Hall of Fame reveals finalists for Class of 2019

[doniceage]

The Pro Football Hall of Fame unveiled its 15 modern-era finalists for the Class of 2019 on Thursday.

These finalists were among a group of 92 players and 11 coaches that were initially named nominees for this year's class in September.

FINALISTS

Tony Gonzalez, TE -- 1997-2008 Kansas City Chiefs, 2009-2013 Atlanta Falcons

Isaac Bruce, WR -- 1994-2007 Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams, 2008-09 San Francisco 49ers

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...-class-of-2019

[jplcom]

According to HoF selection by-laws, a minimum of 4 and a max of 8 can be selected to go in. My top 4 are lock and load for HoF entry. I think 5 and 6 should also get in. 7 is borderline for me and 8 and below would not get in. Bruce might eventually get in but with the glut of WRs out there it's going to be harder. The rest of the guys don't make the cut for me. Especially Boselli. He was great but not a long enough career when compared to other HoF Tackles.

My ranking:1. Tony Gonzalez, TE -- 6 AP, 14 PB, 0x Super Bowls, led league in Receptions once. All-time 2nd in Recs, 6th in yards, 8th in TDs. PFR AV of 149.
2. Don Coryell, Coach
3. Ed Reed, FS -- 5x AP, 9x PB, 1x SB Champ, 2004 DPOY. All-time 7th in INTs, 1st in INT yards, 11th in TDs. PFR AV of 136.
4. Champ Bailey, CB -- 3x AP, 12x PB, 1x SB. All-time 26th in INTs, 1st in Passes defended. PFR AV of 150.
5. Alan Faneca, G -- 6x AP, 9x PB, 1x SB Champ. PFR AV of 146
6. Kevin Mawae, C/G -- 3x AP, 8x PB. PFR AV of 152
7. Isaac Bruce, WR -- 0 AP, 4 PB, 1x SB Champ, 2x SB. All-time 13th in Recs, 5th in yards, 12th in TDs. PFR AV of 137.
8. Ty Law, CB -- 2x AP, 5x PB, 3x SB Champ. All-time 24th in INTs, 11th in TDs. PFR AV of 111
9. Steve Hutchinson, G -- 5x AP, 7x PB, 1x SB. PFR AV of 119
10. Richard Seymour, DE/DT -- 3x AP, 7x PB, 3x SB Champ. PFR AV of 113
11. Edgerrin James, RB -- 1 AP, 4 PB, 1999 OROY, 1x SB. All-time 13th in yards, 20th in TDs. PFR AV of 136.
12. John Lynch, FS -- 2x AP, 9x PB, 1x SB Champ. PFR AV of 115
13. Tom Flores, Coach --
14. Steve Atwater, S -- 2x AP, 8x PB, 2x SB Champ, 3x SB. All-time 35th in combined tackles, 24th in solo tackles. PFR AV of 98.
15. Tony Boselli, T -- 3x AP, 5x PB. PFR AV of 73

I'd love to see Edge get the nod, I think that knee injury and missing the Colts Super Bowl year hurt his chances. It's an old pain that the Bears lost to the Colts that year, but James deserved to be part of that team that won it all. But prior to the ACL, he was a crazy dual threat back that didn't make anyone second guess the Colts letting Faulk walk.

[bakemeister52]

I agree with your Top 4 jplcom! Tony Gonzalez was a great Tight End when he played the game.

Bake

[jwlawrence06]

Would love to see Ty Law get in...he was dominant for a long stretch of time. Shut down corner who did it in the big games.

[BBonds25]

According to HoF selection by-laws, a minimum of 4 and a max of 8 can be selected to go in. My top 4 are lock and load for HoF entry. I think 5 and 6 should also get in. 7 is borderline for me and 8 and below would not get in. Bruce might eventually get in but with the glut of WRs out there it's going to be harder. The rest of the guys don't make the cut for me. Especially Boselli. He was great but not a long enough career when compared to other HoF Tackles.

