move the ball in his direction. I believe he is worthy of immediate induction, but I been saying that about Parrish and others for years.







That is six guys right there ready to get inducted. If there is a seventh person to go into Canton in 2012, there is a tough choice to be made. The Hall of Fame has inducted eight or more men three times, yet not have done so since 1967. The voters have frequently gone with just four inductees inducted, an inexcusable amount, and have even inducted just three in 1973 and 1976.

Who will make that seventh selection is a mystery, but two candidates are members of the media and that may give them an extra nudge since they rub elbows with the voters both in social circles and the workplace. It would be better if the induction classes extended to eight again, after allowing the senior voters to nominate four players annually, because there is such a backlog of worthy players being slapped in the face with disrespect as they watch lesser players inducted instead.

If I were a voter who had just walked in and had to vote from this current group of finalists, I would be torn between two players. While both are certainly worthy, one played over twice as long in his career. While the rules that player participated in helped immensely, where the other played in an era would you could feed your family better by not playing football.

My pick would be :


Cris Carter
Wide Receiver
Minnesota Vikings
16 Seasons
8 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams
1,101 Receptions
130 Touchdowns



Carter got to enjoy rules friendly to the offense in an obscene fashion. He had a gift, however, of making catches in the end zone.

That gift had him once released by the Philadelphia Eagles, where head coach Buddy Ryan the reason was that all Carter did for the Eagles was "catch touchdown passes". The truth was that Carter was abusing drugs and the wide receiver credits his being cut as the wake up call that saved his life.

The Minnesota Vikings claimed him off the waiver wire right away, where he eventually started and would hold that spot the remainder of his Vikings career. One of Carter's strengths was his conditioning and durability. Though he missed four games because if injury in one season, he played every other game possible for Minnesota.

He led the NFL in receptions once and in touchdown catches three times. Seven different quarterbacks were the primary starter in his 12 seasons with the team. Despite all the lunacy and confusion, Carter was a beacon of steady leadership and consistent production.

Carter accumulated double figures in touchdown receptions in five of his Pro Bowl years. What also made his production even more special is the fact he had to share receptions with future Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss, Pro Bowl wide receivers Jake Reed and Anthony Carter, and Pro Bowl tight end Steve Jordan.

Carter has been a finalist for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame four times so far. He ranks third in NFL history in career receptions, fourth in career touchdowns catches and eighth in career receiving yards and total touchdowns.

Then there are the old school fans who point to the obvious fact Carter never dealt with the ten-yard chuck rule, which makes it much harder to excel as a receiver, as opposed to the offensive-friendly rules he participated in. Rules that greatly inflate statistics and can help make a player look better than players who did not benefit from the rule changes. This fact has made modern statistics dwarf the numbers from the ten-yard chuck era.

Men like Mac Speedie, Lionel Taylor, Charlie Hennigan, Harold Carmichael, Drew Pearson, Gino Cappelletti, Sonny Randle, Cliff Branch, Harold Jackson, Pete Retzlaff, and LaVern Dilweg are just a few great receivers on par with Carter and are also awaiting their inductions. Men who dealt with a much rougher game, let alone the ten-yard chuck.

Carter has a feel-good story attached to his career, one that has now extended to where he provides analysis on television. With his career on the ropes because of drugs, he rebounded and became a leader and won the Bart Starr Man of the Year Award, the Bryan "Whizzer" White NFL Man of the Year Award and the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

Besides the 17 NFL records he either owns or shares, he is a member of the NFL's 1990s All-Decade Team. He is one of the 50 Greatest Minnesota Vikings as well as being a member of their 40th Anniversary Team.

The Vikings have retired his jersey and have had a huge amount of great receivers to play for them. Cris Carter may be the best ever for this franchise and certainly deserves to move on to being more than a finalist this year.







Again, I want EIGHT in the 2012 class. It doesn't have to be just seven going in, and this unwritten rule basically screws players because some paperclip pusher may think seven looks prettier on paper.

If the voters got it right and put in eight, I'd put in a guy who has waited forever and may never get this close again.



Dick Stanfel
Guard
Detroit Lions
7 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
5 First Team All-Pro Teams



Stanfel lasted only seven years, but he was amazing in his time. His rookie year was the only season he did not earn an accolade. After four seasons with the Lions, he joined the Washington Redskins and suddenly retired at just 31 years old.

He played in an era where the pay scale was so minimal, players usually made more money working other jobs. Stanfel left the game so he could feed his family at a higher-paying job. There were just three starting offensive lineman in the NFL older than Stanfel when he left the game.

Yet many historians agree there were few guards better to play the game. Despite his limited years, Stanfel is a member of the 1950s All-Decade Team. I'd put him in Canton, so hopefully he gets inducted.





That leaves a group of finalists who will have to wait another year hoping that get this close again. There are a few worthy, then are a few I personally would not vote in simply because there are a ton of better candidates seemingly forgotten by the voters and they remain buried in the senior voters pool of candidates.

Here are the most worthy candidates we should one day see inducted into Canton :





Jerome Bettis
Running Back
Pittsburgh Steelers
13 Seasons
6 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams
13,662 Yards Rushing
94 Total Touchdowns



Bettis was involved in one of the biggest steals ever, when the Steelers got him from the Saint Louis Rams in a trade. He ran for over 1,000 yards in eight of his first nine seasons, showing remarkable durability because his game was running between the tackles.

Not much of a receiver, he could be depended on once handed the ball. He fumbled 41 times, but he usually rewarded his teams with a pounding style that wore out opponents while chewing up the clock.

There is no question that Bettis is worthy of induction into Canton.







Chris Doleman
Defensive End
Minnesota Vikings
15 Seasons
8 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
150.5 Quarterback Sacks
8 Interceptions
2 Touchdowns
2 Safeties



Defensive end is a position stacked with worthy candidates who are not amongst the current semi-finalists. Men like Claude Humphrey, Jim Marshall, Coy Bacon, L.C. Greenwood and many others head a list of men at this position worthy of induction.

Doleman's numbers do not lie. He was a play-making machine. But he was more than a pass rush specialist at defensive end, which is shown by the fact he exceeded 100 tackles twice in his career. Doleman did get more than 10 sacks eight season and led the league once.

There is no doubt Doleman is worthy of induction, and it would be a shame if he had to wait as long as other past greats like Humphrey or Bacon. Yet I can't say he deserves to go into ahead of them too.









The remaining finalists is yet another demonstration many voters are clueless glad-handers who need to be replaced by the men who actually played the game and certainly know best on who and who doesn't belong within the hallowed walls of Canton.



Eddie Debartolo Jr.
Owner
San Francisco 49ers
23 Seasons



This guy is a finalist instead of a ton of worthy players? What a waste of space! I hope he never reaches these heights again. As just owners go, I could name a huge handful more worthy than a guy who left the game in disgrace.






Charles Haley
Linebacker
San Francisco 49ers
13 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams
100.5 Quarterback Sacks



The only reason Haley has been a semi-finalist three times and finalist once before is because he played on five teams that won Super Bowls. Strictly a pass rush specialist, he never had more than 69 tackles in a season.

Honestly, Charles Haley does not belong in Canton. He never led the league in any category, though he did have the good fortune to play on good teams and was able to line up at defensive end as well. There are way too many candidates more richly deserving of induction over him.







Andre Reed
Wide Receiver
Buffalo Bills
16 Seasons
7 Pro Bowls
951 Receptions
88 Touchdowns Scored



Reed was a precise route runner who was more good than great. He never led the league in any category and exceeded 1,000 yards receiving just four times despite playing in a era that caters to offensive production.

What gets him this far is the fact he played on four teams that reached the Super Bowl. He had a Hall of Fame quarterback and running back helping him as well a set of rules that made him look better than he was. I classify Reed as a very good player, but I'd put a ton of wide receivers into Canton ahead of him.








The rest of the finalists were basically a group of guys where one could look back in NFL history and see a long line of better players still awaiting induction. Many becoming unknown and forgotten as time steadily moves forward, and one suspects a few of these finalists will soon join them in that classification.





Tim Brown
Wide Receiver
Oakland Raiders
17 Seasons
9 Pro Bowls
1,094 Receptions
105 Touchdowns



Brown certainly is a product of the rule changes that allows receivers to roam untouched after five yards, but he was more than just a pass catcher. Brown also made an impressive mark on special teams

My issue with his being inducted is the fact he was never selected First Team All-Pro and led the league in receiving just once. Brown did lead the NFL in punt and kickoff return yards once.

But is that worthy of induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame? I say no and chalk him up as a good and reliable player who lasted a long time.







Kevin Greene
Linebacker
Los Angeles Rams
15 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams
160 Quarterback Sacks
5 Interceptions
26 Fumbles Recovered
3 Safeties



A hired gun as a pass rush specialist, Greene played for five different teams in his career. While getting to a quarterback was his main focus, he did get 87 tackles one year. He had 10 or more sacks in 10 different seasons.

Greene was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year once and led the league in sacks twice. He is a lot like Charles Haley in that he did just one thing really well, but the fiery player was versatile enough to create turnovers defending the pass on occasion.

He is worthy of being a finalist, but there are a ton of other outside linebackers I'd put into Canton ahead of him.





Cortez Kennedy
Defensive Tackle
Seattle Seahawks
11 Seasons
8 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
58 Sacks
3 Interceptions



Kennedy is a bit of a conundrum for me, as far as being worthy of Canton. He was a playmaker who sacked the quarterback pretty often for a defensive tackle. He did enjoy three excellent seasons where he piled up 242 tackles over that time.

Yet he recovered a measly six fumbles in his career and he had four mediocre season. I can't say he is worthy, just because there are many defensive tackles, like Curly Culp, I consider superior. Yet it wouldn't be that frustrating if he went in either.






Seeing how great general managers like George Young and Ron Wolf did not make the cut, while Ed DeBartolo did, brings to mind there should be another adjustment to the voting process for induction. Young and Wolf certainly belong, just like NFL Films creator Ed Sabol did a few years ago, but it shouldn't come at the expense of the players.

The voters should separate coaches, general managers and contributors, giving them there own platform. Still have them require 80 percent of the vote, but add their induction to the ceremony instead of subtracting a player from the process.

Assistant coaches need to be included too. Great coaches like Bud Carson, Joe Bugel, Jim Hanifan and others had careers worthy of Canton, but the assistant coach basically is shunned by voters as inconsequential to their determination on who belongs.

This would bring enlarged classes some years, but there is nothing wrong with eight people inducted. There should be no limit on how many people can be voted in each year. The reason for this statement is because there of a former head coach and general manager amongst the finalists.

While he won two titles in a fish bowl like New York City, he got both too much attention because the area is literally saturated with members of the media and even houses the league's headquarters. Many people have
buckled under the pressure, yet this man survived and even went on to coach another team that gets too much media attention.

Now a member of the same media that use to follow him around like lost puppies who hung off every utterance he put forth, there is a very good chance yet another deserving player will have a slot stolen from them in the 2012 class.



Bill Parcells
Coach/ General Manager
31 Seasons
172 wins
2 Super Bowl Wins



Parcells is here because he coached the New York Giants, a team flooded with media attention. While a good coach who has 42 more victories than defeats, he also had some limited successes with the New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots.

Known as the "Big Tuna", he was named NFL Coach of the Year three different seasons and is a member of the NFL's 1990s All-Decade Team. He then went on to become a general manager and had mixed results.

Does Parcells belong in ahead of such legendary coaches like Buddy Parker, Chuck Knox, Tom Flores, Dick Vermeil and others? He doesn't belong in ahead of Don Coryell, but the New York City factor might push him in. I think he fairly worthy, but I think that of a few others as well.






Then there is the man who should have been a finalist and inductee. He died last year without witnessing his deserved respect, but got to see the league cash in on his creation annually. The NFL offense of today still relies on his genius, despite the voters obtuse knowledge of football preventing him the rightful immortality earned years ago while still echoing to this very moment.







Don Coryell
Saint Louis Cardinals
San Diego Chargers
14 Seasons
111 Wins
First Coach With 100 Wins In Pro And College Football
Only Coach To Lead NFL In Passing 6 Straight Years
5 Division Titles



The biggest no-brainer of the semi-finalists. It is disgusting he hasn't been inducted already, and even more revolting he passed away last year and will never get to enjoy his deserved respect from a game that still leans heavily on his genius to this very day. Crazy Canton Cuts profiled Coryell in 2009.

Coryell played college football at the before getting into coaching. He succeeded George Allen, who later became a Pro Football Hall Of Fame coach.

He also showed his innate ability to develop players, especially on offense. He had 54 players go to the NFL from his college teams, including five players drafted in the first round. Nine of his players were First Team All-Americans. In 1967, he had eight players drafted, and five went in the first two rounds.

The Coryell coaching tree from his collegiate era is very impressive as well.

Joe Gibbs was a player on Coryell's team at first and won the team's Most Inspirational Player Award once. Gibbs later became a graduate assistant, then assistant coach at San Diego State.

He also was an assistant under Coryell with both the Cardinals and Chargers before becoming head coach of the Washington Redskins. Gibbs is a member of the Pro Football Hall Of Fame.

Another Pro Football Hall Of Fame coach who coached under Coryell at San Diego State was John Madden. Madden would join the Oakland Raiders and then become the youngest head coach of the league the next season at 32 years old.

Legendary men like Jim Hanifan, Ernie Zampese, and Rod Dowhower also coached under Coryell at San Diego State. Coryell's 104 victories and .840 winning percentage are the best in Aztec history, and he is a member of the College Football Hall Of Fame.

He then moved to the NFL to lead the Saint Louis Cardinals. His 42 wins are the most by any coach in the Cardinals franchise's history, and his five years as head coach with the team is the second longest tenure ever.

The San Diego Chargers would later hire Coryell. This was when "Air Coryell" was born as a common term, even though Coryell's years in Saint Louis also featured high-powered offenses running under much of the same schemes also used in San Diego.

When Coryell retired from the NFL with 111 wins in 195 games overall, he is the first head coach with 100 victories in both professional and collegiate football.

To try and sum up this man's career or impact on football is nearly impossible. Virtually every offense today, on all levels of the game, is a variation of his system. In his 14 seasons as a coach, his offenses led the NFL in net yards gained per passing attempt five times. They finished in the top-five of the NFL six more times.

His teams led the NFL in passing yards seven times and none of his teams finished lower than seventh. They led the NFL in passing touchdowns three times and finished in the top ten nine other times.

Many Hall Of Fame players and Pro Bowlers were coached by Coryell in the NFL. The list of players inducted into Canton includes Dan Fouts, Kellen Winslow, Charlie Joiner, Dan Dierdorf, Jackie Smith, Fred Dean and Roger Wehrli.

Coryell changed the way football was played. It is still being played the way Coryell invented to this very day. The now all-to-common sight on multiple receiver sets was first started by Coryell, as are many versions of offenses being run these days.

They are all spawns of his genius.

Winslow stated it best when he said, "For Don Coryell to not be in the Hall of Fame is a lack of knowledge of the voters. That's the nicest way that I can put that. A lack of understanding of the legacy of the game."

An ignorance that has wrongly kept Don Coryell from taking his rightful place in Canton.

In just a few weeks, Pro Football Hall of Fame voters will meet in Indianapolis, Indiana and decide who will be inducted into Canton this year. There were many reasonable and dubious characters for the voters to sift through, yet there were several of the dubious choices that made it as finalists instead of glaring omissions.

Wide receivers Tim Brown, Cris Carter and Andre Reed, running backs Jerome Bettis and Curtis Martin and guard Will Shields made the cut, as did the two senior nominees of defensive back Jack Butler and guard Dick Stanfel. Defensive back Aeneas Williams and defensive ends Chris Doleman, Kevin Greene and Charles Haley and defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy and center Dermontti Dawson and offensive tackle Willie Roaf and former San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr. also got into the final stage of the process

A finalist must receive 80 percent of the vote to be selected. Somewhere between four and seven enshrinees are typically announced annually, which will happen the day before the Super Bowl on February 5th, then inducted in August in the Hall's 50th class.

Parcells and Shields were the only two candidates to make the list of finalists in their first year of eligibility. What will happen next is anyone's guess, because it is next to impossible to read the mind of the voters after seeing this list of finalists.

First let's get the obvious choices out of the way. These are players who belong in so much that they shouldn't have to wait, even if there are a ton of worthy candidates who fit that description and have been buried for decades in the senior voters pool.







Jack Butler
Cornerback
Pittsburgh Steelers
9 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
52 Interceptions
10 Fumble Recoveries
9 Touchdowns



I profiled Butler on Crazy Canton Cuts back in 2008.

He is the last person to play in the NFL from Saint Bonaventure University because the school dropped their football program after 1951. Butler joined the Bonnies football team at the request of Bonnie athletic director, Father Dan Rooney, the brother of Steelers owner Art Rooney. Butler then joined Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent rookie.

He retired early because of an injury, but his 52 interceptions in nine seasons were second most in NFL history at the time. He still ranks second in the Steelers history in total interceptions.

When he retired from playing, Butler became an NFL scout. He was the director of BLESTO for over 40 years until he retired at 80 years old in 2007. Butler has helped start the career of innumerable scouts, player personnel directors, and general managers in the NFL.

Butler was one of the hardest hitting cornerbacks to have ever played the game. Yet, he also had shut down ability, which is shown with his 52 thefts. Personally, I think his contributions off the field make him worthy two different ways.

But, sticking to just his play on the gridiron, there is no question that is is truly a disgrace that Jack Butler has not yet been inducted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame already. He goes into Canton if I voted, no question.









Dermontti Dawson
Center
Pittsburgh Steelers
13 Seasons
7 Pro Bowls
6 First Team All-Pro Teams



Dawson first started out as a guard before switching the center and became one of the very best in the business. He has been a semi-finalist three times and and finalist twice. It is time he gets inducted.









Curtis Martin
Running Back
New York Jets
11 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro
14,101 Rushing Yards
484 Receptions
100 Touchdowns



One of the more underrated running backs of his era, Martin rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of the first 10 seasons of his career. Reliable and durable, he led the NFL in carries and rushing yards in his tenth season.

Martin was much more than a guy who carried the ball. He was an effective receiver and fumbled just 29 times in his career. He is easily the most worthy running back in the 2012 class and surely gets my vote.









Willie Roaf
Offensive Tackle
New Orleans Saints
13 Seasons
11 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams



Roaf deserves induction this year. Plain and simple. I think there are a ton of blockers who belong, but the offensive line is usually overlooked.

Even though he missed 17 games because of injuries, Roaf started in every one of the 189 games he played in his career. A cerebral player with immense strength and incredible dexterity, the nimble tackle was rarely beat whether run blocking or protecting the blind side of the quarterback.








Will Shields
Guard
Kansas City Chiefs
14 Seasons
12 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams



Shields better go in immediately. He missed one start, but played in all 224 games in his career. He was always one guards in the AFC annually. He deserves induction now, but I have been saying this about Chiefs legends Jim Tyrer, Johnny Robinson and Ed Budde for years and years as well.










Aeneas Williams
Cornerback
Arizona Cardinals
14 Seasons
8 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
55 Interceptions
23 Fumble Recoveries
12 Touchdowns Scored



Williams is one of many cornerbacks who belong in Canton, joining greats like Lemar Parrish, Pat Fischer, Louis Wright and more, but he may beat them in the race for induction. Like them, he was a premier defender.

One fact easily seen is that Williams made opponents pay when they tried to move the ball in his direction. I believe he is worthy of immediate induction, but I been saying that about Parrish and others for years.







That is six guys right there ready to get inducted. If there is a seventh person to go into Canton in 2012, there is a tough choice to be made. The Hall of Fame has inducted eight or more men three times, yet not have done so since 1967. The voters have frequently gone with just four inductees inducted, an inexcusable amount, and have even inducted just three in 1973 and 1976.

Who will make that seventh selection is a mystery, but two candidates are members of the media and that may give them an extra nudge since they rub elbows with the voters both in social circles and the workplace. It would be better if the induction classes extended to eight again, after allowing the senior voters to nominate four players annually, because there is such a backlog of worthy players being slapped in the face with disrespect as they watch lesser players inducted instead.

If I were a voter who had just walked in and had to vote from this current group of finalists, I would be torn between two players. While both are certainly worthy, one played over twice as long in his career. While the rules that player participated in helped immensely, where the other played in an era would you could feed your family better by not playing football.

My pick would be :


Cris Carter
Wide Receiver
Minnesota Vikings
16 Seasons
8 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams
1,101 Receptions
130 Touchdowns



Carter got to enjoy rules friendly to the offense in an obscene fashion. He had a gift, however, of making catches in the end zone.

That gift had him once released by the Philadelphia Eagles, where head coach Buddy Ryan the reason was that all Carter did for the Eagles was "catch touchdown passes". The truth was that Carter was abusing drugs and the wide receiver credits his being cut as the wake up call that saved his life.

The Minnesota Vikings claimed him off the waiver wire right away, where he eventually started and would hold that spot the remainder of his Vikings career. One of Carter's strengths was his conditioning and durability. Though he missed four games because if injury in one season, he played every other game possible for Minnesota.

He led the NFL in receptions once and in touchdown catches three times. Seven different quarterbacks were the primary starter in his 12 seasons with the team. Despite all the lunacy and confusion, Carter was a beacon of steady leadership and consistent production.

Carter accumulated double figures in touchdown receptions in five of his Pro Bowl years. What also made his production even more special is the fact he had to share receptions with future Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss, Pro Bowl wide receivers Jake Reed and Anthony Carter, and Pro Bowl tight end Steve Jordan.

Carter has been a finalist for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame four times so far. He ranks third in NFL history in career receptions, fourth in career touchdowns catches and eighth in career receiving yards and total touchdowns.

Then there are the old school fans who point to the obvious fact Carter never dealt with the ten-yard chuck rule, which makes it much harder to excel as a receiver, as opposed to the offensive-friendly rules he participated in. Rules that greatly inflate statistics and can help make a player look better than players who did not benefit from the rule changes. This fact has made modern statistics dwarf the numbers from the ten-yard chuck era.

Men like Mac Speedie, Lionel Taylor, Charlie Hennigan, Harold Carmichael, Drew Pearson, Gino Cappelletti, Sonny Randle, Cliff Branch, Harold Jackson, Pete Retzlaff, and LaVern Dilweg are just a few great receivers on par with Carter and are also awaiting their inductions. Men who dealt with a much rougher game, let alone the ten-yard chuck.

Carter has a feel-good story attached to his career, one that has now extended to where he provides analysis on television. With his career on the ropes because of drugs, he rebounded and became a leader and won the Bart Starr Man of the Year Award, the Bryan "Whizzer" White NFL Man of the Year Award and the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

Besides the 17 NFL records he either owns or shares, he is a member of the NFL's 1990s All-Decade Team. He is one of the 50 Greatest Minnesota Vikings as well as being a member of their 40th Anniversary Team.

The Vikings have retired his jersey and have had a huge amount of great receivers to play for them. Cris Carter may be the best ever for this franchise and certainly deserves to move on to being more than a finalist this year.







Again, I want EIGHT in the 2012 class. It doesn't have to be just seven going in, and this unwritten rule basically screws players because some paperclip pusher may think seven looks prettier on paper.

If the voters got it right and put in eight, I'd put in a guy who has waited forever and may never get this close again.



Dick Stanfel
Guard
Detroit Lions
7 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
5 First Team All-Pro Teams



Stanfel lasted only seven years, but he was amazing in his time. His rookie year was the only season he did not earn an accolade. After four seasons with the Lions, he joined the Washington Redskins and suddenly retired at just 31 years old.

He played in an era where the pay scale was so minimal, players usually made more money working other jobs. Stanfel left the game so he could feed his family at a higher-paying job. There were just three starting offensive lineman in the NFL older than Stanfel when he left the game.

Yet many historians agree there were few guards better to play the game. Despite his limited years, Stanfel is a member of the 1950s All-Decade Team. I'd put him in Canton, so hopefully he gets inducted.





That leaves a group of finalists who will have to wait another year hoping that get this close again. There are a few worthy, then are a few I personally would not vote in simply because there are a ton of better candidates seemingly forgotten by the voters and they remain buried in the senior voters pool of candidates.

Here are the most worthy candidates we should one day see inducted into Canton :





Jerome Bettis
Running Back
Pittsburgh Steelers
13 Seasons
6 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams
13,662 Yards Rushing
94 Total Touchdowns



Bettis was involved in one of the biggest steals ever, when the Steelers got him from the Saint Louis Rams in a trade. He ran for over 1,000 yards in eight of his first nine seasons, showing remarkable durability because his game was running between the tackles.

Not much of a receiver, he could be depended on once handed the ball. He fumbled 41 times, but he usually rewarded his teams with a pounding style that wore out opponents while chewing up the clock.

There is no question that Bettis is worthy of induction into Canton.







Chris Doleman
Defensive End
Minnesota Vikings
15 Seasons
8 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
150.5 Quarterback Sacks
8 Interceptions
2 Touchdowns
2 Safeties



Defensive end is a position stacked with worthy candidates who are not amongst the current semi-finalists. Men like Claude Humphrey, Jim Marshall, Coy Bacon, L.C. Greenwood and many others head a list of men at this position worthy of induction.

Doleman's numbers do not lie. He was a play-making machine. But he was more than a pass rush specialist at defensive end, which is shown by the fact he exceeded 100 tackles twice in his career. Doleman did get more than 10 sacks eight season and led the league once.

There is no doubt Doleman is worthy of induction, and it would be a shame if he had to wait as long as other past greats like Humphrey or Bacon. Yet I can't say he deserves to go into ahead of them too.









The remaining finalists is yet another demonstration many voters are clueless glad-handers who need to be replaced by the men who actually played the game and certainly know best on who and who doesn't belong within the hallowed walls of Canton.



Eddie Debartolo Jr.
Owner
San Francisco 49ers
23 Seasons



This guy is a finalist instead of a ton of worthy players? What a waste of space! I hope he never reaches these heights again. As just owners go, I could name a huge handful more worthy than a guy who left the game in disgrace.






Charles Haley
Linebacker
San Francisco 49ers
13 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams
100.5 Quarterback Sacks



The only reason Haley has been a semi-finalist three times and finalist once before is because he played on five teams that won Super Bowls. Strictly a pass rush specialist, he never had more than 69 tackles in a season.

Honestly, Charles Haley does not belong in Canton. He never led the league in any category, though he did have the good fortune to play on good teams and was able to line up at defensive end as well. There are way too many candidates more richly deserving of induction over him.







Andre Reed
Wide Receiver
Buffalo Bills
16 Seasons
7 Pro Bowls
951 Receptions
88 Touchdowns Scored



Reed was a precise route runner who was more good than great. He never led the league in any category and exceeded 1,000 yards receiving just four times despite playing in a era that caters to offensive production.

What gets him this far is the fact he played on four teams that reached the Super Bowl. He had a Hall of Fame quarterback and running back helping him as well a set of rules that made him look better than he was. I classify Reed as a very good player, but I'd put a ton of wide receivers into Canton ahead of him.








The rest of the finalists were basically a group of guys where one could look back in NFL history and see a long line of better players still awaiting induction. Many becoming unknown and forgotten as time steadily moves forward, and one suspects a few of these finalists will soon join them in that classification.





Tim Brown
Wide Receiver
Oakland Raiders
17 Seasons
9 Pro Bowls
1,094 Receptions
105 Touchdowns



Brown certainly is a product of the rule changes that allows receivers to roam untouched after five yards, but he was more than just a pass catcher. Brown also made an impressive mark on special teams

My issue with his being inducted is the fact he was never selected First Team All-Pro and led the league in receiving just once. Brown did lead the NFL in punt and kickoff return yards once.

But is that worthy of induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame? I say no and chalk him up as a good and reliable player who lasted a long time.







Kevin Greene
Linebacker
Los Angeles Rams
15 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams
160 Quarterback Sacks
5 Interceptions
26 Fumbles Recovered
3 Safeties



A hired gun as a pass rush specialist, Greene played for five different teams in his career. While getting to a quarterback was his main focus, he did get 87 tackles one year. He had 10 or more sacks in 10 different seasons.

Greene was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year once and led the league in sacks twice. He is a lot like Charles Haley in that he did just one thing really well, but the fiery player was versatile enough to create turnovers defending the pass on occasion.

He is worthy of being a finalist, but there are a ton of other outside linebackers I'd put into Canton ahead of him.





Cortez Kennedy
Defensive Tackle
Seattle Seahawks
11 Seasons
8 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
58 Sacks
3 Interceptions



Kennedy is a bit of a conundrum for me, as far as being worthy of Canton. He was a playmaker who sacked the quarterback pretty often for a defensive tackle. He did enjoy three excellent seasons where he piled up 242 tackles over that time.

Yet he recovered a measly six fumbles in his career and he had four mediocre season. I can't say he is worthy, just because there are many defensive tackles, like Curly Culp, I consider superior. Yet it wouldn't be that frustrating if he went in either.






Seeing how great general managers like George Young and Ron Wolf did not make the cut, while Ed DeBartolo did, brings to mind there should be another adjustment to the voting process for induction. Young and Wolf certainly belong, just like NFL Films creator Ed Sabol did a few years ago, but it shouldn't come at the expense of the players.

The voters should separate coaches, general managers and contributors, giving them there own platform. Still have them require 80 percent of the vote, but add their induction to the ceremony instead of subtracting a player from the process.

Assistant coaches need to be included too. Great coaches like Bud Carson, Joe Bugel, Jim Hanifan and others had careers worthy of Canton, but the assistant coach basically is shunned by voters as inconsequential to their determination on who belongs.

This would bring enlarged classes some years, but there is nothing wrong with eight people inducted. There should be no limit on how many people can be voted in each year. The reason for this statement is because there of a former head coach and general manager amongst the finalists.

While he won two titles in a fish bowl like New York City, he got both too much attention because the area is literally saturated with members of the media and even houses the league's headquarters. Many people have
buckled under the pressure, yet this man survived and even went on to coach another team that gets too much media attention.

Now a member of the same media that use to follow him around like lost puppies who hung off every utterance he put forth, there is a very good chance yet another deserving player will have a slot stolen from them in the 2012 class.



Bill Parcells
Coach/ General Manager
31 Seasons
172 wins
2 Super Bowl Wins



Parcells is here because he coached the New York Giants, a team flooded with media attention. While a good coach who has 42 more victories than defeats, he also had some limited successes with the New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots.

Known as the "Big Tuna", he was named NFL Coach of the Year three different seasons and is a member of the NFL's 1990s All-Decade Team. He then went on to become a general manager and had mixed results.

Does Parcells belong in ahead of such legendary coaches like Buddy Parker, Chuck Knox, Tom Flores, Dick Vermeil and others? He doesn't belong in ahead of Don Coryell, but the New York City factor might push him in. I think he fairly worthy, but I think that of a few others as well.






Then there is the man who should have been a finalist and inductee. He died last year without witnessing his deserved respect, but got to see the league cash in on his creation annually. The NFL offense of today still relies on his genius, despite the voters obtuse knowledge of football preventing him the rightful immortality earned years ago while still echoing to this very moment.







Don Coryell
Saint Louis Cardinals
San Diego Chargers
14 Seasons
111 Wins
First Coach With 100 Wins In Pro And College Football
Only Coach To Lead NFL In Passing 6 Straight Years
5 Division Titles



The biggest no-brainer of the semi-finalists. It is disgusting he hasn't been inducted already, and even more revolting he passed away last year and will never get to enjoy his deserved respect from a game that still leans heavily on his genius to this very day. Crazy Canton Cuts profiled Coryell in 2009.

Coryell played college football at the before getting into coaching. He succeeded George Allen, who later became a Pro Football Hall Of Fame coach.

He also showed his innate ability to develop players, especially on offense. He had 54 players go to the NFL from his college teams, including five players drafted in the first round. Nine of his players were First Team All-Americans. In 1967, he had eight players drafted, and five went in the first two rounds.

The Coryell coaching tree from his collegiate era is very impressive as well.

Joe Gibbs was a player on Coryell's team at first and won the team's Most Inspirational Player Award once. Gibbs later became a graduate assistant, then assistant coach at San Diego State.

He also was an assistant under Coryell with both the Cardinals and Chargers before becoming head coach of the Washington Redskins. Gibbs is a member of the Pro Football Hall Of Fame.

Another Pro Football Hall Of Fame coach who coached under Coryell at San Diego State was John Madden. Madden would join the Oakland Raiders and then become the youngest head coach of the league the next season at 32 years old.

Legendary men like Jim Hanifan, Ernie Zampese, and Rod Dowhower also coached under Coryell at San Diego State. Coryell's 104 victories and .840 winning percentage are the best in Aztec history, and he is a member of the College Football Hall Of Fame.

He then moved to the NFL to lead the Saint Louis Cardinals. His 42 wins are the most by any coach in the Cardinals franchise's history, and his five years as head coach with the team is the second longest tenure ever.

