Here is a list of the preliminary nominees for the NFL Hall of Fame in 2007. Link Who do you vote for? (Don’t tell me its the Pro Football Hall of Fame until they give USFLers and AAFC players their due.)
Art Modell - HELL NO.
Steve Sabol & Ed Sabol of NFL Films, yes.
Other than that I’m open to suggestion. 
My apologies if this is a duplicate thread. I searched but didn’t find a thread.
I think Art Monk should be in, and I’d love to say Terrell Davis, but his career was so short. Don Coryell, also.
Ben Coates was the premier tight end of the 90’s, with some serious records set. Similar story for Richard Dent, D-line, and the 80’s. Michael Irvin and Jimmie Johnson, even though I hate them both. Art Monk has had to wait too long already. Andre Tippett never got enough credit when he played, but he’s good enough for a bust of his own.
And Stanley Morgan isn’t even on the list.
I think it’s Thurman Thomas’s year this year.
This year, the list of newly eligible people is not very impressive. Bruce Matthews was a very good lineman who is probably deserving, and will probably make it eventually, but he won’t excite the voters.
So, I think this is the year that some deserveing guys who’ve been kept waiting will get in.
Most significantly, I’m 99% sure this is the year Art Monk gets in. The single most important voter is Peter King of Sports Illustrated (his word carries a lot of weight in deliberations). In the past, he was of the opinion that Monk was a very good but not great receiver. He’s changed his mind, and is voting for Monk this time. So, I’d say Art Monk is the one lock. As a Giants fan who saw him kill us many times, I say it’s about time! Art should have been in ages ago.
In my opinion, Terrell Davis is definitely deserving, but due to injuries, he didn’t have a LOT of great seasons. The question is, will voters select him anyway. I think they will, since the competition isn’t all that great.
Who else would I vote for? I think Randy Gradishar was one of the best linebackers of his time, and belongs in the Hall of Fame. And Bob Kuechenberg was a big part of the reason the Dolphins won 2 Super Bowls. And despite the fact that he was a first-class jerk, Michael Irvin was the man who made the Cowboys of the Nineties a juggernaut. Finally, I think Hog Joe Jacoby should be in.
I see a lot of guys that merit strong consideration.
Richard Dent - Definitely In. Too good for too long, high profile, Super Bowl MVP.
Thurman Thomas - In. Was the engine that got the Bills to 4 Super Bowls.
Roger Craig - Barely In. His numbers aren’t eye popping but he was key on those Niners teams of the Eighties.
Bruce Matthews - Certainly in. Just a physical marvel, anchored lots of good teams.
Derrick Thomas - In. He’d be a sentimental choice, but I think he makes it.
The Sabols, Jimmy Johnson, Randall Cunningham, Hershel Walker, Michael Irvin, Don Coryell all probably get serious consideration but I think they probably come up short.
Random trivia fact: Roger Craig is the last running back to lead the league in receiving yards.
Turns out the powers that be pruned the list to 25 back in November, so here are the revised list of candidates:
Obviously my HELL NO vote on Modell still holds.
Of the remaining candidates I’d vote for Dean, Gradishar, Grimm, Thurman Thomas and Derrick Thomas.
Art Modell should never be allowed to set foot within ten miles of an NFL game or facility, including especially the HOF. Or any player, current or former. Or the [del]city of Cleveland[/del] state of Ohio. NFL games should be blocked from his TV set, and stories clipped from his newspaper before he gets to read it. On Super Bowl Sunday he should be strapped down with his eyes propped open, Clockwork Orange-style, and forced to watch The English Patient over and over.
(And I’m not even a Browns fan.)
It’s absolute bullshit that Rickey Jackson is not a semifinalist. The guy was the heart and soul of the “Dome Patrol”, and had numbers comparable to Lawrence Taylor. He happened to play for a team that wasn’t very good for most of his career, and didn’t get the publicity that Taylor got, but I’d take Jackson over Taylor for my team any day of the week.
Well, since I just got Time magazine’s Person of the Year award, why not me? Then I could win an Oscar and complete the trifecta!
I loved those Saints teams, and their linebacking core (Jackson, Swilling, and Sam Mills) was brutal.
But Jackson over LT? That’s industrial grade madness.
Paul Tagliabue is probably a lock.
You forgot Vaughn Johnson as part of the Dome Patrol.
LT played 2 less seasons, and has 4.5 more sacks. LT was a great player, but he wasn’t head and shoulders above Rickey Jackson. LT had the benefit of playing for a big market team, and got lots of press. Rickey played for the lowly Saints most of his career. We even forgive him for playing for “The Team that We Do Not Mention” long enough to get his ring. He came back and retired as a Saint.
Dermontti Dawson, being the second greatest center of all time (behind only Mike Webster), should definitely be in. Unfortunately for him, he was a center. Only glam players make the Hall early on.