I have a hard time picking hall of famers. Joe Montana, Steve Young, Dan Marino and Barry Sanders were easy choices, and I think Ray Lewis, Brett Favre and Randy Moss are the same. Same with Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.
I'm not sure about Brian Urlacher and Ed Reed. Really good players, but does Urlacher match Nitschke, Butkus or Willie Lanier? Reed compares favorably with Ronnie Lott, Larry Wilson, Kenny Houston and other great safeties, but he may not be an obvious choice because of lack of longevity. He might be a hall of famer if a neck injury doesn't curtail his career.
There's still a debate about coach Don Coryell, who died this week. If you go by team records (a little over average) and championships (none), no, he wouldn't make the hall. If you go by the fact that Coryell's passing schemes changed the face of the NFL, then, yes, he'd go in. Hey, Shula, Landry and Lombardi won championships and had great won-loss records, but Coryell changed the face of the league as much as either one of those three hall of famers.
And I still think the Dolphins' Bob Kuechenberg and Dick Anderson, as well as the Packers' Jerry Kramer, have been slighted. (NOTE: Kramer is now a hall of famer.)
EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com TWITTER: EDITORatWORK.
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