The San Diego Chargers would later hire Coryell. This was when "Air Coryell" was born as a common term, even though Coryell's years in Saint Louis also featured high-powered offenses running under much of the same schemes also used in San Diego.

When Coryell retired from the NFL with 111 wins in 195 games overall, he is the first head coach with 100 victories in both professional and collegiate football.

To try and sum up this man's career or impact on football is nearly impossible. Virtually every offense today, on all levels of the game, is a variation of his system. In his 14 seasons as a coach, his offenses led the NFL in net yards gained per passing attempt five times. They finished in the top-five of the NFL six more times.

His teams led the NFL in passing yards seven times and none of his teams finished lower than seventh. They led the NFL in passing touchdowns three times and finished in the top ten nine other times.

Many Hall Of Fame players and Pro Bowlers were coached by Coryell in the NFL. The list of players inducted into Canton includes Dan Fouts, Kellen Winslow, Charlie Joiner, Dan Dierdorf, Jackie Smith, Fred Dean and Roger Wehrli.

Coryell changed the way football was played. It is still being played the way Coryell invented to this very day. The now all-to-common sight on multiple receiver sets was first started by Coryell, as are many versions of offenses being run these days.

They are all spawns of his genius.

Winslow stated it best when he said, "For Don Coryell to not be in the Hall of Fame is a lack of knowledge of the voters. That's the nicest way that I can put that. A lack of understanding of the legacy of the game."

An ignorance that has wrongly kept Don Coryell from taking his rightful place in Canton.

Change is once again a headline in the NFL. General managers and head coaches have been coming and going for decades, so the year 2012 isn't any different.

The Indianapolis Colts have a new general manager in Ryan Grigson, a former NFL and CFL tight end who rose quickly through the ranks of the Philadelphia Eagles front office the past few years. His hiring now has some wondering if he will fire incumbent head coach Jim Caldwell and which player the Colts will use the first pick of the 2012 NFL Draft on.

With the surprise firing of Bill Polian as general manager, out went the assumption the Colts would select quarterback Andrew Luck. Grigson, who also worked for the Arena Football League and Canadian Football League, will be bringing a new philosophy to Indianapolis.

Some pundits wonder if quarterback Peyton Manning, who has given the franchise a championship and 11 Pro Bowls since he joined the team in 1998, will be back next season. It seems like a ridiculous question to many, considering Manning has led the team to two Super Bowl appearances and has won four NFL MVP awards. Yet his 2011 season was lost due to a lingering neck injury that still has some observers concerned to whether or not it will ever fully heal.

The bottom line of the Colts financial situation is often brought up as a reason the team may part ways with Manning, who had just signed a contract worth $90 million over five years before the 2011 season began. If the Colts were to draft a quarterback with their first pick, they might have to pay over $20 million to sign the player. Cam Newton, the first pick of the 2011 draft, received $22 million for four years.

But there are now no guarantees if the Colts stay with the soon-to-be 36 year old Manning and not even draft a quarterback on a team with many holes that were seen as the team finished this year with a 2-14 record. There is no guarantee now that Luck, who is similar to Manning in many ways, will not be passed up on favor of Robert Griffin III.

Assuming Indianapolis drafts one of these quarterbacks, the remaining player will not wait too long to find a suitor. Many are thinking the Cleveland Browns will look to replace second-year pro Colt McCoy by using the fourth overall pick. The Washington Redskins, who sit sixth in the draft order, desperately need a quarterback and could possibly try to work a trade with either the Minnesota Vikings or Saint Louis Rams to grab Griffin or Luck.

Griffin, the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner, is as hot a commodity as Luck. While Luck is fairly mobile, Griffin has world class speed. Both quarterbacks possess excellent arm strength, but Griffin throws one of the most beautiful deep balls in all of football right now.

Grigson is knowledgeable to a game where the field is wide open to constant scoring opportunities, as his AFL and CFL experience show. Defense has become a thing of the past in the NFL today, so the electric Griffin might light up the scoreboard with the help of rules heavily slanted to that side of the football.

Passing is king now in the NFL, and Newton showed a running quarterback with a big arm can set records while exploiting rules where a quarterback is not allowed to be hit too high, too low or too hard. Rules Griffin can easily excel in as long as he stays healthy.



Indianapolis isn't the only team in flux this year. The Jacksonville Jaguars have already hired their new head coach after tabbing Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey for the job.

Mularkey had played nine seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers as a tight end known for his blocking abilities. He got into coaching soon after and worked his way up to becoming head coach of the Buffalo Bills in 2004.

Buffalo went to the playoffs in his first year, the last time the franchise has accomplished that feat since. After is disappointing second season, the Bills brought back Hall of Famer Marv Levy as general manager. Mularkey resigned after he and Levy failed to agree in the direction of the team, so he took a job with the Miami Dolphins for two seasons before being hired by Atlanta in 2008.

His offenses tend to work best when well balanced. This was true in Atlanta, where he helped quarterback Matt Ryan, running back Michael Turner, tight end Tony Gonzales and wide receiver Roddy White get to the Pro Bowl. He had balance in his first year with the Bills, led by quarterback Drew Bledsoe, running back Willis McGahee along with wide receivers Lee Evans and Eric Moulds.

Mularkey is certainly isn't perfect. A big reason for his failure in Buffalo was because he chose to release Bledsoe and go with J.P. Losman at quarterback. His struggles during his first year in Miami saw him demoted to coaching the tight ends the following season. For all of the success Mularkey has attained thus far, his teams are just 2-5 in the playoffs with him serving as head coach or offensive coordinator.



It was a given Jack Del Rio wasn't going into 2012 as head coach of the Jaguars, especially after he cut his starting quarterback to play a rookie who obviously would have been better off learning on the sidelines a year or more. Del Rio went 68-71 in his nine seasons, but his time was tarnished by former owner Wayne Weaver telling reporters he regretted firing Tom Coughlin as head coach in 2002.

Jacksonville has a new owner now, but it remains to see if he is loyal as Weaver was to Del Rio. The Jaguars need improvement in many areas, so rebuilding may take time.

Gene Smith remains general manager of the team, taking over for NFL legend James Harris in 2009. Harris, the first black player to start a NFL season at quarterback and the first black quarterback to go to the Pro Bowl or be named Pro Bowl MVP, joined the Detroit Lions.

With Maurice Jones-Drew, Mularkey has a All-Pro halfback in the prime of his career. The defense is underrated and still young. It may not take as long as expected, given a few fortunate breaks, but the Jaguars fans are hoping more from a franchise that has had seven winning seasons since it joined the league in 1995.


While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking for a head coach and the Saint Louis Rams need both a head coach and general manager, the Oakland Raiders have recently filled one of their open positions by hiring Reggie McKenzie as general manager.

With gridiron icon Al Davis having died back in October of last year, the team had to suddenly replace a man who had been running the team since 1962. Davis has more than a legacy that won three Super Bowls, he had a wealth of knowledge, insight and experience that is irreplaceable. His son, who now owns the team, knew he had a lot work cut out for him the day he took the reins of the Silver and Black.

This is not the Reggie McKenzie who was a Pro Bowl guard that blocked for Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson and was a part of the "Electric Company". This McKenzie played linebacker for four seasons with the Raiders in the late 1980's. After sitting out of the league for four seasons, he suited up for two games with the San Francisco 49ers in 1992.

He spent the last 18 seasons as the Director of Football Operations for the Green Bay Packers. His twin brother, Raleigh, was a guard on the famous offensive line of the Washington Redskins called the "Hogs". He won two Super Bowls and is one of the 70 Greatest Redskins.

McKenzie's first move was to rebuild a team that lost four of their final five games in 2011 and hasn't been to the playoffs since 2002. Hue Jackson, the head coach who was recently fired despite just one season on the job, told reporters that McKenzie “basically wants to gut the place.”

The Raiders are not only now looking for a head coach, they may leave Oakland again for Los Angeles. They did this back in 1982 and stayed there until 1994 before returning to Oakland.


The person many are starting to think will be head coach of the Raiders next year is Winston Moss. Moss is a former linebacker who played for the Raiders in the early 1990's. He has been a linebackers coach of the Packers since 2006, so McKenzie is very familiar with him.

It will be strange and interesting to see how the Raiders do without Al Davis, just as it was when he was there. Whether or not they will achieve any semblance of the excellence Davis did remains to be seen.









New Orleans Saints @ San Francisco 49ers

Two teams that are the polar opposites of each other. While the Saints are a dome team who lights up a scoreboard like a video game, the 49ers resemble an old school team who grinds opponents into submission with a sound running game and suffocating defense.

If this game were in New Orleans, I'd pick the Saints all the way. While the weather is expected to be mild in San Francisco on Sunday, it will be played outdoors and possibly benefit the Niners with more than just the home field advantage of having nearly 70,000 screaming fans cheering for them.

The Saints rolled up 626 yards last week, led by quarterback Drew Brees throwing for 466 yards and three touchdowns. While the Detroit Lions got repeatedly gashed in the air, New Orleans kept them off balance by averaging almost five yards on 36 carries.

San Francisco's defense was the second best in points allowed this year, as well as fourth best in total yards given up. Five players from this unit were named to either a Pro Bowl or selected First Team All-Pro. Middle linebacker Patrick Willis is possibly the best in the NFL at his position.

Pro Bowl running back Frank Gore is the 49ers best offensive weapon, but they have also gotten a solid season from quarterback Alex Smith. Much maligned since being the first overall selection of the 2005 draft, Smith has had the best season of his career in 2011.

Tight end Vernon Davis and wide receiver Michael Crabtree are his main targets, but Smith has been so efficient that he threw just five interceptions all year. The 49ers ranked first in the NFL this season in the all important giveaway/ takeaway ratio.

Pro Bowl cornerback Carlos Rogers and defensive end Ray McDonald gave San Francisco the best seasons of their career this season. While Rogers had a career high six interceptions this year, McDonald set career best marks with 5.5 sacks and 38 tackles.

Rookie Aldon Smith led the team with 14 sacks, but Pro Bowl defensive end Justin Smith and linebacker Ahmad Brooks pitched in with a combined 14.5 sacks as well. Pro Bowl free safety Dashon Golden also gave the Niners the best year of his career this season.

Golden and strong safety Donte` Whitner may hold the key to a 49ers victory. Both were very important to the team this year, finishing third and fourth in tackles respectively. Brees loves to throw to Pro Bowl tight end Jimmy Graham, so the duo will be tested often.

Willis and Navarro Bowman are tackling machines who piled up 234 tackles this year, so New Orleans may find it difficult to run the ball effectively. Brees will have to be sharp this weekend and find an extra target to help win the game.

With Rogers most likely shadowing Marques Colston, Brees will have to pick on cornerback Tarell Brown by going to Devery Henderson or Robert Meachum. Lance Moore is expecting to play despite a tender hamstring, so San Francisco defensive backs like Tramaine Brock, Chris Culliver, Madieu Williams and Shawntae Spencer will need to be sharp.

It will be a challenge to stop the Saints electric offense, especially since inclement weather will not be there to help. Gore needs to be special against a run defense than ranked 12th in yards allowed this season.

But Smith also needs to play excellent. The Saints pass defense ranked 30th in yards allowed, but try to cover up this area by frequent blitzes. Roman Harper, an excellent strong safety, will need to shut Davis down so Smith gets uncomfortable by having less options.

I am not convinced yet that there is a team in the NFL who can keep the Saints from scoring. The rules of the game today totally help this unit blow up the gridiron with insane statistics weekly. They have lit up defenses all year, which includes stout units like the Houston Texans, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears and Tennessee Titans.

San Francisco has the superior special teams unit, thanks to Pro Bowl kicker David Akers and Pro Bowl punter Andy Lee. If they can control field position, this area could make the difference in the end.

San Francisco has not given up more than 27 points this season and 11 or less points seven times. The Saints have scored over 40 points seven times in 2011, an area the 49ers have reached just once.

This is Roger Goodell's NFL, so offense is king and the quarterback is the golden child. The old adage that defense wins championships will be put to the test, but the cards are stacked against it.

Saints 27 49ers 20








Denver Broncos @ New England Patriots

The NFL is clearly now on board with Tim Tebow. The Broncos quarterback silenced a ton of critics by recently winning his eighth of 12 starts this year, which included an upset overtime win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.

He isn't going to complete even half of his passes, but his legs and savvy seem to be enough to get the job done. The Denver defense has been the overlooked hero of this magical run, producing the only three Pro Bowl players on the team this year, as they seem to always stop the opponent at the most crucial moments.

Denver shouldn't be here. They went 8-8 and were minus 12 in the giveaway/ takeaway ratio this season, while giving up 81 more points than they scored.

The Patriots are the opposite. Even though their defense is somehow sending two members to the Pro Bowl, it is one of the worst units in the league in yards allowed.

These two teams met a month ago, where Tebow ran for 93 yards and two scores while actually completing half of his passing attempts. New England won 41-23, but the 393 Denver gained that week was just 19 yards short of their season high mark.

Tom Brady is the difference in this game. The Patriots quarterback, who will finish his career inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, just had possibly the best season of his illustrious career by throwing for a career best 5,235 yards.

He is one of four Pro Bowlers on offense, which includes tight end Ron Gronkowski and wide receiver Wes Welker. Brady also throws the ball to a plethora of weapons, which also includes tight end Aaron Hernandez and wide receiver Deion Branch.

The Patriots use five different players to run the football, but the passing game is what got them a 13-3 record this season. Denver ranked 18th in passing yards allowed this season, as well as 24th in points given up.

While Tebow has showed magic this year, Brady has done so most of his 12 seasons. Denver should be very proud of their team because no one expected anything that happened this year to transpire, but all dreams must end eventually.

Patriots 45 Denver 16







Houston Texans @ Baltimore Ravens

If you like defense, then watch every play of this battle. Baltimore finished the 2011 season with the third best defense in both points and yards allowed. Houston was second in yards allowed and fourth in points given up.

These two teams met earlier in the season in Baltimore, where the Ravens walked away with a 29-14 win behind five field goals and solid games by quarterback Joe Flacco and halfback Ray Rice. Despite having two turnovers to none by Houston, the Ravens gained 109 more yards that contest.

It is well documented how the Texans continued to win this year despite several key injuries. But the replacements fill in well and the defense has been special all season.

Houston beat a Cincinnati Bengals team last week, another team with a good defense, 31-10 despite gaining just 40 more yards and garnering two less first downs. Rookie quarterback T.J. Yates did not hurt the team and played decently, which was helped greatly by the return of wide receiver Andre Johnson.

Halfback Arian Foster gashed the Bengals for 153 yards and two touchdowns, but the Pro Bowler has been accomplishing feats like this all season. Foster and backup Ben Tate piled up a combined 2,166 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground this year.

When Baltimore beat Houston earlier this season, the duo was limited to 90 on 24 carries because quarterback Matt Schaub hoisted the football 37 times that game. Yates won't be asked to do this, so the Texans running backs will get a lot more work this weekend.

The Ravens ranked second in run defense this season. Three of the four Pro Bowlers on this until play along the front seven of a smothering defense that gave up 14 or less points eight times in 2011. Houston has accomplished that feat 10 times so far this year.

While Houston's defense unbelievably produced just one Pro Bowlers this year in cornerback Johnathan Joseph, it is a young team with just one starter 30 years old. They have somehow gone this year without the press they deserve, but the turnaround from their miserable 2010 season is nothing short of spectacular.

Baltimore will need all of their offensive weapons clicking against this unit, yet tight ends Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson could be the key as they go up against Texans safeties Danieal Manning and Glover Quinn. The young tight ends combined for 94 receptions this season.

Rice is the backbone of the offense, having led the team in both rushing and receiving this year. His reserve, Ricky Williams, needs to be effective when called upon because Baltimore relies so heavily on Rice's abilities.

Baltimore obviously has the advantage in postseason experience here, since it will be just the second playoff game ever in Texans history. I picked the Ravens to go to the Super Bowl before the season began, so there is no reason to recant now.

Ravens 21 Texans 13









New York Giants @ Green Bay Packers

Few expected the Giants to get this far after their roster was destroyed by injuries before the season got started, but they have won the big games when called upon. Some are trying to compare this team to the 2007 squad that won a Super Bowl, but they couldn't be more wrong in this comparison.

Not only is quarterback Eli Manning a lot better now, the defense and running game carried the team to a title in 2007 and are nowhere near as good this year. New York finished ninth in scoring and eighth in yards gained this season, something they ranked 14th and 16th respectively in 2007.

The running game ranked fourth best in 2007, but it is now the worst in the league. The defense, which ranked eighth in rushing yards allowed and 11th in passing yards given up in 2007, now ranks 19th and 29th respectively. There is no comparison between the two squads

Green Bay, the defending champions, dominated the NFL with a 15-1 record this year. They had the top scoring offense and ranked third in yards gained. The defense ranked last in both passing and total yards given away, but that stems from opponents chucking the ball all game while desperately trying to attempt a comeback.

Pro Bowl quarterback Aaron Rodgers had 10 teammates end the season with receptions in double figures. Rogers also found 10 different players in the end zone. Halfbacks Ryan Grant and James Starks followed Pro Bowl fullback John Kuhn to gain 1,137 combined yards, but the Packers leaned on the 4,643 yards and 45 touchdowns via Rodgers arm.

Seven Packers are going to the Pro Bowl this year and their plus 28 in the giveaway/ takeaway ratio was the second best in the NFL this year. Not are they a veteran team that knows how to win it all, Green Bay is a lot healthier this season compared to 2010.

It will be a high scoring affair Sunday, a game where a lot of yards are rolled up. Green Bay has the better defense, running game and quarterback, but their huge advantage at tight end and special teams could make the difference.

These two teams met just over a month ago in New York, where the Packers won 38-35 on a late field goal. Both offenses rolled up 896 total yards, as Green Bay totaled just two yards than the Giants. Rodgers and Manning had similar games, but the Packers defense made the difference thanks to a touchdown off an interception by Pro Bowl linebacker Clay Matthews.

This game could very well follow that pattern, but the home field advantage for Green Bay could provide the difference. The tundra of Lambeau Field will be frozen, as temperatures are expected to go higher than 27 degrees Sunday.

Packers 38 Giants 28

Change is once again a headline in the NFL. General managers and head coaches have been coming and going for decades, so the year 2012 isn't any different.

The Indianapolis Colts have a new general manager in Ryan Grigson, a former NFL and CFL tight end who rose quickly through the ranks of the Philadelphia Eagles front office the past few years. His hiring now has some wondering if he will fire incumbent head coach Jim Caldwell and which player the Colts will use the first pick of the 2012 NFL Draft on.

With the surprise firing of Bill Polian as general manager, out went the assumption the Colts would select quarterback Andrew Luck. Grigson, who also worked for the Arena Football League and Canadian Football League, will be bringing a new philosophy to Indianapolis.

Some pundits wonder if quarterback Peyton Manning, who has given the franchise a championship and 11 Pro Bowls since he joined the team in 1998, will be back next season. It seems like a ridiculous question to many, considering Manning has led the team to two Super Bowl appearances and has won four NFL MVP awards. Yet his 2011 season was lost due to a lingering neck injury that still has some observers concerned to whether or not it will ever fully heal.

The bottom line of the Colts financial situation is often brought up as a reason the team may part ways with Manning, who had just signed a contract worth $90 million over five years before the 2011 season began. If the Colts were to draft a quarterback with their first pick, they might have to pay over $20 million to sign the player. Cam Newton, the first pick of the 2011 draft, received $22 million for four years.

But there are now no guarantees if the Colts stay with the soon-to-be 36 year old Manning and not even draft a quarterback on a team with many holes that were seen as the team finished this year with a 2-14 record. There is no guarantee now that Luck, who is similar to Manning in many ways, will not be passed up on favor of Robert Griffin III.

Assuming Indianapolis drafts one of these quarterbacks, the remaining player will not wait too long to find a suitor. Many are thinking the Cleveland Browns will look to replace second-year pro Colt McCoy by using the fourth overall pick. The Washington Redskins, who sit sixth in the draft order, desperately need a quarterback and could possibly try to work a trade with either the Minnesota Vikings or Saint Louis Rams to grab Griffin or Luck.

Griffin, the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner, is as hot a commodity as Luck. While Luck is fairly mobile, Griffin has world class speed. Both quarterbacks possess excellent arm strength, but Griffin throws one of the most beautiful deep balls in all of football right now.

Grigson is knowledgeable to a game where the field is wide open to constant scoring opportunities, as his AFL and CFL experience show. Defense has become a thing of the past in the NFL today, so the electric Griffin might light up the scoreboard with the help of rules heavily slanted to that side of the football.

Passing is king now in the NFL, and Newton showed a running quarterback with a big arm can set records while exploiting rules where a quarterback is not allowed to be hit too high, too low or too hard. Rules Griffin can easily excel in as long as he stays healthy.



Indianapolis isn't the only team in flux this year. The Jacksonville Jaguars have already hired their new head coach after tabbing Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey for the job.

Mularkey had played nine seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers as a tight end known for his blocking abilities. He got into coaching soon after and worked his way up to becoming head coach of the Buffalo Bills in 2004.

Buffalo went to the playoffs in his first year, the last time the franchise has accomplished that feat since. After is disappointing second season, the Bills brought back Hall of Famer Marv Levy as general manager. Mularkey resigned after he and Levy failed to agree in the direction of the team, so he took a job with the Miami Dolphins for two seasons before being hired by Atlanta in 2008.

His offenses tend to work best when well balanced. This was true in Atlanta, where he helped quarterback Matt Ryan, running back Michael Turner, tight end Tony Gonzales and wide receiver Roddy White get to the Pro Bowl. He had balance in his first year with the Bills, led by quarterback Drew Bledsoe, running back Willis McGahee along with wide receivers Lee Evans and Eric Moulds.

Mularkey is certainly isn't perfect. A big reason for his failure in Buffalo was because he chose to release Bledsoe and go with J.P. Losman at quarterback. His struggles during his first year in Miami saw him demoted to coaching the tight ends the following season. For all of the success Mularkey has attained thus far, his teams are just 2-5 in the playoffs with him serving as head coach or offensive coordinator.



It was a given Jack Del Rio wasn't going into 2012 as head coach of the Jaguars, especially after he cut his starting quarterback to play a rookie who obviously would have been better off learning on the sidelines a year or more. Del Rio went 68-71 in his nine seasons, but his time was tarnished by former owner Wayne Weaver telling reporters he regretted firing Tom Coughlin as head coach in 2002.

Jacksonville has a new owner now, but it remains to see if he is loyal as Weaver was to Del Rio. The Jaguars need improvement in many areas, so rebuilding may take time.

Gene Smith remains general manager of the team, taking over for NFL legend James Harris in 2009. Harris, the first black player to start a NFL season at quarterback and the first black quarterback to go to the Pro Bowl or be named Pro Bowl MVP, joined the Detroit Lions.

With Maurice Jones-Drew, Mularkey has a All-Pro halfback in the prime of his career. The defense is underrated and still young. It may not take as long as expected, given a few fortunate breaks, but the Jaguars fans are hoping more from a franchise that has had seven winning seasons since it joined the league in 1995.


While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking for a head coach and the Saint Louis Rams need both a head coach and general manager, the Oakland Raiders have recently filled one of their open positions by hiring Reggie McKenzie as general manager.

With gridiron icon Al Davis having died back in October of last year, the team had to suddenly replace a man who had been running the team since 1962. Davis has more than a legacy that won three Super Bowls, he had a wealth of knowledge, insight and experience that is irreplaceable. His son, who now owns the team, knew he had a lot work cut out for him the day he took the reins of the Silver and Black.

This is not the Reggie McKenzie who was a Pro Bowl guard that blocked for Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson and was a part of the "Electric Company". This McKenzie played linebacker for four seasons with the Raiders in the late 1980's. After sitting out of the league for four seasons, he suited up for two games with the San Francisco 49ers in 1992.

He spent the last 18 seasons as the Director of Football Operations for the Green Bay Packers. His twin brother, Raleigh, was a guard on the famous offensive line of the Washington Redskins called the "Hogs". He won two Super Bowls and is one of the 70 Greatest Redskins.

McKenzie's first move was to rebuild a team that lost four of their final five games in 2011 and hasn't been to the playoffs since 2002. Hue Jackson, the head coach who was recently fired despite just one season on the job, told reporters that McKenzie “basically wants to gut the place.”

The Raiders are not only now looking for a head coach, they may leave Oakland again for Los Angeles. They did this back in 1982 and stayed there until 1994 before returning to Oakland.


The person many are starting to think will be head coach of the Raiders next year is Winston Moss. Moss is a former linebacker who played for the Raiders in the early 1990's. He has been a linebackers coach of the Packers since 2006, so McKenzie is very familiar with him.

It will be strange and interesting to see how the Raiders do without Al Davis, just as it was when he was there. Whether or not they will achieve any semblance of the excellence Davis did remains to be seen.






OK, 7thStoneFromTheSun is still missing. I got another blank postcard, this time from Kazakhstan, so I guess he is still on the run from owing markers to people you don't want to know. I went 2-2 in his place last week, acing Saturday's games and failing the next day.


New Orleans Saints @ San Francisco 49ers

Two teams that are the polar opposites of each other. While the Saints are a dome team who lights up a scoreboard like a video game, the 49ers resemble an old school team who grinds opponents into submission with a sound running game and suffocating defense.

If this game were in New Orleans, I'd pick the Saints all the way. While the weather is expected to be mild in San Francisco on Sunday, it will be played outdoors and possibly benefit the Niners with more than just the home field advantage of having nearly 70,000 screaming fans cheering for them.

The Saints rolled up 626 yards last week, led by quarterback Drew Brees throwing for 466 yards and three touchdowns. While the Detroit Lions got repeatedly gashed in the air, New Orleans kept them off balance by averaging almost five yards on 36 carries.

San Francisco's defense was the second best in points allowed this year, as well as fourth best in total yards given up. Five players from this unit were named to either a Pro Bowl or selected First Team All-Pro. Middle linebacker Patrick Willis is possibly the best in the NFL at his position.

Pro Bowl running back Frank Gore is the 49ers best offensive weapon, but they have also gotten a solid season from quarterback Alex Smith. Much maligned since being the first overall selection of the 2005 draft, Smith has had the best season of his career in 2011.

Tight end Vernon Davis and wide receiver Michael Crabtree are his main targets, but Smith has been so efficient that he threw just five interceptions all year. The 49ers ranked first in the NFL this season in the all important giveaway/ takeaway ratio.

Pro Bowl cornerback Carlos Rogers and defensive end Ray McDonald gave San Francisco the best seasons of their career this season. While Rogers had a career high six interceptions this year, McDonald set career best marks with 5.5 sacks and 38 tackles.

Rookie Aldon Smith led the team with 14 sacks, but Pro Bowl defensive end Justin Smith and linebacker Ahmad Brooks pitched in with a combined 14.5 sacks as well. Pro Bowl free safety Dashon Golden also gave the Niners the best year of his career this season.

Golden and strong safety Donte` Whitner may hold the key to a 49ers victory. Both were very important to the team this year, finishing third and fourth in tackles respectively. Brees loves to throw to Pro Bowl tight end Jimmy Graham, so the duo will be tested often.

Willis and Navarro Bowman are tackling machines who piled up 234 tackles this year, so New Orleans may find it difficult to run the ball effectively. Brees will have to be sharp this weekend and find an extra target to help win the game.

With Rogers most likely shadowing Marques Colston, Brees will have to pick on cornerback Tarell Brown by going to Devery Henderson or Robert Meachum. Lance Moore is expecting to play despite a tender hamstring, so San Francisco defensive backs like Tramaine Brock, Chris Culliver, Madieu Williams and Shawntae Spencer will need to be sharp.

It will be a challenge to stop the Saints electric offense, especially since inclement weather will not be there to help. Gore needs to be special against a run defense than ranked 12th in yards allowed this season.

But Smith also needs to play excellent. The Saints pass defense ranked 30th in yards allowed, but try to cover up this area by frequent blitzes. Roman Harper, an excellent strong safety, will need to shut Davis down so Smith gets uncomfortable by having less options.

I am not convinced yet that there is a team in the NFL who can keep the Saints from scoring. The rules of the game today totally help this unit blow up the gridiron with insane statistics weekly. They have lit up defenses all year, which includes stout units like the Houston Texans, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears and Tennessee Titans.

San Francisco has the superior special teams unit, thanks to Pro Bowl kicker David Akers and Pro Bowl punter Andy Lee. If they can control field position, this area could make the difference in the end.

San Francisco has not given up more than 27 points this season and 11 or less points seven times. The Saints have scored over 40 points seven times in 2011, an area the 49ers have reached just once.

This is Roger Goodell's NFL, so offense is king and the quarterback is the golden child. The old adage that defense wins championships will be put to the test, but the cards are stacked against it.

Saints 27 49ers 20








Denver Broncos @ New England Patriots

The NFL is clearly now on board with Tim Tebow. The Broncos quarterback silenced a ton of critics by recently winning his eighth of 12 starts this year, which included an upset overtime win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.

He isn't going to complete even half of his passes, but his legs and savvy seem to be enough to get the job done. The Denver defense has been the overlooked hero of this magical run, producing the only three Pro Bowl players on the team this year, as they seem to always stop the opponent at the most crucial moments.

Denver shouldn't be here. They went 8-8 and were minus 12 in the giveaway/ takeaway ratio this season, while giving up 81 more points than they scored.

The Patriots are the opposite. Even though their defense is somehow sending two members to the Pro Bowl, it is one of the worst units in the league in yards allowed.

These two teams met a month ago, where Tebow ran for 93 yards and two scores while actually completing half of his passing attempts. New England won 41-23, but the 393 Denver gained that week was just 19 yards short of their season high mark.

Tom Brady is the difference in this game. The Patriots quarterback, who will finish his career inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, just had possibly the best season of his illustrious career by throwing for a career best 5,235 yards.

He is one of four Pro Bowlers on offense, which includes tight end Ron Gronkowski and wide receiver Wes Welker. Brady also throws the ball to a plethora of weapons, which also includes tight end Aaron Hernandez and wide receiver Deion Branch.

The Patriots use five different players to run the football, but the passing game is what got them a 13-3 record this season. Denver ranked 18th in passing yards allowed this season, as well as 24th in points given up.

While Tebow has showed magic this year, Brady has done so most of his 12 seasons. Denver should be very proud of their team because no one expected anything that happened this year to transpire, but all dreams must end eventually.

Patriots 45 Denver 16







Houston Texans @ Baltimore Ravens

If you like defense, then watch every play of this battle. Baltimore finished the 2011 season with the third best defense in both points and yards allowed. Houston was second in yards allowed and fourth in points given up.

These two teams met earlier in the season in Baltimore, where the Ravens walked away with a 29-14 win behind five field goals and solid games by quarterback Joe Flacco and halfback Ray Rice. Despite having two turnovers to none by Houston, the Ravens gained 109 more yards that contest.

It is well documented how the Texans continued to win this year despite several key injuries. But the replacements fill in well and the defense has been special all season.

Houston beat a Cincinnati Bengals team last week, another team with a good defense, 31-10 despite gaining just 40 more yards and garnering two less first downs. Rookie quarterback T.J. Yates did not hurt the team and played decently, which was helped greatly by the return of wide receiver Andre Johnson.

Halfback Arian Foster gashed the Bengals for 153 yards and two touchdowns, but the Pro Bowler has been accomplishing feats like this all season. Foster and backup Ben Tate piled up a combined 2,166 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground this year.

When Baltimore beat Houston earlier this season, the duo was limited to 90 on 24 carries because quarterback Matt Schaub hoisted the football 37 times that game. Yates won't be asked to do this, so the Texans running backs will get a lot more work this weekend.

The Ravens ranked second in run defense this season. Three of the four Pro Bowlers on this until play along the front seven of a smothering defense that gave up 14 or less points eight times in 2011. Houston has accomplished that feat 10 times so far this year.

While Houston's defense unbelievably produced just one Pro Bowlers this year in cornerback Johnathan Joseph, it is a young team with just one starter 30 years old. They have somehow gone this year without the press they deserve, but the turnaround from their miserable 2010 season is nothing short of spectacular.

Baltimore will need all of their offensive weapons clicking against this unit, yet tight ends Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson could be the key as they go up against Texans safeties Danieal Manning and Glover Quinn. The young tight ends combined for 94 receptions this season.

Rice is the backbone of the offense, having led the team in both rushing and receiving this year. His reserve, Ricky Williams, needs to be effective when called upon because Baltimore relies so heavily on Rice's abilities.

Baltimore obviously has the advantage in postseason experience here, since it will be just the second playoff game ever in Texans history. I picked the Ravens to go to the Super Bowl before the season began, so there is no reason to recant now.

Ravens 21 Texans 13









New York Giants @ Green Bay Packers

Few expected the Giants to get this far after their roster was destroyed by injuries before the season got started, but they have won the big games when called upon. Some are trying to compare this team to the 2007 squad that won a Super Bowl, but they couldn't be more wrong in this comparison.

