2016 Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists announced

[Everlong]

Here are the finalists for induction this year. The inductees will be announced Super Bowl weekend, I believe:

Morten Andersen, Kicker -- 1982-1994 New Orleans Saints, 1995-2000, 2006-07 Atlanta Falcons, 2001 New York Giants, 2002-03 Kansas City Chiefs, 2004 Minnesota Vikings


Steve Atwater, Safety -- 1989-1998 Denver Broncos, 1999 New York Jets

Don Coryell, Coach -- 1973-77 St. Louis Cardinals, 1978-1986 San Diego Chargers

Terrell Davis, Running Back -- 1995-2001 Denver Broncos

Tony Dungy, Coach -- 1996-2001 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2002-08 Indianapolis Colts

Alan Faneca, Guard -- 1998-2007 Pittsburgh Steelers, 2008-09 New York Jets, 2010 Arizona Cardinals

Brett Favre, Quarterback -- 1991 Atlanta Falcons, 1992-2007 Green Bay Packers, 2008 New York Jets, 2009-2010 Minnesota Vikings

Kevin Greene, Linebacker/Defensive End -- 1985-1992 Los Angeles Rams, 1993-95 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1996, 1998-99 Carolina Panthers, 1997 San Francisco 49ers


Marvin Harrison, Wide Receiver -- 1996-2008 Indianapolis Colts

Joe Jacoby, Tackle -- 1981-1993 Washington Redskins

Edgerrin James, Running Back -- 1999-2005 Indianapolis Colts, 2006-08 Arizona Cardinals, 2009 Seattle Seahawks

John Lynch, Free Safety -- 1993-2003 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2004-07 Denver Broncos

Terrell Owens, Wide Receiver -- 1996-2003 San Francisco 49ers, 2004-05 Philadelphia Eagles, 2006-08 Dallas Cowboys, 2009 Buffalo Bills, 2010 Cincinnati Bengals

Orlando Pace, Tackle -- 1997-2008 St. Louis Rams, 2009 Chicago Bears

Kurt Warner, Quarterback -- 1998-2003 St. Louis Rams, 2004 New York Giants, 2005-09 Arizona Cardinals

Two Senior Finalists were announced in August 2015 by the Seniors Committee that reviews the qualifications of those players whose careers ended more than 25 years ago.

Ken Stabler, Quarterback -- 1970-1979 Oakland Raiders, 1980-1981 Houston Oilers, 1982-1984 New Orleans Saints

Dick Stanfel, Guard -- 1952-55 Detroit Lions, 1956-58 Washington Redskins

A Contributor Finalist announced in September was selected by the Hall of Fame's Contributor Committee that considers persons who made outstanding contributions to professional football other than players and coaches.


Edward DeBartolo, Jr., Owner -- 1977-2000 San Francisco 49ers



My ballot aside from seniors/contributors would look like this:

Favre, Faneca, Greene, Coryell, Andersen, Owens.

[The Legend]

Brett Favre
Marvin Harrison
Edgerrin James
John Lynch
Orlando Pace
Kurt Warner

Setting up a Colts vs Rams Hall of Fame game.

[DBSoT]

There are a lot of deserving candidates, but I really hope Morton Anderson gets in. Him being a kicker will likely hurt him, but he is the NFL's all time leading scorer and his longevity was impressive. I also would really like to see Orlando Pace get in. He is one of the greatest tackles ever.

Luckily this isn't the case, but i couldn't imagine choosing between Favre, Stabler, and Warner. I would probably put Warner first, Stabler second, and Favre third. It is basically a 1A, 1B, 1C situation though.

[Everlong]

^How could you possibly justify favre getting in AFTER Warner and Stabler??

And yeah I think Pace is a lock to be in it eventually but this is a pretty strong year for first-time eligibles.

