NFL Hall of Fame

What I am about to discuss here does fly somewhat in the face of what I wrote yesterday, but the caveat here is that the Hall of Fame celebrates individuals after they retire and not in the middle of a pennant race. The annual National Football League Hall of Fame Inductions take place this Saturday in Canton, Ohio. This year, a class of 6 people are entering the Hall, including one of my all-time favorite players (no it is not Michael Irvin). Unfortunately, I only had the privilege of watching 3 of the 6 play, but I am sure I would have enjoyed their outstanding play as well. Onto the three guys I grew up watching.

First and foremost, my man Bruce Matthews, offensive lineman for my beloved Houston Oilers. In his nineteen year playing career, he was a steady force and you always knew Warren Moon would be protected if Bruce had anything to say about it. According to his biography, he played in more games than any positional player in NFL history. He was a perennial all-star and was always one of the good guys in the NFL. He was one of the reasons the run and shoot was so successful.

Next, Thurman Thomas, runningback for the Buffalo Bills. Most importantly, he, Jim Kelly and Andre Reed triggered the Bills to four straight Super Bowls (once of them was complete bs because they should never have beaten the Oilers in the playoff game because Don Beebe was out of bounds before he caught that touchdown pass and it should've been a penalty and the Oilers should've been in the Super Bowl that year and I wouldn't have had to suffer the fact that it was wasn't until the Oilers left Houston that they finally made the Super Bowl). Thomas was one of the elite running backs in the 1990s along with Emmitt Smith and Barry Sanders. As mentioned on Mike and Mike in the Morning, he was catalyst behind the concept of all-purpose yards as he was a receiving machine, along with his phenomenal running ability. He was a great one to watch and hopefully we will be seeing Andre Reed in the Hall sooner rather than later.

Finally, Michael Irvin, former wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys and current loud mouth on ESPN. He was the prototypical University of Miami Hurricane football player, brash, but had the skill set to back it up. I really enjoyed watching him play, though I have never been much of a Cowboys fan (Oilers all the way!!), especially in his epic battles with San Francisco. There were a few things you could count on the 90s and one of those was that the Cowboys and Niners would be meeting in the NFC playoffs. When the announcement was first made that Irvin was voted into the Hall, there were lots of questions about whether his selection was deserved and some even went so far as to argue that the fact he works for ESPN vaulted him into consideration. My opinion is that he deserves to be there and am happy that he is. Now, with him getting in, there is no reason why Art Monk and Andre Reed do not belong right up there with him.

And while we're at it, let's get Ray Guy and Derrick Thomas in there as well.