Tag: Hall of Fame

Raptors superfan Nav Bhatia will be …

Raptors superfan Nav Bhatia will be inducted into the National Basketball Association’s hall of fame, the league announced Friday ahead of its all-star festivities. Bhatia, a Toronto-area businessman and philanthropist who immigrated to Canada from India in 1984, has attended almost every single home game — and many road games, too — in the team’s quarter-century existence.

Bill Cowher says Mike Shanahan belongs in Pro Football Hall of Fame

“The two toughest coaches I had the hardest time to prepare against [were] Bill Belichick and Mike Shanahan,” Bill Cowher said.

When former Steelers coach Bill Cowher was named a Pro Football Hall of Famer in January, many fans and pundits pointed out that former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan has a resume just as good — if not a better — than Cowher’s.

Shanahan won 170 games and went 2-0 in Super Bowls. Cowher won 149 games and went 1-1 in Super Bowls. If Cowher belongs in Canton, surely Shanahan does as well, right?

Cowher seems to agree with that logic.

“Mike Shanahan belongs in the Hall of Fame,’’ Cowher told KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis on Feb 1. “I’ve said if there’s two people I had a hard time — the two toughest coaches I had the hardest time to prepare against, Bill Belichick and Mike Shanahan.”

Cowher said it was impossible to predict what Shanahan was going to call.

“He made you stay on your toes when you were trying to game plan against him,” Cowher said of Shanahan.

Last year, Ed Reed made the case for former safety Steve Atwater to make the Hall of Fame and Atwater got in this year. Perhaps Cowher, now as a Hall of Famer, will be able to help Shanahan get in as well.

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Steve Atwater honored to join late Broncos owner Pat Bowlen in Hall of Fame

“He wasn’t just the owner of the team,” Atwater said of Bowlen. “He was a friend, like a mentor and like a father-figure.”

Former Broncos defensive backs Champ Bailey and Steve Atwater — two of late owner Pat Bowlen’s favorite players — reached the Pro Football Hall of Fame in back-to-back years. Bowlen was also voted into the Hall of Fame last year but he died before the induction ceremony.

After he was voted into the Hall of Fame earlier this month, Atwater was asked how special it was to share a place in Canton with Bailey and Bowlen.

“It really means a lot,” a tearful Atwater said on Feb. 6. “Mr. Bowlen was a great man. I learned a lot from him just how he interacted with people and how he never wanted the limelight. He always wanted his guys — he’d always put us up there. When he got it last year, I was hoping that he would make it to the ceremony, but obviously he didn’t.

“I was just thinking about how nice it would have been to be able to hoist him on our shoulders and carry him into the Hall of Fame on our shoulders. He would be, ‘No, put me down. Put me down! I don’t want to get this attention.’ ‘Nope, it’s your day. It’s your day, Mr. B.’ It’s definitely going to be special to have a bust in there next to Mr. Bowlen.”

Bowlen served as the team’s majority owner from 1984-2019. He had a positive influence on Atwater and many other Broncos players.

“He’s a great man that I try to live by some of his principles,” Atwater said. “Like I said, he wasn’t just the owner of the team. He was a friend, like a mentor and like a father-figure wrapped up into one. He was a great guy. It will be an honor.”

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Fred Taylor confident he’ll get in Hall of Fame eventually

Fred Taylor was once frustrated about being over-looked as one of the NFL’s top RBs. Now, he feels he will eventually be a Hall-of-Famer.

While the Hall of Fame has been a frustrating process for Jacksonville Jaguars fans, the belief is that someone from the franchise will be named to the group within the next five years. With Tony Boselli becoming a finalist for the fourth consecutive time last season some think he’ll be the first Jaguar voted in, but if it’s not him, it almost certainly will be running back Fred Taylor.

When asked about how he felt about his chances to be voted into the Hall of Fame by TMZ Sports, Taylor said that it’s “no doubt” in his mind that it will happen one day as he was named a semifinalist for the 2020 class. Unlike the fans of the Jags, he also stated that he has faith in the voters to make the right choice eventually.

It seems that Taylor is a little more confident in his chances to make the Hall of Fame now that he’s on the voter’s radar. Previously, he expressed his frustration with being under-appreciated back in 2017 but has made progress towards getting in the Hall of Fame since.

Taylor finished his career with 11,695 total rushing yards (good for 17th amongst all NFL rushers) and 66 touchdowns. He also had 2,384 yards and eight touchdowns as a receiver.

 

Afterward, Taylor discussed his thoughts on the quarterbacks competition between Gardner Minshew II and Nick Foles. He stated that he feels the locker room may be more behind Minshew simply because of the chemistry they’ve built with him, but did defend Foles who was hampered by an injury Week 1.

Steve Atwater appreciates Ed Reed’s support for Hall of Fame candidacy

Broncos legend Steve Atwater appreciates the support Ed Reed gave his Hall of Fame candidacy.

Broncos legend Steve Atwater was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last week. He should have gotten into Canton years ago but it’s good to see that the voters finally got it right.

Last year, former Ravens safety Ed Reed said he’d rather give his spot in the Hall of Fame to Atwater than get in with Atwater being left out. During a press conference last week, Atwater expressed his gratitude for Reed’s remarks.

“It really meant a lot to know that a player of his caliber — he’s an amazing player — thought that much of me to say something that kind,” Atwater said. “And I told him when I saw him, I was like, ‘You don’t really have to say that.’

“But I really appreciated it because I think some of the voters may have said, ‘Wow we really have to kind of take a look at Steve if a lot of these younger guys say they looked up to him and they want him to be in the Hall of Fame. How can he not be in here and we have a lot of other guys?’”

Atwater played from 1989-1998 and earned eight Pro Bowl nods, winning two Super Bowls. Reed grew up watching him and played in the NFL from 2002-2013, earning nine Pro Bowl selections and winning one Super Bowl.

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Steve Atwater makes the case for more Broncos to reach Hall of Fame

“How could they have not one person in the Pro Football Hall of Fame [from the Orange Crush defense]?” Steve Atwater asked.

After former safety Steve Atwater was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last week, the Denver Broncos now have seven players and late owner Pat Bowlen representing them in Canton, Ohio.

For a team that has been to eight Super Bowls, the Broncos seem to be underrepresented in the Hall of Fame. That’s something that Atwater hopes will soon change.

“We have a lot of guys that we need to see go in,” Atwater said during a press conference Thursday. “Randy Gradishar, Karl Mecklenburg, Dennis Smith, John Lynch — hopefully next year — Peyton Manning — hopefully next year — Rod Smith. This franchise has unfortunately been overlooked for many years and fortunately, we’ve gotten some players in in the last several years, but we have to keep it going . . . .

“We still are, I think, very much underrepresented in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with the history that we’ve had here with the organization, with the winning ways we’ve had, that Orange Crush defense. How could they have not one person in the Pro Football Hall of Fame [from the Orange Crush defense]? To this day I just cannot understand that. Hopefully in the coming years that will be taken care of and we can get some guys in there.”

The most notable members from the Orange Crush defense that are not in Canton are Gradishar and Mecklenburg. Both of them have strong cases for the Hall of Fame, particularly Gradishar.

With several Broncos getting in over the last few years, perhaps it’s only a matter of time before Gradishar makes it himself. The momentum seems to be building, just as it did for Atwater over the last several voting cycles.

Denver should be sending more players to Canton in the coming years.

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