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Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2015 What you need to know

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发表于 2025-5-19 12:45:53 | 显示全部楼层 |阅读模式
With another round of rs set to be enshrined Saturday, NFL Media historian Elliot Harrison gets you up to speed on the Cla s of 2015, providing one thing you need to know about each man getting a bust in Canton.Jerome Bettis, running backLos Angeles/ (1993-95), (1996-2005)You need to know: How he racked up the sixth-most rushing yards in NFL history.As fleet of foot as Bettis was, and as effectively as he could get defenders to take bad angles, make no mistake ... this guy was a POWER back. There are so few running backs of this type who managed to be this productive for as long as Bettis (13 seasons). Many of the Bus' 13,662 rushing yards came on short runs in which he bowled people over. Just ask Brian Urlacher, who was -- the last year of Bettis' career. That ability -- along with the fact that he won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 1993, the Comeback Player of the Year award in 1996 and a ring in XL -- is why Bettis is arguably the third-best power back of the era. Here is an unofficial ranking:1) Earl Campbell 2) John Riggins 3) Jerome Bettis 4)  5) O.J. AndersonIf you want to go old old school, think of Bettis as Yoenis Cespedes Jersey  of his day.Tim Brown, receiverLos Angeles/ (1988-2003), (2004)You need to know: That a humble start to his career made him work harder.My first year covering pro football, I worked with Brown on an NFL show on Fox Sports Net. Brown was always a gentleman, and while he had the confidence of a player who had achieved much, he never displayed the kind of me-first attitude you often see in WR1s. That humility must have stemmed from his roots -- which included playing on a high school team (Woodrow Wilson, in Dallas) that won all of one game his senior year. That is to say, Brown didn't always taste succe s. Notre Dame was not the powerhouse under the first coach of Brown's tenure there, Gerry Faust, that it would come to be known as under his second, Lou Holtz. And his pro career didn't exactly start off swimmingly, either.Consider: In his first five years in the NFL, Brown caught 147 balls ... that's fewer than 30 per season. A combination of injuries, coaching upheaval and some of the cruddiest quarterback play you've ever seen led to the lack of productivity. That Brown managed to work his way into the top five on the all-time career receptions list (he ranks fifth with 1,094) is a tribute to his character and fortitude.Charles Haley, defensive end (1986-1991; 1998-99), (1992-96)You need to know: In his first 11 seasons, no team he was on won fewer than 10 games.Haley is the only being walking upright  Lenny Dykstra Jersey on planet Earth to have won five rings as a player. But you've probably heard that. What you might not know about is the phenomenal overall win-lo s records his teams enjoyed for the bulk of his career (before he , in 1997).Not only was Haley on seven teams that went to the NFC Championship Game over his time with the Niners and -- he was arguably the best defensive player on the field. The worst squad Haley played on in that initial 11-season stretch was the 1991 Niners, who mi sed the playoffs -- thanks to in Atlanta -- despite going 10-6. And that team lost its starting quarterback. Haley was a er that year, as he would be five times in his career. With apologies to Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana and , Haley is the ultimate winner in NFL history.Junior Seau, linebacker (1990-2002), (2003-05), (2006-09)You need to know: How well he played for the dreadful '98 .The eventual enshrinement of Seau -- the premier player in this cla s -- was a certainty the day he walked away from football. While he pa sed away far too soon, he clearly made an impact in both pro football circles and the community around him. Seau's virtues transcend any one interesting fact about his career. However, when thinking about his brilliant run in San Diego, the way he excelled for one of the worst teams he ever played on immediately springs to mind.You might recognize the season. fans certainly do, as it was the year the club drafted eventual bust Ryan Leaf -- the JaMarcus Ru sell of the 1990s -- second overall. So you know the offense did nothing (the team pa ser rating was 44.9 -- ugh). Yet Seau drove a defensive unit that did everything