My ranking:1. Tony Gonzalez, TE -- 6 AP, 14 PB, 0x Super Bowls, led league in Receptions once. All-time 2nd in Recs, 6th in yards, 8th in TDs. PFR AV of 149.
2. Don Coryell, Coach
3. Ed Reed, FS -- 5x AP, 9x PB, 1x SB Champ, 2004 DPOY. All-time 7th in INTs, 1st in INT yards, 11th in TDs. PFR AV of 136.
4. Champ Bailey, CB -- 3x AP, 12x PB, 1x SB. All-time 26th in INTs, 1st in Passes defended. PFR AV of 150.
5. Alan Faneca, G -- 6x AP, 9x PB, 1x SB Champ. PFR AV of 146
6. Kevin Mawae, C/G -- 3x AP, 8x PB. PFR AV of 152
7. Isaac Bruce, WR -- 0 AP, 4 PB, 1x SB Champ, 2x SB. All-time 13th in Recs, 5th in yards, 12th in TDs. PFR AV of 137.
8. Ty Law, CB -- 2x AP, 5x PB, 3x SB Champ. All-time 24th in INTs, 11th in TDs. PFR AV of 111
9. Steve Hutchinson, G -- 5x AP, 7x PB, 1x SB. PFR AV of 119
10. Richard Seymour, DE/DT -- 3x AP, 7x PB, 3x SB Champ. PFR AV of 113
11. Edgerrin James, RB -- 1 AP, 4 PB, 1999 OROY, 1x SB. All-time 13th in yards, 20th in TDs. PFR AV of 136.
12. John Lynch, FS -- 2x AP, 9x PB, 1x SB Champ. PFR AV of 115
13. Tom Flores, Coach --
14. Steve Atwater, S -- 2x AP, 8x PB, 2x SB Champ, 3x SB. All-time 35th in combined tackles, 24th in solo tackles. PFR AV of 98.
15. Tony Boselli, T -- 3x AP, 5x PB. PFR AV of 73

I'd love to see Edge get the nod, I think that knee injury and missing the Colts Super Bowl year hurt his chances. It's an old pain that the Bears lost to the Colts that year, but James deserved to be part of that team that won it all. But prior to the ACL, he was a crazy dual threat back that didn't make anyone second guess the Colts letting Faulk walk.

You are correct about the bylaw of 4-8 candidates elected, however , no more than five Modern-Era Finalists can be elected in a given year and thus a class of six, seven, or eight can only be achieved if the Senior Finalist and/or one or both Contributors Finalists are elected. With that said, here are the modern players that I think get in:

-Tony Gonzalez
-Ed Reed
-Champ Bailey
-Alan Faneca
-Steve Huthcinson

I don't see Lynch or Atwater getting in with Reed on the ballot. And though unorthodox, I think both of the guards will get in together (similar to Lewis and Urlacher getting in together last year). I think Bruce gets in eventually, but is still overshadowed by his contemporaries (Harrison, Owens, Moss), and playing with an almost equally productive Torry Holt may hurt his chances as well. However, I would not be overly surprised to see Bruce or James replace Bailey, Faneca or Hutchinson. Would be unusual to have a HOF class with no QB/RB/WR. They may also try to avoid a second straight year of voting in 3 first time nominees. Not sure if the committee really cares about that kind of stuff though.

[doniceage]

Will be interesting to see how close your productions are.

Don

[jplcom]

My ranking:
1. Tony Gonzalez, TE -- 6 AP, 14 PB, 0x Super Bowls, led league in Receptions once. All-time 2nd in Recs, 6th in yards, 8th in TDs. PFR AV of 149.
3. Ed Reed, FS -- 5x AP, 9x PB, 1x SB Champ, 2004 DPOY. All-time 7th in INTs, 1st in INT yards, 11th in TDs. PFR AV of 136.
4. Champ Bailey, CB -- 3x AP, 12x PB, 1x SB. All-time 26th in INTs, 1st in Passes defended. PFR AV of 150.
6. Kevin Mawae, C/G -- 3x AP, 8x PB. PFR AV of 152
8. Ty Law, CB -- 2x AP, 5x PB, 3x SB Champ. All-time 24th in INTs, 11th in TDs. PFR AV of 111

2019 Class announced! I hit on 3 of my top 4 and I'll credit myself for Mawae. I'm continually surprised at the lack of love for Coryell. Glad to see Law selected though I didn't think he had quite enough compared to others in this class. He was definitely an excellent cover corner during his prime and something else for Patriots fans to cheer about today. Bruce is deserving but seems like if you weren't Rice or Moss you have to wait as a WR.

https://www.profootballhof.com/pro-f...class-of-2019/

[doniceage]

Nice picks.

Din

[BBonds25]

3/5. No way i i thought Mawae would get in before Faneca or Hutchinson. He definitely deserves it, i just thought he would have to wait another year or 2.

Next year is arguably a weak class of first-time eligibles. (Polamalu, Reggie Wayne, Patrick Willis & Justin Smith), so we may see the likes of Faneca, Hutchinson, Boseli and Atwater get the call (assuming they are finalists).