Not only is quarterback Eli Manning a lot better now, the defense and running game carried the team to a title in 2007 and are nowhere near as good this year. New York finished ninth in scoring and eighth in yards gained this season, something they ranked 14th and 16th respectively in 2007.

The running game ranked fourth best in 2007, but it is now the worst in the league. The defense, which ranked eighth in rushing yards allowed and 11th in passing yards given up in 2007, now ranks 19th and 29th respectively. There is no comparison between the two squads

Green Bay, the defending champions, dominated the NFL with a 15-1 record this year. They had the top scoring offense and ranked third in yards gained. The defense ranked last in both passing and total yards given away, but that stems from opponents chucking the ball all game while desperately trying to attempt a comeback.

Pro Bowl quarterback Aaron Rodgers had 10 teammates end the season with receptions in double figures. Rogers also found 10 different players in the end zone. Halfbacks Ryan Grant and James Starks followed Pro Bowl fullback John Kuhn to gain 1,137 combined yards, but the Packers leaned on the 4,643 yards and 45 touchdowns via Rodgers arm.

Seven Packers are going to the Pro Bowl this year and their plus 28 in the giveaway/ takeaway ratio was the second best in the NFL this year. Not are they a veteran team that knows how to win it all, Green Bay is a lot healthier this season compared to 2010.

It will be a high scoring affair Sunday, a game where a lot of yards are rolled up. Green Bay has the better defense, running game and quarterback, but their huge advantage at tight end and special teams could make the difference.

These two teams met just over a month ago in New York, where the Packers won 38-35 on a late field goal. Both offenses rolled up 896 total yards, as Green Bay totaled just two yards than the Giants. Rodgers and Manning had similar games, but the Packers defense made the difference thanks to a touchdown off an interception by Pro Bowl linebacker Clay Matthews.

This game could very well follow that pattern, but the home field advantage for Green Bay could provide the difference. The tundra of Lambeau Field will be frozen, as temperatures are expected to go higher than 27 degrees Sunday.

Packers 38 Giants 28

When historians look back at the 2011 NFL season, there will be little attention given to the fact it was one of the sloppiest seasons ever played in the league's history. Perhaps a slight nod of acknowledgement to the players lockout that pretty much wiped out training camp and retarded the development of the game.

Another footnote was how the game got softer, thanks to another laundry list of rules that effeminate football to the point it now practically resembles basketball with pads on. This mission, led by commissioner Roger Goodell, contradicts a history the league uses in their advertisements with pride. Commercials that celebrate gridiron warriors bloodied in a battle amongst the trenches that haven't been seen throughout the NFL in decades.

As the playoffs commence this weekend, no team may better personify the league right now than the Denver Broncos. After beginning the season 1-4, Denver rattled off seven victories in eight weeks before finishing the year with three straight losses.

Tim Tebow got a lions share of the credit for the Broncos victories, which included three in overtime. The defense gave up 17 of fewer points seven times this year, but the quarterback dominated the headlines. His image of being a wholesome religious boy captured so much attention, it drowned out critics who pointed to Tebow's miniscule 46.5 completion percentage this season.

Some considered him no more than a glorified fullback when he entered the 2011, while others of a modern day version Bobby Douglass. A second round draft pick by the Chicago Bears in 1969, the fellow lefty quarterback ended his 11 NFL seasons with a 43 percent completion percentage.

Douglass could run better than Tebow, once holding the record for most rushing yards gained by a quarterback when he churned out 968 yards in 14 games during the 1972 season. He averaged 69.1 yards rushing per game, which is better than the 64.9 yards Michael Vick had in 2006 when he surpassed Douglass' record in a 16 game season.

Tebow piled up 660 yards and six touchdowns on the ground this year. He played mistake-free football much of the year until the last two games of the year, where he tossed four of his six total interceptions. Tebow completed just 19 of 51 attempts for 245 yards over that time.

Denver still reached the playoffs despite an abysmal ending to a forgettable NFL season, thanks to playing in a division where three teams finished 8-8 and the fourth team went 7-9. The AFC West was perhaps the most mediocre in the NFL in 2011, which is a statement in itself because the NFC West, NFC East and AFC East were far from impressive as well.

Coaches and general managers on many inept teams suffered from the shortened season to the extent they lost their jobs. Yet the NFL, as it has for the past 40 years, continued to rake in piles of cash even though the product they present today recedes and mollifies each snap of the ball under the Goodell regime.

Image over substance is now in play as receivers and quarterbacks prance around untouched. College football shows the future is bleaker with recent bowl games where teams frequently combining to put up 80 or more points.

Defense is now as extinct as the commercialized images the NFL sells of warriors battling because now accolades are attained minus a struggle. Where honing skills through practice has now joined the defense as a spectator.







My cousin 7thStoneFromTheSun is nowhere to be found, though I did recently receive a blank postcard from Guam recently. While I will assume his prediction duties this week, it should be noted he finished 2011 with an overall record of 154-95.




Cincinnati Bengals @ Houston Texans

The Bengals got into the playoffs because of a stingy defense that carried an erratic offense led by two rookies. The defense ended the season ranked seventh in yards allowed and ninth in points given up. While wide receiver A.J. Green, running back Cedric Benson and quarterback Andy Dalton are the key offensive weapons, Jermaine Gresham and Jerome Simpson also contribute heavily.

The Texans are playing in their first playoff game in franchise history. It is also the first time Houston has hosted a playoff game since 1993, when the Oilers accomplished the feat before becoming the Tennessee Titans not long afterwards. The Texans are also the first team from Houston to win a division title since that 1993 season.

Much has been made of the key injuries Houston's offense incurred this season. Quarterbacks Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart were lost for the season by the 12th game, and star wide receiver Andre Johnson suited up for just seven contests himself.

But the team finished with a 10-6 record thanks to a smothering defense that was second in the league in yards allowed and fourth in points given up. This was even accomplished despite losing star defender Mario Williams in the fifth game for the season.

Rookies J.J. Watt and Brooks Reed were special this year, but linebackers Conner Barwin and Brian Cushing have been stars in their own right. Cornerback Johnathan Joseph made the Pro Bowl, but his bookend, Jason Allen, was just as effective. Brice McCain and Kareem Jackson have also been solid, so opponents have found it difficult to pass the ball successfully often this year.

Cincinnati will need their defense and running game to be special this week. Houston will have Johnson back to help their rookie quarterback, but his limit appears to be no more than 45 snaps. The Texans have a powerful running game that was first in attempts, second in yards gained and third in touchdowns scored. While the Bengals were tenth in rushing yards allowed, they finished 20th in touchdowns given up.

Halfbacks Benson and Arian Foster will get a lot of attention, but the effectiveness of reserves Ben Tate and Bernard Scott may determine the outcome. Tate churned out 942 yards this season as he proved to be the best backup running back in the game today.

Dalton may make less mistakes than T.J. Yates, thanks to more snaps, but both teams will have the benefit of playing in the climate controlled Texans stadium. Return men Jacoby Jones, Danieal Manning and Brandon Tate could make a big play that breaks open the game.

These two teams battled just under a month ago, where the Texans prevailed with a 20-19 victory on a late touchdown pass from Yates to Kevin Walter. Houston had outgained the Bengals by 127 yards but had given up two more turnovers.

Johnson and Green will draw special defensive attention from two units that have excelled all season. Both franchises rosters are young and inexperienced, so several members will be participating in the first playoff games of their careers.

Once all the nervousness subsides, the defenses should take over. Houston's home field advantage will help carry their team a long way, but the combination of Foster and Ben Tate should drive the Texans into the next round.

Texans 24 Bengals 16








Detroit Lions @ New Orleans Saints

Many pundits are expecting an offensive battle in this game, mainly because both teams have offenses that can put up points in bunches. The two teams squared off in the beginning of December and gained 904 yards, with the Lions outgaining New Orleans by 28 yards in their 31-17 loss to the Saints.

Detroit's defense has been a major disappointment in 2011. Their vaunted defensive line never excelled as expected and the secondary was frequently ripped apart by the opponents passing attack. The Lions gave up 20 or more points 12 times this season, while giving up less than 312 total yards just once.

The Lions final game of 2011 saw them cough up a season high 550 yards, which included six touchdown passes and 480 yards to a fourth-year backup quarterback who entered the contest with 515 career yards and nine touchdowns off of 88 attempts. Detroit gained 25 more yards but lost 45-41.

The offense ranked fourth in scoring and fifth in yards gained this year, but Detroit's defense ranked 23 in both points and yards allowed. The running game was amongst the very worst in football, ranking 29th in total yards gained.

New Orleans was led by a balanced offensive attack that relied mainly on Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Brees. Brees set an NFL record this year with 5,476 yards passing, surpassing Hall of Famer Dan Marino. Detroit's Matthew Stafford wasn't too shabby himself, tossing the ball for a franchise record 5,038 yards and 41 scores. Brees had 46 touchdown passes.

The Super Bowl XLIV MVP now has set or tied several Saints franchise records. He set six NFL records in 2011, which includes most completions in a season, most 300 yard passing games in a season, most consecutive 300 yard passing games, most consecutive games with 350 yards passing and highest completion percentage in a season. He also has set or tied 16 other NFL records in his career thus far.

The Saints gained the most yards in the NFL this season while scoring the second most points. Besides having the top passing attack, the running game gained the sixth most yards in the league this season.

New Orleans relies heavily on Brees, but the quarterback has a plethora of weapons at his disposal. Four different running backs gained 374 yards or more while nine players ended up in double digits in receptions.

Detroit will be facing a defense that finished 24 in yards allowed, but 13th in total points scored upon. The Saints only picked off nine passes this season, but safety Roman Harper finished the season by leading the team with 96 tackles and a career best 7.5 sacks.

If New Orleans cannot rush the football, the arms of both Brees and Stafford will be put to use seemingly every play. The Saints run defense was the 12th best in the NFL this year, so the Lions anemic ground game faces quite a challenge ahead of them.

Greg Williams is a defensive coordinator who is known to love blitz packages to throw opposing quarterbacks off their game. If Detroit fails to run the ball, he will load up his Saints defense with complex packages. The New Orleans defense garnered 33 sacks this season, but Detroit gave up 36 sacks this season.

New Orleans has scored over 40 points six times this year and have never scored less than 20 in a game. Their defense has given up 20 or less than points in nine contests while Detroit has accomplished that feat just five times.

A bunch of yards should be gained in this game, but it may end up where the Lions end up fruitlessly try to catch up to the Saints all game. The Lions have had a habit of giving up a ton of points early before coming back, but not many teams have stopped the Saints from scoring in 2011.

Saints 48 Lions 34







Atlanta Falcons @ New York Giants

Two of the most erratic and inconsistent teams of the 2011 NFL season meet here. Both barely made the playoffs following underwhelming seasons that will soon be forgotten.

While injuries basically buried the Giants before the season started, they fought through a mediocre NFC East to capture the division crown in the last game of the season. Atlanta did finish the year with a respectable 10-6 record, but it seemed a far cry from expectations that had been placed on them after winning the NFC South in 2010 with a 13-3 record.

Atlanta might have seemed to regress slightly on offense this year, after moving up in the draft to snag wide receiver Julio Jones in the first round of the 2011 draft. They finished fifth in scoring in 2010, averaging 25.9 points per game, while finishing seventh in scoring this year by averaging 25.1 points per contest.

But the Falcons did gain 532 more yards while quarterback Matt Ryan and Michael Turner had very similar seasons to 2010. Star wide receiver Roddy White had 15 less receptions and eight less scores this season, but Jones picked up the slack while future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzales remained consistent and excellent as always.

The defense was also an area that regressed in a few areas as opposed to 2010. While finishing fifth last year in points allowed, Atlanta finished this season 18th. They also finished at plus eight in the giveaway/ takeway ratio differential this year, as opposed to the plus 14 they had in 2010.

Atlanta did improve in yards allowed, interceptions, sacks and run defense this season, but they also had eight contests where they gave up 23 or more points. The Falcons offense had 11 games where they scores 23 or more points.

Atlanta is a well balanced team that has the talent, but gives the impression they are on the verge of exploding and have yet to do so. Most see the roster and fear any week will be the day they put it all together on a consistent basis, but it has yet to happen. Yet it is evident there is enough firepower there to win a Super Bowl.

The Giants winning their division, no matter how mediocre it was in 2011, shows a great deal of experience and character. They went through much of the season with a defensive secondary filled with players that would not have made the team if it were not for the innumerous injuries to hit that unit.

The New York defense finished 29th in passing yards allowed, 27th in total yards allowed and 25th in points given up. Yet the offense finished eighth in yards gained and ninth in points scored. The running game was the worst in the NFL, but the passing game was ranked fifth in yards and sixth in passing attempts and touchdowns scored.

Pro Bowl quarterback Eli Manning had nine receivers end up with double digits in catches. Wide receivers Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks combined for 158 catches for 2,728 and 16 touchdowns this year.

If the Falcons cornerback duo of Dunta Robinson and Brent Grimes shuts down Cruz and Nicks, New York will be in major trouble. Atlanta may have too many weapons for the Giants to stop, bit no one can really be sure what versions of these teams will take the field Sunday.

Falcons 37 Giants 20










Pittsburgh Steelers @ Denver Broncos

Tim Tebow will run onto the field Sunday with the cameras fixated on him. Mainly to appease a nation where religion is important, but also because he happens to play a position the NFL puts on a pedestal and carries like a golden child. Tebow truly embodies this NFL dream.

Yet he will face a nightmare on the sabbath in the form of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. A unit that ranked ranked first in both points a yards allowed, this veteran group will come into the salivating at the chance the expose a limited player with a questionable arm.

Pittsburgh will be dealing with injuries to starting halfback Rashard Mendenhall and strong safety Ryan Clark, but the team has more than enough depth at these positions to succeed. Plus their quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has two Super Bowl rings and obviously knows how to win the big game.

The Steelers win the old school way of controlling the clock while the defense destroys their opponents. Tebow, playing in the first playoff game of his very young career, will have to summon all of his abilities to keep his team within reach of victory.

Ten Steelers have 11 or more receptions, so the Broncos defense will have their hands full trying to contain the Pittsburgh offensive onslaught. Denver's defense finished the 2011 season 20th in yards allowed and 24th in points scored upon.

The Broncos offense wasn't any better, finishing 25th in scoring and 23rd in yards gained. Their best player, halfback Willis McGahee, finished the season with 1,199 rushing yards. Denver had just two players with more than 19 receptions this season.

This game should get ugly quick. Unless the Broncos special teams and defense is exceptional, it should be over before halftime. This learning process may help Tebow one day, but teams have recently figured him out and there needs to be a dramatic improvement in his game if he wants to remain the starting quarterback for Denver in the future. This improvement, however, will probably not happen this Sunday.


Steelers 27 Broncos 9

When historians look back at the 2011 NFL season, there will be little attention given to the fact it was one of the sloppiest seasons ever played in the league's history. Perhaps a slight nod of acknowledgement to the players lockout that pretty much wiped out training camp and retarded the development of the game.

Another footnote was how the game got softer, thanks to another laundry list of rules that effeminate football to the point it now practically resembles basketball with pads on. This mission, led by commissioner Roger Goodell, contradicts a history the league uses in their advertisements with pride. Commercials that celebrate gridiron warriors bloodied in a battle amongst the trenches that haven't been seen throughout the NFL in decades.

As the playoffs commence this weekend, no team may better personify the league right now than the Denver Broncos. After beginning the season 1-4, Denver rattled off seven victories in eight weeks before finishing the year with three straight losses.

Tim Tebow got a lions share of the credit for the Broncos victories, which included three in overtime. The defense gave up 17 of fewer points seven times this year, but the quarterback dominated the headlines. His image of being a wholesome religious boy captured so much attention, it drowned out critics who pointed to Tebow's miniscule 46.5 completion percentage this season.

Some considered him no more than a glorified fullback when he entered the 2011, while others of a modern day version Bobby Douglass. A second round draft pick by the Chicago Bears in 1969, the fellow lefty quarterback ended his 11 NFL seasons with a 43 percent completion percentage.

Douglass could run better than Tebow, once holding the record for most rushing yards gained by a quarterback when he churned out 968 yards in 14 games during the 1972 season. He averaged 69.1 yards rushing per game, which is better than the 64.9 yards Michael Vick had in 2006 when he surpassed Douglass' record in a 16 game season.

Tebow piled up 660 yards and six touchdowns on the ground this year. He played mistake-free football much of the year until the last two games of the year, where he tossed four of his six total interceptions. Tebow completed just 19 of 51 attempts for 245 yards over that time.

Denver still reached the playoffs despite an abysmal ending to a forgettable NFL season, thanks to playing in a division where three teams finished 8-8 and the fourth team went 7-9. The AFC West was perhaps the most mediocre in the NFL in 2011, which is a statement in itself because the NFC West, NFC East and AFC East were far from impressive as well.

Coaches and general managers on many inept teams suffered from the shortened season to the extent they lost their jobs. Yet the NFL, as it has for the past 40 years, continued to rake in piles of cash even though the product they present today recedes and mollifies each snap of the ball under the Goodell regime.

Image over substance is now in play as receivers and quarterbacks prance around untouched. College football shows the future is bleaker with recent bowl games where teams frequently combining to put up 80 or more points.

Defense is now as extinct as the commercialized images the NFL sells of warriors battling because now accolades are attained minus a struggle. Where honing skills through practice has now joined the defense as a spectator.







Cincinnati Bengals @ Houston Texans

The Bengals got into the playoffs because of a stingy defense that carried an erratic offense led by two rookies. The defense ended the season ranked seventh in yards allowed and ninth in points given up. While wide receiver A.J. Green, running back Cedric Benson and quarterback Andy Dalton are the key offensive weapons, Jermaine Gresham and Jerome Simpson also contribute heavily.

The Texans are playing in their first playoff game in franchise history. It is also the first time Houston has hosted a playoff game since 1993, when the Oilers accomplished the feat before becoming the Tennessee Titans not long afterwards. The Texans are also the first team from Houston to win a division title since that 1993 season.

Much has been made of the key injuries Houston's offense incurred this season. Quarterbacks Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart were lost for the season by the 12th game, and star wide receiver Andre Johnson suited up for just seven contests himself.

But the team finished with a 10-6 record thanks to a smothering defense that was second in the league in yards allowed and fourth in points given up. This was even accomplished despite losing star defender Mario Williams in the fifth game for the season.

Rookies J.J. Watt and Brooks Reed were special this year, but linebackers Conner Barwin and Brian Cushing have been stars in their own right. Cornerback Johnathan Joseph made the Pro Bowl, but his bookend, Jason Allen, was just as effective. Brice McCain and Kareem Jackson have also been solid, so opponents have found it difficult to pass the ball successfully often this year.

Cincinnati will need their defense and running game to be special this week. Houston will have Johnson back to help their rookie quarterback, but his limit appears to be no more than 45 snaps. The Texans have a powerful running game that was first in attempts, second in yards gained and third in touchdowns scored. While the Bengals were tenth in rushing yards allowed, they finished 20th in touchdowns given up.

Halfbacks Benson and Arian Foster will get a lot of attention, but the effectiveness of reserves Ben Tate and Bernard Scott may determine the outcome. Tate churned out 942 yards this season as he proved to be the best backup running back in the game today.

Dalton may make less mistakes than T.J. Yates, thanks to more snaps, but both teams will have the benefit of playing in the climate controlled Texans stadium. Return men Jacoby Jones, Danieal Manning and Brandon Tate could make a big play that breaks open the game.

These two teams battled just under a month ago, where the Texans prevailed with a 20-19 victory on a late touchdown pass from Yates to Kevin Walter. Houston had outgained the Bengals by 127 yards but had given up two more turnovers.

Johnson and Green will draw special defensive attention from two units that have excelled all season. Both franchises rosters are young and inexperienced, so several members will be participating in the first playoff games of their careers.

Once all the nervousness subsides, the defenses should take over. Houston's home field advantage will help carry their team a long way, but the combination of Foster and Ben Tate should drive the Texans into the next round.

Texans 24 Bengals 16








Detroit Lions @ New Orleans Saints

Many pundits are expecting an offensive battle in this game, mainly because both teams have offenses that can put up points in bunches. The two teams squared off in the beginning of December and gained 904 yards, with the Lions outgaining New Orleans by 28 yards in their 31-17 loss to the Saints.

Detroit's defense has been a major disappointment in 2011. Their vaunted defensive line never excelled as expected and the secondary was frequently ripped apart by the opponents passing attack. The Lions gave up 20 or more points 12 times this season, while giving up less than 312 total yards just once.

The Lions final game of 2011 saw them cough up a season high 550 yards, which included six touchdown passes and 480 yards to a fourth-year backup quarterback who entered the contest with 515 career yards and nine touchdowns off of 88 attempts. Detroit gained 25 more yards but lost 45-41.

The offense ranked fourth in scoring and fifth in yards gained this year, but Detroit's defense ranked 23 in both points and yards allowed. The running game was amongst the very worst in football, ranking 29th in total yards gained.

New Orleans was led by a balanced offensive attack that relied mainly on Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Brees. Brees set an NFL record this year with 5,476 yards passing, surpassing Hall of Famer Dan Marino. Detroit's Matthew Stafford wasn't too shabby himself, tossing the ball for a franchise record 5,038 yards and 41 scores. Brees had 46 touchdown passes.

The Super Bowl XLIV MVP now has set or tied several Saints franchise records. He set six NFL records in 2011, which includes most completions in a season, most 300 yard passing games in a season, most consecutive 300 yard passing games, most consecutive games with 350 yards passing and highest completion percentage in a season. He also has set or tied 16 other NFL records in his career thus far.

The Saints gained the most yards in the NFL this season while scoring the second most points. Besides having the top passing attack, the running game gained the sixth most yards in the league this season.

New Orleans relies heavily on Brees, but the quarterback has a plethora of weapons at his disposal. Four different running backs gained 374 yards or more while nine players ended up in double digits in receptions.

Detroit will be facing a defense that finished 24 in yards allowed, but 13th in total points scored upon. The Saints only picked off nine passes this season, but safety Roman Harper finished the season by leading the team with 96 tackles and a career best 7.5 sacks.

If New Orleans cannot rush the football, the arms of both Brees and Stafford will be put to use seemingly every play. The Saints run defense was the 12th best in the NFL this year, so the Lions anemic ground game faces quite a challenge ahead of them.

Greg Williams is a defensive coordinator who is known to love blitz packages to throw opposing quarterbacks off their game. If Detroit fails to run the ball, he will load up his Saints defense with complex packages. The New Orleans defense garnered 33 sacks this season, but Detroit gave up 36 sacks this season.

New Orleans has scored over 40 points six times this year and have never scored less than 20 in a game. Their defense has given up 20 or less than points in nine contests while Detroit has accomplished that feat just five times.

A bunch of yards should be gained in this game, but it may end up where the Lions end up fruitlessly try to catch up to the Saints all game. The Lions have had a habit of giving up a ton of points early before coming back, but not many teams have stopped the Saints from scoring in 2011.

Saints 48 Lions 34







Atlanta Falcons @ New York Giants

Two of the most erratic and inconsistent teams of the 2011 NFL season meet here. Both barely made the playoffs following underwhelming seasons that will soon be forgotten.

While injuries basically buried the Giants before the season started, they fought through a mediocre NFC East to capture the division crown in the last game of the season. Atlanta did finish the year with a respectable 10-6 record, but it seemed a far cry from expectations that had been placed on them after winning the NFC South in 2010 with a 13-3 record.

Atlanta might have seemed to regress slightly on offense this year, after moving up in the draft to snag wide receiver Julio Jones in the first round of the 2011 draft. They finished fifth in scoring in 2010, averaging 25.9 points per game, while finishing seventh in scoring this year by averaging 25.1 points per contest.

But the Falcons did gain 532 more yards while quarterback Matt Ryan and Michael Turner had very similar seasons to 2010. Star wide receiver Roddy White had 15 less receptions and eight less scores this season, but Jones picked up the slack while future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzales remained consistent and excellent as always.

The defense was also an area that regressed in a few areas as opposed to 2010. While finishing fifth last year in points allowed, Atlanta finished this season 18th. They also finished at plus eight in the giveaway/ takeway ratio differential this year, as opposed to the plus 14 they had in 2010.

Atlanta did improve in yards allowed, interceptions, sacks and run defense this season, but they also had eight contests where they gave up 23 or more points. The Falcons offense had 11 games where they scores 23 or more points.

Atlanta is a well balanced team that has the talent, but gives the impression they are on the verge of exploding and have yet to do so. Most see the roster and fear any week will be the day they put it all together on a consistent basis, but it has yet to happen. Yet it is evident there is enough firepower there to win a Super Bowl.

The Giants winning their division, no matter how mediocre it was in 2011, shows a great deal of experience and character. They went through much of the season with a defensive secondary filled with players that would not have made the team if it were not for the innumerous injuries to hit that unit.

The New York defense finished 29th in passing yards allowed, 27th in total yards allowed and 25th in points given up. Yet the offense finished eighth in yards gained and ninth in points scored. The running game was the worst in the NFL, but the passing game was ranked fifth in yards and sixth in passing attempts and touchdowns scored.

Pro Bowl quarterback Eli Manning had nine receivers end up with double digits in catches. Wide receivers Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks combined for 158 catches for 2,728 and 16 touchdowns this year.

If the Falcons cornerback duo of Dunta Robinson and Brent Grimes shuts down Cruz and Nicks, New York will be in major trouble. Atlanta may have too many weapons for the Giants to stop, bit no one can really be sure what versions of these teams will take the field Sunday.

Falcons 37 Giants 20










Pittsburgh Steelers @ Denver Broncos

Tim Tebow will run onto the field Sunday with the cameras fixated on him. Mainly to appease a nation where religion is important, but also because he happens to play a position the NFL puts on a pedestal and carries like a golden child. Tebow truly embodies this NFL dream.

Yet he will face a nightmare on the sabbath in the form of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. A unit that ranked ranked first in both points a yards allowed, this veteran group will come into the salivating at the chance the expose a limited player with a questionable arm.

Pittsburgh will be dealing with injuries to starting halfback Rashard Mendenhall and strong safety Ryan Clark, but the team has more than enough depth at these positions to succeed. Plus their quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has two Super Bowl rings and obviously knows how to win the big game.

The Steelers win the old school way of controlling the clock while the defense destroys their opponents. Tebow, playing in the first playoff game of his very young career, will have to summon all of his abilities to keep his team within reach of victory.

Ten Steelers have 11 or more receptions, so the Broncos defense will have their hands full trying to contain the Pittsburgh offensive onslaught. Denver's defense finished the 2011 season 20th in yards allowed and 24th in points scored upon.

The Broncos offense wasn't any better, finishing 25th in scoring and 23rd in yards gained. Their best player, halfback Willis McGahee, finished the season with 1,199 rushing yards. Denver had just two players with more than 19 receptions this season.

This game should get ugly quick. Unless the Broncos special teams and defense is exceptional, it should be over before halftime. This learning process may help Tebow one day, but teams have recently figured him out and there needs to be a dramatic improvement in his game if he wants to remain the starting quarterback for Denver in the future. This improvement, however, will probably not happen this Sunday.


Steelers 27 Broncos 9

As the Washington Redskins finish a third straight season at the bottom of the NFC East, an era where they have 15 total victories, there has been scattered areas of improvement. This is a positive sign for a franchise trying to rebuild a disheveled roster that suffered through years of poor decision-making at the top.

Though the Redskins new general manager and head coach have yet to make a huge impact to verify a statement of improvement, it appears owner Dan Snyder has enough reason to be patient and stay the course that has been laid before the team.

Struggling often comes with rebuilding, so the roster has players who did not perform well enough to warrant a return in 2012. Yet there are hidden gems in a disastrous season where Washington failed to realize the Super Bowl hopes every team begins a season with.


Quarterback


Rex Grossman - He is, at times, a poor man's Brett Favre. At other times, he is the equivalent of a junior high school sandlot quarterback.

Like Favre, he turns the ball over in bunches with throws no professional quarterback should make. He also has a habit of taking delay of game penalties in bunches and takes tons of ill-advised sacks that result in huge losses of yards.

Grossman was brought back in 2011 because of his familiarity of Kyle Shanahan's offensive system. This has helped him make plays that show off a skill set that has intrigued many ever since he joined the NFL in 2003.

He is, at most, a system quarterback who needs an exceptional defense to carry him and cover Grossman's innumerable mistakes. But he is no more than a backup because of his constant mental errors. He is certainly on the lower tier of starting quarterbacks in the NFL, as shown currently by his eight fumbles and league leading 19 interceptions.

Washington will most likely upgrade the quarterback position in the draft, thus ending Grossman's days as a starter. He made $810,000 this year, but is is just slightly more than backup John Beck. It is doubtful both will be back in 2012, but Grossman may leave on his own thinking he can start for another team elsewhere.

Grade : D +






John Beck - Redskins brass spun stories that Beck could lead the team before the season began, but he was beat out for the starting job in training camp. He did get three starts this year, but lost each of them. Beck has now lost all seven of his career starts, but four did occur with the 1-15 Miami Dolphins in 2007.

He took 16 sacks and threw four interceptions in his four games. While the blocking was not good in stretches, it was expected that his mobility would help prevent so many sacks in a short time.

It won't be shocking to see him return in 2012, but as a reserve since most of the football world expects the Redskins to draft a quarterback to start.

Grade : D










Running Back


Roy Helu - When Redskins general manager Bruce Allen grabbed Helu in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft, he had an idea Washington had a steal on their hands. Those ideas were put into reality after the rookie was forced into action much earlier and much more often than they expected.

Helu became the main ball carrier after injuries disheveled the backfield. He has responded even better than expected, showing excellent receiving abilities as well. Not only does Helu lead the team with 635 yards rushing, at a respectable 4.3 yards per carry, he has 47 receptions.

The best part of his success may be his ball security. Helu has fumbled twice, but recovered one. He also became the first Washington rookie to for 100 yards in three consecutive games. The Redskins can only hope for similar results in the future.

Grade : A +








Tim Hightower - Getting Hightower in a trade this year excited the halfback and Washington fans, because most knew the abilities of the hometown hero from his previous three seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. The only question was if he could last all year as the primary ball carrier.

His season ended after getting hurt in the fifth game, but he was averaging more touches per game than he had before. The reviews of his time were mixed because he was scoring less touchdowns and catching less passes, but Hightower's injury put a damper on getting a real review of his abilities.

His injury allowed Washington to discover rookie Roy Helu, so it seems likely he will go back to a familiar role to sharing the football in 2012.

Grade : C








Ryan Torain - Injuries basically ended his Redskins career, as Washington cut him a few days after Christmas in 2011. Torain has had injuries plague him ever since college, but his interesting skill set should get him a training camp invitation somewhere in 2012.

Drafted in the fifth round of the 2008 draft by Mike Shanahan and the Denver Broncos, he was lost for the year after getting hurt in his first NFL start. After sitting out the 2009 season, he rejoined Shanahan in Washington last year.

Many got somewhat excited about Torain after seeing him run for 742 yards in eight starts, but injuries soon hit him again. After sitting out preseason and the first three games of the year with a hand injury, Torain led the Redskins to a victory by running for 135 yards on 19 carries.

Since then, he had gained just 65 yards on 40 carries and fell on the depth chart so far that the team decided to part ways with him.

Grade : D








Evan Royster - Royster spent most of the year on the practice squad, but was promoted in week 10. Since then, he has run for an impressive six yards per carry on 36 attempts as a reserve.

While pounding the ball between the tackles is more his game, the rookie has had a few impressive moments. He won't outrun opponents, but Royster gets by with intellect and enough elusiveness to show why the Redskins used a sixth round draft pick on him this year.

He will return next year hoping to back up Roy Helu and Tim Hightower, but he has shown some abilities when called on.

Grade : B







Darrell Young - A college linebacker, he was converted to fullback as a undrafted free agent rookie last year. While he did play quite often as a rookie, Young has shown a lot of improvement this year.

His job is to block, but the fullback has touched the ball 16 times and scored once. He should return next year and continue to get better.

Grade : A







Mike Sellers - His has been quite a successful career after the Redskins signed him from the Canadian Football League in 1998. Sellers has played both fullback and tight end in his 12 NFL seasons.

He did leave the team after 2000 to join the Cleveland Browns for a season and the CFL for two years. Sellers returned to Washington in 2004 and made the Pro Bowl in 2008 for his exceptional blocking ability.

Sellers is 36 years old and this is probably his last season. He has spent most of the year on the bench and has one reception. But he was a team player that Redskins fans rooted for because of his toughness and leadership as well.

Grade : C -










Wide Receiver


Jabar Gaffney - Washington is the fourth team Gaffney has played for in his 10 NFL seasons. He has had his best season in the pros with them, as he is on the verge of setting career high marks in receptions and touchdowns scored. He has already set a career best mark of 919 yards receiving.

He has been Washington's only consistent force in the passing game. A big reason is his reunion with quarterback Rex Grossman, who also threw him a ton of passes while both were members of the Florida Gators in college.