it could to keep San Diego in games. Though the Bolts had one of the worst pa sing games in the NFL (perhaps in years), the defense finished No. 1. San Diego led Gary Carter Jersey  the NFL in rushing yards allowed, yards per play allowed and forcing three-and-out drives. Seau was more than simply a leader, as he would receive first-team All-Pro honors from The A sociated Pre s, the Pro Football Writers of America and The Sporting News. Whether he was stuffing runs, making more than 100 tackles or getting everyone lined up, Seau was a glorious player on the most inglorious of teams.Will Shields, guard (1993-2006)You need to know: That he made the 12 times.These days, players drop out of the faster than frat guys drop their space-physics summer cla s. Well, at least the quarterbacks do, anyway. But there was a time when being named to the was considered a huge honor, especially for those who manned a no-frills position like guard. Shields, who dominated on the line in Kansas City for 14 years, was paid the ultimate compliment with all those nods. To give you an idea of the significance of this, consider the short list of players who earned more:Tony Gonzalez, 14, 14 Bruce Matthews, 14 Merlin Olsen, 14 Jerry Rice, 13 Reggie White, 13 Ray Lewis, 13Matthews, Olsen, Rice and White were first-ballot rs. Manning and Lewis will most a suredly be, as well. Those are seven of the top, what, 30 players in NFL history? Shields, who became eligible for the in 2012, should not have had to wait this long.Mick Tingelhoff, center (1962-1978)You need to know: About his unreal durability.The fact that Tingelhoff, the Seniors Committee's selection, competed at the size he did (6-foot-2, 237 pounds) for as long as he did is truly remarkable. To start David Wright Jersey  259 consecutive contests, from Day 1 to the day he hung 'em up, would be impre sive enough on its own. But to do so at center? It's the third-longest streak, behind only Favre and Jim Marshall. Tingelhoff, who also played in multiple s and s, reached that total with defensive tackles pounding him on every play. He reached it in the mud and extreme cold of Metropolitan Stadium. And he reached it against some of the best players pro football has ever seen, like Merlin Olsen, Bob Lilly and fellow Viking Alan Page in practice. What an accomplishment.CONTRIBUTORSBill PolianYou need to know: How strongly he's linked with Marv Levy. is courtesy of the way he built the , and into prominent teams. What you might not realize is the extent to which Polian's NFL legacy is tied to Levy, as beautifully detailed in .Levy hired Polian as a scout when he got his first coaching gig with the in 1978. Levy and Polian worked together for the USFL's Chicago Blitz in 1984. And when Polian, freshly minted as the ' GM in 1986, needed to hire a head coach in Buffalo, he turned to an old colleague: Levy.It's important to note precisely how bad the of that era had been. They started the 1984 season 0-11, "rallying" to finish up at 2-14. They matched that sterling record again in 1985, when the team scored a paltry 12.5 points per game. The cupboard in Buffalo was mostly bare, save for young players like Bruce Smith and Andre Reed. Polian began building the nucleus of a four-time team first by hiring Levy, who will present him at the enshrinement ceremonies Saturday.Ron WolfYou need to know: About the secret succe s he had in Tampa Bay. as the man who acquired Brett Favre for the , but he did a lot more than that during nearly four decades in the NFL. Before his tenure in Green Bay, Wolf was highly regarded for having scouted the many transcendent players on the '70s , including the recently deceased Ken Stabler.What is not usually cited as a rsum highlight: the time he spent in Tampa Bay. After all, the Bucs went 2-26 their first two seasons, and Wolf was fired not long after the second awful campaign. However, he had drafted several of the core Tom Seaver Jersey  players who would help the Bucs reach the NFC Championship Game in only their fourth year of existence. Given that there was no free agency period at that time, going from 2-26 to the doorstep of the in that span was a big deal. The Bucs would make the playoffs in 1981 and 1982 before foolishly letting quarterback Doug Williams walk to the USFL. But three playoff appearances in four years came partly from Wolf's direction, even if it wasn't his best, or most famous, work.Follow Elliot Harrison on Twitter .
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