With the recent bypassing of Seymour for the Pro Football HoF, and the fact we are now in the quiet part of the offseason, I decided to start a thread on the New England Patriots Hall of Fame (sponsored by Raytheon, of course). Anyway, I was going through the 3 "Brady careers" and trying to decipher the best candidates from each era. Note that only one player/coach can be selected each year:
First dynasty. This group is already well represented in the Pats Hall with Bledsoe, Troy Brown, McGinest, Seymour, Bruschi, Law, Light, and Faulk. So had to figure out who's left:
Adam Vinatieri: Probably should be elected the minute he is eligible (has 3 more years to wait, I believe).
Deion Branch: The lack of Pro-Bowl appearances hurts him. But he was not only Brady's first "go to" deep threat, he was also Super Bowl MVP and had a nice 2nd act here as well.
Mike Vrabel: 3 Super Bowls, one All-Pro, and 10 regular season and 2 playoff TD catches. Biggest issue is that the D from that era already has a lot of inductees.
Joe Andruzzi: The darkest of dark horses from this era, but the OL was really good, and Andruzzi was one of the rocks.
Asante Samuel: He won his rings with this group as a nickel corner, but was an All-Pro shutdown corner by the time he left after the 2007 season. His departure for the Eagles during his prime years hurts him; had he caught that interception and stayed in bounds, he likely gets serious consideration. The biggest obstacle is purely the number of deserving candidates in the subsequent eras.
Ted Johnson: Was a rock on the inside for 4 Super Bowl teams for Parcells and BB. Has zero chance of getting in; just giving him an honorable mention here.
The "middle years". Players from this era have only just started to become eligible. But there are some players here that shouldn't be overlooked:
Wes Welker: Led the league in receptions 3 times, 5 Pro Bowls, and 2 All-Pro teams during his time here. Some will hold his dropped pass against him, but he was in the conversation for MVP with 103 yards in the Game that Must Not be Named.
Vince Wilfork: Won his rings with the first and third groups, but his Pro Bowls, All Pro selection, and the bulk of his highlights and flattened QB's were in this era. Should be in the NFL HoF. His name is probably next to be called to Foxboro.
Logan Mankins: The best OL of the Brady/Belichick dynasty to not win a Super Bowl. Got schooled in two Super Bowls, but was also hampered by injury in both. 6 Pro Bowls, 1 All Pro. Started as Matt Light's partner and ended as Solder's. Should also be a no-brainer.
Randy Moss: Hall of Famer, but mostly for his Vikings career. Was only here for 3 seasons plus 4 games. Broke records in 2007, but then got caught up in some bizarre domestic incident just prior to the start of the playoffs. Probably a shoo-in had the Asante caught that INT. But the 3 above him on this list are more deserving, and the backlog of candidates will only grow real soon.
Jerod Mayo: Short career (8 years) that mostly spanned the middle years, and was mostly hurt towards the end. Probably in the Honorable Mention category, but needed to note his 2 Pro Bowls, one All-Pro, and 1 Super Bowl title.
The 2nd dynasty. There will be some tough omissions here for sure.
Gronk: 'Nuff sed.
Edelman: Ditto.
Gostkowski: The first "controversial" pick of this era. With 4 Pro Bowls and 2 All Pro nominations to go with his 3 rings, he would normally be a "no brainer". He made some big kicks, but also some notable misses, and lacks the signature kick that cemented Adam's place. I would still put him in, but the backlog is a real problem.
Hightower: Was the defensive mainstay of this era, and his absence always seemed most keenly felt (not just in 2020).
D. McCourty: Another mainstay of the D from this era. Biggest issue is only 2 Pro Bowls as a safety, but the 2nd most deserving defender of this era, IMO.
Nate Solder: Worthy successor to Matt Light, but lacks the individual accolades, despite his role in keeping the QB upright during his 7 years here. The OL really suffered when he got hurt in 2015.
Rob Ninkovich: Probably in the "not a chance" category, but his 46 sacks in 8 seasons here deserve a mention along with his 2 rings.
Malcolm Butler: His short stint and mysterious benching cloud his legacy, and he never seemed to recapture the magic of his one Pro Bowl season as a full time starter. But his signature play ranks up there with The Goal and The Stolen Base.
Matt Slater: Thanks everyone below that reminded me.
That's 20 years of backlog (19 players plus one obvious candidate that I did not name), and that's not including coaches (Parcells) or guys from the current team that may yet emerge. I'm sure there's also a couple of borderline cases that I've forgotten. Anyway, ranking them, I come up with the following:
Slam Dunk inductees:
Gronk
Edelman
Wilfork
A certain QB that will have his own wing
Vinatieri
Matt Slater
Deserving candidates that should get in, but the timing is uncertain due to the backlog:
Welker
Mankins
Hightower
McCourty
Borderline, and may never get in due to the huge backlog:
Vrabel
Moss
Ninkovich
Branch
Ghost
Probably will get free admission for life, but otherwise will need to remain a visitor:
Andruzzi
Samuel
Ted Johnson
Butler
Mayo
Solder
First dynasty. This group is already well represented in the Pats Hall with Bledsoe, Troy Brown, McGinest, Seymour, Bruschi, Law, Light, and Faulk. So had to figure out who's left:
Adam Vinatieri: Probably should be elected the minute he is eligible (has 3 more years to wait, I believe).
