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In The End, It's A Strong Hall Class

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By IRA KAUFMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 3, 2008

PHOENIX - Even without the presence of a single overwhelming candidate, the 2008 Pro Football Hall of Fame class is a strong one.

The lack of a Dan Marino or a Lawrence Taylor on the ballot doesn't diminish the qualifications of the newest entrants to the Canton, Ohio, shrine of excellence.

Saturday's meeting lasted more than six hours, taking me and 39 other Hall of Fame voters from across the country through breakfast and lunch.

For a while, it appeared dinner would also be served.

I was surprised by some of the players who survived the final cutdown, but each of the six new members is deserving of the honor.

For the second consecutive year, former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue failed to garner the required 80 percent for election. And once again, Tagliabue's candidacy generated the longest and most heated discussion as we spent 33 minutes debating his merits and foibles.

In the end, Tagliabue's detractors carried the day, although I voted for the rather haughty administrator who presided over 17 years of uninterrupted labor peace and played a key role in growing the NFL into a $7 billion industry.

Thankfully, the arguments against Tagliabue's candidacy were more substantive and less personal this time around.

Given the unease several NFL owners have expressed with the bargaining agreement Tagliabue helped forge in 2006, there is a sense Tagliabue's legacy as commissioner is not complete.

He'll likely be back in the room for more discussion in 2009, when defensive end Bruce Smith and defensive back Rod Woodson are eligible for the first time.

Emmitt Thomas was a solid candidate nominated by the Hall of Fame Seniors Committee, and the ex-Chiefs cornerback received scant opposition, becoming the fourth defensive player plucked off the 1969 Super Bowl champion Chiefs.

In whittling the list of modern-era candidates from 15 to 10, I voted for Tagliabue, wide receivers Cris Carter and Art Monk, offensive linemen Bob Kuechenberg, Randall McDaniel and Gary Zimmerman, defensive end Richard Dent, linebackers Derrick Thomas and Andre Tippett and cornerback Darrell Green.

Left behind on my ballot were Bills wide receiver Andre Reed, Redskins offensive lineman Russ Grimm, defensive end Fred Dean, Broncos linebacker Randy Gradishar and Ray Guy of the Raiders, the 1973 first-round pick whose career numbers simply don't back up widespread claims he set the standard for all NFL punters who followed.

Although I didn't support Dean, a prototypical edge rusher who made an impact for the Chargers and 49ers, the 230-pound situational end made the cut to 10 instead of Tagliabue.

When the field was reduced from 10 to five, my final ballot read: Carter, Monk, McDaniel, Derrick Thomas and Tippett.

McDaniel didn't survive, despite earning 12 consecutive Pro Bowl berths with the Vikings and Buccaneers and missing only two games in a 14-year career that ended after the 2001 season.

I'm still surprised Green made it in his first time around, but 20 years on the job out on an island is certainly impressive. Monk, a Redskins teammate, was the premier possession receiver of his time and a consummate pro.

Carter, who mentored Randy Moss in Minnesota, may have to wait a while, but 130 touchdown receptions can't be dismissed ... even in a pass-happy era.

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