Tag: Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame RB Marshall Faulk believes Frank Gore belongs in Hall of Fame

Pro Football Hall of Fame RB Marshall Faulk told Bay Area radio he believes Frank Gore will join him in Canton.

Frank Gore was having a special career even during his final year with the 49ers in 2014 at Age 31. Since then he’s continued churning and climbed to No. 3 on the NFL’s all-time rushing list to help bolster a resumé that will surely land him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. While there are detractors who believe Gore’s sterling career doesn’t belong in Canton, Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk believes Gore will join him among the league’s all-time greats when its all said and done.

Faulk on Thursday joined Joe, Lo and Dibs on 95.7 The Game in San Francisco and was asked about whether Gore would one day don a gold jacket. His answer addressed the criticism that Gore was never the best back in the league, and countered with a tribute to the 16-year veteran’s longevity.

“If you can have a stellar short career and have some fantastic seasons like guys have had, and you let them in for that, then longevity at the position that we play has to get the same kind of — you have to look at it the same way,” Faulk said. “You have to look at longevity at the position. And here’s the reality — Frank wasn’t a guy that you were platooning. I mean, his days, you know, he was bell cowing it. He’s the down and dirty guy. He’s not the run outside, third-down back. No, he’s your hammer. He’s your hammer. And he’s consistently been that wherever he’s been.”

To Faulk’s point, Gore posted more than 200 carries every year between 2006 and 2017. His 12 seasons of 200 attempts rank second in NFL history only behind Emmitt Smith’s 14. Every player with 10 or more seasons of 200 carries is in the Hall of Fame. The lone exception is Adrian Peterson who should find his way to Canton.

His 3,548 rushes are the third-most all-time behind Smith and Walter Payton. His 4.33 yards per attempt is better than Smith’s 4.16 and .03 yards behind Payton.

He also holds the NFL record with 12 seasons with 1,200-plus yards from scrimmage. Seven of the eight players behind him are all in the Hall of Fame. Additionally, Gore is fourth all-time in yards from scrimmage. He’s ahead of Faulk and behind Payton, Smith and Jerry Rice.

Faulk went on to point out that Gore’s additional seasons aren’t just window dressing either.

“Think about last year. At his age last year he beat out (LeSean) Shady McCoy for the job in Buffalo. Beat him out!”  Faulk said. “So I definitely look at Frank as a Hall of Famer.”

It’s also worth noting in 2018 with the Dolphins Gore was ripping off 4.6 yards per attempt on 156 carries before an ankle injury ended his season.

Faulk wasn’t ready to commit to Gore getting in on the first ballot, but he left no doubt that the 49ers’ all-time leading rusher will eventually join the NFL’s greatest team after he hangs up his pads.

“The question is ‘first ballot.’ While that is an honor, just being inside that room is special,” Faulk said. “Sitting in that room, looking at the last team you’ll ever be on knowing that you can’t be cut, you can’t be traded. Shoot, you can’t even die off the (expletive) team. You’re still on the team. It’s a great thing to know.”

The Jets are Gore’s sixth different NFL team. Whether he continues beyond 2020 remains to be seen, but it’s becoming more and more certain that his last team will be the one that wears gold jackets in Canton.

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Morten Andersen on departure of Chiefs P Dustin Colquitt and the specialist stigma

HOF kicker Morten Andersen reflects on his career while talking Kansas City Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt and his Hall of Fame chances.

It was a bit of Déjà vu for Pro Football Hall of Fame kicker Morten Andersen when he learned of the release of Kansas City Chiefs longtime punter Dustin Colquitt.

“I saw the news come over the ticker and I was like, ‘What?'” 

Andersen had been there before. He was with the New Orleans Saints for over a decade, and following the 1994 season, they had released him. They’d say it had nothing to do with his performance, that the decision was based on the $1.2 million owed against the salary cap, which in the ’90s was a substantial amount.

“They said that I was a declining player,” Andersen explained.

