<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Retirements create Hall of Fame Logjam By Pat Kirwan | NFL.com Do you remember those days long ago when you graduated from college and started on the job interview circuit? Potential employers peppered you with inane questions and you fed them your rehearsed answers. For several NFL stars who recently announced their retirement, the answer is easy. They expect to be in Canton as first-ballot Hall of Famers in 2013. The problem is there may not be room for all of them right away. Every offseason has its themes and storylines. One of the major stories of 2008 thus far has been the retirement of some of the NFL's brightest stars. Brett Favre, Michael Strahan, Warren Sapp, Jonathan Ogden, and Steve McNair, among others, have all announced that they are hanging up the cleats this year; Junior Seau and Larry Allen have not officially retired yet, but may still do so. All are worthy of induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But the Hall has some fairly strict guidelines governing entry into their select brotherhood. Those enshrined must be retired from the game for at least five years, at which time they become eligible nominees. Excluding Seniors Committee nominees, the maximum number that can be elected in a given year is five. So come 2013, the fans in Canton's Fawcett Stadium should settle in, because we might very well be there a while until all these great players make their induction speeches, right? So which of these great players will have hotel reservations in Ohio in five years, and which ones will have to wait? I decided to do a little head-to-head analysis to see which of these perennial Pro Bowlers should come first. Let's see if you agree. I interviewed 40 callers on my Sirius Radio show and received another 36 e-mails from fans, and this is how the voting went. In order, they are: 1. QB Brett Favre Years: 1991-2007 (Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers) Career stats: 257 games, 8,758 attempts, 5,377 completions, 61,655 yards, 61.4 comp. percentage, 442 TDs, 288 INTs, 85.7 rating Super Bowl appearances: 2 Super Bowl championships: 1 Pro Bowl appearances: 9 Records, awards and accomplishments: NFL 1990s all-decade team. Three-time league MVP. Owns every major NFL career passing mark including most TDs, most passing yards, pass completions, and passing attempts, most wins (160), most consecutive starts, most 3,000-yard seasons (16). Notes and quotes: He is clearly one of the greatest players to ever strap on the pads. He led the Packers to 11 playoff appearances, seven division crowns, and four NFC Championship Games in his 16 seasons with the team. The only three-time MVP in league history, Favre's attitude, toughness, and winner's mentality are even more impressive than any of his records and stats and will be his lasting legacy. 2. OT Jonathan Ogden Years: 1996-2007 (Baltimore Ravens) Career stats: 177 games played, 176 games started Super Bowl appearances: 1 Super Bowl championships: 1 Pro Bowl appearances: 11 Records, awards and accomplishments: Nine-time all-pro selection Notes and quotes: At 6-9, 345 pounds, Ogden would still be one of the biggest players in the NFL, but what set him apart was his combination of size and athleticism. He was a dominant run blocker for a team that was defined by its running game for most of his career, and a shut-down pass protector who allowed fewer adjusted sacks than anyone in the NFL in 2006. 3. DE Michael Strahan Years: 1993-2007 (New York Giants) Career stats: 216 games, 854 total tackles, 141.5 sacks, 24 forced fumbles, 37 passes defensed, 4 INTs, 2 TDs Super Bowl appearances: 2 Super Bowl championships: 1 Pro Bowl appearances: 7 Records, awards and accomplishments: 2001 NFL Defensive Player of the Year; NFC Defensive Player of the Year in 2001 and 2003; Owns NFL single-season sack record (22.5 in 2001) and the Giants' career sack record (141.5). Notes and quotes: Considered among the greatest Giants of all time, Strahan was a lethal pass rusher, but was also a stellar run defender and clubhouse leader who helped the Giants to seven postseason appearances, three division titles, and two NFC championships. 4. OG Larry Allen Years: 1994-2007 (Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers) Career stats: 203 games played, 197 games started Super Bowl appearances: 1 Super Bowl championships: 1 Pro Bowl appearances: 11 Records, awards and accomplishments: NFL 1990s all-decade team. Notes and quotes: Considered by many to be the strongest man to have ever played in the NFL. His strength and aggressiveness have made him one of the best offensive linemen in history. He is one of only three NFL players to have played three different O-line positions in the Pro Bowl (RG, LG, LT) and was a key blocker for the NFL's career rushing leader, Emmitt Smith, during his time in Dallas. 