The NFL Hall of Fame will hold it's enshrinement ceremony for the class of 2011 in Canton ,Ohio this weekend. First off, I would like to congratulate this years class. Linebacker Richard Dent...Running Back Marshall Faulk ... Linebacker Chris Hanburger ... Linebacker Les Richter...NFL Films founder Ed Sabol.. Cornerback K/R P/R Deion Sanders and Tight End Shannon Sharpe.
They are all worthy of this legendary honor and are true greats of the NFL. Congratulations and thank you all.
Now on to my main topic of this post. Steeler Nation its no secret that there seems to be a certain bias against Steeler players being inducted lately because so many of the greats from the 70s Super bowl teams have already been inducted. A case could be made that the great Defensive End L.C Greenwood has been overlooked . Greenwood was a part of the great “Steel Curtain Defense” of the 70's Super Bowl teams and was the Steeler's all time sack leader at the time of his retirement with 73.5 sacks . He sacked Roger Staubach 3 times in Super Bowl X alone. Greenwood also batted down 3 of QB Fran Tarkenton's passes in Super Bowl IX .Greenwood was a 6 time Pro Bowl player and 5 time all AFC. He also had 14 career fumble recoveries. L.C. Greenwood has been bypassed for decades and my only conclusion is its because the committee feels there are too many Steeler greats already in.
Another Steeler that I feel has been unjustly kept from the NFL Hall of Fame is Center Dermontti Dawson . Dawson had the power of a bulldozer and the quickness and athletic ability of a jaguar for a man of his size . His combination of power and speed was unmatched. He was a master of technique ,power and quickness. The best center of his era and may be the best center the NFL has ever seen. He was one of the few centers fast enough to pull block and powerful enough to take on any nose tackle one on one. He made the Pro Bowl 7 straight seasons from 92-98. He was also named starting center to the NFL'S 1990's ALL Decade Team. He started 170 consecutive games. Dawson retired in 2000 and has yet to get his call to the Hall , after 11 years and counting. This to me is one of the Halls biggest mistakes.
Jerome Bettis was eligible in 2011 . I can see him maybe not going in on his first year of eligibility,but he should go in sooner rather than later. He is defiantly Hall of Fame worthy. Bettis was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the year in 1993, was a 6 time Pro Bowl player at his position and 3 time All Pro. Bettis was named 1996 NFL comeback player of the year. He was named Walter Payton man of the year in 2001. Jerome Bettis finished his career with 94 Touchdowns and is the 5th All Time leading rusher in NFL history with 13,662 rushing yards. Jerome Bettis was also very instrumental in getting the Steelers their 5th Super Bowl ring in 2005.
My hopes are that the Hall of Fame committee will not hold the fact that the Steelers already have so many greats in the Hall against Bettis , Dawson , Greenwood and other future Steeler Hall of Fame hopefuls . The NFL Hall of Fame should be about quality not quantity. A voter should go into the voting process as if he knows nothing of how many players one team has already in the Hall and judge each player on their accomplishments during their playing career. Other wise the whole process is tarnished and needs rethought.
Steeler Nation lets hope that they see the light soon . Until then let it be known L.C. Greenwood , Dermontti Dawson , and Jerome Bettis will forever be in the Steeler Nation Hall of Fame . We thank them for sharing their greatness and wait for the day that the NFL Hall of Fame does the same.
Steeler Nation thanks for reading this post ,and please feel free to leave a comment ,or vote on the poll! Spread the word about this blog and you can follow me and the blog here or on twitter @STEELERSNSTUFF Here is a link for more on Dermontti Dawson Dermontti Dawson Highlights
Later Steeler Nation Steeler Nation 4 Life!
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