Deion Branch: The lack of Pro-Bowl appearances hurts him. But he was not only Brady's first "go to" deep threat, he was also Super Bowl MVP and had a nice 2nd act here as well.
Mike Vrabel: 3 Super Bowls, one All-Pro, and 10 regular season and 2 playoff TD catches. Biggest issue is that the D from that era already has a lot of inductees.
Joe Andruzzi: The darkest of dark horses from this era, but the OL was really good, and Andruzzi was one of the rocks.
Asante Samuel: He won his rings with this group as a nickel corner, but was an All-Pro shutdown corner by the time he left after the 2007 season. His departure for the Eagles during his prime years hurts him; had he caught that interception and stayed in bounds, he likely gets serious consideration. The biggest obstacle is purely the number of deserving candidates in the subsequent eras.
Ted Johnson: Was a rock on the inside for 4 Super Bowl teams for Parcells and BB. Has zero chance of getting in; just giving him an honorable mention here.
The "middle years". Players from this era have only just started to become eligible. But there are some players here that shouldn't be overlooked:
Wes Welker: Led the league in receptions 3 times, 5 Pro Bowls, and 2 All-Pro teams during his time here. Some will hold his dropped pass against him, but he was in the conversation for MVP with 103 yards in the Game that Must Not be Named.
Vince Wilfork: Won his rings with the first and third groups, but his Pro Bowls, All Pro selection, and the bulk of his highlights and flattened QB's were in this era. Should be in the NFL HoF. His name is probably next to be called to Foxboro.
Logan Mankins: The best OL of the Brady/Belichick dynasty to not win a Super Bowl. Got schooled in two Super Bowls, but was also hampered by injury in both. 6 Pro Bowls, 1 All Pro. Started as Matt Light's partner and ended as Solder's. Should also be a no-brainer.
Randy Moss: Hall of Famer, but mostly for his Vikings career. Was only here for 3 seasons plus 4 games. Broke records in 2007, but then got caught up in some bizarre domestic incident just prior to the start of the playoffs. Probably a shoo-in had the Asante caught that INT. But the 3 above him on this list are more deserving, and the backlog of candidates will only grow real soon.
Jerod Mayo: Short career (8 years) that mostly spanned the middle years, and was mostly hurt towards the end. Probably in the Honorable Mention category, but needed to note his 2 Pro Bowls, one All-Pro, and 1 Super Bowl title.
The 2nd dynasty. There will be some tough omissions here for sure.
Gronk: 'Nuff sed.
Edelman: Ditto.
Gostkowski: The first "controversial" pick of this era. With 4 Pro Bowls and 2 All Pro nominations to go with his 3 rings, he would normally be a "no brainer". He made some big kicks, but also some notable misses, and lacks the signature kick that cemented Adam's place. I would still put him in, but the backlog is a real problem.
Hightower: Was the defensive mainstay of this era, and his absence always seemed most keenly felt (not just in 2020).
D. McCourty: Another mainstay of the D from this era. Biggest issue is only 2 Pro Bowls as a safety, but the 2nd most deserving defender of this era, IMO.
Nate Solder: Worthy successor to Matt Light, but lacks the individual accolades, despite his role in keeping the QB upright during his 7 years here. The OL really suffered when he got hurt in 2015.
Rob Ninkovich: Probably in the "not a chance" category, but his 46 sacks in 8 seasons here deserve a mention along with his 2 rings.
Malcolm Butler: His short stint and mysterious benching cloud his legacy, and he never seemed to recapture the magic of his one Pro Bowl season as a full time starter. But his signature play ranks up there with The Goal and The Stolen Base.
Matt Slater: Thanks everyone below that reminded me.
That's 20 years of backlog (19 players plus one obvious candidate that I did not name), and that's not including coaches (Parcells) or guys from the current team that may yet emerge. I'm sure there's also a couple of borderline cases that I've forgotten. Anyway, ranking them, I come up with the following:
Slam Dunk inductees:
Gronk
Edelman
Wilfork
A certain QB that will have his own wing
Vinatieri
Matt Slater
Deserving candidates that should get in, but the timing is uncertain due to the backlog:
Welker
Mankins
Hightower
McCourty
Borderline, and may never get in due to the huge backlog:
Vrabel
Moss
Ninkovich
Branch
Ghost
Probably will get free admission for life, but otherwise will need to remain a visitor:
Andruzzi
Samuel
Ted Johnson
Butler
Mayo
Solder
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