5. LB Junior Seau Years: 1990-2007 (San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots) Career stats: 257 games, 1,809 total tackles, 56.5 sacks, 11 forced fumbles, 95 passes defensed, 18 INTs Super Bowl appearances: 2 Super Bowl championships: 0 Pro Bowl appearances: 12 Records, awards and accomplishments: Eight-time All-Pro; 257 career games is second most by a linebacker in NFL history; NFL 1990s all-decade team; Has averaged 100 tackles per season and seven tackles per game over his 18-year career; NFL Man of the Year in 1994. Notes and quotes: 18 years at linebacker in the NFL? Are you kidding me? That's worthy of an award in itself. But Seau has not only played the position, he has been one of the most consistent playmakers in the NFL over the last two decades. The intensity and athleticism he has brought to the game will become the stuff of legend. The only thing that is missing from his career is that elusive Super Bowl title. 6. DT Warren Sapp Years: 1995-2007 (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Oakland Raiders) Career stats: 198 games, 573 total tackles, 96.5 sacks, 19 forced fumbles, 30 passes defensed, 4 INTs, 1 TD Super Bowl appearances: 1 Super Bowl championships: 1 Pro Bowl appearances: 8 Records, awards and accomplishments: Six-time All-Pro; NFL 1990s all-decade team; 1999 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Notes and quotes: Though his words off the field, and some of his actions on it, made him a controversial character for much of his career, there was no denying Sapp's impact on the game. He was a dominant interior pass rusher and defined the "three-technique" in the Tampa Two defense that has become a staple of many teams in the NFL. He remains the standard by which all players at the position are measured. 7. QB Steve McNair Years: 1995-2007 (Houston/Tennessee Oilers/Titans, Baltimore Ravens) Career stats: 164 games, 4,544 attempts, 2,733 completions, 31,304 yards, 60.1 comp. percentage, 174 TDs, 119 INTs, 82.8 rating; 3,590 rushing yards, 37 rush TDs Super Bowl appearances: 1 Super Bowl championships: 0 Pro Bowl appearances: 3 Records, awards and accomplishments: 2003 NFL co-MVP; 1994 NFL Man of the Year. Notes and quotes: Nicknamed "Air McNair" early in his career, the strong-armed quarterback was also known for his running ability and willingness to take a hit. As a result, he soon became renowned for his toughness and willingness to play through injury. Though his fearless style of play would eventually lead to an early end to his career, he was highly respected among teammates and opponents alike for his playmaking ability in the clutch. Other possibilities Keep in mind Broncos WR Rod Smith (three Pro Bowls), 49ers defensive lineman Bryant Young and possibly former Bills, and current Bears offensive guard Ruben Brown (nine Pro Bowls) could also be candidates in an already crowded class of 2013</div> http://www.nfl.com/halloffame/story?id=090...campaign=ec0005 What do you think the pro-bowl class of 2013 is going to look like? Unfortunately I think one of the linman, probably Allen, Junior Seau, and Steve Mcnair will all be the ones left off. If not, then I think they will replace with Sapp with Allen. Allen/Sapp(whichever goes in) and Seau I think will get in the next year, and I don't see Mcnair ever getting in. He was a good quarterback, but never did anything hall of fame worthy. His numbers are not good and don't point to him going in, he never won a superbowl, he is not a hall of fame quarterback at all.
McNair played in one of the best Superbowl's I can remember. He wont go in right away but I would be shocked if he never got in. That being said im not really good at saying people are HOF worthy.
McNair doesnt belong in the same story as the other guys.....a dead give away of that, is that they include his nickname in the news and notes section....take out McNair, add in Bryant Young and you have the likely class of 2013....
I would agree, he was a good quarterback, and he did well in his one super bowl he went to. The fact is, that when it comes to quarterbacks, the hall is heavily about numbers and super bowls. 31,304 career passing yards, 27 other quarterbacks have more passing yards than him. 174 career touchdowns, enough to be tied at 43rd among all-time quarterbacks. 194.4 career passing yards per game, which is 41st among all-time quarterbacks Finally, has no super bowl rings. Those are just some of the examples of his numbers making it hard for him to make it into the hall of fame, then when you see that he has no super bowl rings to make up for it, it's hard to put him into the hall of fame. He's a good quarterback, one of the better ones of his time frame, but it isn't consistent with most of the other hall of fame quarterbacks.
