ESPN Nerd (Clayton)- Allen not a first ballot HOF

[dbair1967]

What a freaking joke. Says Allen might not make it on first ballot becuase of "strength of the class" and him being a G.

Larry Allen made 11 Probowls and 7 All Pro teams, including once as a LT in 1998 (his only full season as a starter at LT I believe). He made not one but TWO different all decade teams (90's and 00's). He then cites Jon Ogden being a sure fire first ballot HOF. Ogden was a very good player, but he was nowhere near as dominant as Allen was, soemthing cited by NUMEROUS NFL players and commentators (like Howie Long and John Madden)

And yes, this freaking fool has a HOF vote.

If Allen isnt a lock as a first ballot HOF guy, I dont know who is and if he doesnt make it, it just further cements what a damn joke this process is.

 

[superpunk]

well before I fly off the handle how good is the class?

Larry is the GOAT but if there are other greats out there I could see a guard getting snubbed. They're only slightly higher than punters on the list of positions the hall could care less about. Fortunately John Madden was madly in love with LA for years and enough people remember John losing his mind anytime LA made a block that he'll probably be first ballot no matter what.

 

[peplaw06]

HOF class

Larry Allen (1st ballot)
Jerome Bettis
Tim Brown
Chris Carter
Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr.
Kevin Greene
Charles Haley
Art Modell
Jonathan Ogden (1st ballot)
Bill Parcells
Andre Reed
Warren Sapp (1st ballot)
Will Shields
Michael Strahan (1st ballot)
Aeneas Williams
Curley Culp (senior nominee)
Dave Robinson (senior nominee)


I don't think any other 1st ballot guy is a better candidate than Allen.

 

[UVAwahoos]

Clayton is right, dude. The class is uniquely strong this year.

The shitty part is that there are few athletes I truly hate more than Sapp and Strahan.

Sapp was one of the dirtiest players ever, and he goes out of his way to be a huge drama queen now. He's just a terrible person.

Strahan's sack record is fake. He does get bonus points for regularly ass-tagging Kelly Ripa though

 

[Midswat]

I'll lol if Parcells is skipped again.

 

[dbair1967]

Who cares what other positions they were? Allen was amazingly good, and started at 4 of the 5 positions on the OL (made the probowl at 3 of the 4, only didnt make it at RT as a rookie)

But to answer your question, the others in the group potentially include Warren Sapp, Michael Strahan, Ogden and Bill Parcells

No way should any of those guys get in before Larry Allen

 

[dbair1967]

HOF class

Larry Allen (1st ballot)
Jerome Bettis
Tim Brown
Chris Carter
Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr.
Kevin Greene
Charles Haley
Art Modell
Jonathan Ogden (1st ballot)
Bill Parcells
Andre Reed
Warren Sapp (1st ballot)
Will Shields
Michael Strahan (1st ballot)
Aeneas Williams
Curley Culp (senior nominee)
Dave Robinson (senior nominee)


I don't think any other 1st ballot guy is a better candidate than Allen.

1st ballot and overall. There's not a player (or coach) on this list as good as Allen was.

 

[superpunk]

Looks like a good year.

I wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised if Bettis is a first ballot. The media loves him and he's a Steeler.

 

[peplaw06]

Bettis was a finalist previously.

 

[superpunk]

whatever I'm not a historian.

 

[LAZARUS_LOGAN]

Clayton is right, dude. The class is uniquely strong this year.

The shitty part is that there are few athletes I truly hate more than Sapp and Strahan.

Sapp was one of the dirtiest players ever, and he goes out of his way to be a huge drama queen now. He's just a terrible person.

Strahan's sack record is fake. He does get bonus points for regularly ass-tagging Kelly Ripa though

Alot of those players got snubbed over the years, and this might be there year. But why should Allen have to pay for it? And superpunk... I'm sorry, but I think if Allen gets snubbed it has less to do with it being a "strong class", but perhaps moreso him being a Dallas Cowboy. There is no first ballot player that should get in over Allen. Clayton can talk up Ogden all he wants, I personally think Will Shields should get in before Ogden.


And dbair... for the longest time, I've been saying they should make the HOF voting the same as they do with the Heisman Trophy voting: to those that won it or made it.

The HOF voting should be taken out of the hands of sportswriters, because they are fans just like all the rest of us, and they come with their own particular biases, as well.

 

[bbgun]

They need to get rid of the artificial limit on the number of inductees per year. If 12 deserve induction, put them all in regardless of position. Spread the speeches out over two days if you have to. Screw the "only the elite should get in on their first try" mentality.

 

[peplaw06]

Would make sense bbgun, but they wouldn't do it, because it would weaken the pool of eligible people. It would create years where no one got in, or where people who didn't deserve it got in.

They're artificially making the HOF relevant every year.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Bunch of wah in this thread. We're only making a big stink of this because the glory years are all we have.

 

[bbgun]

No one got into the MLB HOF this year, and the world kept spinning. I just think it's cruel to tell obvious HOFers like Cris Carter or Larry Allen to "wait 'til next year" because someone sexier is available this year.

 

[Mr.Po]

Allen not a first ballot HOF

Horseshit

 

[Jon88]

Allen is the best offensive lineman of all time.

How the fuck does he not get in first ballot?

 

[ZeroClub]

Allen deserves it, no doubt.

Wouldn't surprise me, though, if a Guard got overlooked.

Plus, Allen didn't have much of a rapport with the media or fans. He didn't do humorous commercials. Allen's media presence is near zero compared to Sapp and Strahan. Obviously none of this should make a difference, but it certainly could anyway.

 

[SixisBetter]

As long as self important limberdicks like Peter King,Len Pasquarelli,Sal Paolantonio,John Clayton,and John Czarnecki have votes for the HOF,the process is pretty much a crap shoot anyway.
Sadly,unless a voter dies or retires,as long as they attend the meetings,they never lose their vote.
It's a horrible system,and it's easy to see how certain players get overlooked.

Here's the complete list,and the process:http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/selectionprocess.aspx

 

[Bonecrusher#31]