Gaffney has one more year left on his contract, so that should guarantee a return to Washington in 2012.

Grade : A -








Santana Moss - It has been a forgettable season for the 11-year pro. A injury to his hand slowed him down, and the 43 receptions he has had this year is the fewest he has had since 2004. He signed a three-year contract worth $15 million before the season started, so it appears likely Moss will be with the Redskins in 2012.

Grade : C









Anthony Armstrong - It was been a horrific season for Armstrong in 2011. He came out of nowhere as an undrafted free agent rookie in 2010 to catch 44 balls at 20 yards per catch. He has just seven receptions this season.

A big part of the reason could be Washington's struggles at quarterback, but Armstrong has battled a hamstring issue this year and lost his starting job. He might be able to rebound in 2012, after the Redskins get a better quarterback, but Armstrong was a feel-good story of 2010 now trying to prove his success wasn't a flash in the pan.

Grade : D









Donte` Stallworth - Stallworth has been in the NFL nine seasons and has played with six teams. He has a good skill set, but has never consistently put it together. He sat out in 2010 after pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter.

Washington cut him briefly this year, but brought him back after injuries depleted their receivers corps. Stallworth has caught 21 passes for two scores in the 10 games he has played. The former first-round pick of the New Orleans Saints appears to be running out of chances, but it would be no surprise to see him in the NFL next year.

Grade : C






Leonard Hankerson - The rookie had a case of the drops in preseason, but he made the team because the coaches were impressed with his size and skill set. The team had also used a third-round draft pick to acquire him.

Hankerson was beginning to show productive signs when he got hurt and was lost for the season. He played just four games, catching 13 passes, but he had his first 100-yard receiving game in the NFL at the time of his injury. Expect him back in 2012, assuming he is healthy.

Grade : C +








Terence Austin - Austin is a second-year pro who has played and contributed more this season. He has 11 catches, showing decent ability in getting open. He has had to fight through the depth chart since arriving in Washington, an issue he will once again face in next year's training camp.

Grade : C








Niles Paul - Paul is another Nebraska Cornhusker that Washington drafted this season. He has primarily been used on special teams, but the speedy wide receiver has caught two passes and run the ball once.

One of Paul's strengths is blocking downfield, a skill he showed often in preseason. He has a very good chance of returning next year, but is buried right now on a depth chart full of good receivers.

Grade : C








David Anderson - He will played just five games, but the possession-type receiver has caught six balls and scored once. It will be a longshot for his return in 2012, but Mike Shanahan does like a receiver with his skill set. Brandon Stokley is a prime example.

Grade : C +











Tight End


Chris Cooley - You could say it was a wasted season for Cooley, who played just five games because of a knee and hand injury. But he did catch eight balls and surpass Washington legend Jerry Smith for having the most receptions in a career by a Redskins tight end.

Cooley wants to return in 2012, but that was beginning to look suspect when Fred Davis started to excel in his place. Davis then got suspended for illegal drug use, so Washington should think about bringing back a player who wants to finish his career with them.

Grade : C -







Fred Davis - Davis was starting to look like one of the few good draft picks Vinny Cerrato had before he was finally fired as the Redskins Vice President for Football Operations in 2009. Then the tight end was suspended for the final four games of the 2011 season for illegal drug use.

The criticism of Davis, when Washington used a second round pick on him in 2008, was that he wasn't really interested in football. He developed slowly behind Chris Cooley on the depth chart, but showed flashes of the ability most felt he possessed.

Davis was having a career year this season, catching 59 passes in 12 games, before he was shelved. His contract expires at the end of the year, so there are no guarantees he will return in 2012.

If Washington loses him, there will be a big hole to fill at tight end. It will be even bigger than the one he created himself by poor decisions.

Grade : B







Logan Paulson - A blocking tight end forced into more involvement in the offense due to injuries and suspension, Paulson made the team last year as an undrafted free agent rookie. He has caught a career best nine passes this season, as opposed to the two he had last year.

He makes his bones by blocking, something Paulson does a good job at. This should get him serious consideration at a 2012 return to Washington.

Grade : C




Richard Quinn - Quinn went into the 2009 draft as the top blocking tight end in the draft. The Denver Broncos used a second round selection on him, but cut him the following year. He has appeared in one game, so his chance will come in training camp as he vies with Paulson for the job of blocking tight end.

Grade : Incomplete



Rob Meyers - After spending most of the 2011 on the practice squad, Meyers joined the active roster for the final two weeks of the season. He gets compared a lot to Chris Cooley, most likely because both attended Utah State University.

Meyers has been on six different teams practice squads since joining the NFL in 2009, so it is doubtful he will be back in 2012.

Grade : Incomplete



Dominique Byrd - Byrd appeared in two games before being waived. The four-year pro has played for both the Saint Louis Rams, who drafted him in the third round of the 2006 draft, and the Seattle Seahawks as well.

Grade : Incomplete











Offensive Line


Trent Williams - It has certainly been mixed reviews since the Redskins used the fourth pick pf the 2010 draft on Williams. Many thought he was suited to play right tackle, but the Redskins believe he can play the demanding left tackle spot.

More criticism of this pick comes from the fact the final four games of this season saw him suspended for using illegal drugs. The fact he continues to miss games due to injuries is also becoming a trend Williams needs to halt next year.

Williams struggled last year by giving up 11.5 sacks, but he showed some improvement this season by giving up just three in his 10 games. He did draw more penalties this year, but the youngster is still a work in progress.

I expect Williams to remain at left tackle in 2012, but his drug suspension has to be cause for some concern. He was lauded for having high character when drafted, so letting his team down belies that thought. But the team needs to hope this is a temporary setback for a man who is the beginning stages of an excellent career.

Grade : B -







Jamaal Brown - Washington felt good about trading for Brown's services before 2010, because they knew they were getting a two-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion who was the first round draft pick of the New Orleans Saints in 2005.

He had spent his best years at left tackle, but the Redskins have had him at right tackle since they acquired him. While he has played decently, the injury bug has plagued Brown's career and prevented him from ever playing 16 games in a season.

While the Redskins offensive line showed improvement this season, they are still ranked ninth with 40 sacks allowed. Brown has unofficially been credited with a career high nine sacks allowed, but he has had just four penalties called on him as well.

The Redskins will face some tough decisions once this season ends. Brown will be just 31 years old next year and his 2011 salary was just $685,000, but the team might make some changes to a unit where injuries prevented them from truly gelling this season.

Grade : C -







Sean Locklear - His previous seven years had been spent with the Seattle Seahawks, where the veteran started the last year at both tackle spots. Washington signed him as a free agent this year, where he has started in four of the eight games he appeared in.

Health is a concern, mainly because he missed 17 games with Seattle. Even though he was replaced on the starting lineup recently, after giving up four sacks, having a veteran on a roster is a positive. Especially one with the experience of starting 82 games. This factor could bring him back to training camp next year.

Grade : D







Will Montgomery - He had quite a journey in becoming the Redskins starting center this year. Drafted in the seventh round of the 2006 draft, he had six starts in 13 games in his first two seasons with the Carolina Panthers and New York Jets. Washington signed him in 2009, where Montgomery had nine starts at guard before this year.

Replacing Casey Rabach, who missed just one contest in six seasons, placed Montgomery in the spotlight somewhat. He has had a few moments where he has been overmatched, but Montgomery has kept his job on a team that has a lot of offensive linemen who are able to play his position.

He will be just 29 years old in 2012, and his body still does not have a ton of wear and tear on it. Montgomery should go into training camp expecting to start next season.

Grade : B -








Willie Smith - The undrafted rookie has appeared in just three games this year, but started at left tackle in two. The Redskins could have a legitimate steal here.

Many scouts thought not only that Smith would be drafted this year, a few thought he could start in a year or two into his career. While raw, mainly because the former defensive lineman has less than four years experience as a blocker, he is athletic and blessed with long arms that help him do well in both the run and pass game.

While Trent Williams had had a few decent moments at left tackle, many believe right tackle is his best position. Aging veteran Jamaal Brown may not return next year, so it is a possibility that Smith starts at left tackle while Williams moves to the right side of the offensive line.

Grade : B -







Tyler Polumbus - After going undrafted in 2008, Polumbus was signed by Mike Shanahan and the Denver Broncos. He spent the next two seasons starting 15 games at both tackle spots for the Broncos and Seattle Seahawks.

Seattle waived him after five games this year, so the Redskins signed him a few weeks later. Polumbus has a start at right tackle and has also played guard. His familiarity with Shanahan should give him a decent chance at being invited to training camp next year.

Grade : C








Maurice Hurt - He began this year on the practice squad, but has started the last eight weeks because of injuries. Drafted in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft., Hurt is one of the gems Redskins general manager Bruce Allen unearthed.

While he has had moments where Hurt had typical rookie struggles, giving up two sacks and drawing a pair of penalties, he has earned a chance to try to make the team again in 2012. His will be an interesting story in training camp, as he battles Kory Lichtensteiger for the job at starting left guard.

Grade : B









Chris Chester - The Redskins happily signed him as a free agent before this year, because he was a big upgrade over Artis Hicks. Hicks, who was a mistake free agent signing in 2010, was let go by the team. Chester has no sacks or penalties credited against him this year.

Chester was drafted in the second round of the 2006 draft by the Baltimore Ravens. After nine starts in his first two years, Chester has started at right guard since. Washington gave him a five-year contract, so expect him back in 2012.

Grade : A








Eric Cook - At 6'6", Cook is tall for a center. Washington drafted him in the seventh round of the 2010 draft, but cut him and placed him on the practice squad. He has started in two of the seven games that he played in this season, but as a guard.

Washington might bring him back next year, but it will be interesting to see which position Cook will try to make his mark at.

Grade : C







Kory Lichtensteiger - Drafted by Mike Shanahan and the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of the 2008 draft, he spent that year as a reserve before being cut after Shanahan was fired. The Minnesota Vikings signed Lichtensteiger, but cut him a few weeks later.

After sitting out of the league in 2009, he rejoined Shanahan with the Redskins last season and started 14 games at guard. Lichtensteiger, who can play both guard and center, began 2011 starting at guard and tore his knee up in the fifth game of the season.

He should be back, if healthy, next season because Washington needs all the help they can get on the offensive line. Lichtensteiger's best position was once thought to be center, but he has forged a decent career so far at left guard. He was playing at a decent level when his year was halted by injury, giving up no sacks or penalties at the time.

Grade : B









Defensive Line


Barry Cofield - Coming over a free agent this year from the division rival New York Giants, Cofield had adjusted nicely to the nose tackle position after having spent his previous five years as a defensive tackle.

Cofield will end up with the lowest tackle total of his career this season, expected because few nose tackles pile up huge tackle numbers, but he has a career high eight passes defended. A key note is that Cofield has missed just one game in his career, so he will be penned in for 2012.

Grade : B +








Stephen Bowen - After five years with the hated Dallas Cowboys, the undrafted Bowen came to Washington as a free agent this season. Not only has become a full-time starter the first time in his career, Bowen has responded with the finest season of his career.

He leads all Redskin defensive linemen in tackles and sacks. Bowen has proven to be a service player that Washington can plan to start again in 2012.

Grade : B +









Adam Carriker - Carriker has revitalized his career since washing out as a 2007 first round pick of the Saint Louis Rams in 2007. Unlike his time with the Rams, Carriker has not battled injuries in Washington.

Able to play nose tackle as well, the defensive end has been more productive this year compared to last season in quarterback sacks. He is getting less tackles per game, but the rate isn't a huge drop off.

The five sacks he has right now is second amongst Redskins linemen and fourth overall on the team. Since the team has so many other holes to fill, Washington could ride Carriker another season with confidence.

Grade : B -








Chris Nield - The rookie was a hero in his first game, collecting two key sacks and forcing a fumble. He hasn't been heard from since, as his 10 total tackles show. It seems he has a chance to return as a reserve next year, because nose tackle may be the most physically demanding position in all of football.

Grade : C -







Darrion Scott - After spending two years in the UFL with Haslett, after having spent four previous years with the Minnesota Vikings, Scott is in his second season with the Redskins. He has played seven games and wore three jersey numbers for Washington since then.

His Haslett connection might get him back in camp, but four total tackles says the Redskins could do better here.

Grade : D -






Kedric Gholston - A serviceable lineman since being drafted by Washington in the sixth round of the 2006 draft, Gholston got hurt in the ninth game of this season and was shelved the rest of the year.

He has a good chance of returning because he does fit the 3-4 scheme defensive coordinator Jim Haslett is running, but his output pretty much says that serving as a reserve in the rotation would be his best fit.

Grade : C -






Kentwan Balmer - The Redskins could be the last NFL team for Balmer, who has become a journeyman after flopping as the San Francisco 49er's first round pick in 2008. He has given nothing in his three games with Washington, a fact that probably doom his chances for a return next season.

Grade : F






Chris Baker - Baker came from a very defensive line at Hampton University that featured Miami Dolphins defensive end Kendall Langford and New York Jets defensive end Marcus Dixon. Detroit Lions linebacker Justin Durant got to play behind them.

While those three have become starters in the NFL, Baker had had the least success. He has logged just two games, recording no statistics, since 2009 with two teams.

After spending three months on the practice squad, he joined the team and got hurt in his first practice. Now on the injured reserve, it is doubtful Baker will be back in 2012.

Grade : Incomplete





Jarvis Jenkins - Getting injured during a promising preseason during your rookie year can only get an incomplete grade. Washington will hope his knee injury does not inhibit him any further.

Grade : Incomplete





Doug Worthington - He joined the team for the last two games of 2011 after having spent the season on the practice squad. The combination defensive tackle/ end spent 2010 on the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squads after being drafted in the seventh round. He will hope for a chance to make any NFL tea, next year.

Grade : Incomplete











Linebacker


London Fletcher - The unquestioned leader of the defense, Fletcher is a 14 year veteran who contract expires at the end of the season. While 36 years old, he has never missed a game in his career and continues to be one of the top tacklers in the NFL.

He leads the NFL with 163 tackles, which is actually more than he had in his previous two years where he garnered Pro Bowl honors. There is no doubt the man still produces better than most middle linebackers in the NFL, yet the only question will be if he wants to return in 2012.

His return is probably the most critical of all of the Redskins impending free agents. Even if his production is curtailed, Fletcher's leadership is irreplaceable.

Grade : A +









Ryan Kerrigan - Drafted in the first round of the 2011 draft, the former collegiate defensive end has made a nice transition to outside linebacker. He leads the team with 7.5 sacks, has 62 tackles, four defended passes and has a touchdown off a interception.

He is a serious candidate for for Defensive Rookie of the Year and appears to have a big future ahead that will probably includes Pro Bowls.

Grade : A










Brian Orakpo - Orakpo made the Pro Bowl in his first two seasons after the Redskins drafted him in 2009. He is still learning how to be more than just a pass rusher, yet he has a career high in both tackles and passes defended this season. If he doesn't get 1.5 sacks in his final game, he will have a career low seven this year.

He is a work in progress, but a successful one who has teams up rather nicely opposite Kerrigan at outside linebacker. They are learning from a defensive coordinator who was also once a Pro Bowl linebacker, so there is a very good chance Orakpo's game continues to evolve and improve annually.

Grade : B +









Perry Riley - Drafted in the fourth round of the 2010 draft, Riley has steadily improved at middle linebacker. After playing eight games as a rookie, Riley has now become a starter at inside linebacker and has 64 tackles so far.

He has benefited from learning from Fletcher, which only bodes well for his future in Washington. Expect him to be starting in 2012.

Grade : B









Rocky McIntosh - There is no question that McIntosh hasn't been nearly as productive as he was in 2010. Not only has he lost his starting job, but he has his least amount of starts since the 2006 draft when Washington acquired him in the second round.

His 62 tackles this year are the fewest since that rookie year, and it appears McIntosh is better suited as an outside linebacker in a 4-3 scheme. His contract expires at the end of the season, so there is a decent chance he will be with another team in 2012.

Grade : D








Lorenzo Alexander - Though listed as a linebacker, his position may be better termed as just "Football Player". Alexander made the Redskins as an undrafted rookie in 2007 and has played all along the front seven of the defense and is the captain of the special teams.

Head coach Mike Shanahan once called him Alexander the best special teams player he had been around. So it is a pretty safe bet the relentless Alexander returns in 2012.

Grade : C







Keyaron Fox - Fox makes his money on special teams. The eight-year veteran has earned a Super Bowl ring with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the past, where he was the captain of their special teams. There is a good chance Washington brings him back in 2012.

Grade : C +






Markus White - Drafted in the seventh round of the 2011 draft, White is a former collegiate defensive end converted to outside linebacker. He has appeared in one game this season.

Grade : Incomplete







Rob Jackson - Another outside linebacker converted from defensive end, Jackson makes his main contributions via special teams. He has been in Washington since 2008 since being drafted in the seventh round, but has appeared in just 24 games. Jackson will have to fight for a roster spot in 2012.

Grade : C -









Defensive Back


LaRon Landry - After starting out the first nine weeks of the 2010 as the best safety in football, Landry has been battling injuries to his Achilles tendon. He has played in just eight games since then.

After sitting out the preseason, Landry struggled with his health before shutting it down. He was still effective, making 48 tackles. But the question with him looms larger with each day.

Landry is going to be a free agent in 2012, one highly sought by teams who want to believe his injuries are behind him. Washington surely doesn't want to let him go without a fight, but owner Dan Snyder has taken similar gambles in the past and gotten burned.

Landry has all the tools desired to play strong safety, and his level of intensity makes him a favorite amongst the Redskin fans. No one would blame him for joining a team offering a bigger salary or a winning record, but this team needs him to return next season and beyond in full health so he can continue to be the best strong safety Washington has had since the immortal Hall of Famer Ken Houston.
Grade : C








DeAngelo Hall - Maybe the biggest headlines Hall has made this year was telling reporters he did not deserve his annual $4.5 million salary. Yet he leads the team with 15 passes defended and three interceptions. He is also second on the team in tackles.

Hall plays a soft corner and often gives up plays. There have been lapses in effort and attention, something not to be expected from a player raking in the salary he does.

He should be back starting in 2012, mainly because effective starting cornerbacks are hard to find. He revitalized his career with Washington in 2009 and went to the Pro Bowl last year. He is a key figure in the Redskins dreams to returning to glory.

Grade : B +









Josh Wilson - There have been several moments in the 2011 season where Wilson was the best defensive back on the team. A local hero who is also the son of a Maryland University legend, Wilson and Kevin Barnes both played on the same Terrapins team in college.

Washington signed him as a free agent this year and have been rewarded. Besides picking off two passes, Wilson is tied with the most passes defended on the team and has started and played in every game.

Not only should he be back in 2012, but it is likely the Redskins start him as well.

Grade : B +










Oshiomogho Atogwe - Washington was hoping for a bigger season from Atogwe in 2011, but he got hurt in preseason and has been inconsistent much of the year. Not only is he about to finish with his lowest tackle total since his rookie year, but the seven-year veteran missed three games and eight starts

Washington invested five years and $26 million into the free safety, so they are hoping for better in 2012. Atogwe can make plays, but he may not be on the team long if injuries continue to hamper him.

Grade : C -











Kevin Barnes - Barnes has had his best season as a Redskin since being drafted by them in the third round of the 2009 draft. He has set career high marks of two interceptions and 26 tackles thus far.

He gets picked on at times, but the improvement over his career is evident. Barnes has one more year left on his contract, so there is a good chance the homegrown hero returns to the Redskins in 2012.

Grade : C +










Dejon Gomes - Drafted in the fifth round of the 2011 draft., Gomes has started four games at free safety. He is aggressive and shows good range, but his rookie season might be most noted for his tackle ending the year of Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowl halfback Adrian Peterson. Peterson, the highest paid running back in the NFL, had a consecutive streak of 1,000 yard rushing seasons halted at four years.

Gomes will be back next year to back up Atogwe, but the future of the youngster is very promising.

Grade : B










Reed Doughty - He may not be the most athletic player, but Doughty is third on the team in tackles. Drafted in the sixth round of the 2006 draft by Washington, he has played both safety positions and started 35 of his 74 career games.

Doughty won't wow many and creates even fewer turnovers, but he is an intelligent player who gets the most out of his abilities. Yet there is no guarantee he returns in 2012 for seventh season with the Redskins. Doughty has fended off challenges from players like Chris Horton and Kareem Moore thus far, so don't count him out just yet.

Grade : C









Byron Westbrook - Born and raised in Washington D.C., Westbrook is about to complete his third season with the Redskins. It is his most productive yet, as he has a career highs with three passes defended, 10 tackles and a forced fumble.

Special teams is his main area of contribution, but it is very foreseeable that the cornerback stays on the team next year.

Grade : C









Brandyn Thompson - Drafted in the seventh round of the years draft, the bulk of his work has come via special teams. He has a pair of tackles in the five games he appeared in. He will spend nest season's training camp trying to make the team again.

Grade : D








Phillip Buchanon - Drafted in the first round of the 2002 draft, the Redskins represent his fifth team so far. Buchanon started out 2011 suspended for using performance-enhancing substances, then promptly went on inured reserve after playing in two games.

It is hard to imagine he will be back, but Redskins general manager Bruce Allen has worked with him in Oakland and Tampa Bay as well. It could be time for Buchanon to call it a career, but perhaps he tries again in 2012.

Grade : Incomplete










Specialists


Graham Gano - In 35 games over three years with the Redskins, Gano has been up and down. He has missed 20 field goals the last two years, in 74 attempts, but did make a career best four field goals of over 50 yards.

His nine misses of 39 yards or closer is a frustrating career statistic, but there are no guarantees Washington will find a better placekicker in 2012. It is possible Washington may be forced to spend a draft pick on a kicker, since Gano's inconsistencies are not conducive to winning football.

Grade : C








Sav Rocca - Rocca has been one of the Redskins best free agent signings of 2011. Despite the fact he will attempt the fewest punts of his career this year, his 43.6 yards per attempt average is the close to his career best mark. His 39.7 net yard average is the best of his career.

Though having just five NFL seasons under his belt, Rocca is 38 years old. He has spent 15 years playing Australian Rules Football. Washington needs him back in 2012, and can only hope he wants to return.

Grade : A +







Brandon Banks - The Redskins kick return specialist, the second-year pro has been used even less on offense this season. He did throw a 49-yard touchdown pass on a wide receiver option.

The diminutive Banks isn't returning balls as effectively as he did in his 2010 rookie year, but the difference isn't great and he does lead the league in kickoffs and kickoff return yardage. It seems very likely he will return to that role in 2012.

Grade : B






Nick Sundberg - After spending his 2009 rookie season on the practice squads of the Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens, Sundberg replaced aging Pro Bowler Ethan Albright at long snapper on special teams in 2010. He has done a good enough job to warrant a return next season.

Grade : A









Coaches


Mike Shanahan - Shanahan came to Washington in 2010 with a career record of 138-86 with two Super Bowl titles as a head coach. He also won another Super Bowl as an offensive coordinator.

He has gone 11-19 with the Redskins so far, which has caused some to speculate if his job was in jeopardy. Shanahan admits his rebuilding plan hasn't gone as quickly as expected, but he is basically trying to turn over a roster that suffered years of incompetence under Vinny Cerrato's leadership.

While Shanahan will need all five years of his contract to show if he was a success, there is areas he has earned criticism. The main one is him allowing his son to be the offensive coordinator, a job the younger Shanahan has looked overmatched at often.

Patience will be needed in the Redskins overhaul. He and general manager Bruce Allen saw all of their 2011 draft picks make the team, but there are plenty of other holes to fill. Yet there is the worry that Shanahan is running a system that can't win it all in the NFC East.

Grade : C -








Kyle Shanahan - Getting a job because your dad is the boss doesn't exactly breed confidence amongst the ranks. He first got a NFL job working with Jon Gruden, then four seasons under Gary Kubiak. Kubiak played two years under the eldest Shanahan, then spent 12 years coaching with him.

Washington finished 25th in scoring last year, averaging 18.9 points per game. They finished 18th in yards gained and 30th in rushing yards accrued. improvement was needed by the younger Shanahan's offense, but it actually regressed in certain areas.

The Redskins are ranked 26th in scoring this year and are averaging about a half a point less per game than 2010. They have improved to 16th and 26th in total yards and rushing yards gained, but regressed in passing yards gained and interceptions thrown despite throwing the ball at about the same rate as last season.

Most of the criticism of Shanahan's strategy comes from the fact it appears he often abandons the run in favor of the pass. It has surprised some because his father had most of his NFL successes via strong rushing attacks.

He appears destined to return to the Redskins in 2012 because of his dad being the head coach. Shanahan will most likely have a rookie quarterback in charge of his offensive schemes, so there is a chance Washington continues to falter with the ball as a young quarterback matures.

Washington fans might be stuck with both Shanahan's all five years, but a lot of critics could be suppressed if the young coordinator shows his theories to be correct.

Grade : D







Jim Haslett - Haslett has been involved with NFL defenses since 1979, save five years where he coached in college or other professional leagues. First he was a Pro Bowl linebacker, then he eventually became a head coach and respected defensive coordinator.

He is still in the throes of converting the Redskins defense into a 3-4 scheme, acquiring the personnel he feels best fits his system. The Redskins struggled last year, finishing 31st in both total yards and passing yards allowed. They were 26th in rushing yards allowed and 21st in points allowed, getting 29 sacks, 19 forced fumbles and 14 interceptions.

There was improvement this year, as Washington finished 16th in total yards allowed, 11th in passing yards allowed, and 19th in rushing yards allowed. While they have 38 sacks, the Redskins slightly improved to 19th in total points allowed.

Yet the defense is still not creating the turnovers needed to be considered respectable. They have created five less fumbles and interceptions so far, an area the team must improve on in 2012.

Haslett now has some interesting talent to work with, but depth must still be built and the run defense must get stouter. Injuries certainly hindered the unit, but that is a factor most NFL teams deal with annually.

The Redskins defense often found itself on the gridiron too long, causing fatigue, due to an inept offensive attack. If Haslett and Washington can convince aging middle linebacker London Fletcher to return next year, they will be much better off. If he doesn't, a huge hole will be there in the middle of the defense. This hole could get gigantic if strong safety LaRon Landry leaves as well.

But Haslett has led to defense to improve somewhat. He still has a ways to go, but there is more hope that pessimism involved.

Grade : B





Danny Smith - Smith has been here since 2004, but it seems he has dealt with a new kicker and punter most years. Washington finally got an excellent punter, even if he is 38 years old. But it seems their placekicker is inconsistent like most have been under Smith.

His coverage teams are generally good, but Smith must get the team a reliable kicker to procure more victories. While widely respected in the NFL, he won't reach the heights of an upper echelon special teams coach until he fixes this critical area.

Grade : B -

The Pro Football Hall of Fame voters announced 28 semi-finalists for induction into the 2012 class. As always, it is a dubious list missing a ton of superior players, coaches and contributors languishing in a black hole called the "Seniors Pool". Just two players from that pool have a chance each year, which shows the huge flaw of this voting process.

The voters have an extremely hard group of players to sift through this year. There are as many as 13 or more players I feel belong in Canton.

While the next vote to slim the list will not come for a few months, yours truly thought his ineffectual vote should be heard despite not counting. Here is the list :



Steve Atwater
Safety
Denver Broncos
11 Seasons
8 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams
24 Interceptions



I don't think he is even the best safety in Broncos history, an honor I bestow on Goose Gonsoulin then Dennis Smith and Billy Thompson. Atwater will never get my vote.






Jerome Bettis
Running Back
Pittsburgh Steelers
13 Seasons
6 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams
13,662 Yards Rushing
94 Total Touchdowns



Bettis was involved in one of the biggest steals ever, when the Steelers got him from the Saint Louis Rams in a trade. He ran for over 1,000 yards in eight of his first nine seasons, showing remarkable durability because his game was running between the tackles.

Not much of a receiver, he could be depended on once handed the ball. He fumbled 41 times, but he usually rewarded his teams with a pounding style that wore out opponents while chewing up the clock.

There is no question that Bettis is worthy of Canton, so I would vote him onto the finalist's list without hesitation.







Jack Butler
Safety
Pittsburgh Steelers
9 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
52 Interceptions
10 Fumble Recoveries
9 Touchdowns



I profiled Butler on Crazy Canton Cuts back in 2008.

He is the last person to play in the NFL from Saint Bonaventure University because the school dropped their football program after 1951. Butler joined the Bonnies football team at the request of Bonnie athletic director, Father Dan Rooney, the brother of Steelers owner Art Rooney. Butler then joined Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent rookie.

He retired early because of an injury, but his 52 interceptions in nine seasons were second most in NFL history at the time. He still ranks second in the Steelers history in total interceptions.

When he retired from playing, Butler became an NFL scout. He was the director of BLESTO for over 40 years until he retired at 80 years old in 2007. Butler has helped start the career of innumerable scouts, player personnel directors, and general managers in the NFL.

Butler was one of the hardest hitting cornerbacks to have ever played the game. Yet, he also had shut down ability, which is shown with his 52 thefts. Personally, I think his contributions off the field make him worthy two different ways.

But, sticking to just his play on the gridiron, there is no question that is is truly a disgrace that Jack Butler has not yet been inducted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame already. He goes into Canton if I voted. NO question.







Tim Brown
Wide Receiver
Oakland Raiders
17 Seasons
9 Pro Bowls
1,094 Receptions
105 Touchdowns



Brown certainly is a product of the rule changes that allows receivers to roam untouched after five yards, but he was more than just a pass catcher. Brown also made an impressive mark on special teams

My issue with his being inducted is the fact he was never selected First Team All-Pro and led the league in receiving just once. Brown did lead the NFL in punt and kickoff return yards.

But is that worthy of induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame? I say no and chalk him up as a good and reliable player who lasted a long time.








Cris Carter
Wide Receiver
Minnesota Vikings
16 Seasons
8 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams
1,101 Receptions
130 Touchdowns



Carter, like Brown, go to enjoy rules friendly to the offense in an obscene fashion. He had a gift, however, of making catches in the end zone.

That gift had him once released by the Philadelphia Eagles, where head coach Buddy Ryan the reason was that all Carter did for the Eagles was "catch touchdown passes". The truth was that Carter was abusing drugs and the wide receiver credits his being cut as the wake up call that saved his life.

The Minnesota Vikings claimed him off the waiver wire right away, where he eventually started and would hold that spot the remainder of his Vikings career. One of Carter's strengths was his conditioning and durability. Though he missed four games because if injury in one season, he played every other game possible for Minnesota.

He led the NFL in receptions once and in touchdown catches three times. Seven different quarterbacks were the primary starter in his 12 seasons with the team. Despite all the lunacy and confusion, Carter was a beacon of steady leadership and consistent production.

Carter accumulated double figures in touchdown receptions in five of his Pro Bowl years. What also made his production even more special is the fact he had to share receptions with future Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss, Pro Bowl wide receivers Jake Reed and Anthony Carter, and Pro Bowl tight end Steve Jordan.

Carter has been a finalist for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame three times so far. He ranks third in NFL history in career receptions, fourth in career touchdowns catches and eighth in career receiving yards and total touchdowns.

Then there are the old school fans who point to the obvious fact Carter never dealt with the ten-yard chuck rule, which makes it much harder to excel as a receiver, as opposed to the offensive-friendly rules he participated in. Rules that greatly inflate statistics and can help make a player look better than players who did not benefit from the rule changes. This fact has made modern statistics dwarf the numbers from the ten-yard chuck era.

Men like Mac Speedie, Lionel Taylor, Charlie Hennigan, Harold Carmichael, Drew Pearson, Gino Cappelletti, Sonny Randle, Cliff Branch, Harold Jackson, Pete Retzlaff, and LaVern Dilweg are just a few great receivers on par with Carter, Brown, and Andre Reed also awaiting their inductions. Men who dealt with a much rougher game, let alone the ten-yard chuck.

Carter has a feel-good story attached to his career, one that has now extended to where he provides analysis on television. With his career on the ropes because of drugs, he rebounded and became a leader and won the Bart Starr Man of the Year Award, the Bryan "Whizzer" White NFL Man of the Year Award and the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

Besides the 17 NFL records he either owns or shares, he is a member of the NFL's 1990s All-Decade Team. He is one of the 50 Greatest Minnesota Vikings as well as being a member of their 40th Anniversary Team.

The Vikings have retired his jersey and have had a huge amount of great receivers to play for them. Cris Carter may be the best ever for this franchise and certainly deserves to move on to being a finalist once again.






Don Coryell
Saint Louis Cardinals
San Diego Chargers
14 Seasons
111 Wins
First Coach With 100 Wins In Pro And College Football
Only Coach To Lead NFL In Passing 6 Straight Years
5 Division Titles



The biggest no-brainer of the semi-finalists. It is disgusting he hasn't been inducted already, and even more revolting he passed away last year and will never get to enjoy his deserved respect from a game that still leans heavily on his genius to this very day. Crazy Canton Cuts profiled Coryell in 2009.