But history would prove that Andersen wasn’t a declining player and still had a lot of good football left to play. He’d go on to set the NFL records for field goals and points scored, but he’d do with the Atlanta Falcons with a few years playing for the New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings in between.

Are the Chiefs making the same mistake with Colquitt that New Orleans made with Andersen?

“He’s one of the best punters in Chiefs history,” Andersen said of Colquitt. 

The words “Chiefs history” stand out like a sore thumb. Andersen is one of only five specialists to have been selected to the Hall of Fame. Only one punter, Ray Guy, has been selected to be immortalized in the Hall of Fame.

Colquitt has more punts, yards, and a higher per punt average to Guy during his career. Colquitt has played for one more season than Guy, but he never led the NFL in punting average, something Guy did four times. Colquitt also has seen six punts blocked, and Guy only had three punts blocked in his 207-game career.

So what of Colquitt’s chances to reach the Hall of Fame?

“Well, I don’t think he’s done playing yet,” Andersen said. “He’s gonna play somewhere, right? I mean, he’s too good. He’s going to play somewhere quickly. You know, somebody is going to snag him and he’ll continue.”

Perhaps Andersen sees a bit of himself in Colquitt, knowing that his own journey with football hadn’t yet ended when he was released. Colquitt just became a Super Bowl champion for the first time, after all. It’s something that could ignite the spark to keep the 37-year-old going at this juncture in his career.

Right now, Andersen is a bit skeptical about Colquitt’s Hall of Fame chances because he thinks the ink isn’t dry on Colquitt’s story. It’s also in part because of his own experiences with it.

“I had to wait five years,” he said. “I still think there are kickers [and punters] that should be in there. Gary Anderson should be in there. Jason Hanson —guys who played long careers over 20 years — who are not in there. Adam Vinatieri will be in there, but you know there are very few spots for a lot of worthy guys.””

So if not Colquitt, then who? Those three that Andersen mentioned are deserving kickers, but what punters are deserving of the gold jacket and bust in Canton, Ohio?

“I think Shane Lechler or Sean Landeta, those were two guys that probably go in before him,” Andersen said. “Every time I talk about the Hall of Fame and specialists, it’s discouraging because there’s a lot of pushback. There’s just not a lot of love in the room for specialists. And you know, a guy like Steve Tasker, I would love to see in there, who I think deserves to be in there and then there’s Devin Hester, you know? So where does a punter fall in that? Listen, Ray Guy is the only Punter in there right now. So is Colquitt the next guy? That’s really tough for me to say.”

Kickers and return specialists have the benefit of scoring points, they make splashy high-pressure game-changing plays on the regular. The work of a punter isn’t as easily seen. The position is judged on an entirely different set of criteria. Maybe the fact that Colquitt is No. 3 all-time with 462 punts inside of the 20-yard line is enough? Truly, Andersen doesn’t know for sure. It all feels almost random to him.

“He has put together a great resume,” Andersen said. “Clearly, to me, [he is] the best punter in Chiefs history and should be afforded every accolade with the Kansas City Chiefs, with his name being put up in the Ring of Honor. But I don’t know about the Hall of Fame. I think the verdict is still out.”

What Andersen does believe is worthy of the Hall of Fame is Colquitt’s character. Colquitt proved it time and again on the field, in the locker room and off the field. He was even the Chiefs’ nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2009 and 2018 because of his work in the Kansas City community.

“I think also what he stood for as a professional,” Andersen said. “He was really good in the locker room. He was really just a kind person, you know, and did a lot off the field. And when you combine that with his stellar performance on the field, you’re having a true professional that you should be proud of the career he had in Kansas City. And the Chiefs should feel very privileged and lucky that they had him for that long.”

Colquitt could go on to play elsewhere, as Andersen believes he will, but no matter what happens in the future, Colquitt’s legacy with the Chiefs will remain unchanged. He was one of the great ones to hold a locker room at Arrowhead Stadium and his presence will be greatly missed, perhaps more than we currently realize.

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This interview is the first of a multi-part series with Hall of Fame Kicker Morten Andersen sponsored by Bet Pennsylvania. 

