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Rick Gosselin
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rgosselin@dallasnews.com
Published: 11 August 2015 09:02 PM
The Charles Haley Hall of Fame saga is finally over.
For 11 years I was asked why the only player with five Super Bowl rings was not in the Hall of Fame. I never really had a good answer, except to tell my inquisitors that I trusted the process. I firmly believe if a player belongs in Canton, he will one day get there. It may take him 11 years, as was the case with Haley. Or 32 years, as was the case with his fellow Class of 2015 enshrinee Mick Tingelhoff.
But deserving candidates eventually get their busts. As Haley did last weekend.
The campaign is already ramping up for the next Cowboy.
It started a week ago in Oxnard when Jerry Jones announced that Darren Woodson would be the 2015 inductee into the Ring of Honor. And during my weekend in Canton, I was pulled aside by a few folks with a silver-and-blue agenda wanting to emphasize that Woodson should be the next Cowboy with a bust in Canton.
I’ve always been a fan of Woodson. On and off the field, he’s been a class act — a person who both played the game and lived his life with integrity. He also was among the very first wave of coverage safeties. He could walk out and cover a slot receiver when few defensive coordinators of that era would trust safeties with that responsibility.
I thought Woodson was one of the best safeties of his generation. Also one of the most underappreciated, having been passed over in the selection of the 1990s all-decade team. Steve Atwater, LeRoy Butler, Carnell Lake and Ronnie Lott were named as the safeties.
I’m comfortable making the case that Woodson was every bit as valuable to the Cowboys as Atwater was to the Broncos, Butler to the Packers and Lake to the Steelers. And I can definitely make the case that Woodson was more valuable to his team in the 1990s than Lott was to his teams. Yes, teams.
Lott was both a Pro Bowl cornerback and safety for the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980s. I considered him the best overall defensive back in the 1980s, worthy of his all-decade selection then. He now has a bust in Canton as a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and rightfully so.
But Lott did not deserve to be named to the 1990s all-decade team ahead of Woodson. Lott was at the end of his career by then. From 1990-94, his final five seasons, he played for three teams and went to just two Pro Bowls.
Lott was voted to the Pro Bowl in 1990 despite missing five games and intercepting only three passes in his final season with the 49ers. San Francisco did not protect him in Plan B that offseason so he signed with the Raiders. He intercepted an NFL-leading eight passes that season to earn the 10th and final Pro Bowl of his career. When free agency arrived in 1993, Lott signed with the Jets. In 1995, he again moved, this time to Kansas City as a free agent, but injuries prevented him from ever playing a game for the Chiefs.
In his final four seasons, Lott’s teams posted a 31-33 record and appeared in one playoff game. He intercepted only 12 passes in the 1990s and went to those two Pro Bowls.
Woodson’s team won three Super Bowls during the decade and played in four NFC title games. He went to five Pro Bowls in forging an identity for himself as a hybrid safety. He could be a linebacker if need be. He is the franchise’s all-time leading tackler with 1,350. He could be a cornerback if need be. He intercepted 23 passes in his career in coverage. He could be a pass rusher if need be. He blitzed his way to 11 career sacks. Lott, by the way, managed 81/2 career sacks.
Darren Woodson could do anything you could possibly ask a safety to do. He also collected more than 100 career tackles on special teams.
Yet the Hall of Fame selection committee, which picks the all-decade teams, declared Lott a better safety in the 1990s than Woodson. That same voting panel will one day determine the fate of Darren Woodson as a Hall of Fame candidate.
His failure to make that all-decade team will work against Woodson. So will the fact that this committee shows little regard for the safety position. There are only seven pure safeties in Canton. The last one who actually played was Ken Houston, who retired after the 1980 season. So this committee hasn’t found a safety in the last 31/2 decades that it has considered worthy of induction.
But if a player belongs in Canton, I believe he will one day have his bust. And I do believe Woodson belongs.
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Lott making the 90s All Decade Team over Woody is a joke, and goes to prove these voters are only interested in a popularity contest. It's unfortunate these same morons vote for the HOF. Also, I'd argue he was just as good as the other guys that made the ADT, if not better.
