Saturday’s Hall of Fame announcement was particularly frustrating for Cris Carter and Tim Brown supporters because the receivers seem as far away from enshrinement as ever.
Carter and Brown didn’t make the cut to the ten finalists. Bills wideout Andre Reed did make the final ten, and is clearly going to get in ahead of them. Cortez Kennedy, Willie Roaf, Curtis Martin, and Dermontti Dawson all made the final ten.
Gary Myers of the New York Daily News wrote the following tweet on Martin:
“I made presentation for Curtis Martin in HOF meeting today,” Myers said. “I am very optimistic he gets in next year. He deserves it.”
Some Carter supporters may disagree, but we believe Martin, Roaf, Kennedy, Dawson, and Reed are stronger candidates than the Vikings receiver.
The bright side: Next year is a great time to break the logjam.
MDS did a piece looking ahead at future Hall of Fame classes for the PFT Season Preview. He noted that Will Shields, Bill Parcells, and Tiki Barber are the strongest first-ballot nominees next year. Shields should seem to have a great chance, and Parcells will likely get in eventually. Barber probably won’t make the final 15.
If a player doesn’t get in next year, they could wind up waiting a while. The 2013 first ballot class is very impressive: Larry Allen, Jonathan Ogden, Warren Sapp, and Michael Strahan are all extremely strong first ballot candidates.