“I’ve had conversations with people and …

“I’ve had conversations with people and I think Webb is undoubtedly a Hall of Famer,” said Doug Christie, Webber’s teammate in Sacramento. “Period. That’s where I stand.” Webber has been eligible for induction since 2013, and after not being enshrined last year, he isn’t bothered by the situation. “The first few years I did, but I know I am one,” Webber told The Athletic last July. “That’s the way I’ve got to treat it and be thankful for the blessings I’ve got.”

“Webb was willing to sacrifice in a lot …

“Webb was willing to sacrifice in a lot of ways and that allowed Peja (Stojakovic) to grow,” Christie said. “That allowed me to grow, that allowed Bobby (Jackson) to grow, that allowed Vlade to grow, with his unselfishness with the passing. “You’ve got (Arvydas) Sabonis, you’ve got Vlade, Webb is right there, and Bill Walton, when you talk about the greatest big men passers of all time. The touch on the passes, the creativity, the sight, the timeliness, also the unselfishness. Sometimes it’s a wide-open jump shot and he’d see somebody cutting by and he just hits them and they get a layup. It just keeps the game free. Also, his ability to communicate on the floor I thought was underrated.”

World Golf Hall of Fame to reopen May 18 after closure due to COVID-19

The World Golf Hall of Fame closed temporarily due to coronavirus, but will reopen on May 18 with some precautions.

The World Golf Hall of Fame will offer several discounts upon its re-opening on May 18 after being closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The World Golf Hall of Fame and Museum in St. Augustine is reopening on May 18, with special rates for the entire summer for area residents, children, first responders and health-care workers.

Playing golf at First Coast courses will also earn a reduced rate.

The IMAX Theater will remain closed. The facility will allow 25 percent of museum capacity in at a given time and will follow all local, state and CDC guidelines.

The Hall of Fame will offer complimentary admission through Aug. 31 to all first responders and frontline health-care workers. Children 12 and under are also admitted free during that time period when accompanied by a ticketed adult (two children per adult) and Northeast Florida residents will get 50 percent off admission with a valid ID.

The Hall of Fame also is offering 50 percent off admissions through Aug. 31 for anyone bringing a receipt showing that they played a round of golf at a Northeast Florida Course. The round must have been played within three days of the visit to the Hall of Fame.

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“I think the legacy I left for the game …

“I think the legacy I left for the game is there. But who is it to decide? Who is making the decisions? What do they base it off of. If you look at all the numbers, to me, I should be a shoo-in. Should I not?” Marion asked. “What am I supposed to do? What am I not supposed to do? It’s out of my control. I know it’s a political thing. It’s a lot more other stuff going on. But certain things, you earn that. I earned that.”

Former Cardinals LB Karlos Dansby expects to get into Hall of Fame

“I’ll be the only guy ever to get in the Hall of Fame without a Pro Bowl. I’m going to be the only guy because you can’t deny the numbers.”

Former Arizona Cardinals linebacker Karlos Dansby has never been shy about how he feels his NFL career has gone. When he joined an exclusive group of players to reach a rare achievement — 20 career interceptions and 40 career sacks — he called himself legendary.

He is one of only five players in NFL history to do that.

He expects to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and will be a legend in his own right.

“I’ll be the only guy ever to get in the Hall of Fame without a Pro Bowl,” he said in an interview on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “I’m going to be the only guy because you can’t deny the numbers.”

Dansby has had the goal of being a Hall of Famer since even before he was drafted.

“That’s what I played the game for,” he said. “When I first came in at the combine, Denny Green asked me what I wanted to do with the game. I said I wanted to get a yellow jacket.”

When Green, then the Cardinals’ head coach, asked him if he knew what that would take and if he wanted to win Super Bowls, Dansby was unfazed.

“Well if I’m playing at that level, we’ll win a Super Bowl. I’m not worried about that,” he said. “My whole goal was to be a Hall of Famer.”

It will be tough for him. Without Pro Bowls or All-Pro selections, he was never considered one of the best in the game in any season. Without that, will the voters even consider him to be one of the greatest of all time, even with the numbers that put him with others in the Hall?