[DBSoT]

^ Because Warner was a better QB. *Hides in Shelter*
With that said, I also said it was a 1A, 1B, 1C situation. There really isn't much of a difference from a hall of fame career perspective. Favre was a very good QB, but a portion of his numbers are based on his longevity. Warner had the benefit of "the greatest show on turf" early in his career, but when he took Arizona to the Super Bowl he proved he can do it without Faulk/Holt/Bruce. Stabler I am not going to argue with you. I don't like comparing players between eras, because the game is completely different. I like Favre, but people tend to overrate his career because of how long he was in the league. He is still clearly a hall of famer, but in my opinion he isn't as good as Warner.

[The Legend]

I think I'd pick Favre ahead of Warner for purely the longevity of Favre's career. While Warner's story of grocery bagger to Arena QB to NFL QB is a great story, it also shortened his NFL career significantly. That being said, Warner makes a great case for himself in a lot of other areas. He's one of three QB's to take two different teams to the Super Bowl and those Rams teams revolutionized modern NFL into what it is today.

[Messiah]

Favre was a very good QB, but a portion of his numbers are based on his longevity.

He won MVP 3 years in a row. Granted he probably didn't deserve it in '97 but he was legitimately elite. Favre was considered an all-time great long before he retired and was setting all the passing records.

You could argue Warner had a higher peak than Favre, but it's close. Not to take away from Warner because he was obviously a top-tier quarterback but his numbers with the Rams are a bit inflated due to playing with Faulk, Holt, Bruce, and Pace protecting his blind-side in a scheme that was perfect for the skillset of everyone on offense. There has arguably never been an offensive surrounding cast that good. Both are similar in that they had lulls in their career (Warner after the Rams up until he went to the Cardinals; Favre had some rough stretches in the early and mid 00s). Warner's reign was too short though for me to put him over Favre.

Even adjusting for era, Stabler just isn't on Favre's level.

[Everlong]

^ Because Warner was a better QB. *Hides in Shelter*
With that said, I also said it was a 1A, 1B, 1C situation. There really isn't much of a difference from a hall of fame career perspective. Favre was a very good QB, but a portion of his numbers are based on his longevity. Warner had the benefit of "the greatest show on turf" early in his career, but when he took Arizona to the Super Bowl he proved he can do it without Faulk/Holt/Bruce. Stabler I am not going to argue with you. I don't like comparing players between eras, because the game is completely different. I like Favre, but people tend to overrate his career because of how long he was in the league. He is still clearly a hall of famer, but in my opinion he isn't as good as Warner.

First of all, part of longevity is being great. You don't hold every passing record in the book when you retire JUST because you were around for a long time. You had to maintain greatness for a long time. And Favre did.

Favre dominated the league for a stretch of time like arguably no one ever had before at his position. Sure, you had other great QBs who were greats for a long time, but Montana never really set the world ablaze in the regular season or anything like that... he was just clutch AF. Nobody had ever played the position as loose as Favre had, and it turned him into the face of the league for quite a few years.

Additionally, when Favre was winning MVPs and getting to Super Bowls, he was doing it WITHOUT all-time caliber WRs and RBs. Warner only had great seasons when he was playing with Marshall Faulk (MVP/HOFer already) and three HOF or very close to HOF WRs in Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt and Larry Fitzgerald, plus a perennial pro bowler at the time in Anquan Boldin.

Favre was never benched for a backup in his entire career. Never even came close. Warner lost his job in St. Louis, he lost his job in New York and he lost his job in Arizona several times before finally being permanently inserted into the lineup.

I don't think there's really an argument for Warner over Favre. I'm not even sure I'd put Warner in the HOF. He had such a weird career... he was only really relevant for like four seasons, and while he was outstanding in those seasons that's just not enough to be considered a HOFer in this modern era when there are so many guys at the position who played at the same time as him who were just as good for longer (Favre, Manning, Brady, Brees, maybe even Rivers).

[Everlong]

Also @Messiah, the only years you could really say Favre had a "lull" were 05 and 06. He was an MVP candidate in 2001-2003, and in 2003 he led the league in TD passes despite playing almost the entire season with a broken thumb in his throwing hand. 2004 he still had good numbers.