Hall of Fame G.M. Bill Polian doesn’t want either Terrell Owens or Randy Moss to join him in Canton.
Asked by Talk of Fame Network whether he’d pick Owens or Moss when both are on the Hall of Fame ballot next year, Polian said he’d leave them both off.
“I take neither,” Polian said. “First of all, here’s my position: [I want players who] contribute both individually and to the team. T.O.’s situation, T.O.’s temperament, his ability to contribute to the team was well known up front. He was going to be a problem. We did not want to deal with problem children. Others may. We didn’t. That’s number one. Number two, every year in Indianapolis we said the following: ‘The price of admission is 100 percent effort all the time in everything we do.’ Well, how can we take Randy Moss when we make that statement? It’s that simple.”
Polian believes both Moss and Owens will end up with busts in Canton, even though Polian doesn’t think they belong.
“I think they will, unfortunately in my view,” said Polian, “because whether you like it or not. these ‘electoral campaigns’ have a way of swinging people. In my view, and I said this publicly last year, I think the Hall of Fames are for people who make their teams better, not who detract from them. Now, T.O. was a bigger detractor over his career than Moss, but you certainly wouldn’t call [Moss’ attitude] any harbinger or example of what you want in a football player other than when he decided to play. ‘I play when I play.’ I don’t buy it.”
Polian’s opinion of Owens is obviously shared by plenty of people on the Hall of Fame selection committee, which is why Owens has been voted down the last two years. We’ll find out next year whether Owens can overcome the opposition and get into Canton -- and whether Moss, eligible for the first time, can get in as well.