Coryell played college football at the before getting into coaching. He succeeded George Allen, who later became a Pro Football Hall Of Fame coach.

He also showed his innate ability to develop players, especially on offense. He had 54 players go to the NFL from his college teams, including five players drafted in the first round. Nine of his players were First Team All-Americans. In 1967, he had eight players drafted, and five went in the first two rounds.

The Coryell coaching tree from his collegiate era is very impressive as well.

Joe Gibbs was a player on Coryell's team at first and won the team's Most Inspirational Player Award once. Gibbs later became a graduate assistant, then assistant coach at San Diego State.

He also was an assistant under Coryell with both the Cardinals and Chargers before becoming head coach of the Washington Redskins. Gibbs is a member of the Pro Football Hall Of Fame.

Another Pro Football Hall Of Fame coach who coached under Coryell at San Diego State was John Madden. Madden would join the Oakland Raiders and then become the youngest head coach of the league the next season at 32 years old.

Legendary men like Jim Hanifan, Ernie Zampese, and Rod Dowhower also coached under Coryell at San Diego State. Coryell's 104 victories and .840 winning percentage are the best in Aztec history, and he is a member of the College Football Hall Of Fame.

He then moved to the NFL to lead the Saint Louis Cardinals. His 42 wins are the most by any coach in the Cardinals franchise's history, and his five years as head coach with the team is the second longest tenure ever.

The San Diego Chargers would later hire Coryell. This was when "Air Coryell" was born as a common term, even though Coryell's years in Saint Louis also featured high-powered offenses running under much of the same schemes also used in San Diego.

When Coryell retired from the NFL with 111 wins in 195 games overall, he is the first head coach with 100 victories in both professional and collegiate football.

To try and sum up this man's career or impact on football is nearly impossible. Virtually every offense today, on all levels of the game, is a variation of his system. In his 14 seasons as a coach, his offenses led the NFL in net yards gained per passing attempt five times. They finished in the top-five of the NFL six more times.

His teams led the NFL in passing yards seven times and none of his teams finished lower than seventh. They led the NFL in passing touchdowns three times and finished in the top ten nine other times.

Many Hall Of Fame players and Pro Bowlers were coached by Coryell in the NFL. The list of players inducted into Canton includes Dan Fouts, Kellen Winslow, Charlie Joiner, Dan Dierdorf, Jackie Smith, Fred Dean and Roger Wehrli.

Coryell changed the way football was played. It is still being played the way Coryell invented to this very day. The now all-to-common sight on multiple receiver sets was first started by Coryell, as are many versions of offenses being run these days.

They are all spawns of his genius.

Winslow stated it best when he said, "For Don Coryell to not be in the Hall of Fame is a lack of knowledge of the voters. That's the nicest way that I can put that. A lack of understanding of the legacy of the game."

An ignorance that has wrongly kept Don Coryell from taking his rightful place.








Roger Craig
Running Back
San Francisco 49ers
11 Seasons
4 Pro Bowls
1 First Team All-Pro Team
8,189 Rushing Yards
566 Receptions
83 Touchdowns



A lot will point to Floyd Little as reason why Craig belongs in Canton. Like Little, Craig had a couple of great seasons and a couple of good ones. Unlike Little, he did not play on lousy teams nor did he save a city from losing their football team.

Many will point to his three Super Bowl rings, which could get him in but my opinion is that a championship is a team accomplishment. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is an individual accomplishment.

A versatile back, Craig also had the luxury of being surrounded by a ton of talent that included two Hall of Fame quarterbacks and a Hall of Fame wide receiver. He certainly was a reason the 49ers won three titles, but he was part of an offensive onslaught opponents could not stop.

I consider him a guy on the cusp, but equal to many other deserving running backs like Larry Brown, Spec Sanders and more. It wouldn't bother me to see him a finalist, but I do not consider him more worthy of induction than many other players.








Terrell Davis
Running Back
Denver Broncos
Seven Seasons
3 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
7,607 Rushing Yards
65 Touchdowns



Davis had four consecutive years of over 1,000 yards rushing before a knee injury basically ended his career. Two seasons were monstrous, where Davis led the league in rushing scores. He led the NFL with 2,008 rushing yards once as well.

Gale Sayers is an argument for Davis in a way. Sayers had a career also cut short by an injury, but he still got into Canton. Unlike Davis, Sayers was a terror as a punt and kickoff return specialist as well.

Davis was like a comet that burned brightly and flamed out fast. It shouldn't be enough to get him into Canton.








Dermontti Dawson
Center
Pittsburgh Steelers
13 Seasons
7 Pro Bowls
6 First Team All-Pro Teams



Dawson first started out as a guard before switching the center and became one of the very best in the business. He has been a semi-finalist three times and and finalist twice. It is time he gets inducted.








Eddie Debartolo Jr.
Owner
San Francisco 49ers
23 Seasons



Ummm....No! Really? This guy is a semi-finalist with a ton of worthy players not? I hope he never reaches these heights again.











Chris Doleman
Defensive End
Minnesota Vikings
15 Seasons
8 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
150.5 Quarterback Sacks
8 Interceptions
2 Touchdowns
2 Safeties



Defensive end is a position stacked with worthy candidates who are not amongst the current semi-finalists. Men like Claude Humphrey, Jim Marshall, Coy Bacon, L.C. Greenwood and many others head a list of men at this position worthy of induction.

Doleman's numbers do not lie. He was a play-making machine. But he was more than a pass rush specialist at defensive end, which is shown by the fact he exceeded 100 tackles twice in his career. Doleman did get more than 10 sacks eight season and led the league once.

There is no doubt Doleman is worthy of induction, and it would be a shame if he had to wait as long as other past greats like Humphrey or Bacon. Yet I can't say he deserves to go into ahead of them too.









Kevin Greene
Linebacker
Los Angeles Rams
15 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams
160 Quarterback Sacks
5 Interceptions
26 Fumbles Recovered
3 Safeties



A hired gun as a pass rush specialist, Greene played for five different teams in his career. While getting to a quarterback was his main focus, he did get 87 tackles one year. He had 10 or more sacks in 10 different seasons.

Greene was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year once and led the league in sacks twice. He is a lot like Charles Haley in that he did just one thing really well, but the fiery player was versatile enough to create turnovers defending the pass on occasion.

He is worthy of being a finalist, but there are a ton of other outside linebackers I'd put into Canton ahead of him.









Charles Haley
Linebacker
San Francisco 49ers
13 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams
100.5 Quarterback Sacks



The only reason Haley has been a semi-finalist three times and finalist once before is because he played on five teams that won Super Bowls. Strictly a pass rush specialist, he never had more than 69 tackles in a season.

Honestly, Charles Haley does not belong in Canton. He never led the league in any category, though he did have the good fortune to play on good teams and was able to line up at defensive end as well. There are way too many candidates more richly deserving of induction over him.









Cortez Kennedy
Defensive Tackle
Seattle Seahawks
11 Seasons
8 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
58 Sacks
3 Interceptions



Kennedy is a bit of a conundrum for me, as far as being worthy of Canton. He was a playmaker who sacked the quarterback pretty often for a defensive tackle. He did enjoy three excellent seasons where he piled up 242 tackles over that time.

Yet he recovered a measly six fumbles in his career and he had four mediocre season. I can't say he is worthy, just because there are many defensive tackles, like Curly Culp, I consider superior. Yet it wouldn't be that frustrating if he went in either.









Curtis Martin
Running Back
New York Jets
11 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro
14,101 Rushing Yards
484 Receptions
100 Touchdowns



One of the more underrated running backs of his era, Martin rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of the first 10 seasons of his career. Reliable and durable, he led the NFL in carries and rushing yards in his tenth season.

Martin was much more than a guy who carried the ball. He was an effective receiver and fumbled just 29 times in his career. He is easily the most worthy running back amongst the semi-finalists and surely gets my vote.










Clay Matthews
Linebacker
Cleveland Browns
19 Seasons
4 Pro Bowls
69.5 Sacks
16 Interceptions
14 Fumbles Recovered
2 Touchdowns



The Matthews family may be the most famous in the NFL. Bruce is already in Canton, something Clay Jr. hopes to do as well.

His longevity is a big reason he got this far, and he was still a very effective player at the end of the career. Matthews Jr. was an excellent player, I just can name a great deal many more outside linebackers I would put in first.








Karl Mecklenburg
Linebacker
Denver Broncos
12 Seasons
6 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
79 Quarterback Sacks
2 Touchdowns Scored
1 Safety



After starting out as a pass rushing specialist, Mecklenburg moved to inside linebacker and became a star. He once 13 sacks despite just nine starts.

An effective tackling machine, he had eight years of 97 tackles or more. He was a leader by example, and is one of the greatest Broncos defenders ever.

Yet I consider Randy Gradishar, who is still awaiting induction into Canton, the greatest Broncos linebacker ever. Mecklenburg was a very good player, but I would not vote him into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.









Bill Parcells
Coach/ General Manager
31 Seasons
172 wins
2 Super Bowl Wins



Parcells is here because he coached the New York Giants, a team flooded with media attention. While a good coach who has 42 more victories than defeats, he also had some limited successes with the New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots.

Known as the "Big Tuna", he was named NFL Coach of the Year three different seasons and is a member of the NFL's 1990s All-Decade Team. He then went on to become a general manager and had mixed results.

Does Parcells belong in ahead of such legendary coaches like Buddy Parker, Chuck Knox, Tom Flores, Dick Vermeil and others? He doesn't belong in ahead of Don Coryell, but the New York City factor might push him in. I think he fairly worthy, but I think that of a few others as well.










Andre Reed
Wide Receiver
Buffalo Bills
16 Seasons
7 Pro Bowls
951 Receptions
88 Touchdowns Scored



Reed was a precise route runner who was more good than great. He never led the league in any category and exceeded 1,000 yards receiving just four times despite playing in a era that caters to offensive production.

What gets him this far is the fact he played on four teams that reached the Super Bowl. He had a Hall of Fame quarterback and running back helping him as well. I classify Reed as a very good player, but I'd put a ton of wide receivers into Canton ahead of him.










Willie Roaf
Offensive Tackle
New Orleans Saints
13 Seasons
11 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams



Roaf deserves induction this year. Plain and simple. I think there are a ton of blockers who belong, but the position is usually overlooked.

Even though he missed 17 games because of injuries, Roaf started in every one of the 189 games he played in his career. A cerebral player with immense strength and incredible dexterity, the nimble tackle was rarely beat whether run blocking or protecting the blind side of the quarterback.










Donnie Shell
Safety
Pittsburgh Steelers
14 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
51 Interceptions
19 Fumbles Recovered
4 Touchdowns



Shell is the fourth Steeler on this list. A key member of the famous "Steel Curtain" defense, he is a lot like L.C. Greenwood in that he has been overlooked because that defensive unit already has three members in Canton. Yet there should be three more, even if the voters appear to have a quota per team

The 70 turnovers and four scores in his career may show that Shell was incredible, but he was mainly known for his bone-jarring tackles. There were few safeties more feared in his era.

While I feel Johnny Robinson may be the most deserving strong safety not yet in Canton, I'd put Shell in as well.










Will Shields
Guard
Kansas City Chiefs
14 Seasons
12 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams



Shields better go in immediately. He missed one start, but played in all 224 games in his career. He was always one guards in the AFC annually. He deserves induction now, but I have been saying this about Chiefs legends Jim Tyrer, Johnny Robinson and Ed Budde for years and years as well.









Dick Stanfel
Guard
Detroit Lions
7 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
5 First Team All-Pro Teams



Stanfel lasted only seven years, but he was amazing in his time. His rookie year was the only season he did not earn an accolade. After four seasons with the Lions, he joined the Washington Redskins and suddenly retired at just 31 years old.

He played in an era where the pay scale was so minimal, players usually made more money working other jobs. Stanfel left the game so he could feed his family at a higher-paying job. There were just three starting offensive lineman in the NFL older than Stanfel when he left the game.

Yet many historians agree there were few guards better. Despite his limited years, Stanfel is a member of the 1950s All-Decade Team. I'd put him in Canton, so hopefully he gets to the list of finalists.








Paul Tagliabue
Commissioner
17 Seasons



No way does this basketballer belong. He helmed the the ruination of the NFL by gearing the rules of the game to carry the offenses while building a false pedestal for the quarterback. His toad, Roger Goodell, continues to carry that message today.







Steve Tasker
Special Teams
Buffalo Bills
14 Seasons
7 Pro Bowls



Tasker was an overachiever who became a terror on special teams as a gunner. But no way does anyone belong in Canton via the special teams ahead of Ray Guy.











Aeneas Williams
Cornerback
Arizona Cardinals
14 Seasons
8 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
55 Interceptions
23 Fumble Recoveries
12 Touchdowns Scored



Williams is one of many cornerbacks who belong in Canton, joining greats like Lemar Parrish, Pat Fischer, Louis Wright and more, but he may beat them in the race for induction. Like them, he was a premier defender.

One fact easily seen is that Williams made opponents pay when they tried to move the ball in his direction. I believe he is worthy of immediate induction, but I been saying that about Parrish and others for years.








Ron Wolf
General Manager
Green Bay Packers
24 Seasons



Wolf had a career that even traveled into the Canadian Football League. He orchestrated a deal with the NFL so Joe Kapp could leave the CFL and quarterback his Minnesota Vikings team. Not only did he build them into a powerhouse where the defense was named the "Purple People Eaters", he helped the Oakland Raiders build into dominant franchise as well.

He joined the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and suffered through a 0-25 record until the team got to the NFC Championship Game. Wolf later went to the Green Bay Packers and acquired the services of Brett Favre in a trade that would later result in a Super Bowl win for the team.

Wolf belongs in Canton, but I believe coaches, owners, contributors and executives should be in a separate category so they do not steal a slot from players.








George Young
Executive
New York Giants
33 Years



An employee of the Baltimore Colts, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants and NFL, Young was named Executive of the Year five different times. His teams won three Super Bowls and one NFL Championship.


Young belongs in Canton, but coaches, owners, contributors and executives should be in a separate category so they do not steal induction slots from players.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame voters announced 28 semi-finalists for induction into the 2012 class. As always, it is a dubious list missing a ton of superior players, coaches and contributors languishing in a black hole called the "Seniors Pool". Just two players from that pool have a chance each year, which shows the huge flaw of this voting process.

The voters have an extremely hard group of players to sift through this year. There are as many as 13 or more players I feel belong in Canton.

While the next vote to slim the list will not come for a few months, yours truly thought his ineffectual vote should be heard despite not counting. Here is the list :



Steve Atwater
Safety
Denver Broncos
11 Seasons
8 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams
24 Interceptions



I don't think he is even the best safety in Broncos history, an honor I bestow on Goose Gonsoulin then Dennis Smith and Billy Thompson. Atwater will never get my vote.






Jerome Bettis
Running Back
Pittsburgh Steelers
13 Seasons
6 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams
13,662 Yards Rushing
94 Total Touchdowns



Bettis was involved in one of the biggest steals ever, when the Steelers got him from the Saint Louis Rams in a trade. He ran for over 1,000 yards in eight of his first nine seasons, showing remarkable durability because his game was running between the tackles.

Not much of a receiver, he could be depended on once handed the ball. He fumbled 41 times, but he usually rewarded his teams with a pounding style that wore out opponents while chewing up the clock.

There is no question that Bettis is worthy of Canton, so I would vote him onto the finalist's list without hesitation.







Jack Butler
Safety
Pittsburgh Steelers
9 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
52 Interceptions
10 Fumble Recoveries
9 Touchdowns



I profiled Butler on Crazy Canton Cuts back in 2008.

He is the last person to play in the NFL from Saint Bonaventure University because the school dropped their football program after 1951. Butler joined the Bonnies football team at the request of Bonnie athletic director, Father Dan Rooney, the brother of Steelers owner Art Rooney. Butler then joined Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent rookie.

He retired early because of an injury, but his 52 interceptions in nine seasons were second most in NFL history at the time. He still ranks second in the Steelers history in total interceptions.

When he retired from playing, Butler became an NFL scout. He was the director of BLESTO for over 40 years until he retired at 80 years old in 2007. Butler has helped start the career of innumerable scouts, player personnel directors, and general managers in the NFL.

Butler was one of the hardest hitting cornerbacks to have ever played the game. Yet, he also had shut down ability, which is shown with his 52 thefts. Personally, I think his contributions off the field make him worthy two different ways.

But, sticking to just his play on the gridiron, there is no question that is is truly a disgrace that Jack Butler has not yet been inducted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame already. He goes into Canton if I voted. NO question.







Tim Brown
Wide Receiver
Oakland Raiders
17 Seasons
9 Pro Bowls
1,094 Receptions
105 Touchdowns



Brown certainly is a product of the rule changes that allows receivers to roam untouched after five yards, but he was more than just a pass catcher. Brown also made an impressive mark on special teams

My issue with his being inducted is the fact he was never selected First Team All-Pro and led the league in receiving just once. Brown did lead the NFL in punt and kickoff return yards.

But is that worthy of induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame? I say no and chalk him up as a good and reliable player who lasted a long time.








Cris Carter
Wide Receiver
Minnesota Vikings
16 Seasons
8 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams
1,101 Receptions
130 Touchdowns



Carter, like Brown, go to enjoy rules friendly to the offense in an obscene fashion. He had a gift, however, of making catches in the end zone.

That gift had him once released by the Philadelphia Eagles, where head coach Buddy Ryan the reason was that all Carter did for the Eagles was "catch touchdown passes". The truth was that Carter was abusing drugs and the wide receiver credits his being cut as the wake up call that saved his life.

The Minnesota Vikings claimed him off the waiver wire right away, where he eventually started and would hold that spot the remainder of his Vikings career. One of Carter's strengths was his conditioning and durability. Though he missed four games because if injury in one season, he played every other game possible for Minnesota.

He led the NFL in receptions once and in touchdown catches three times. Seven different quarterbacks were the primary starter in his 12 seasons with the team. Despite all the lunacy and confusion, Carter was a beacon of steady leadership and consistent production.

Carter accumulated double figures in touchdown receptions in five of his Pro Bowl years. What also made his production even more special is the fact he had to share receptions with future Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss, Pro Bowl wide receivers Jake Reed and Anthony Carter, and Pro Bowl tight end Steve Jordan.

Carter has been a finalist for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame three times so far. He ranks third in NFL history in career receptions, fourth in career touchdowns catches and eighth in career receiving yards and total touchdowns.

Then there are the old school fans who point to the obvious fact Carter never dealt with the ten-yard chuck rule, which makes it much harder to excel as a receiver, as opposed to the offensive-friendly rules he participated in. Rules that greatly inflate statistics and can help make a player look better than players who did not benefit from the rule changes. This fact has made modern statistics dwarf the numbers from the ten-yard chuck era.

Men like Mac Speedie, Lionel Taylor, Charlie Hennigan, Harold Carmichael, Drew Pearson, Gino Cappelletti, Sonny Randle, Cliff Branch, Harold Jackson, Pete Retzlaff, and LaVern Dilweg are just a few great receivers on par with Carter, Brown, and Andre Reed also awaiting their inductions. Men who dealt with a much rougher game, let alone the ten-yard chuck.

Carter has a feel-good story attached to his career, one that has now extended to where he provides analysis on television. With his career on the ropes because of drugs, he rebounded and became a leader and won the Bart Starr Man of the Year Award, the Bryan "Whizzer" White NFL Man of the Year Award and the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

Besides the 17 NFL records he either owns or shares, he is a member of the NFL's 1990s All-Decade Team. He is one of the 50 Greatest Minnesota Vikings as well as being a member of their 40th Anniversary Team.

The Vikings have retired his jersey and have had a huge amount of great receivers to play for them. Cris Carter may be the best ever for this franchise and certainly deserves to move on to being a finalist once again.






Don Coryell
Saint Louis Cardinals
San Diego Chargers
14 Seasons
111 Wins
First Coach With 100 Wins In Pro And College Football
Only Coach To Lead NFL In Passing 6 Straight Years
5 Division Titles



The biggest no-brainer of the semi-finalists. It is disgusting he hasn't been inducted already, and even more revolting he passed away last year and will never get to enjoy his deserved respect from a game that still leans heavily on his genius to this very day. Crazy Canton Cuts profiled Coryell in 2009.

Coryell played college football at the before getting into coaching. He succeeded George Allen, who later became a Pro Football Hall Of Fame coach.

He also showed his innate ability to develop players, especially on offense. He had 54 players go to the NFL from his college teams, including five players drafted in the first round. Nine of his players were First Team All-Americans. In 1967, he had eight players drafted, and five went in the first two rounds.

The Coryell coaching tree from his collegiate era is very impressive as well.

Joe Gibbs was a player on Coryell's team at first and won the team's Most Inspirational Player Award once. Gibbs later became a graduate assistant, then assistant coach at San Diego State.

He also was an assistant under Coryell with both the Cardinals and Chargers before becoming head coach of the Washington Redskins. Gibbs is a member of the Pro Football Hall Of Fame.

Another Pro Football Hall Of Fame coach who coached under Coryell at San Diego State was John Madden. Madden would join the Oakland Raiders and then become the youngest head coach of the league the next season at 32 years old.

Legendary men like Jim Hanifan, Ernie Zampese, and Rod Dowhower also coached under Coryell at San Diego State. Coryell's 104 victories and .840 winning percentage are the best in Aztec history, and he is a member of the College Football Hall Of Fame.

He then moved to the NFL to lead the Saint Louis Cardinals. His 42 wins are the most by any coach in the Cardinals franchise's history, and his five years as head coach with the team is the second longest tenure ever.

The San Diego Chargers would later hire Coryell. This was when "Air Coryell" was born as a common term, even though Coryell's years in Saint Louis also featured high-powered offenses running under much of the same schemes also used in San Diego.

When Coryell retired from the NFL with 111 wins in 195 games overall, he is the first head coach with 100 victories in both professional and collegiate football.

To try and sum up this man's career or impact on football is nearly impossible. Virtually every offense today, on all levels of the game, is a variation of his system. In his 14 seasons as a coach, his offenses led the NFL in net yards gained per passing attempt five times. They finished in the top-five of the NFL six more times.

His teams led the NFL in passing yards seven times and none of his teams finished lower than seventh. They led the NFL in passing touchdowns three times and finished in the top ten nine other times.

Many Hall Of Fame players and Pro Bowlers were coached by Coryell in the NFL. The list of players inducted into Canton includes Dan Fouts, Kellen Winslow, Charlie Joiner, Dan Dierdorf, Jackie Smith, Fred Dean and Roger Wehrli.

Coryell changed the way football was played. It is still being played the way Coryell invented to this very day. The now all-to-common sight on multiple receiver sets was first started by Coryell, as are many versions of offenses being run these days.

They are all spawns of his genius.

Winslow stated it best when he said, "For Don Coryell to not be in the Hall of Fame is a lack of knowledge of the voters. That's the nicest way that I can put that. A lack of understanding of the legacy of the game."

An ignorance that has wrongly kept Don Coryell from taking his rightful place.








Roger Craig
Running Back
San Francisco 49ers
11 Seasons
4 Pro Bowls
1 First Team All-Pro Team
8,189 Rushing Yards
566 Receptions
83 Touchdowns



A lot will point to Floyd Little as reason why Craig belongs in Canton. Like Little, Craig had a couple of great seasons and a couple of good ones. Unlike Little, he did not play on lousy teams nor did he save a city from losing their football team.

Many will point to his three Super Bowl rings, which could get him in but my opinion is that a championship is a team accomplishment. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is an individual accomplishment.

A versatile back, Craig also had the luxury of being surrounded by a ton of talent that included two Hall of Fame quarterbacks and a Hall of Fame wide receiver. He certainly was a reason the 49ers won three titles, but he was part of an offensive onslaught opponents could not stop.

I consider him a guy on the cusp, but equal to many other deserving running backs like Larry Brown, Spec Sanders and more. It wouldn't bother me to see him a finalist, but I do not consider him more worthy of induction than many other players.








Terrell Davis
Running Back
Denver Broncos
Seven Seasons
3 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
7,607 Rushing Yards
65 Touchdowns



Davis had four consecutive years of over 1,000 yards rushing before a knee injury basically ended his career. Two seasons were monstrous, where Davis led the league in rushing scores. He led the NFL with 2,008 rushing yards once as well.

Gale Sayers is an argument for Davis in a way. Sayers had a career also cut short by an injury, but he still got into Canton. Unlike Davis, Sayers was a terror as a punt and kickoff return specialist as well.

Davis was like a comet that burned brightly and flamed out fast. It shouldn't be enough to get him into Canton.








Dermontti Dawson
Center
Pittsburgh Steelers
13 Seasons
7 Pro Bowls
6 First Team All-Pro Teams



Dawson first started out as a guard before switching the center and became one of the very best in the business. He has been a semi-finalist three times and and finalist twice. It is time he gets inducted.








Eddie Debartolo Jr.
Owner
San Francisco 49ers
23 Seasons



Ummm....No! Really? This guy is a semi-finalist with a ton of worthy players not? I hope he never reaches these heights again.











Chris Doleman
Defensive End
Minnesota Vikings
15 Seasons
8 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
150.5 Quarterback Sacks
8 Interceptions
2 Touchdowns
2 Safeties



Defensive end is a position stacked with worthy candidates who are not amongst the current semi-finalists. Men like Claude Humphrey, Jim Marshall, Coy Bacon, L.C. Greenwood and many others head a list of men at this position worthy of induction.

Doleman's numbers do not lie. He was a play-making machine. But he was more than a pass rush specialist at defensive end, which is shown by the fact he exceeded 100 tackles twice in his career. Doleman did get more than 10 sacks eight season and led the league once.

There is no doubt Doleman is worthy of induction, and it would be a shame if he had to wait as long as other past greats like Humphrey or Bacon. Yet I can't say he deserves to go into ahead of them too.









Kevin Greene
Linebacker
Los Angeles Rams
15 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams
160 Quarterback Sacks
5 Interceptions
26 Fumbles Recovered
3 Safeties



A hired gun as a pass rush specialist, Greene played for five different teams in his career. While getting to a quarterback was his main focus, he did get 87 tackles one year. He had 10 or more sacks in 10 different seasons.

Greene was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year once and led the league in sacks twice. He is a lot like Charles Haley in that he did just one thing really well, but the fiery player was versatile enough to create turnovers defending the pass on occasion.

He is worthy of being a finalist, but there are a ton of other outside linebackers I'd put into Canton ahead of him.









Charles Haley
Linebacker
San Francisco 49ers
13 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams
100.5 Quarterback Sacks



The only reason Haley has been a semi-finalist three times and finalist once before is because he played on five teams that won Super Bowls. Strictly a pass rush specialist, he never had more than 69 tackles in a season.

Honestly, Charles Haley does not belong in Canton. He never led the league in any category, though he did have the good fortune to play on good teams and was able to line up at defensive end as well. There are way too many candidates more richly deserving of induction over him.









Cortez Kennedy
Defensive Tackle
Seattle Seahawks
11 Seasons
8 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
58 Sacks
3 Interceptions



Kennedy is a bit of a conundrum for me, as far as being worthy of Canton. He was a playmaker who sacked the quarterback pretty often for a defensive tackle. He did enjoy three excellent seasons where he piled up 242 tackles over that time.

Yet he recovered a measly six fumbles in his career and he had four mediocre season. I can't say he is worthy, just because there are many defensive tackles, like Curly Culp, I consider superior. Yet it wouldn't be that frustrating if he went in either.









Curtis Martin
Running Back
New York Jets
11 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro
14,101 Rushing Yards
484 Receptions
100 Touchdowns



One of the more underrated running backs of his era, Martin rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of the first 10 seasons of his career. Reliable and durable, he led the NFL in carries and rushing yards in his tenth season.

Martin was much more than a guy who carried the ball. He was an effective receiver and fumbled just 29 times in his career. He is easily the most worthy running back amongst the semi-finalists and surely gets my vote.










Clay Matthews
Linebacker
Cleveland Browns
19 Seasons
4 Pro Bowls
69.5 Sacks
16 Interceptions
14 Fumbles Recovered
2 Touchdowns



The Matthews family may be the most famous in the NFL. Bruce is already in Canton, something Clay Jr. hopes to do as well.

His longevity is a big reason he got this far, and he was still a very effective player at the end of the career. Matthews Jr. was an excellent player, I just can name a great deal many more outside linebackers I would put in first.








Karl Mecklenburg
Linebacker
Denver Broncos
12 Seasons
6 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
79 Quarterback Sacks
2 Touchdowns Scored
1 Safety



After starting out as a pass rushing specialist, Mecklenburg moved to inside linebacker and became a star. He once 13 sacks despite just nine starts.

An effective tackling machine, he had eight years of 97 tackles or more. He was a leader by example, and is one of the greatest Broncos defenders ever.

Yet I consider Randy Gradishar, who is still awaiting induction into Canton, the greatest Broncos linebacker ever. Mecklenburg was a very good player, but I would not vote him into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.









Bill Parcells
Coach/ General Manager
31 Seasons
172 wins
2 Super Bowl Wins



Parcells is here because he coached the New York Giants, a team flooded with media attention. While a good coach who has 42 more victories than defeats, he also had some limited successes with the New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots.

Known as the "Big Tuna", he was named NFL Coach of the Year three different seasons and is a member of the NFL's 1990s All-Decade Team. He then went on to become a general manager and had mixed results.

Does Parcells belong in ahead of such legendary coaches like Buddy Parker, Chuck Knox, Tom Flores, Dick Vermeil and others? He doesn't belong in ahead of Don Coryell, but the New York City factor might push him in. I think he fairly worthy, but I think that of a few others as well.










Andre Reed
Wide Receiver
Buffalo Bills
16 Seasons
7 Pro Bowls
951 Receptions
88 Touchdowns Scored



Reed was a precise route runner who was more good than great. He never led the league in any category and exceeded 1,000 yards receiving just four times despite playing in a era that caters to offensive production.

What gets him this far is the fact he played on four teams that reached the Super Bowl. He had a Hall of Fame quarterback and running back helping him as well. I classify Reed as a very good player, but I'd put a ton of wide receivers into Canton ahead of him.










Willie Roaf
Offensive Tackle
New Orleans Saints
13 Seasons
11 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams



Roaf deserves induction this year. Plain and simple. I think there are a ton of blockers who belong, but the position is usually overlooked.

Even though he missed 17 games because of injuries, Roaf started in every one of the 189 games he played in his career. A cerebral player with immense strength and incredible dexterity, the nimble tackle was rarely beat whether run blocking or protecting the blind side of the quarterback.










Donnie Shell
Safety
Pittsburgh Steelers
14 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
51 Interceptions
19 Fumbles Recovered
4 Touchdowns



Shell is the fourth Steeler on this list. A key member of the famous "Steel Curtain" defense, he is a lot like L.C. Greenwood in that he has been overlooked because that defensive unit already has three members in Canton. Yet there should be three more, even if the voters appear to have a quota per team

The 70 turnovers and four scores in his career may show that Shell was incredible, but he was mainly known for his bone-jarring tackles. There were few safeties more feared in his era.

While I feel Johnny Robinson may be the most deserving strong safety not yet in Canton, I'd put Shell in as well.










Will Shields
Guard
Kansas City Chiefs
14 Seasons
12 Pro Bowls
2 First Team All-Pro Teams



Shields better go in immediately. He missed one start, but played in all 224 games in his career. He was always one guards in the AFC annually. He deserves induction now, but I have been saying this about Chiefs legends Jim Tyrer, Johnny Robinson and Ed Budde for years and years as well.









Dick Stanfel
Guard
Detroit Lions
7 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls
5 First Team All-Pro Teams



Stanfel lasted only seven years, but he was amazing in his time. His rookie year was the only season he did not earn an accolade. After four seasons with the Lions, he joined the Washington Redskins and suddenly retired at just 31 years old.

He played in an era where the pay scale was so minimal, players usually made more money working other jobs. Stanfel left the game so he could feed his family at a higher-paying job. There were just three starting offensive lineman in the NFL older than Stanfel when he left the game.

Yet many historians agree there were few guards better. Despite his limited years, Stanfel is a member of the 1950s All-Decade Team. I'd put him in Canton, so hopefully he gets to the list of finalists.








Paul Tagliabue
Commissioner
17 Seasons



No way does this basketballer belong. He helmed the the ruination of the NFL by gearing the rules of the game to carry the offenses while building a false pedestal for the quarterback. His toad, Roger Goodell, continues to carry that message today.







Steve Tasker
Special Teams
Buffalo Bills
14 Seasons
7 Pro Bowls



Tasker was an overachiever who became a terror on special teams as a gunner. But no way does anyone belong in Canton via the special teams ahead of Ray Guy.