He will be eligible for the first time in 2022. We will see what sort of consideration he gets.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep. 266

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Ep.265

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Where are they now: Joe Thomas

The post-draft football lull continues as we continue the “where are they now” series with a look at the college, professional and…

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The post-draft football lull continues as we continue the “where are they now” series with a look at the college, professional and post-football career of legendary offensive tackle Joe Thomas.

Thomas was born in Brookfield, Wisconsin and committed to play for the Badgers after shining as a four-star recruit and the No. 18 offensive line prospect in his class coming out of high school.

He didn’t only play offensive line in high school, though, as he was also ranked by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as a first-team all-state defensive lineman and by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association as the 2002 Defensive Player of the Year.

Thomas then arrived in Madison in 2003 and began his career as a tight end while he added weight and transitioned to the college level.

During the remainder of his college career, 2004-2006, Thomas started for the Badgers at left tackle during a total of 38 contests and finished his time in Madison having been named as a first-team All-American twice, to the first-team All-Big Ten twice and won the Outland Trophy awarded to the nation’s best interior lineman as a senior in 2006.

His college production and NFL Combine results were enough for the Cleveland Browns to draft Thomas No. 3 overall in the 2007 NFL Draft.

Despite the fact that it’s challenging for offensive linemen to enter the public eye as they never touch the football and aren’t drafted in fantasy leagues, especially so for one on a bad team for his whole career, Thomas became widely known as one of the greatest left tackles to ever play the game.

He did this through, over the course of 10.5 years, playing in an NFL record 10,363 consecutive snaps before a tricep tear in 2017 eventually ended his season and his career. That’s playing every snap from when he entered the league, playing his first game in September of 2007 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, to when he got injured on October 22, 2017 against the Tennessee Titans. Ten full seasons and seven weeks of never missing an offensive snap.

There’s a saying that the best ability is availability. Thomas was a perfect embodiment of that statement, impressively doing it at a position where players face contact on every play and often miss time with leg injuries and concussions.

As icing on an impressive cake, Thomas’ 11-year NFL career finished with six All-Pro nominations and ten Pro Bowl appearances, the only offensive lineman ever to do so. During that 11-year career he also allowed only 30 sacks in over 6,600 pass-blocking snaps and was recently named to NFL.com’s 2010’s All-Decade Team along with fellow Badger J.J. Watt.

Though he isn’t eligible for the Hall of Fame until 2023, he will be a sure-fire first ballot nominee as he puts a wrap on one of the greatest careers at his position in the history of the league.

In the two years since his retirement Thomas has lost 50 pounds and has transitioned to work in the NFL media both for Uninterrupted.com, for whom he hosts a podcast with his former teammate Andrew Hawkins, and for NFL Network for whom he’s an NFL analyst and regular contributor to their Thursday Night Football broadcasts.

The embodiment of Wisconsin football, Thomas will soon become only the third Wisconsin representative in the Pro Football Hall of Fame joining Elroy Hirsch and Mike Webster as he continues to work as a member of the NFL media and in close relation to everything football.

Cowboys News: Dalton embraces backup role, 2020 schedule to start with NFC-AFC games?

The QB hierarchy in Dallas is clear, while rumors swirl about the 2020 schedule and the Hall of Fame Game, plus more on this year’s rookies.

Cowboys Nation is still feeling the afterschocks of the weekend deal that brought quarterback Andy Dalton to Dallas and effectively rocked the league. But the doom-and-gloom conspiracy theorists who assumed the signing meant discord with Dak Prescott are slowly being talked off their ledge. On Wednesday, both the team’s executive VP and the player himself acknowledged that Dalton’s role will, in fact, be as Prescott’s understudy.