Follow @RickGosselinDMN
rgosselin@dallasnews.com
Published: 11 August 2015 09:02 PM
The Charles Haley Hall of Fame saga is finally over.
For 11 years I was asked why the only player with five Super Bowl rings was not in the Hall of Fame. I never really had a good answer, except to tell my inquisitors that I trusted the process. I firmly believe if a player belongs in Canton, he will one day get there. It may take him 11 years, as was the case with Haley. Or 32 years, as was the case with his fellow Class of 2015 enshrinee Mick Tingelhoff.
But deserving candidates eventually get their busts. As Haley did last weekend.
The campaign is already ramping up for the next Cowboy.
It started a week ago in Oxnard when Jerry Jones announced that Darren Woodson would be the 2015 inductee into the Ring of Honor. And during my weekend in Canton, I was pulled aside by a few folks with a silver-and-blue agenda wanting to emphasize that Woodson should be the next Cowboy with a bust in Canton.
I’ve always been a fan of Woodson. On and off the field, he’s been a class act — a person who both played the game and lived his life with integrity. He also was among the very first wave of coverage safeties. He could walk out and cover a slot receiver when few defensive coordinators of that era would trust safeties with that responsibility.
I thought Woodson was one of the best safeties of his generation. Also one of the most underappreciated, having been passed over in the selection of the 1990s all-decade team. Steve Atwater, LeRoy Butler, Carnell Lake and Ronnie Lott were named as the safeties.
I’m comfortable making the case that Woodson was every bit as valuable to the Cowboys as Atwater was to the Broncos, Butler to the Packers and Lake to the Steelers. And I can definitely make the case that Woodson was more valuable to his team in the 1990s than Lott was to his teams. Yes, teams.
Lott was both a Pro Bowl cornerback and safety for the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980s. I considered him the best overall defensive back in the 1980s, worthy of his all-decade selection then. He now has a bust in Canton as a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and rightfully so.
But Lott did not deserve to be named to the 1990s all-decade team ahead of Woodson. Lott was at the end of his career by then. From 1990-94, his final five seasons, he played for three teams and went to just two Pro Bowls.
Lott was voted to the Pro Bowl in 1990 despite missing five games and intercepting only three passes in his final season with the 49ers. San Francisco did not protect him in Plan B that offseason so he signed with the Raiders. He intercepted an NFL-leading eight passes that season to earn the 10th and final Pro Bowl of his career. When free agency arrived in 1993, Lott signed with the Jets. In 1995, he again moved, this time to Kansas City as a free agent, but injuries prevented him from ever playing a game for the Chiefs.
In his final four seasons, Lott’s teams posted a 31-33 record and appeared in one playoff game. He intercepted only 12 passes in the 1990s and went to those two Pro Bowls.
Woodson’s team won three Super Bowls during the decade and played in four NFC title games. He went to five Pro Bowls in forging an identity for himself as a hybrid safety. He could be a linebacker if need be. He is the franchise’s all-time leading tackler with 1,350. He could be a cornerback if need be. He intercepted 23 passes in his career in coverage. He could be a pass rusher if need be. He blitzed his way to 11 career sacks. Lott, by the way, managed 81/2 career sacks.
Darren Woodson could do anything you could possibly ask a safety to do. He also collected more than 100 career tackles on special teams.
Yet the Hall of Fame selection committee, which picks the all-decade teams, declared Lott a better safety in the 1990s than Woodson. That same voting panel will one day determine the fate of Darren Woodson as a Hall of Fame candidate.
His failure to make that all-decade team will work against Woodson. So will the fact that this committee shows little regard for the safety position. There are only seven pure safeties in Canton. The last one who actually played was Ken Houston, who retired after the 1980 season. So this committee hasn’t found a safety in the last 31/2 decades that it has considered worthy of induction.
But if a player belongs in Canton, I believe he will one day have his bust. And I do believe Woodson belongs.
----------
Lott making the 90s All Decade Team over Woody is a joke, and goes to prove these voters are only interested in a popularity contest. It's unfortunate these same morons vote for the HOF. Also, I'd argue he was just as good as the other guys that made the ADT, if not better.