Aeneas Williams
Cornerback
Arizona Cardinals
14 Seasons
8 Pro Bowls
3 First Team All-Pro Teams
55 Interceptions
23 Fumble Recoveries
12 Touchdowns Scored



Williams is one of many cornerbacks who belong in Canton, joining greats like Lemar Parrish, Pat Fischer, Louis Wright and more, but he may beat them in the race for induction. Like them, he was a premier defender.

One fact easily seen is that Williams made opponents pay when they tried to move the ball in his direction. I believe he is worthy of immediate induction, but I been saying that about Parrish and others for years.








Ron Wolf
General Manager
Green Bay Packers
24 Seasons



Wolf had a career that even traveled into the Canadian Football League. He orchestrated a deal with the NFL so Joe Kapp could leave the CFL and quarterback his Minnesota Vikings team. Not only did he build them into a powerhouse where the defense was named the "Purple People Eaters", he helped the Oakland Raiders build into dominant franchise as well.

He joined the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and suffered through a 0-25 record until the team got to the NFC Championship Game. Wolf later went to the Green Bay Packers and acquired the services of Brett Favre in a trade that would later result in a Super Bowl win for the team.

Wolf belongs in Canton, but I believe coaches, owners, contributors and executives should be in a separate category so they do not steal a slot from players.








George Young
Executive
New York Giants
33 Years



An employee of the Baltimore Colts, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants and NFL, Young was named Executive of the Year five different times. His teams won three Super Bowls and one NFL Championship.


Young belongs in Canton, but coaches, owners, contributors and executives should be in a separate category so they do not steal induction slots from players.

The NFL has been called the "Not For Long" game for decades, and this fact has accelerated since free agency was introduced. Rosters of teams are frequently encountering some amount of personnel turnover, no matter how much success was had in the previous season.

The one position a franchise seeks stability at most is the quarterback position. This player handles the football on most plays, and many are expected to be amongst the most important leaders of their teams. The quarterback also typically enjoys one of the largest salaries on the payroll once he becomes a starter.

The annual draft brings a plethora of collegiate athletes who want to be the next Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana or Tom Brady. A type of leader who wins many titles on their way to gridiron immortality by being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The 2012 season should be no different than others in the NFL, meaning there will be quite a few teams trying to find their next franchise quarterback. Then there are others who would like to strengthen the position by bolster the bench in case an injury occurs to their incumbent starter.

Here is a peek at a few of those teams that will most likely look to improve their roster at such a key position.

Indianapolis Colts



The Colts are well in the lead for the right to select Andrew Luck with the first overall pick in the 2012 draft, considering the team has failed to win a single game so far this season. The team might might miss future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning immeasurably this year, but Manning will be 36 next year.

Not only does Manning's age make the selection of Luck even more important, the fact that the veteran is struggling to heal from a neck injury has his future in doubt. But the Colts would like to get a few more years from Manning, considering they had signed him to a huge contract extension before the season began.

If Manning returns at a starters level, it helps Indianapolis. Not only would they have their fiery leader back, Luck could sit and learn from one of the best quarterbacks in franchise history.

If Manning's neck injury prevents a full return, Luck is skilled enough to step in right away and play at an NFL level. Luck has quite a few similarities to Manning.

Both are not only students of the game, but they are both the sons of former NFL quarterbacks. They have basically lived and breathed the gridiron since the day they were born.

Rarely does a team have the ability to transition from a Hall of Famer to a possible future great. The Green Bay Packers are experiencing this now, and the Colts would surely love to follow in their footsteps and hoist a Super Bowl trophy with their young quarterback one day.





Miami Dolphins



It seems a certainty Miami will use their 2012 draft pick on a quarterback. The only question will be if they go with Matt Moore another year at starter, as they develop the rookie, or throw the kid to the wolves immediately.

The Dolphins will most likely have a new head coach next year, as well as waive Chad Henne. Henne, who had started 31 out of 34 games before being hurt early this year, appears to be better served to find newer surroundings. Moore, who has started since, has been serviceable at best.

Perhaps the Dolphins fans are tiring of a franchise that is seemingly rebuilding each season the past decade, but the team is still looking for the next Bob Griese or Dan Marino. They will eye talents like Matt Barkely, Landry Jones, and possibly Robert Griffin. If Miami continues to struggle in 2011, many experts feel Barkely will be the selection very early in the 2012 draft.





Washington Redskins



Redskins general manager Bruce Allen and head coach Mike Shanahan knew they were gambling with the likes of Rex Grossman and John Beck at quarterback this year. On a team full of holes and looking to rebuild, Allen concentrated on filling the roster with a very sound draft.

With a season shortened by a strike, the Washington brass may not have felt comfortable trying to develop a rookie quarterback in such a short amount of time. Training camp is crucial for a young player to learn his organization from top to bottom.

After watching the current Redskins quarterbacks stumble and bumble around so far, many expect the team to finally draft a quarterback in Shanahan's third season. Some think the team also didn't do so in 2011 because there were no quarterbacks they were in love with.

It is possible Washington replaces both of their current quarterbacks via free agency and the draft in 2012. Possibly grabbing a veteran to man the helm as the kid develops, setting up a view of progress in the two last years of Shanahan's contract the following year.

After a fast start, the Redskins are on a dreadful losing streak currently. If this continues, the team will sit pretty high up in the draft order. Other teams with lesser records, the Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins, are expected to also draft a quarterback in 2012.

If, as expected, Andrew Luck and Matt Barkely are off the board by the time Washington picks, the team will be left with Landry Jones and Robert Griffin. Griffin is more athletic, the type of quarterback Shanahan has had success with in the past. Landry is experienced and precise.

Both have accurate guns and many collegiate starts under their belts, so the Redskins would win big drafting either player. This draft may be the time for Shanahan and Allen to put their Redskins legacies on the line by finally grabbing their franchise quarterback.




Cleveland Browns



Colt McCoy is the starter, and the young player is on a struggling team that is desperately trying to get good talent around him while learning a new offensive system under a new head coach. All three Browns quarterbacks on the 2011 roster are small, standing about six-foot tall each.

Seneca Wallace is the veteran that serves as the top reserve. He is mostly known for his legs than arm. Thaddeus Lewis is a raw prospect in his second season with the team.

Cleveland could take a flier on Ryan Tannehill as early as the third round. After spending his first two years of college at wide receiver, the 6'4" Tannehill has ocassionally displayed a skill set that will impress teams. He is extremely raw, but very athletic and a hard worker.

With McCoy entrenched as the starter, Cleveland can afford to spend a few years developing this intriguing project. Tannehill is the type who could greatly award a coach's patience down the road.





Arizona Cardinals



Kevin Kolb has not played well since the Cardinals traded a lot to get him this season. His backup, second-year pro John Skelton, has played better. Journeyman Richard Bartel is third on the depth chart, while the young Max Hall is spending 2011 on the injured reserve.

It is unlikely the Cards dump Kolb, but owner Bill Bidwell is known for his frugality and Kolb becomes a free agent at the end of the year. This factor could have Arizona to go with Skelton next year.

If that happens, Arizona may not be comfortable with Hall and Bartel as the main reserves. The team could look at an experienced player like Chandler Harnish in the later rounds, or even look at local hero Nick Foles early on.




Kansas City Chiefs



Matt Cassel hasn't impressed everyone since the Chiefs traded for him in 2009 and handed him a contract worth $61 million over six years. Even if he continues to start, the reserves behind Cassel are from from impressive.

Journeyman Tyler Palko, who has 35 passing yards since turning pro in 2007, is the top backup. Rookie Ricky Stanzi, drafted in the fifth round of the 2011 draft, sits on the bottom of the depth chart.

Cassel is now hurt, so Palko will get his audition. The Chiefs erratic 2011 season could take a turn for the worse now, which could force them to think about bringing more quarterbacks into training camp next year.

Gettin a veteran free agent seems most logical, but there could be an interest in getting a solid player like Kirk Cousins or Brandon Weeden later in the draft if Palko plays poorly. Weeden is the 2011 version of Chris Wienke, meaning he is going to be a 28 year old rookie, so his age could cause his draft stock to drop down into the later rounds.




Seattle Seahawks



Tavaris Jackson is starting now, but his play has been inconsistent. Charlie Whitehurst, his reserve, has been horrible whenever he has played. Josh Portis is an athletic and raw rookie prospect Seattle has kept on the roster this year.

Pete Carroll is still rebuilding his team, turning over personnel at a rapid rate. Yet he hasn't gone after a quarterback in the draft he wanted to start. This could be the year he uses a first round draft pick for the position.

Seattle is struggling right now, but so are 10 other teams with records the same or worse than the Seahawks 3-6 mark. There are no guarantees that Seattle would get to Matt Barkley, who was recruited to play at USC by Carroll just a few years ago.

The only other quarterbacks considered a first round talent after Luck and Barkely is Landry Jones and Robert Griffin. Both are big with strong arms that have excellent accuracy. While Seattle could gamble with Jackson in 2012, now may the time for Carroll to get his quarterback of the future.




Oakland Raiders



Oakland has basically mortgaged their future into Carson Palmer at quarterback, but the backup quarterback position could be an issue in 2012. Jason Campbell, who began the season as the starter until an injury to him prompted the Raiders to trade for Palmer, may want out to find a starting job elsewhere next season.

Kyle Boller probably won't be on the team next year, considering how poorly he played when Campbell went down. Oakland used a supplemental draft choice on Terrelle Pryor, a project who is most likely years away from being ready to contribute.

Getting a free agent veteran to carry a clipboard is most likely the direction the Raiders will go next year if Campbell leaves the team. Al Davis has passed away, but his legacy lives on. There is a chance the team might grab a kid after the draft to see if they can develop a competent reserve for Palmer in the years ahead.




Denver Broncos



It seems almost a certainty that Kyle Orton will leave the Broncos at the end of the year. Reserve Brady Quinn seems destined to remain a bench player for however long he stays in the NFL.

Tim Tebow can't throw or read defenses, but he can win games. Some critics are not sold that Broncos president John Elway, a Hall of Fame quarterback, is sold on Tebow a the future at the key position. Tebow could alleviate any purported issues by continuing to win.

If they keep Tebow, they still need to get a backup besides Quinn. That may require Denver selecting a quarterback in the mid-rounds of the 2012 draft. If the Broncos rather jettison Tebow or bench him, they will have the conundrum of using a first round pick on either a signal caller or continue building the defense.

Kellen Moore is a lefty like Tebow, and he also has the most wins by a starting quarterback in NCAA history. A gritty and cerebral type, he could provide a decent backup on a team. He could go anywhere from the third round on.

If Denver decides to go in a different direction than Tebow, an athletic type like Robert Griffin III could interest Elway. Nick Foles could be there in the second round, because he may take longer to develop, while Griffin appears destined for the first.





Houston Texans



Matt Schaub is the starter, but he is often battling injuries. Houston has had a history of picking up discarded first round flops to back him up, ranging from Rex Grossman to Matt Leinart.

T.J. Yates was drafted in the fifth round of the 2011 draft, so the Texans may eschew from grabbing another project to develop. Schaub is hurt again, this time for the rest of the year, so Leinart will become the starter.

If Leinart fails, Houston might look into the free agency market to get a better veteran on the bench. But a failure could also bring a change at the head coaching slot, so a new administration may decide to go with young players.

Dominique Davis is an interesting project who might last until the later rounds of the 2012 draft. Unlike the three current Texans quarterbacks, Davis is athletic.




New York Jets



Mark Sanchez, as erratic as he is, should hold the staring job once again in 2012. But getting some youth in the backup slot may not be a bad idea.

Sanchez's top reserve is 41 year old Mark Brunell, whose NFL career should be nearing an end this year. The Jets have journeyman Kevin O'Connell, who has 28 career passing yards since being drafted in the third round of the 2008 draft.

It isn't a bad idea to consider drafting a quarterback in the later rounds. Case Keenum, who has the most passing touchdowns in NCAA history, should be there.




Jacksonville Jaguars



The future is now with rookie Blaine Gabbert, who has been struggling mightily as he tried to go for the spread offense, which he played in college, to the pro set in Jacksonville. His only backup is journeyman Luke McCown.

McCown began the season as the starter, but quickly lost it after horrendous play. The Jags are not molding anyone on the practice squad, so they need to consider upgrading the backup job through the draft.

Since they used their 2011 first round pick on Gabbert, Jacksonville could wait late in the draft in 2012 before grabbing a quarterback. Ryan Lindley is just one of a few to consider, despite the fact he has struggled in his senior season.




New York Giants



Eli Manning has the starters job unquestionably. David Carr, the first overall draft choice of 2002, has been his backup in three of the last four years. Yet Carr will be 33 years old before the 2012 season starts.

Rookie Ryan Perrilloux sits on the practice squad, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to get another youngster in camp to see if Manning could groom them into a serviceable player down the road. Yet the Jints may not want to waste a draft pick, opting to look in the free agents pool.

E.J. Manuel is a huge kid who could go undrafted, as could people like Jacory Harris The Giants wasted draft picks in the recent past on guys like Andre Woodson and Rhett Bomar and got nothing in return, so they could stand pat with Carr and Perrilloux.




Green Bay Packers



Rumors of backup Matt Flynn departing at seasons end began awhile ago. He has been called the next Matt Cassel, even if he has less NFL experience than Cassel did when he switched teams in 2009.

Flynn has been a reserve since 2008, thrown 86 career passes, and lost the only game he has started. Yet there are rumblings his services will be sought after when he becomes a free agent at the end of this year.

If that happens, the Packers could opt to go with Graham Harrell. A journeyman on their practice squad, there is a chance he will hold the honor of backing up star quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Green Bay general manager Ted Thompson could look at this position in the later rounds, where interesting projects like Dan Persa or Jarrett Lee will sit. Lee is from LSU like Flynn and the pairs collegiate careers parallel each other somewhat.

Making predictions of an upcoming NFL season is basically akin to swinging a stick at a pinata blindfolded, yet without knowing if such a target truly exists. The reason of an educated guess can be leaned upon, yet there is no real science because too many unknown factors lurk in shadows set aside annually by the enemies of success.

Even with a 2011 season hurriedly smashed together after a players strike that killed much of the preseason, the league has gone on collecting the offerings of fans as this circus barks town to town. The actual play on the field may have degenerated some, but much of this stems from rules that were set out without much clear thought instilled.

As the NFL hits the midpoint of the 2011 season, there are already reasons to rejoice about the game. Some surprises have been peppered in with the unexpected and relied upon. As the pretend awards are passed out, on their way to the real ones in a few months, we look back at preseason predictions and compare them with the reality of here and now.



MVP : Aaron Rodgers, Quarterback, Green Bay Packers


I picked Rodgers to win this award a few months ago, and he has played as expected. His team, which relies on him heavily, is undefeated and showing they could be better than the Packers squad that won it all last year. I still think he walks away with the NFL MVP Award when he season ends, and Rodgers has done nothing to show why he won't yet.

Matt Forte, Frank Gore, Drew Brees, and Eli Manning are worth noting for their efforts so far.






Offensive Player of the Year : Fred Jackson, Halfback, Buffalo Bills


My preseason selection, Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens, has done nothing but show why I selected him. Yet Jackson is the biggest reason the Bills are in first place in the AFC East. He leads the NFL in rushing yards and is just 47 yards away from leading the league in total yards from scrimmage.

Jackson already had the respect of the league for his versatility, and it appears he is headed to his first Pro Bowl season. If he holds up this year, since the Bills rely on him so heavily, Buffalo could make the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

Rice, Forte, LeSean McCoy, Wes Welker, Calvin Johnson, and Steve Smith are all certainly capable of winning this award when the season ends.










Defensive Player of the Year : Jared Allen, Defensive End, Minnesota Vikings


The player I picked to win this award, Ndamukong Suh, has been average for most of this season. Allen has been awesome all season. He is tied with the most fumbles forced, fumbles recovered, and passes defended amongst all defensive linemen.

He leads everyone with 12.5 sacks and is fourth in tackles amongst defensive linemen. Allen has also found time to intercept a pass. While the Vikings have struggled this season, it could be a lot worse if Allen wasn't having the season he currently is. Minnesota has been mostly competitive because he keeps caving in offensive lines off the edge.

Nick Barnett, Kameron Chancellor, Darrelle Revis, Charles Woodson, and Jason Pierre-Paul are just a few players who could be considered for this award.







Offensive Rookie of the Year : Cameron Newton, Quarterback, Carolina Panthers


My selection, Daniel Thomas, has struggled with his health all year and is fourth amongst all rookies in rushing yards. Newton is third so far.

But it isn't just his legs that makes him special. Despite being the first draft selection of 2011, pundits expected him to struggle from the spread offense, that he played in college, to the pro style offense. Newton has had a few rookie struggles, but he has mostly stood out for his struggling Panthers.

He has performed so well that Carolina hardly runs the football this year despite giving halfback DeAngelo Williams just 75 carries so far after making him one of the highest paid halfbacks in the game before the season started.

Newton has already set team records, by throwing for 432 yards in one game and 854 yards in two consecutive games. His 422 yards passing in his debut is the most in NFL history, and the 854 yards thrown in his first two games is also a NFL record.

Not only is Newton the first rookie in NFL history to pass for more than 400 yards in first career start, as well as the first rookie in NFL history to pass for more than 400 yards in first two career starts, he is just the sixth quarterback ever to throw for over 400 yards in consecutive games.

He is the only player in NFL history with at least five rushing touchdowns and five passing touchdowns in his first five games, and he is one rushing touchdown away from having for most rushing touchdowns by a rookie quarterback.

Andy Dalton, who is having an excellent season so far as the starting quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals, is the only rookie in the discussion with Newton. Dalton has done well, but the surprising Bengals sit on top of the AFC North right now because of their defense.

Newton's team is not winning much yet, but the future appears bright for this 6'5" 248 lbs monster who already has the respect of opponents. He has a better quarterback rating than Dalton, as well as over 900 more passing yards. He is already the leader of a rebuilding Panthers franchise, and one day could be the best quarterback in the league.







Defensive Rookie of the Year : Patrick Peterson, Cornerback, Arizona Cardinals


My pick, J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans, is playing very well and is certainly in the running. So are players like Mason Foster, Ryan Kerrigan, Von Miller, Akeem Ayers, Marcell Dareus, Phil Taylor, and Brooks Reed.

Peterson leads all NFL rookies in solo tackles, interceptions, passes defended, and is third in total tackles. But what separates him is the work he does on special teams. He is already the best punt returner in the league.

He leads in the NFL with three touchdowns off of punt returns, punt return yards, and a whopping 21.8 average off of 19 returns. Peterson is already within reach of several NFL records.

His three touchdowns is tied with Devin Hester as the second most by a rookie in NFL history and one away from the record Hall of Famer Jack Christiansen set in 1951. He is just 242 yards away from the record Louis Lipps set in 1984 for the most punt return yards ever by a rookie. He is also within reach of the 23 yards per return average Herb Rich set on 12 returns in 1950.

His 99-yard punt return is the second longest ever in NFL history. It happened in overtime against the Saint Louis Rams, and was the first overtime by a rookie off a punt return since Tamarick Vanover did it in 1995.

If Peterson keeps up even half of this pace, as many suspect he will, there should be an easy task for the voters on who is the 2011 Defensive Rookie of the Year.








Comeback Player of the Year : Ben Tate, Houston Texans


I picked Tate and he is already fulfilling expectations. He already has 623 rushing yards despite being basically a reserve with limited touches. He is averaging a very impressive 5.7 yards per carry as well.

This award generally goes to players who, like Tate, are coming back from a previous year ruined by injuries. It also can go to an improved player who had previously struggled. Men like Ryan Fitzpatrick and Alex Green are in the running based on those facts.

Arian Foster is the star of the Texans. Not only is he the 2010 rushing yards leader, he leads the team in rushing yards , attempts, and touchdowns this season. Yet he has a lead of just 33 yards over Tate despite 45 more attempts and having started every game but two for Houston in 2011.

It will be curious to see how much longer the Texans keep this duo in tact beyond 2011. Tate has just one start this year, a number he undoubtedly would like to change down the road. Houston has the most rushing attempts and second most running yards by a team so far this year, which is a big reason the Texans sit on top of the AFC South right now.

Tate seems a cinch to join Foster as a pair off 1,000-yard rushers for the Texans this year. He has shown no residual effects from the broken leg he suffered during a 2010 exhibition game either. He has given no reason why he shouldn't win the 2011 Comeback Player of the Year Award.






Coach of the Year : Jim Harbaugh, San Francisco 49ers


There really is no doubt who is leading here. Harbaugh is leading one if the NFC's better teams with a good defense and rushing attack. Yet Harbaugh also has had a tremendous positive influence on quarterback Alex Smith, who has performed well despite having his top two wide receivers struggling to stay healthy this year.

My selection, Steve Spagnuolo, has seen his team play poorly. The Niners are already running away with the NFC West title, and their rookie head coach is a huge reason why. If Harbaugh keeps it going, he may pass his younger brother John in accolades. He and John Harbaugh, a successful head coach with the Baltimore Ravens, are the first pair of brothers to be NFL head coaches.

Making predictions of an upcoming NFL season is basically akin to swinging a stick at a pinata blindfolded, yet without knowing if such a target truly exists. The reason of an educated guess can be leaned upon, yet there is no real science because too many unknown factors lurk in shadows set aside annually by the enemies of success.

Even with a 2011 season hurriedly smashed together after a players strike that killed much of the preseason, the league has gone on collecting the offerings of fans as this circus barks town to town. The actual play on the field may have degenerated some, but much of this stems from rules that were set out without much clear thought instilled.

As the NFL hits the midpoint of the 2011 season, there are already reasons to rejoice about the game. Some surprises have been peppered in with the unexpected and relied upon. As the pretend awards are passed out, on their way to the real ones in a few months, we look back at preseason predictions and compare them with the reality of here and now.



MVP : Aaron Rodgers, Quarterback, Green Bay Packers


I picked Rodgers to win this award a few months ago, and he has played as expected. His team, which relies on him heavily, is undefeated and showing they could be better than the Packers squad that won it all last year. I still think he walks away with the NFL MVP Award when he season ends, and Rodgers has done nothing to show why he won't yet.

Matt Forte, Frank Gore, Drew Brees, and Eli Manning are worth noting for their efforts so far.






Offensive Player of the Year : Fred Jackson, Halfback, Buffalo Bills


My preseason selection, Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens, has done nothing but show why I selected him. Yet Jackson is the biggest reason the Bills are in first place in the AFC East. He leads the NFL in rushing yards and is just 47 yards away from leading the league in total yards from scrimmage.

Jackson already had the respect of the league for his versatility, and it appears he is headed to his first Pro Bowl season. If he holds up this year, since the Bills rely on him so heavily, Buffalo could make the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

Rice, Forte, LeSean McCoy, Wes Welker, Calvin Johnson, and Steve Smith are all certainly capable of winning this award when the season ends.










Defensive Player of the Year : Jared Allen, Defensive End, Minnesota Vikings


The player I picked to win this award, Ndamukong Suh, has been average for most of this season. Allen has been awesome all season. He is tied with the most fumbles forced, fumbles recovered, and passes defended amongst all defensive linemen.

He leads everyone with 12.5 sacks and is fourth in tackles amongst defensive linemen. Allen has also found time to intercept a pass. While the Vikings have struggled this season, it could be a lot worse if Allen wasn't having the season he currently is. Minnesota has been mostly competitive because he keeps caving in offensive lines off the edge.

Nick Barnett, Kameron Chancellor, Darrelle Revis, Charles Woodson, and Jason Pierre-Paul are just a few players who could be considered for this award.







Offensive Rookie of the Year : Cameron Newton, Quarterback, Carolina Panthers


My selection, Daniel Thomas, has struggled with his health all year and is fourth amongst all rookies in rushing yards. Newton is third so far.

But it isn't just his legs that makes him special. Despite being the first draft selection of 2011, pundits expected him to struggle from the spread offense, that he played in college, to the pro style offense. Newton has had a few rookie struggles, but he has mostly stood out for his struggling Panthers.

He has performed so well that Carolina hardly runs the football this year despite giving halfback DeAngelo Williams just 75 carries so far after making him one of the highest paid halfbacks in the game before the season started.

Newton has already set team records, by throwing for 432 yards in one game and 854 yards in two consecutive games. His 422 yards passing in his debut is the most in NFL history, and the 854 yards thrown in his first two games is also a NFL record.

Not only is Newton the first rookie in NFL history to pass for more than 400 yards in first career start, as well as the first rookie in NFL history to pass for more than 400 yards in first two career starts, he is just the sixth quarterback ever to throw for over 400 yards in consecutive games.

He is the only player in NFL history with at least five rushing touchdowns and five passing touchdowns in his first five games, and he is one rushing touchdown away from having for most rushing touchdowns by a rookie quarterback.

Andy Dalton, who is having an excellent season so far as the starting quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals, is the only rookie in the discussion with Newton. Dalton has done well, but the surprising Bengals sit on top of the AFC North right now because of their defense.

Newton's team is not winning much yet, but the future appears bright for this 6'5" 248 lbs monster who already has the respect of opponents. He has a better quarterback rating than Dalton, as well as over 900 more passing yards. He is already the leader of a rebuilding Panthers franchise, and one day could be the best quarterback in the league.







Defensive Rookie of the Year : Patrick Peterson, Cornerback, Arizona Cardinals


My pick, J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans, is playing very well and is certainly in the running. So are players like Mason Foster, Ryan Kerrigan, Von Miller, Akeem Ayers, Marcell Dareus, Phil Taylor, and Brooks Reed.

Peterson leads all NFL rookies in solo tackles, interceptions, passes defended, and is third in total tackles. But what separates him is the work he does on special teams. He is already the best punt returner in the league.

He leads in the NFL with three touchdowns off of punt returns, punt return yards, and a whopping 21.8 average off of 19 returns. Peterson is already within reach of several NFL records.

His three touchdowns is tied with Devin Hester as the second most by a rookie in NFL history and one away from the record Hall of Famer Jack Christiansen set in 1951. He is just 242 yards away from the record Louis Lipps set in 1984 for the most punt return yards ever by a rookie. He is also within reach of the 23 yards per return average Herb Rich set on 12 returns in 1950.

His 99-yard punt return is the second longest ever in NFL history. It happened in overtime against the Saint Louis Rams, and was the first overtime by a rookie off a punt return since Tamarick Vanover did it in 1995.

If Peterson keeps up even half of this pace, as many suspect he will, there should be an easy task for the voters on who is the 2011 Defensive Rookie of the Year.








Comeback Player of the Year : Ben Tate, Houston Texans


I picked Tate and he is already fulfilling expectations. He already has 623 rushing yards despite being basically a reserve with limited touches. He is averaging a very impressive 5.7 yards per carry as well.

This award generally goes to players who, like Tate, are coming back from a previous year ruined by injuries. It also can go to an improved player who had previously struggled. Men like Ryan Fitzpatrick and Alex Green are in the running based on those facts.

Arian Foster is the star of the Texans. Not only is he the 2010 rushing yards leader, he leads the team in rushing yards , attempts, and touchdowns this season. Yet he has a lead of just 33 yards over Tate despite 45 more attempts and having started every game but two for Houston in 2011.

It will be curious to see how much longer the Texans keep this duo in tact beyond 2011. Tate has just one start this year, a number he undoubtedly would like to change down the road. Houston has the most rushing attempts and second most running yards by a team so far this year, which is a big reason the Texans sit on top of the AFC South right now.

Tate seems a cinch to join Foster as a pair off 1,000-yard rushers for the Texans this year. He has shown no residual effects from the broken leg he suffered during a 2010 exhibition game either. He has given no reason why he shouldn't win the 2011 Comeback Player of the Year Award.






Coach of the Year : Jim Harbaugh, San Francisco 49ers


There really is no doubt who is leading here. Harbaugh is leading one if the NFC's better teams with a good defense and rushing attack. Yet Harbaugh also has had a tremendous positive influence on quarterback Alex Smith, who has performed well despite having his top two wide receivers struggling to stay healthy this year.

My selection, Steve Spagnuolo, has seen his team play poorly. The Niners are already running away with the NFC West title, and their rookie head coach is a huge reason why. If Harbaugh keeps it going, he may pass his younger brother John in accolades. He and John Harbaugh, a successful head coach with the Baltimore Ravens, are the first pair of brothers to be NFL head coaches.

Mike Kenn
6'7" 273
Tackle
Atlanta Falcons
1978-1995
17 Seasons
251 Games Played
11 Fumble Recoveries
5 Pro Bowls

Michael Lee Kenn was drafted in the first round of the 1978 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons, where he was the 13th overall selection. Kenn attended college at the University of Michigan under legendary head coach Bo Schembechler, where he was twice named All-Big Ten and helped lead the Wolverines to three Big Ten championships and three bowl appearances

He started right away as a rookie for Atlanta and quickly established himself as a premier NFL left tackle. Kenn was named First Team All-Pro in 1980, as well as making his first Pro Bowl. He would make the Pro Bowl five straight years until 1984.

Kenn missed a career high five games in 1985, but he was durable and reliable. He missed just 10 contests in his entire career, never missing a start when he did play. Though Kenn was named First Team All-Pro by the Pro Football Writers Association in 1983, as well as First Team All-Pro by most everyone in 1991, he was underrated.

A big part of this reason was due to the struggles the Falcons endured most of Kenn's career. Atlanta made the playoffs just four times his his 17 seasons, winning two postseason games total. The Falcons won their division just twice over that time.

Yet Kenn was part of some excellent offensive lines that included Pro Bowlers like Jeff Van Note, R.C. Thielemann, Bob Whitfield, Chris Hinton and Bill Fralic. Kenn also protected the blind side of strong armed, but immobile, Pro Bowl quarterbacks Steve Bartkowski and Chris Miller.

His 252 starts and games played are both team records for the Falcons. With a franchise that has noted players throughout history like Van Note, Tommy Nobis, Claude Humphrey, William Andrews, Gerald Riggs, George Kunz and Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, Kenn is rated the Falcons top player by approximate average.

Kenn is a member of the Falcons Ring of Honor. His five Pro Bowls is tied for the second most in team history with Kunz, Van Note, Nobis, Jessie Tuggle and Keith Brooking. His two First Team All-Pro nods is tied with Humphrey, Fralic and Sanders as the most in team history.

Atlanta has not had a better left tackle than Kenn. He was sometimes overshadowed by Hall of Famers Anthony Munoz and Gary Zimmerman for First Team All-Pro nods for left tackle, as well as Pro Bowler honors to players like Joe Jacoby, Jimbo Covert, Pat Donovan, Luis Sharpe, Jim Lachey and Lomas Brown.

Make no mistake that Kenn was as good a left tackle as anyone to ever play professional football. While able to open huge holes for Andrews and Riggs in the run game, he was nimble and athletic while pass protecting.

He may not be deemed a sexy choice for induction into the Hall of Fame by some, but it is a disgrace he hasn't even been named a semi-finalist in any year he has been eligible to go into Canton. It as if the voters are penalizing him for the Falcons woes. This same argument can be made for deserving candidates like Humphrey, Nobis, Van Note and Kunz.

But if you just shine the spotlight on the playing abilities and accomplishments of Mike Kenn, it is easy to see he is worthy of induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.



Notable Players Drafted in 1978 ( * Denotes Hall of Famer )

1. Earl Campbell, RB, Houston Oilers *
2. Art Still, DE, Kansas City Chiefs
3. Wes Chandler, WR, New Orleans Saints
5. Terry Miller, RB, Buffalo Bills
6. James Lofton, WR, Green Bay Packers *
12. Clay Matthews Jr., LB, Cleveland Browns
14. John Jefferson, WR, San Diego Chargers
17. Doug Williams, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
23. Ozzie Newsome, TE, Browns *
40. Al Baker, DE, Detroit Lions
56. Todd Christensen, TE, Dallas Cowboys
61. Mickey Shuler, TE, New York Jets
78. Frank Corral, K, Los Angeles Rams
92. Dennis Harrison, DE, Philadelphia Eagles
150. Dwight Hicks, SS, Lions
159. Tony Green, RB, Washington Redskins
163. Doug Betters, DE, Miami Dolphins
175. Fred Quillan, C, San Francisco 49ers
206. Jim Breech, K, Lions
215. Mosi Tatupu, RB, New England Patriots
247. Bruce Hardy, TE, Dolphins
333. Bill Kenney, QB, Dolphins

The Philadelphia Eagles face the Washington Redskins this Sunday in a game that can only be described as an encounter where their 2011 season is on the line. If this team has any Super Bowl aspirations, a fifth defeat could cripple their dreams.

Philadelphia is fighting history this weekend as well. If they finish the weekend at 1-5, the team must realize only the 1970 Cincinnati Bengals reached the playoffs after starting a season as poorly.

That Bengals team started the season 1-6 before rattling off seven straight wins behind Pro Bowl players like Lemar Parrish and Bob Trumpy. They would lose the first playoff appearance in franchise history against the eventual champion Baltimore Colts.