Be on the lookout for which leaks and rumors you believe regarding tomorrow night’s release of the 2020 schedule, but one trusted NFL insider says things may start with a straight month of interconference play, ostensibly slating the least important matchups first in case of a delayed start to the season. Even the Pro Football Hall of Fame is hedging their bets on their annual kickoff to the preseason. All that, plus still plenty of getting-to-know-you to do with the Cowboys’ current draft class as CeeDee Lamb, Bradlee Anae, and Ben DiNucci all make appearances in this edition of News and Notes.

Stephen Jones says Andy Dalton helps him sleep better :: NFL.com

The Cowboys executive VP says he was inspired to bring Andy Dalton on board by what he saw happen with an NFC East rival. “To have a guy like Andy Dalton come in here- not unlike what Philly had with Nick Foles when Carson Wentz went down- to be able to take control and win games, win huge games for you if that’s what you need is really important,” Jones said. “Certainly you can lay your head on the pillow better at night knowing you have someone like Andy Dalton.”

Andy Dalton ready to embrace life as a backup :: The Mothership

If called on to play in Dallas, the nine-year starter will be ready to go. But if all he does is wear a headset, the three-time Pro Bowler knows he’ll be in a good position come 2021. “Dak has played really well, and I knew the situation that I was coming into,” Dalton said. “I’m trying to set myself up and put myself in the best position for the second half of my career.”

Position Series: Quarterbacks :: The Mothership

Continuing a week-long exploration of each position group, the team website looks at how the allowance of two extra players on the game day roster may improve rookie Ben DiNucci’s chances of dressing on Sundays. The seventh-rounder’s personal connection to coach Mike McCarthy probably doesn’t hurt, either.

‘The Cowboys got a steal’: CeeDee Lamb’s former coaches, QB on Dallas’s top pick :: The Athletic

From his athleticism to his work ethic to his drive, rookie wide receiver CeeDee Lamb has been showing Sunday-caliber skills to everyone who’s been around him for his football life. But Lamb is also known as a guy who plays with a chip on his shoulder. Says a former coach, “I think CeeDee is going to put the world on notice. He’s going to be a little pissed because he knows he should’ve gone at least in the top 10.”

Cowboys rookie DE Bradlee Anae looks to channel ‘daredevil’ cliff-jumping spirit to wreck NFL games :: USA Today

In a Dallas locker room already full of colorful personalities, rookie Bradlee Anae should fit right in. Sure, the native Hawaiian cliff dives, but he also rocks out to Beethoven and Mozart before games, and works out religiously (even just hours after he was drafted) with his uncle, who happens to be Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s stunt double.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame reportedly has contingency plans for the HOF game :: Blogging the Boys

The Cowboys and Steelers are set to renew their rivalry- even in an exhibition setting- on August 6 in Canton, Ohio. But if Hall of Fame ceremonies end up getting pushed back due to COVID-19, the game could be played later in August… or even to Easter 2021, if need be.

But, of course…

Cowboys shut out of PFF’s top 25 under 25, but young talent plentiful :: Cowboys Wire

Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper, and Blake Jarwin are too old to make this list, but the youth movement in Dallas should still prove to be very much alive and well in the hands of Tony Pollard, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb.

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Report: Former Jets QB Brett Favre tied up in Mississippi welfare fraud scheme

Brett Favre reportedly earned more than $1 million for appearances he never made in his home state of Mississippi.

Hall of Fame and former Jets quarterback Brett Favre allegedly earned $1.1 million from the state of Mississippi for appearances he never made as part of a much larger welfare fraud scheme, according to a state audit.

The audit alleges that the Mississippi Department of Human Services spent over $94 million in welfare money on inappropriate expenditures such as Favre’s “appearances,” cars, sponsoring baseball tournaments and hiring family members by funneling federal welfare grant funds into two non-profits. Those two organizations then spent the money.

The Mississippi Community Education Center, one of the two non-profits at the heart the scandal, reportedly paid Favre Enterprises $500,000 in December 2017 and $600,000 in June 2018 for appearances, promotions, autographs and speaking engagements. The audit concluded Favre “did not speak nor was he present for those events.”

Favre, who grew up in Mississippi and played football at Southern Miss, has not commented on the allegations and isn’t facing criminal charges.