The offense has yet to really click for the Eagles yet this season. While ranking third best in the NFL in total yards gained, they have been struggling to consistently score touchdowns and rank 11th in total points scored. The offensive line, an issue that mostly has haunted head coach Andy Reid since he took the job in 1999.

It has to burn Reid's heart at this issue. He has won 60 percent of the 197 regular season games with Philadelphia, which makes him the winningest head coach in franchise history, but blocking is an area he is supposed to be an expert in.

Reid played offensive tackle in college, then got into coaching immediately upon graduating after his 1981 senior season. He coached the offensive line until the end of the 1996 season. His Eagles teams have produced just five Pro Bowl blockers since he took the helm, with only one that Reid drafted and developed, not something the head coach probably foresaw.

Philadelphia looked smart last year by trading quarterback Donovan McNabb and going with Michael Vick in his place. Vick, though known for a mobility that made him the NFL's top rushing yards leader by a quarterback in league history last week, has taken a tremendous pounding in 2011 because of Philadelphia's offensive line woes.

Vick has battled injuries and missed time this year, something the Eagles thought they had a contingency plan for by signing free agent Vince Young. Young has been to the Pro Bowl quarterback twice since being drafted in 2006, but he was not healthy enough to play when Vick went down.

Blocking isn't the only reason Vick has suffered. Though he is still learning how to be a pocket-passer, Vick has a propensity to hang onto the ball too long and take many unnecessary sacks.

The Eagles rushing attack is led by an excellent 5.8 yards per carry average from halfback LeSean McCoy, yet the Eagles still are ineffective in short yardage situations where a powerful running game between the tackles is needed. None of Reid's teams have ever excelled in this critical area.

If the offensive trenches weren't enough of an issue for Reid, his defensive lines haven't been much better in his Eagles career. Philadelphia has had a habit of getting tiny pass rushers who were weak against the run, often contributing to the reason Reid has yet to win a Super Bowl despite 119 regular season victories and nine playoff appearances in his previous 12 years.

Jeff Lurie has been a great owner since buying the Eagles in 1994. He is known for his loyalty as much as the generosity he has displayed to charitable causes. Reid's coaching staffs have shown a solid continuity for the most part, which can be seen with defensive coordinator Juan Castillo.

Castillo has been with the Eagles since 1995, holding jobs in many areas. After coaching the offensive line since 1998, he moved over to defense this year. Critics are not only pointing to Philadelphia's poor run defense, others are looking at a secondary that has yet to meet expectations.

After spending a ton of money to sign free agent cornerback Nnamde Asomugha, as well as trading for Pro Bowl cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Lurie bit the financial bullet by retaining the services of Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel. Not only has the secondary given up way too many touchdowns on so few passing attempts, ranking 30th in that category, the group is not creating turnovers.

The Eagles tried to address the long-standing issue in their trenches by signing two high profile free agents in Jason Babin and Cullen Jenkins. While the duo has already racked up a combined 12 of the teams 16 total sacks, they are also a reason the team ranks 30th in rushing yards allowed and last in rushing yards per attempt up the middle of the defense.

The team took a gamble this year by going with a bunch of underwhelming or unproven linebackers this season, and are losing big so far. Not only has the group mostly stunk in run support, they have been even worse in pass defense.

The fact the Eagles safeties haven't played great hasn't helped either. Kurt Coleman has struggled at free safety, which hurts more due to the fact Nate Allen has yet to play as well as he did in his 2010 rookie year.

Despite Lurie shilling out millions to Vick, Young, Asomugha, Babin, Bryant, Steve Smith, Ronnie Brown, and others, the results have yet to be met by a group trying to get acclimated with each other on the fly in a season truncated because of a players strike. Yet history shows pouring money into players does not equate to championships.

Whether it is the 2010 Miami Heat, the Ted Stepien Era with the Cleveland Cavaliers, or even the 2011 Boston Red Sox, the examples are plentiful. Sometimes the angle of spending a lot of money works, as George Steinbrenner showed by winning seven titles in his 37 years of owning the New York Yankees.

The season is not yet lost for the Eagles, especially if they defeat a division rival that Reid has triumphed over 15 times in 24 attempts. The Redskins, who are coming off their bye week, need this game to stay on top of the NFC East while trying to increase their lead with their second division win in as many attempts.

Washington will probably attempt to run the ball down the Eagles throats with their trio of excellent running backs. If they succeed, Philadelphia could see their 2011 season begin to end as the game clock expires.

The City of Brotherly Love is starving for a football title in the NFL, having not seen their team win a championship since 1960. They are known as passionate fans, so a let down by their beloved Eagles may lead to a large insurgence of fans calling for the firing of Reid.

With their season on line, let alone the Eagles careers of guys like Reid and Castillo, the team has their backs against the proverbial wall and must begin to come out swing like Philly legend Rocky Balboa. Hopefully their thrust will not be fictional like Rocky was.

The Philadelphia Eagles face the Washington Redskins this Sunday in a game that can only be described as an encounter where their 2011 season is on the line. If this team has any Super Bowl aspirations, a fifth defeat could cripple their dreams.

Philadelphia is fighting history this weekend as well. If they finish the weekend at 1-5, the team must realize only the 1970 Cincinnati Bengals reached the playoffs after starting a season as poorly.

That Bengals team started the season 1-6 before rattling off seven straight wins behind Pro Bowl players like Lemar Parrish and Bob Trumpy. They would lose the first playoff appearance in franchise history against the eventual champion Baltimore Colts.

The offense has yet to really click for the Eagles yet this season. While ranking third best in the NFL in total yards gained, they have been struggling to consistently score touchdowns and rank 11th in total points scored. The offensive line, an issue that mostly has haunted head coach Andy Reid since he took the job in 1999.

It has to burn Reid's heart at this issue. He has won 60 percent of the 197 regular season games with Philadelphia, which makes him the winningest head coach in franchise history, but blocking is an area he is supposed to be an expert in.

Reid played offensive tackle in college, then got into coaching immediately upon graduating after his 1981 senior season. He coached the offensive line until the end of the 1996 season. His Eagles teams have produced just five Pro Bowl blockers since he took the helm, with only one that Reid drafted and developed, not something the head coach probably foresaw.

Philadelphia looked smart last year by trading quarterback Donovan McNabb and going with Michael Vick in his place. Vick, though known for a mobility that made him the NFL's top rushing yards leader by a quarterback in league history last week, has taken a tremendous pounding in 2011 because of Philadelphia's offensive line woes.

Vick has battled injuries and missed time this year, something the Eagles thought they had a contingency plan for by signing free agent Vince Young. Young has been to the Pro Bowl quarterback twice since being drafted in 2006, but he was not healthy enough to play when Vick went down.

Blocking isn't the only reason Vick has suffered. Though he is still learning how to be a pocket-passer, Vick has a propensity to hang onto the ball too long and take many unnecessary sacks.

The Eagles rushing attack is led by an excellent 5.8 yards per carry average from halfback LeSean McCoy, yet the Eagles still are ineffective in short yardage situations where a powerful running game between the tackles is needed. None of Reid's teams have ever excelled in this critical area.

If the offensive trenches weren't enough of an issue for Reid, his defensive lines haven't been much better in his Eagles career. Philadelphia has had a habit of getting tiny pass rushers who were weak against the run, often contributing to the reason Reid has yet to win a Super Bowl despite 119 regular season victories and nine playoff appearances in his previous 12 years.

Jeff Lurie has been a great owner since buying the Eagles in 1994. He is known for his loyalty as much as the generosity he has displayed to charitable causes. Reid's coaching staffs have shown a solid continuity for the most part, which can be seen with defensive coordinator Juan Castillo.

Castillo has been with the Eagles since 1995, holding jobs in many areas. After coaching the offensive line since 1998, he moved over to defense this year. Critics are not only pointing to Philadelphia's poor run defense, others are looking at a secondary that has yet to meet expectations.

After spending a ton of money to sign free agent cornerback Nnamde Asomugha, as well as trading for Pro Bowl cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Lurie bit the financial bullet by retaining the services of Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel. Not only has the secondary given up way too many touchdowns on so few passing attempts, ranking 30th in that category, the group is not creating turnovers.

The Eagles tried to address the long-standing issue in their trenches by signing two high profile free agents in Jason Babin and Cullen Jenkins. While the duo has already racked up a combined 12 of the teams 16 total sacks, they are also a reason the team ranks 30th in rushing yards allowed and last in rushing yards per attempt up the middle of the defense.

The team took a gamble this year by going with a bunch of underwhelming or unproven linebackers this season, and are losing big so far. Not only has the group mostly stunk in run support, they have been even worse in pass defense.

The fact the Eagles safeties haven't played great hasn't helped either. Kurt Coleman has struggled at free safety, which hurts more due to the fact Nate Allen has yet to play as well as he did in his 2010 rookie year.

Despite Lurie shilling out millions to Vick, Young, Asomugha, Babin, Bryant, Steve Smith, Ronnie Brown, and others, the results have yet to be met by a group trying to get acclimated with each other on the fly in a season truncated because of a players strike. Yet history shows pouring money into players does not equate to championships.

Whether it is the 2010 Miami Heat, the Ted Stepien Era with the Cleveland Cavaliers, or even the 2011 Boston Red Sox, the examples are plentiful. Sometimes the angle of spending a lot of money works, as George Steinbrenner showed by winning seven titles in his 37 years of owning the New York Yankees.

The season is not yet lost for the Eagles, especially if they defeat a division rival that Reid has triumphed over 15 times in 24 attempts. The Redskins, who are coming off their bye week, need this game to stay on top of the NFC East while trying to increase their lead with their second division win in as many attempts.

Washington will probably attempt to run the ball down the Eagles throats with their trio of excellent running backs. If they succeed, Philadelphia could see their 2011 season begin to end as the game clock expires.

The City of Brotherly Love is starving for a football title in the NFL, having not seen their team win a championship since 1960. They are known as passionate fans, so a let down by their beloved Eagles may lead to a large insurgence of fans calling for the firing of Reid.

With their season on line, let alone the Eagles careers of guys like Reid and Castillo, the team has their backs against the proverbial wall and must begin to come out swing like Philly legend Rocky Balboa. Hopefully their thrust will not be fictional like Rocky was.

It wasn't pretty, but the Washington Redskins 17-10 victory over the Saint Louis Rams propelled them atop of their division with a 3-1 record heading into their bye week. Though there is no time to celebrate, there has to be some pride of the work this team has put in so far.

Expecting to rebuild, general manager Bruce Allen wheeled and dealed during the 2011 draft. Nine of Allen's 12 picks have made the team, and the remaining three are on the practice squad.

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Lick Your Wounds

Losing to your rival hurts, but the pain runs deeper when you know the loss was your own fault. Poor play was seen in a lot of places for the Washington Redskins last week. Gambling on three straight all-out blitzes with the game on the line, the Redskins gave up the big play that ultimately helped them lose the game.

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Don't You Forget About Me

Tim Hightower rebounded from a mediocre first week as a Redskin to explode against the Arizona Cardinals, his former team, last week. He ran for 96 yards on 20 carries, most of which happened in the first half of the Redskins 22-21 victory.

His backup, rookie Roy Helu, piled up an additional 74 yards on just 10 attempts. Yet both did not get many touches in the second half as offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan seemed to call for a pass every down. Though Washington eked out a win, Shanahan's disregard for the effective running game hearkened back to 2010.

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Ox Emerson
5'11" 203
Guard
Detroit Lions
1931-1938
8 Seasons
86 Games Played
6 First Team All-Pro
NFL 1930s All-Decade Team


Grover Conner Emerson joined the Portsmouth Spartans in 1931 because the NFL did not institute a draft until 1936. Emerson attended college at the University of Texas, but had to leave school before his senior year. He had participated in two plays as a freshman, which was against NCAA rules then. He is a member of the Texas Longhorns Hall of Honor.

Emerson signed a contract for $75 a week to play with the Spartans. He stood out immediately, where he was known for being excellent in run blocking especially. Emerson was also an exceptional defensive tackle, playing both ways like most players did back then.

The Spartans took on the Chicago Bears in a playoff game which took place indoors in 1932, the first of its kind for both an indoor game and playoff game. Emerson was thought to have stopped Hall of Famer Bronko Nagurski's game-winning touchdown pass, but the controversial score was allowed.

This game led to the NFL adopting their own rules on the forward pass, instead of the college rules they had followed. The league then moved the goal posts, kept play within the hash marks, and divided the teams into two divisions because of the influence of this game.

The 1932 season was the first of six consecutive years that Emerson would be named First Team All-Pro. He was not only a bruising tackler, but he was a fast and athletic offensive lineman who could either use his strength or technique to overwhelm an opponent.

He blocked for Hall of Famer Dutch Clark, who had joined the Spartans the same year Emerson did. The team was a powerhouse during their careers, often placing at the top of the league in both offensive and defensive categories.

Besides Clark, the Spartans had other excellent running backs in Father Lumpkin and Glenn Presnell. The 1934 team moved to Detroit and renamed themselves the Lions.

That 1934 squad played 13 games because the fledgling Saint Louis Gunners went defunct after three games and the expansion Cincinnati Reds stopped play after eight games in their inaugural seasons.

The NFL's 12-game schedule was skewered over the Gunners and Reds departures, forcing several teams to alter their schedules. The Chicago Cardinals, Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Eagles played 11 games while the Lions, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers and eventual champion New York Giants played 13.

The 1935 Detroit Lions, led by the great play of Emerson on both sides of the trenches, won the franchises first NFL title. On that team was a rookie fullback named Buddy Parker, who would later become the Lions head coach and lead the team to a pair of titles in the early 1950's.

Detroit's 1936 season saw them set an NFL record by piling up 2,885 yards rushing that season. This record stood for 36 years until the undefeated Miami Dolphins surpassed it in 1972.

Emerson was named First Team All-Pro for the final time in 1937, then surprised the team by retiring at the end of the season despite being just 30-years old. He had taken a job to become an assistant coach for the Dodgers because Lions head coach Potsy Clark, the only head coach Emerson played under in the NFL, had just left Detroit to take the Brooklyn job.

The Dodgers had seven rookies starting, so Clark wanted to do a better job protecting Hall of Fame quarterback Ace Parker. Though Emerson had been teaching future Hall of Fame tackle Frank "Bruiser" Kinard the tricks of the trade, Clark asked him to suit up as well.

Emerson played the entire season while doubling as the line coach for the Dodgers. He then decided to retire as a player after that year. When Clark was fired after the 1938 season, Emerson and the rest of Clark's staff was let go as well.

While working with the Ford Motor Company, he also was an assistant coach at Wayne State University. World War II broke out in 1942, so Emerson enlisted in the Navy. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander on an aircraft carrier, which would be sunk by the enemy off the Canary Islands.

Emerson survived and returned to the United States to finish his services until discharge. He later decided to become a high school history teacher and football coach for over 20 years after having spent six seasons as an assistant coach with the Longhorns.

The six First Team All-Pro nods that Emerson accrued are the second most in Lions history, tied with Hall of Famers Jack Christiansen, Barry Sanders, Lou Creekmur and Dutch Clark. He leads all Lions guards in this category as well.

Not only is he a member of the Lions All-Time Team, Emerson is a member of the NFL's 1930s All-Decade Team. Of the 11 linemen selected on this team, just four have been inducted into Canton.

His exclusion for the Hall of Fame is a case of time passing and putting the memories of Emerson's greatness in the distance. While being a war hero and excellent coach, he was one of the best NFL players of his era.

It is most likely a fact that there aren't few Hall of Fame voters, if there are any at all, who know who he was. It is doubtful any were even alive when he played. Yet the seniors committee of the Hall of Fame has the lone job of not forgetting the past and reminding us of it.

There is no question that Ox Emerson is the greatest guard in Detroit Lions history, as well as one of their finest defensive tackles. Though he is no longer alive to enjoy his deserved induction into Canton, it is time to make him a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Week one of the 2011 NFL season saw five games where both starting quarterbacks on each team exceeded 300 yards passing. Some may say the sloppy defensive play stems from a truncated preseason caused by a players strike, but this is more an indictment of the direction the game is headed.

In 1978, the NFL made two huge rule changes that have drastically changed the game of football. The first was to allow offensive linemen extend their arms and grab defenders, as opposed to the chicken wing style of blocking that had been allowed since the beginnings of the NFL.

If that wasn't enough, they set receivers free to basically prance around the gridiron without care. The 10-yard chuck rule had been lessened to a paltry five yards, making the receivers jobs much easier while their statistics ballooned.

These two rules have caused an offensive explosion in the NFL, basically turning quarterbacks the face of the game because these rules benefited them most. It is akin to when Major League Baseball lowered their mounds, shrunk the ballparks, then juiced the ball and players to increase scoring in order to lure the novice fan who had been avoiding the game for years.

The strategy has filled the National Football League's pockets like no other sport on the planet. Already a tax-free organization that had enough power to push their blackout rules through the Senate, Congress and White House in one day, this insanely rich league saw the rules cashing in ability and took it further.

The game today basically has turned a quarterback into something besides a football player. The position is a gilded image the NFL is hell-bent on protecting because that is what they deem to be their cash cow.

Not only is a defender not allowed to hit the quarterback too high or low, he cannot hit them too hard. If he lands on a quarterback, a penalty and fine are on their way for putting too much of his body weight upon the golden boy.

The term "put a skirt on them" has been used to describe an NFL quarterback for decades now. Others think the NFL may as well put flag football rules as the protective bubble the league so desperately seeks for this position.

Defenses have been castrated beyond recognition. If a team wants to play defense as the way NFL Films often hails in historic clips, they will be fined and suspended without fail. Not only has the aura of a great defense been lessened drastically, but the personalities that go with them have been greatly tempered.

It is as if the league ignores the fact defenders can come off the edge while dragging a mammoth blocker who has been clawing at them since play commenced. Despite this, the onus is on the defender to somehow pull up and not lose momentum, risking serious injury to legs especially, and lay the quarterback gently as if it were a newborn infant.

Rules that prevent clotheslines and head shots make sense, especially now that the NFL is being forced to look at head injuries. This is something they ignored since the inception of the league. While the NFL reluctantly is making adjustments, they do so with a smile as they continue to ignore all of the countless alumni of their league that have been suffering for decades.

Yet the two rules in 1978 have pretty much destroyed football as a competitive sport. It has become more an indoor track meet in hospital clean environments these days. Defenses tend to just be warm bodies providing temporary obstacles these days, instead of having a fair chance to compete anymore.

I had a discussion with Pete Rozelle in 1978. Rozelle, then the NFL commissioner, bristled at my questions of why these rules would even be allowed. Especially since it so blatantly punished the defenses and gave that side of the football much less opportunity to compete.

I thought Rozelle would understand my position, considering his background. He helped fight racism as a publicist at the University of San Francisco in 1951, the last year the school played football, where 11 members of the football team went on to the NFL. Three are inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame while five were Pro Bowl players. Rozelle joined the Los Angeles Rams soon after.

While with the Rams, he saw the team have two Hall of Fame quarterbacks split plays on the field in Bob Waters and Norm Van Brocklin. Besides having a powerful running game, the Rams passing attack was lethal. with Hall of Fame receivers Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch and Tom Fears.

The Rams had just won the 1951 championship, where the two quarterbacks ranked first and second in passing that season. Van Brocklin threw for 554 yards one game, a record that still stands today.

When Rozelle continued to be evasive giving specific answers, I decided to end the conversation by pointing out how the American Football League showed a game could accrue a ton of yards and points without castrating the defense. Rozelle, now with a red face filled by anger from mentioning the hated AFL, called me a jerk and that was the end of my chance to discover what the league's thought process was.

Rozelle was later replaced by Paul Tagliabue, a lawyer whose only athletic expertise came from playing basketball at Georgetown University. Tagliabue continued to tinker with those two rules, especially when it came to trying to help the receivers and quarterbacks.

He did such a job that now Jerry Rice is called by NFL Films the greatest player in NFL history. Rice, who constantly ran the five-yard slant pass in a dink-dunk offense that smartly took advantage of the rules, was a quick player with average speed and a tremendous work ethic. Put Rice in the 10-yard chuck rule, his 1,549 career receptions could possibly be at about 600 instead

When the NFL started out, it was a running game. One where ball carriers were not tackled until they stopped moving, meaning they could continue to crawl for more yards after contact. Scores, as expected, were generally low-scoring affairs..

The college game was the more popular sport, but that changed in 1925 when the Pottsville Maroons beat Notre Dame University in an exhibition game. Despite beating the Fighting Irish and their famous "Four Horseman" backfield, the champion Maroons were stripped of their title even though that win brought the NFL legitimacy. The reason given was that commission Joe Carr had told the Maroons not to play, while the team claimed Carr had given his approval.

Passing the football came into vogue in the NFL when the Washington Redskins drafted Sammy Baugh in 1937. Baugh is considered the innovator of the passing game in the NFL. He was so successful, the Chicago Bears drafted Sid Luckman two years later and the passing game was on its way.

Baugh, for all of his successes, had just two years of over 2,500 yards passing. In 1947, he set career high marks of 210 completions on 354 attempts for 2,938 yards and 25 touchdowns

He never passed for over 2,000 in any of his other 14 years, which includes winning two of three NFL title games. Baugh also played safety on defense for six years, grabbing 34 interceptions.

He still holds the NFL record for average yards per punt average in a career, and was inducted in Pro Football Hall of Fame's inaugural class in 1963. While holding extreme importance to the NFL passing game, his numbers greatly pale to those quarterbacks who enjoy the rule changes of 1978.

Washington was also lucky to later have another quarterback to take the passing game of the NFL to even a higher level. Sonny Jurgensen set many team records in his career, and still holds on to a few this day.

Jurgensen was first mentored by Van Brocklin with the Philadelphia Eagles, serving as his backup on the Eagles 1960 title team. He was traded to the Redskins in 1964 for Pro Bowl quarterback Norm Snead, who had grown up nearby and was the second overall selection of the 1961 draft.

Jurgensen, who passed for 3,723 yards in 1961, exceeded his career high total by 25 yards previously set in 1967. He had a span of over 400 passing attempts three times over four years, highlighted by the 508 attempts he had in 1967.

Washington's head coach that year was Hall of Fame quarterback Otto Graham. His strategy was to throw the ball often, which is seen by the team-leading 91 carries halfback A.D. Whitfield had that year.

Jurgensen was part of a trio that would later get inducted into the Hall of Fame. Wide receivers Charley Taylor and Bobby Mitchell combined for 130 receptions and 1,856 yards. Tight end Jerry Smith had 67 receptions for 849 yards himself, becoming the first team ever to have their two wide receivers and tight end to have at least 849 yards each in one season.

Taylor led the NFL in receptions, while Smith was second in both receptions and touchdown catches. Mitchell was fourth in NFL receptions that year.

Joe Theismann, not Baugh or Jurgensen, is still the Redskins all-time leader in career passing yards. He was at the helm when the NFL made those three key rules changes in 1978.

His passing yards totals increased in 1981, exceeding 3,300 yards in three of the next four years. The one time he didn't was in the 1982 strike season, where he helped the Redskins win their first title since 1942.

Theismann's career high passing yards mark of 3,714 yards has been passed by Redskins quarterbacks Jay Schroeder and Brad Johnson. The team has had 12 different quarterbacks lead the team in passing since Theismann's career ended in 1985.

Washington isn't alone as a team that has struggled to find a long-term quarterback over the years. Sid Luckman, who retired way back in 1950, is still on top of the Chicago Bears list for career passing yards.

Chicago isn't the only team whose passing yards leader never was fortunate to play after 1978 and enjoy the rules that ultimately changed the game. Hall of Famers Len Dawson, Bobby Layne, Joe Namath and Luckman are the only quarterbacks whose careers ended before the 1978 rule change and still lead their franchises in career passing yards.

Layne left the Detroit Lions in 1958 after just over eight years with the team, where he led them to three NFL titles in four attempts. Credited with inventing the two-minute drill, Layne is second to Luckman in longest-running leader in passing yards for a team.

Namath is credited by some as the man who led the way to forcing the NFL to merge with the American Football League. Not only because the AFL was deemed to having a more exciting brand of football with their wide open passing attacks, but also due his famous guarantee the preceded the New York Jets defeating the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

Namath was called "Broadway Joe" during this time where he was king of New York City. He was in movies and modeled, but he also had a gun for an arm. In 1967, Namath became the first professional quarterback ever to pass for over 4,000 yards in a season.

His brand of football helped bring the AFL more popularity than it had ever experienced since their 1960 inception. The NFL was known for a hard nosed running game before then, but the league tried to match their rival that season through the arms of men like Jurgensen and Fran Tarkenton.

Dawson joined the Kansas City Chiefs, then the Dallas Texans, in 1962. He led the Chiefs to three AFL titles, one that is still the longest championship game in professional football history, and two Super Bowl appearances.

His 1969 season saw the Chiefs win Super Bowl IV, the last AFL game ever. He retired after the 1975 season, having played 19 seasons total.

Tarkenton's Hall of Fame career ended with the Minnesota Vikings in 1978. He spent 13 of his 18 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, retiring with a then-NFL record of 47,003 career passing yards.

Yet it was his final year where he threw for a career best 3,468 yards, which also happened to lead the NFL. The "Mad Scrambler" had exceeded the 3,000 mark just once in his career before then, getting 3,088 with the New York Giants in 1967.

Tarkenton also led the NFL in attempts and completions in 1978. Enjoying the new rules that made his job easier, he exceeded his career best mark of attempts by 147, while surpassing his best total of completions by 82.

Some quarterbacks, who were there for the rule change in 1978, still lead their organizations in passing yards. Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw, who won four Super Bowls, joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1970 and stayed there until 1983.

Despite all of Bradshaw's successes, it wasn't until after the rule changes of 1978 that his statistics picked up exponentially. He had passed for over 2,000 yards just three times in his eight previous seasons, yet that quickly changed after his job became easier.

He made two of his three career Pro Bowls after 1978, which also includes his lone First Team All-Pro nod and NFL MVP award in the 1978 season. Bradshaw passed for at least 2,887 yards the next four year, which includes a career best of 3,724 in 1979. After suffering an injury in 1983, he retired.

Kenny Stabler joined the Oakland Raiders in 1970. He won a Super Bowl and the 1974 NFL MVP with them.

Yet his 1979 season saw Stabler throw a career best 3,615 yards. He had never exceeded 3,000 yards before that. Stabler's season high in passing attempts was 310 attempts, which happened in his MVP year. Starting in 1978, he had 904 attempts in his final two years as a Raider.

Ken Anderson joined the Cincinnati Bengals in 1971 and stayed with them until 1986. His lone First Team All-Pro year came in 1981, where he set career high totals in attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns.

He led the Bengals to their first Super Bowl that year, where he set Super Bowl records in completion percentage and total completions in the Bengals loss. Anderson then set an NFL season record for completion percentage in 1982.

Perhaps no quarterback enjoyed the rule changes more than Hall of Famer Dan Fouts. The rule change coincided with the San Diego Chargers hiring head coach Don Coryell, revitalizing Fouts' career.

Coryell, whose offensive genius is still seen in every NFL offense today, ushered in an era simply called "Air Coryell". Fouts not only had Hall of Famers Charlie Joiner and Kellen Winslow catching his passes, he also had the services of Pro Bowler wide receivers like John Jefferson and Wes Chandler.

Fouts joined the Chargers in 1973 and had never thrown for more than 2,535 yards before Coryell's arrival. He exploded on the NFL from 1979 to 1981, exceeding 4,000 yards passing all three years. He twice led the NFL in attempts and completions as well.

The 1981 season was his best, where he set career high totals in attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns. He may have surpassed these totals in 1982, if it were not for the players strike shortening the season to nine games. Fouts retired after the 1987 strike-shortened season.

Steve Bartkowski joined the Atlanta Falcons in 1975 and stayed there until after the 1985 season. Jim Hart joined the Saint Louis Cardinals in 1966 and stayed there until 1983. Brian Sipe joined the Cleveland Browns in 1974, lasting there until 1983.

All three enjoyed their best statistical seasons after the 1978 rule change. Sipe threw for 4,132 yards in 1982, Bartkowski had 3,829 in 1981, and Hart had 3,121 in 1978. Hart is the only one of these three to go to the Pro Bowl before 1978, which he accomplished four times.

The other 21 NFL teams have career passing leaders who joined their teams after the 1978 season. Of the 20 players who own the most career passing yards in NFL history, only Tarkenton, Fouts, Hart, and Johnny Unitas had their careers start before 1978. Unitas is the only one who never experienced the pleasurable rule changes quarterbacks now enjoy.

It isn't just the quarterbacks whose statistics have been greatly jaded since 1978. The receivers have enjoyed way more credit that they deserve perhaps. Of the top 40 players in career receptions, just Hall of Famer Steve Largent had his career start before 1978.

Joiner, Harold Jackson, Stanley Morgan along with Hall of Famers John Stallworth and Fred Belitnikoff are the only receivers in the top 100 in career receptions whose careers started before 1978. Belitnikoff retired after the 1978 season.

There are only six players in that list of the top-100 receivers who never enjoyed the 10-yard chuck rule in their career. Hall of Famers Don Maynard, Charley Taylor, Raymond Berry, Lance Alworth, Bobby Mitchell and the underrated Lionel Taylor, who should be in Canton, are those players.

While the modern fan might try to say the athlete today is superior, that is true in athleticism only. In regards to football ability, that can be debated more because fundamentals of the game were so much more important then.

The players of the past held a second job, not paid so much that they could afford to train every day of the year like the modern athletes are able to now. Those past players had to make time to get into shape to prepare for training camp, which usually meant after they had worked eight hours at their primary job.

Then there is the obvious observation that the human race grows each generation. Players who weighed over 300 pounds were not too plentiful until the last few decades. Now it is common for players to weigh that much, and there are quarterbacks now closing in on that size.

The rule to help blockers cannot be argued for or against too well. The older player was subject to head injuries because they were taught to lead with their heads. The modern blocker gets to extend his hands to prevent this, but is basically allowed to hold every play.

Raymond Berry told me that this change made in blocking in the primary reason for the increase in offense. He explained that this gives a receiver and quarterback extra time to get open, giving them a tremendous advantage.

He used an example of a 15-yard out route. Berry said this play, that might have taken five seconds to run in the rules before 1978, now can last up to six or more seconds because the quarterback and receiver are afforded longer opportunities to exploit a defense.

With timing being so important between the quarterback and receiver, the extra time to delve into the opponents can mean more yards for the offense. Berry, who is known for the fantastic timing he shared with Johnny Unitas, is also a former head coach who led the New England Patriots to a Super Bowl in 1985.

Technology has also been implemented. The debate of whether it helps or not can last a long time. While now medical personnel can examine the entire body of an athlete better, there are also more cameras to examine every inch of the gridiron. The equipment players have used has been improved gradually ever since the NFL began play.

Human error is a rich part of NFL history, but this factor is now lessened by instant replay. The problem with instant replay is it can stop the game and cool down athletes, making them more susceptible to injury.

While the NFL smartly seeks to improve their brand, sometimes the lure of cash detracts from actual achievement. Loads of fans today, many who no concept nor concern for history, think the game today is better than it has ever been.

The novice fan today wants the 45-42 final score over the 17-14 tally. Much like how the baseball fan of today has been conditioned to want home runs hit over no-hitters thrown, the football fans wants a ton of touchdowns made each Sunday.

The memories of greatness achieved, when football was truly a hard sport to play for everyone involved, of history fades further into the past as the modern player posts obscene statistics helped by rules. Statistics that dwarf predecessors who had to actually earn their accolades without being helped out by the league's front office nor rules to carry them further down the gridiron.

With Tagliabue's student, Roger Goodell, now at the helm, it will get worse before it gets better for football purists. Purists who now basically have the defense sitting on the sideline with them as the offense runs their plays unabated.

Whether the 1978 rules changes helped the NFL or not is subject for debate. The modern fan will point to the cash now raked in without realizing this league has been pulling big gates in for years no matter what the dollar is actually worth. The Rams still hold attendance records set during that era Rozelle oversaw.

The fickle fair-weathered fan of today may be content with the pandering of the offense because it results in more scoring, but the idea of bring back even the 10-yard chuck rule could show them players actually earning their accolades while being fairly defended.

But fairness left the NFL long ago. The importance of cash overrides actual competitive play now. It just furthers the saying, "This isn't your fathers NFL". It's yours now. Good luck.

Lean On Me

The defense has often been a big reason the Washington Redskins has won over the last several years. This was true again in their victory against the New York Giants last week.

The Arizona Cardinals offense is still a work in progress because quarterback Kevin Kolb is new to the team. Yet they did show the ability of production against the Carolina Panthers last week in several areas.

Halfback is a big question mark, but Beanie Wells churned out 90 yards on 18 carries last week. The Redskins allowed 75 total rushing yards last week, so it is important they shut down Wells and make the Cardinals defense one dimensional.

Arizona can throw the ball, which is seen by the 309 yards that Kolb put up on 18 receptions. The Redskins might have to play a lot of man-to-man defense because the Cardinals like to throw to their tight ends and even have four on their roster.

Todd Heap and Jeff King combined for 101 yards on four receptions. Both averaged over 20 yards per catch, which included King's 48-yard touchdown catch. King, mostly noted for his blocking ability, had averaged just over eight yards on 114 career receptions in his five seasons coming into this year.

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Pete Retzlaff
6'1" 211
Tight End
Philadelphia Eagles
1956-1966
11 Seasons
452 Receptions
7,412 Receiving Yards
47 Touchdowns
5 Pro Bowls
1965 Bert Bell Award



Palmer Edward Retzlaff was drafted in the 22nd round of the 1953 draft by the Detroit Lions, where he was the 265th player chosen overall. He attended college at South Dakota State University after spending a year at a community college in his home town.

While with the Jackrabbits, Retzlaff was also a record-setting track star who twice won NAIA championships in both the shot put and discus. As a football player, he played fullback and set a school record by running for 1,053 yards in his senior year.

Despite all of his accolades, he never caught one pass as a collegiate athlete. Retzlaff is a member of the SDSU Athletic Hall of Fame.

The Lions cut Retzlaff in training camp, so he went back to college and worked as an employee of the school for a year. He then enlisted in the United States Army for almost two years before coming back to again try out with the Lions.

Detroit sold his contract to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1956, where he would spend the first two seasons of his career as a reserve fullback. Though he did not have a rushing attempt over that time, the Eagles coaching staff noticed his excellent receiving skills.

Moved to wide receiver in 1958, Retzlaff exploded onto the NFL scene. He went to his first Pro Bowl after leading the team with 56 receptions. After a solid 1959 season, Retzlaff became part of Philadelphia lore.

The 1960 season is the last year the Eagles have won an NFL title. There were eight Pro Bowlers on that squad, which included Retzlaff, and four future Hall of Famers in Norm Van Brocklin, Sonny Jurgensen, Tommy McDonald, and Chuck Bednarik.

While all three Eagles receivers went to the Pro Bowl that year, Retzlaff led the team in receptions and receiving yards. He would catch 80 passes over the next two years, but he got hurt in 1962 and missed six games.

The Eagles asked Retzlaff to move to tight end in 1963, where he excelled immediately. Making the Pro Bowl until the 1965 season, he led the team in receptions and receiving yards each season.

The 1965 is considered by many his finest year in the NFL. Retzlaff set career best marks of 66 receptions for 1,190 yards and 10 touchdowns. Not only was he given his only First Team All-Pro nod, Retzlaff was the recipient of the Bert Bell Award for NFL player of the year.

He was 35-years old in 1966, an advanced age for an NFL tight end. Despite having another productive season, Retzlaff decided to retire at the end of the season.

Dubbed "The Baron" and "Pistol Pete" by his teammates, Retzlaff bled the Eagles colors. He loved his peers so much, he was the second ever National Football League Players Association president.

He was also the second general manager in Eagles history. Not only has the franchise retired his jersey number, Retzlaff is a member of the Eagles Honor Roll.

Retzlaff still ranks second in Eagles history with career receptions and receiving yards. He also ranks fifth in touchdown catches. His five Pro Bowls is tied with McDonald and Mike Quick as the second most ever by a Philadelphia receiver.

Philadelphia got real lucky Retzlaff came along when he he did. Pete Pihos, the legendary Hall of Fame end of the Eagles, had just retired in 1955. Buck Shaw and his coaching staff also deserve credit for switching his position.

His experience as a fullback made him an exceptional blocker and a threat once he caught a pass. Retzlaff averaged over 16 yards per catch in his career, never averaging less than 15.4 yards in the last eight years of his career.

While the spectacular and diminutive McDonald got most of the press, which was also shared with Pro Bowl tight end Bobby Walden, Retzlaff was consistent. He led the Eagles receptions six times throughout his career.

Not only could he split the seam of a defense by being a deep threat, Retzlaff went and got the tough pass over the crowded middle of the field. He missed just 12 games in his career, showing the toughness and durability he exemplified.

His was a career appreciated by Philadelphia, yet underrated by the league and media. His peers thought enough of Retzlaff to vote him onto five Pro Bowls, but perhaps his serving as an NFLPA president held back further accolades.

He was not named to an NFL All-Decade Team, most likely because he began to excel in 1958. It should also be noted these teams had no second units to vote for until the 1970s team. If the 1960s team had one, it is likely Retzlaff would have been placed on it.

The question of a quota could be the reason Retzlaff has not been inducted. While seven of his teammates went on to Canton, there is no doubt Retzlaff and his teammate Maxie Baughan also should have been inducted long ago.

Time tends to forget greatness as it marches on. Retzlaff is among a slew of legendary receivers who belong in Canton over modern players who benefit from rules helping to improve their abilities.

Maybe the seniors committee of the Hall of Fame will one day be allowed more than two candidates annually, thus allowing deserved players like Pete Retzlaff to obtain their rightful respect.


Notable Players Drafted in 1953 ( * Denotes Hall of Fame )

4. Johnny Olszewski, FB, Chicago Cardinals
5. Ted Marchibroda, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
11. Doug Atkins, DE, Cleveland Browns *
13. Harley Sewell, G, Detroit Lions
16. Dick Modzelewski, DT, Washington Redskins
17. Zeke Bratkowski, QB, Chicago Bears (Noted Coach)
18. John Henry Johnson, FB, Steelers *
35. Fred Bruney, DB, Browns
49. Charley Ane, OT, Lions
54. Stan Jones, G, Bears *
55. Roger Zatkoff, LB, Green Bay Packers
60. Tom Scott, DE, Los Angeles Rams
64. Paul Miller, DE, Rams
68. Kline Gilbert, OT, Bears
79. Jim Ringo, C, Packers *
85. Joe Schmidt, LB, Lions *
92. Jess Richardson, DT, Philadelphia Eagles
95. Carlton Massey, DE, Browns
99. Ed Hussman, DT, Cardinals
117. Tom Brookshier, DB, Eagles
123. Alex Webster, HB, Redskins
136. Buzz Nutter, C, Redskins
150. Larry Strickland, C, Bears
155. Galen Fiss, LB, Browns
167. Gern Nagler, WR, Browns
179. John Carson, WR, Browns
306. Jack McClairen, TE, Steelers
321. Rosey Brown, OT, New York Giants *

The Washington Redskins 2011 preseason was a breath of fresh air. For the first time in many years, the effort of the players never waned. Though their preseason record is unimportant, the fact is the Redskins showed improvement and head into the regular season in good health.


Rex Grossman will start at quarterback in the Redskins first game against the New York Giants. He got the job because John Beck played poorly in his last preseason game, while Grossman was nothing special in his previous appearances.


Grossman was once at the helm a Chicago Bears team whose defense led them to Super Bowl XLI in 2006. Since then, he has been a reserve mostly while bouncing around the NFL before making the Redskins his third team since 2008.


Despite this vagabond journey, Grossman proclaimed that Washington would win the NFC East in 2011. Now that he was given the starting job, it is time for Grossman to back up his words by playing the type of excellent football he has never played in his career.


The Jints are riddled with injuries in their defensive secondary especially right now. Grossman has a huge opportunity to get the 'Skins off the snide in 2011 by getting his team an important divisional win.


New York has owned this rivalry, winning 91 of the 156 match-ups the two have had in the regular season. Since 2000, Washington has beat the G-Men just six times in 22 battles. Grossman is fighting history here, so a win would give Washington a big moral boost.


There are a few new weapons for Grossman to play with. Besides the influx of several new wide receivers, Washington stole halfback Tim Hightower in a offseason trade. New York has an excellent offense, so Grossman needs to have his team dominate the play clock and finish with touchdowns over field goals.


The Redskins offensive line has looked a lot better that last season, but it was just preseason. Grossman still holds onto the ball too long and makes poor decisions. For his prediction of success to come true in 2011, he needs to stop forcing passes that have almost zero chance to help his team.


Kyle Shanahan enters his second season as the Washington offensive coordinator, but it is the third straight season he has worked with Grossman. Continuance should not be an issue, and this factor was a big part as to why Grossman is still wearing the burgundy and gold.


When you run your mouth in a tough division like the NFC East, you better bring it. Especially if you are on a team that struggled the last few years and is being considered by some to be the worst in the division.


While the Giants are missing a ton of defensive backs, they still are full of pass rushers along the defensive line. Grossman will need to be quick in body and decisions, but he also needs to start finally showing he has learned something after all of these years under Shanahan. 

The NFL Draft has been a roller coaster throughout history. The first draft took place in 1936, lasting nine rounds. The rounds increased each year, reaching 22 rounds in 1939.

It reached 32 rounds in 1943, then went to 30 rounds from 1948 to 1959. When the American Football League started in 1960, the NFL found itself battling with the AFL to sign players. The NFL draft was reduced to 20 rounds, while the AFL had six years of drafts in their existence before merging.

In 1967, the draft lasted 17 rounds, which was the norm until it went to 12 rounds in 1977. It has been just seven rounds since 1993, despite the fact history has given the NFL many great players chosen late in the draft.

Chris Hanburger was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year despite being drafted in the 18th round of the 1965 draft by the Washington Redskins. The Chicago Bears have drafted 29 players in the last round that have played in the NFL since 1936.

Cheta Ozougwa is the 2011 Mr. Irrelevant trying to make the Houston Texans. The undersized defensive end is trying to avoid history by having an NFL career.

Only 22 players drafted last by the NFL have played pro football. Seven have been since the league went to a seven-round draft in 1993.

The Mr. Irrelevant Award has been handed out since 1976 by Paul Salata, a former wide receiver who played two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts in the All-American Football Conference. He had 74 catches and eight touchdowns in his 23 games.

After the AAFC folded, Salata was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in an allocation draft. He decided to join the Canadian Football League instead, playing five years with the Calgary Stampeders before retiring.

Salata created the "Lowsman Trophy", which is the equivalent to the Heisman Trophy for the last person drafted. A ceremony called "Irrelevant Week" soon commences, with prizes being given to the player.

Besides a banquet, there is a roast in the players honor to joke over the fact he was drafted last. A street is named after the player that week, he gets more gifts, and several legendary athletes from various sports partake in the events.

The draft has changed a great deal in length since Salata invented the term "Mr. Irrelevant". Now unfortunately just seven rounds, the NFL had 17 rounds in 1976. There were 487 men drafted in 1976 and just 254 in 2011.

The laziness of draft participation by the NFL today is baffling, consider scouting departments are laden with employees assisted by computers that have film on virtually every player from Division 1A to Division III in the college football ranks.

The overall perception is that the modern athlete is better and college football is better these days. These facts have not propelled the NFL into adding more rounds to their draft in hopes of improving the overall quality of play by unearthing gems like so many teams have done in the past.

Danny Fortmann was drafted by the Bears in 1936, and he was the fourth from last selected. The story goes that Bears Hall of Fame owner George Halas only drafted Fortmann because he liked his name. Chicago was rewarded with a Hall of Fame player.

Fred Dreher is the first player selected last in the draft to play in the NFL. The Bears selected him in 1938, the only year he played. Dreher had three catches for 69 yards and a score that lone season.

Mort Landsberg was the last pick of the 1941 draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He didn't make the Steelers, but he did play with the Philadelphia Eagles that season.

World War II beckoned, so Landsberg served the Armed Forces. After the war, he played for the Los Angeles Dons in 1947.

Stu Clarkson was drafted by the Bears in 1942. He went to serve in World War II after that year, but returned to the Bears in 1946. The linebacker stayed with the team until 1951, getting 10 interceptions and a touchdown in his career.

The Philadelphia Eagles drafted hometown hero John Schweder in 1949, but he did not make the team. Schweder joined the Baltimore Colts of the All-American Football Conference in 1950 for one season before joining the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1951, where he lasted five years.

Clay Matthews was the fifth from last player chosen in 1949. After being selected by the Los Angeles Rams, he was cut and didn't play that year. Matthews made the San Francisco 49ers in the AAFC the next year and played four seasons.

He is the father of two sons who played in the NFL. Bruce is in the Hall of Fame and Clay Jr. played over 19 seasons. Matthews has three grandchildren playing in the NFL now in Kevin, Casey, and Clay III.

Clay Matthews III is considered one of the top linebackers in the game today, and he is the only member of the family who has earned a Super Bowl ring.

Jacque MacKinnon was not only the last person drafted last in the 1961 NFL Draft, he was the eighth from last player selected in the AFL Draft. MacKinnon eschewed the Philadelphia Eagles to join the San Diego Chargers.

MacKinnon spent most of his 10 year career as a blocking fullback who paved the way for Chargers legends like Paul Lowe, Keith Lincoln, and Dickie Post as the Bolts won the AFL West five times between 1960 and 1965.

San Diego had three Hall of Famers coaching in Sid Gillman, Al Davis, and Chuck Knoll. The Chargers would win the only championship in franchise history during the 1963 season.

MacKinnon was more than a bruising blocker. He was also a deep threat as a receiver, often playing tight end. He averaged 18.8 yards on 112 career receptions, scoring 20 times. MacKinnon only carried the ball in three seasons, accumulating 86 carries and two scores at a 4.4 yards per carry average.

He was so respected in the AFL, MacKinnon made the AFL All-Star squad twice. He was the first player ever to be drafted last and accomplish this feat.

The San Diego Chargers inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 1978, three years after he passed away. He is probably the greatest "Mr. Irrelevant" in pro football history.

Bobby Brezina was drafted by the Packers in 1963, but played played one game for AFL Houston Oilers.

Homer Jones, who invented the football spike after a score, was a two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver for the New York Giants. He still holds the NFL record for yards per catch with a 22.3 career average on 224 receptions. Jones was drafted two picks ahead of Brezina.

John Sisk Jr., whose dad once played five years for the Chicago Bears, played in three games for Bears in 1964. It was a year after he was drafted.

The 1964 Chargers drafted Frank Kinard Jr., son of Hall of Famer Frank "Bruiser" Kinard, was one of five University of Mississippi players drafted by Bolts that year. Two made the made pros, but joined the NFL instead.

Bill Curry, a future NFL and college head coach, was the second to last pick in the 1964 NFL Draft. He went to two of Pro Bowls.

Tom Carr was the last pick in the 1966 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts. He eventually played four games for New Orleans Saints in 1968.

The 1972 draft saw Stan White and Ted Washington selected back to back with three picks left. Both linebackers lasted 11 years

Charlie Wade was the last pick in 1974 by the Miami Dolphins. He would become a member of the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, and Kansas City Chiefs until 1977. Wade finished with 39 catches for 683 yards and a score, all of which was in 1974 for the Bears.

Bill Kenney is the only Mr. Irrelevant to go to a Pro Bowl for the NFL. Selected by the Miami Dolphins in 1978, he was cut and was out of the league until 1980.

He started three games for the Kansas City Chiefs that year, and was their starting quarterback for much of his eight years with them. He led the NFL in passing attempts and completions in 1983, his Pro Bowl year. Kenney finished his career with the Washington Redskins in 1989.

Kenney shared the title of Mr Irrelevant of 1978 despite being the second to last pick. Lee Washburn, a guard for the Dallas Cowboys, was the final pick who never went to training camp because of an injured back.

Drew Hill, a two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, was the third to last pick in 1979.

Tyrone McGriff was the last pick in 1980, by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He started 10 of 16 as a rookie, 20 as a reserve next two years. McGriff then joined United States Football League for three years before retiring. He is a member of College Football Hall of Fame.

Tim Washington, the last pick in the 1982 draft by the San Francisco 49ers, played one game each for the Niners and Chiefs that year.

John Tuggle was the last pick in 1983 by the New York Giants. The fullback started five of 16 games, while getting 17 carries for 49 yards and a score. He died of cancer three years later.

Anthony Carter was selected one pick earlier than Tuggle. The wide receiver went to three Pro Bowls after finishing three years in the USFL where he won a championship and was All-USFL twice. He still holds NFL records for 642 all-purpose yards and 221 punt return yards in one postseason game.

Only eight of the 28 last round draft picks in 1987 didn't play in the NFL. Current Carolina Panthers quarterbacks coach Mike Shula, son of Hall of Famer Don Shula, was one of the eight.

Tyrone Braxton, the second to last pick, made a Pro Bowl and won two Super Bowl rings in five attempts. Fred Stokes, picked two slots ahead of Braxton, earned a Super Bowl ring as well.

Norman Jefferson was Mr. Irrelevant that year. He played two seasons for that Packers, appearing in 14 games while returning 11 kicks and punts.

Matt Elliott was the last pick in 1992 by the Washington Redskins. After playing one year in Washington, starting two of 16 games, he was out of the league a few years. Elliott joined the Carolina Panthers in 1995 and played three years there. He started in 32 of 47 games for them.

Just six of 28 picks in the last round of the1994 draft did not play in NFL, a year after the NFL shortened their draft to just seven rounds. Pro Bowl players like Gus Frerotte and Jamal Anderson were among the 22 who did.

The Denver Broncos found two starters on the offensive line in the final round. Tom Nalen and Keith Burns helped Denver win two Super Bowls. Nalen went to five Pro Bowls.

Marty Moore was the final choice in 1994, made by the New England Patriots. Moore started 11 times over six seasons, helping the Patriots reach Super Bowl XXXI.

He joined the Cleveland Browns in 2000 and started nine games before heading back to New England the next year. Though he played three games before getting hurt, he earned a Super Bowl XXXVI ring after the Patriots won the first championship in franchise history.

Michael Reed was the Carolina Panthers Mr. Irrelevant in 1995. He appeared in three games over two seasons.

Jim Finn was the final pick in 1999, made by the Bears The fullback didn't make the Bears and sat out that year, but he joined the Indianapolis Colts in 2000 and played three years with them.

Finn joined the New York Giants in 2003 and lasted four years before injuries ended his career. He has a Super Bowl XLII ring and averaged over seven yards er attempt on 60 career carries.

Mike Green was the last pick of the 2000 draft by the Bears. He became the starting strong safety in 2002, lasting three years. Green left Chicago after 2005 and was with the Seattle Seahawks in 2007 before joining the Washington Redskins the next season and retiring at the end of the year.

Ramzee Robinson was the final pick in 2007, made by the Detroit Lions After 19 games over two seasons with Detroit, Robinson spent 2009 with both the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns. After not playing in 2010, he is trying out for the Browns this year.

David Vobora was the last pick in 2008, selected by the Saint Louis Rams After three seasons in Saint Louis, where he started 16 of 34 games at linebacker, Vobora joined the Seattle Seahawks this year.

Ryan Succop was "Mr. Irrelevant" 2009, drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs. He has been the Chiefs kicker ever since he was drafted, and has 206 points so far.


While no player picked last in NFL drafts has made the Pro Football Hall of Fame, quite a few have made a significant contribution to the game. Two made Pro Bowls, and one was inducted into his franchises Hall of Fame.

Though the shortening of the drafts to seven rounds makes the surprise of "Mr. Irrelevant" making a roster much less exciting, it is quite an accomplishment for any player to get drafted. Making the team and even seeing action on the field is a huge accomplishment as well.

Though a bigger draft would be better, training camp time is shrinking and organizations today seem much less interested in finding the next "Night Train" Lane from virtual obscurity and watching them get inducted into Canton.

The NFL future of the current group of "Mr. Irrelevant's" is unknown right now, but it is quite clear their presence today makes the game better.

Chris Johnson is the best running back in the NFL today, and has been the past few seasons. He has accomplished this respect despite having virtually no help on offense besides his blockers.

Now Johnson wants to get paid like he is amongst the best in the NFL. The problem is that he plays a position where the average career doesn't last even two years. Gambling that a running back reliant on his speed can keep up his current pace after 925 carries in his first three seasons seems a bad bet to some.

Yet Johnson, the 2009 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, has gone to the Pro Bowl all three years. His $12 million contract pales in comparison to the $40 million five-year deal Minnesota Vikings star halfback Adrian Peterson has.

Why Titans owner Bud Adams has allowed Johnson to miss so much training camp is bewildering. Adams is a maverick owner known for being aggressive to help his team win.

One of the original owners to kick-start the American Football League in 1960, Adams got the AFL front page headlines on most newspapers right away. He did this by taking on the established and powerful NFL.

Billy Cannon had just won the 1959 Heisman Trophy and was at the top of everyone's list as the most desired college football player in the 1960 draft. Pete Rozelle was still the general manager of the Los Angeles Rams, but was about to assume the duties of NFL commissioner for the next 30 years.




Rozelle made it no secret the Rams, who owned the first pick of the 1960 NFL Draft, was going to select Cannon. Adams decided to go a route few saw coming.

During the 1959 Sugar Bowl, Adams found his way along the sideline. When the game ended, he approached Cannon and got him to sign an AFL contact to play with Adam's Houston Oilers. The Oilers, now named the Titans after moving to Tennessee in 1997, would win the first two AFL titles.

Rozelle was not pleased with how Adams got Cannon on his team, so he threatened legal action. Adams took the NFL to court and won. But he was not done helping stabilize the AFL. Adams was crucial in helping a struggling New York Titans franchise, now named the Jets, stay in business.

These were critical moves that gave the AFL more power and eventually force the NFL to merge the two leagues. Adams vision is big reason the AFC is in existence today.

You'd think a man that aggressive would not lollygag about and let his best player twist in the wind. Especially since the team just hired a new head coach and got rid of a quarterback who was supposed to be a star there for years.




Adams certainly hasn't lost the fire in his gut at 88-years old, as was seen in 2009 when Adams gave the bird to Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson during the Titans 41-14 victory. Old friends who started the AFL together, the playful Adams was eventually fined $250,000 for his obscene gesture.

Yet not giving Johnson a contract worthy of his skills may be the more obscene gesture that Adams has given in years. Typically overly generous and loyal to his team, Adams is not doing himself any favors by dragging on this contact dispute.

Johnson is in Titans headquarters trying to get a contact done so he can play football again. While Adams might want some clauses in the contract he eventually offers, because of the tenuous life an NFL running back lives, he should allow Johnson the opportunity to play and earn a paycheck that is along the lines of Peterson's huge contract.

Norm Willey passed away at the age of 83-years old in Newark, Delaware on August 18, 2011. While many young Philadelphia Eagles fans may know nothing about him, he is one of the greatest defensive players in franchise history.

He was drafted by the Eagles in the 13th round of the 1950 draft. He was the 170th player picked overall. Nicknamed "Wild Man" by his teammates, Willey was known for for his reckless abandon on the field.

After a exceptional career in both football and basketball in college, Willey was later inducted into the Marshall University Athletics Hall of Fame. He quickly earned a starting job for the Eagles and intercepted a pass in his rookie year, taking it 41-yards for a touchdown. He also had a career high four fumbles recovered that year.

Willey picked off the last pass of his career in 1952 and scored the last touchdown of his career off of a fumble recovery in 1954. But Willey did more than tackle opponents. He also caught 2 passes for 50 yards in 1954.

He was named to his first Pro Bowl and lone All-Pro team that year. Willey would then make his final Pro Bowl team in 1955.

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Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Bowl linebacker James Harrison should consider nicknames like "Truth", "Nostradamus", or "The Thinker".

It has been the outspoken Harrison who has constantly railed against the NFL machine that Roger Goodell is the figurehead overseer of. He has said Goodell a "crook and a puppet", and also said that "I hate him and will never respect him.”

Pure gospel to any real football fan and any man who has played the game. Goodell gets praise for drawing a hard line on misbehavior, but he often crosses the line because his ego feels it subjugates the media and players. His minions whose only duty is to blindly follow any of his decisions to the letter.

Now Goodell has overstepped his job description again at the expense of Terrelle Pryor. Pryor, who wants to be a quarterback, is going to be involved in the 2011 NFL Supplemental Draft.

To say Goodell has destroyed Pryor's draft stock and potential earnings throughout his career could be construed as accurate by some observers. Pryor is being forced by Goodell to serve a five-game suspension for infractions incurred at college, not the NFL.

While Pryor broke NCAA rules that would have forced him to miss five games for the Ohio State Buckeyes this season, if he had stayed in college, Goodell decided that his league still held jurisdiction over this matter. As if NCAA football was nothing more than a minor league system owned by the NFL.

Pryor already was heading to the NFL with a lot of baggage, no matter how his agent Drew Rosenhaus tried to ignore it. Pryor is a big athlete, but it is highly doubtful he will ever play quarterback in the NFL with his questionable fundamentals and abilities.

His best position most likely lies elsewhere on the field. Wide receiver, tight end, and even linebacker has been the opinion of several experts who have followed him since he began play at Ohio State.

Knowing this, teams may take a chance on him as early as the fourth round of the draft. Not this first, as his agent keeps telling anyone who will listen. The reasons are not based on purported character flaws, but the lack of ability to play the quarterback position at the next level.

Even with all the rules the NFL has put into place since 1978 to make a quarterbacks job easier, Pryor's footwork, release point, arm strength, decision-making abilities, and overall field vision are just some mechanics that will take too many years to refine enough to see if he has what it takes.

Goodell acted like the hunter in this decision, but he could soon become the hunted if Pryor plays this right. Goodell's ego has unwittingly put the NFL in a dangerous position.

This is saying something for an entity so strong, they had their television blackout rule pass through the U.S. Senate, Congress, and White House in mere hours. Besides maybe a declaration of war, rarely has this occurred in the history of the United States.

One day you may hear Pryor say he was defamed by Goodell's ruling, which also affected his earning potential and overall confidence in himself. The kind of rhetoric you often hear in lawsuits throughout the planet. If he ever is deemed to have a case, Pryor could sue for many more millions of dollars than any player in the history of the NFL has ever made.

It could also teach Goodell and the NFL to stay within their boundaries. While a powerful league, they are supposed to represent professional football while colleges represent amateurs in all sports they play.

Goodell has now firmly placed himself in the cellar of the worst commissioner in NFL history, probably even surpassing Joe Carr. Carr was the second ever president of the NFL from 1921 to 1939, replacing Hall of Famer and Olympic hero Jim Thorpe, and had his own issues between amateurs and professionals.

While Carr was known for acting swiftly on teams using college players then, mainly because the college game was perceived as superior to the National Football League in that era, he is forever linked to one bad decision.

The Pottsville Maroons joined the NFL in 1925 and proceeded to win the NFL title. They then took on Notre Dame University in an exhibition game, because the Fighting Irish featured the "Four Horsemen". The purpose of the game was to bring credibility to the NFL.

After the Maroons told Carr of their intentions to play the game, discrepancies soon arose. Pottsville claimed they had Carr's blessing, while Carr said he gave the team three separate warnings not to play the game.

Pottsville won the game, which helped boost the popularity of the league. Carr, however, took away the Maroons NFL title and gave it to the Chicago Cardinals, a franchise that still proudly holds onto that trophy today. The Maroons folded in 1929.

Now Goodell's decision has replaced Carr's error in the scale of epic buffoonery of poor choices in NFL history. It comes as no shock to anyone who has followed the career of the son of a former United States Senator whose contacts with the league gave his kid a job in 1982.

While the NFL career of Terrelle Pryor might not amount to much on the gridiron, he could have a long lasting impact on the league itself. An impact brought on by the bloated ego of Roger Goodell.

 

Becoming the poster child for the current version of the "All-American Boy" almost never happened for the big kid with the goofy smile and "Aw shucks" attitude.

His mom was ill while pregnant with him and doctors urged her to abort a child that could be stillborn.   Ignoring medical advice, she carried out a pregnancy that gave the media someone to talk about at every turn on the hype highway. 

Tim Tebow has more reasons for them to like him besides cheating death before even being born.   Home-schooled by a family with Christian beliefs, Tebow soon incurred some controversy as a home-schooled student when he played football for a nearby high school.

Though he started out playing linebacker and tight end, he soon became Florida's Player of the Year twice and his legend began to grow by playing a game on a broken leg.   ESPN began following him at this time and even did a show featuring Tebow and labeled him "The Chosen One".

A top recruit, he decided to attend the University of Florida.   The media kept following him, this time in greater numbers. Not only did they have Tebow confess he was a virgin, they printed and recorded the question and answer that had nothing to do with football.

The purpose of the question was to add to the mystique that was often found on an ESPN broadcast somewhere seemingly daily.   All of this publicity came despite the fact he was a backup, something that would come about again in five years.

Tebow played as a freshman, and even played a key role in helping the Gators win the 2006 National Championship.   He started from his sophomore year on and became the first home-schooled athlete to win the Heisman Trophy Award.

Tebow was also the first underclassman ever to win the award.   Though he was never able to tie Archie Griffin's record of winning the Heisman twice, he did lead Florida to another championship in 2008 and won the Maxwell Award twice. Many media members would be so bold to call Tebow the greatest college football player ever.  

Yet critics would say that he would never have success as a quarterback in the NFL. Tebow ran the position kind of like a mix of a throw-back player and fullback in college, opting to run over defenders and toss jump passes more often than any other contemporary quarterback.  

The Denver Broncos did not care to listen to the critics.  They traded up in the 2009 Draft to use the 25th overall selection to grab Tebow. While many in the media had been wondering incessantly throughout the draft why Tebow hadn't been drafted yet, critics expected him to keep falling to possibly even the third round.  

Now a Bronco, the cameras keep a few feet away constantly recording every Tebow move. The most popular reserve in the NFL, his jersey was a hot-selling item that set records. It had been the top-selling jersey every month since he was drafted for many months.  

While spotted in six games in the beginning of his career, the Broncos lost their starting quarterback and were forced to start Tebow for three games. He became the first quarterback in NFL history to run for a touchdown in each of his first three career starts.  

His passing numbers were far from gaudy, they were certainly better than the critics expected. The 82.1 quarterback rating he had as a rookie was impressive for a kid no one thought would ever be an effective professional quarterback.  

Now in his second season, the hype highway has intensified with more bodies and pressure in the way. His name is mentioned constantly on television and the Internet is strewn with tons of articles discussing if this is the year Tebow begins his career as a starter.  

The problem is that last years starter, Kyle Ortin, has outperformed Tebow in camp by a pretty wide margin. Tebow's fans will say practice is unimportant, that the play on the field during a game matters most.  

In the Broncos first 2011 preseason game, Orton was not sharp in his few plays. Tebow was sharp with one incompletion against backup defenders on the Dallas Cowboys. Still, Tebow's head coach John Fox called the youngster a work in progress who made a few bad reads.  

With his unconventional release and style of play, Tebow is a unique player. Some think his style best works as a spot player. One reporter compared Tebow to 1984 Heisman winner Doug Flutie.  

Flutie, about eight inches shorter than Tebow, lasted 11 rounds before being drafted. After a season in the United States Football League, Flutie joined the NFL as the USFL folded.  

He soon found himself on the field playing, but the results were not as hoped. Flutie then bolted for the Canadian Football League and became a star. He played in the CFL for eight years and won three titles. He was also named the CFL's Most Outstanding Player six times.  

Flutie then returned to the NFL in 1998 and became a Pro Bowler. He played to the age of 43 and became the first NFL player in 65 years to convert a successful drop kick.  

While a trip to the CFL is an unlikely route for Tebow, it may take some time before the Broncos are ready to let him lead the team. But his teammates will tell you Tebow displays a an obvious burning desire to win.  

With his religious beliefs, humble attitude, and desire to fulfill his childhood dream to becoming a great NFL quarterback, the media has bought in full force. There have been stories of him quoted as saying his Broncos starting job was “grabbed back away” when Orton was not traded recently.  

But the negative press rolls off his back like water on a duck, leaving him unscathed. Well insulated with a huge fanbase, the loyalty of the press will stay persistent no matter how much of Tebow's 2011 season is spent on the bench.  

It appears Tebow can do no wrong to a group of writers, which reminds some of Brett Favre. Favre, who retired last year after 20 years as a player, still gets brought up in stories for a possible return this year.  

While Favre won one Super Bowl and set several records as a player, he also left the game with the most fumbles, times sacked, and interceptions thrown in an era of football where the NFL constantly bent the rule in a quarterbacks favor to ensure success.  

Tebow hasn't thrown a teammate under the bus yet for holding out while being the highest paid player in team history like Favre did. Nor are there any reports of purported sexual harassment either.  

Yet there are similarities that extend beyond the fact both men play quarterback. Favre also lived under the media microscope and was trumpeted as the greatest player ever innumerous times.  

Favre could do no wrong himself, even if reports of wrong doing were running rampant. He was given a pass at every turn and ESPN dropped his name seemingly every ten minutes on all broadcasts for many years.  

With him now away from the game, the mantle has been filled by the kid who has had a media shadow since he was 17-years old. Tebow handles the things well, but has also lamented the constant process of being interviewed repeatedly and practically daily.  

He will be only 24-years old soon, but the target is set firmly on his back. Opponents have stated they will try to hit Tebow with all of their abilities. That pressure alone would buckle most, let alone the constant attention he receives from a large group of reporters following him.  

While appearing bashful at being given the throne Favre reigned for so many years, Tebow appears to understand the perks that go with it. Whether all of this hype gets him on the field with a successful career remains to be seen, but the media will make sure we witness every second of it.