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I'm no NFL historian, so this list of finalists won't really be particularly wound-up in stats, and I won't suggest that so-and-so should be in the Hall because whosits already is. But, since I've seen so many of these people play, I feel inordinately able to place a value on their places in NFL history, and unusually willing to make HOF assertions. Also, I'm not going to list every nominee as I go. You can find the list at ProFootballHOF.com.

I'll start with coaches and contributors. George Young, executive for the New York Giants from 1979 to 1997, has an automatic place in the final 15 nominees. Having won the NFL's Executive of the Year Award an unmatched five times, I've no gripe with this selection among the 15 finalists. He brought life and energy to an otherwise bogged-down franchise, not to mention, helping the team win two Super Bowls.

Of the other contributors to the game, I'm willing to let them go by this year, for any of a number of reasons.

As coaches go, one nominee in the coach's category needs to be among the 15 finalists: Don Coryell. The system of "Air" Coryell took the passing game in the NFL to a theretofore unseen level. Coryell's teams didn't run particularly well, and didn't play a heck of a lot of defense, but boy, did they throw the ball all over the lot! Coryell's induction might not be a lock, but he ought to be a finalist for opening up the passing game, and making football even more television-friendly and exciting than it already was.

There are no special teams specialists aside from a short list of kickers in the HOF. When the time comes, I believe Steve Trasker should be the first special-teamer to be inducted, but I think we can skip that position, at least this year.

As kickers go, I'm not sure Nick Lowery's time to join the HOF has come. There remains an absence of punters in the HOF, and it is past time that Ray Guy be inducted. Guy was the man who made others want to become punters. He is on my 15 finalists list, and if he were to be the only punter to ever be inducted into the HOF, that would cement his stature as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, punters of all-time.

Where defensive backs are concerned, I'm torn. Being a lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers fan, I, of course, would like to see Donnie Shell inducted someday. But, I would tend to defer to nemesis CB Lester Hayes of the Oakland/L.A. Raiders. As much as I despised the Raiders, Hayes was a menace in the defensive backfield. His lack of INTs was as much a function of not being thrown at as much as anything.

The linebacking nominees pose some sentimental problems for me. Harry Carson of the New York Giants was "the other" linebacker during the Lawrence Taylor era, and is awarded by the HOF an automatic spot among the 15 finalists. I have no beef with that.

However, Darryl Talley of the Buffalo Bills' four-consecutive Super Bowl appearances has special sentiment for me, having been perhaps the greatest linebacker to play at WVU, my boyhood (and adulthood) college football team. Randy Gradishar, who I didn't see much of, is a finalist from last year. I'll defer to last year's voters, and allow Carson and Gradishar to be the linebacking representatives in this year's finalists list.

The defensive linemen, in my mind, are all stand-outs. Mark Gastineau, while second in the single-season sack record books now, is considered by many, myself included, to still hold the record, given the questionable circumstances that provided Michael Strahan his record-breaking sack. Add Claude Humphrey, a finalist last year, as well, and the list of 15 now consists of eight.

On to the offensive side of the ball. Take an offensive lineman at every position. To me, one of the all-time great offensive lines ever were the Washington Redskins' Hogs of the 1980s. With Russ Grim at guard and Joe Jacoby at tackle among this year's nominees, those positions are easy for me to pick. At center, the man who made the Bills' late '80s and early-'90s K-Gun offense work as well as it did was Kent Hull. Without the quarterback on the offensive line, protections break down in such a hurried offense. Hull made the offense go, even if he didn't have the glamor received by QB Jim Kelly, RB Thurman Thomas, and WR Andre Reed.

The wide receivers among the 67 nominees all leave something to be desired. Art Monk was a finalist last year, but failed to be inducted because his TD numbers aren't among the top-15 all-time. Still, Monk had the third most receptions ever, and is in the top-10 in yardage. Allow that he was one of my favorite players from that Redskins team, and voila! Henry Ellard, in his first year of eligiblity, is a tougher case. Third in career-yardage, Ellard was the go-to guy for many a Los Angeles Rams quarterback. But, Ellard's numbers otherwise are underwhelming. If one dropped Ellard to add a quarterback, I'd find no fault with that, depending on the quarterback.

Of the running backs nominated, only one strikes me as true HOF material. In his first year of eligibility, Barry Sanders seems a lock to be a first-ballot HOFer. If I were voting, I'd be tempted to hold against him the way he left the game, but that's just me. I'm still grumpy over the Red Sox loss earlier this week.

Neither Roger Craig nor Herschel Walker interests me this year. While I have a strong affection for Craig as a player, and believe he was an underrated and underrespected cog in the 1980s 49ers dynasty, I'm not convinced of his place in the HOF. And I'd rather list someone else among the finalists than Walker.

Five quarterbacks were nominated, with one, a cinch for induction, a first-timer. John Elway of the Denver Broncos is one of the all-time great quarterbacks, and will be inducted next year. That brings my list to its finale, but, as I noted above, I have trepidation about Ellard as a HOFer. Given that, there are two other QBs I think worthy of consideration. Ken Stabler was a finalist last year, though looking at the numbers, I'm left wondering why. I remember being in awe of his ability as a Saint, having missed his best years. Perhaps it was the nickname. Who named "The Snake" shouldn't be in the HOF?

But if you need a Kenny in the HOF, the numbers indicate that Kenny Anderson, and not Stabler, be that guy. Anderson's numbers are actually fairly remarkable. The Bengals' gunslinger threw 5,000 more yards than Stabler, had a comparable career completion-percentage (59.3% to Stabler's 59.8%), had a much better career passer-rating at 81.9, and a much more favorable TD-to-INT ratio, throwing 197 TDs to just 160 INTs. Compare that to Stabler's 194 TDs to 222 INTs. Anderson never won a ring, and played all his team's games only three times. Still, if Ellard comes out, I want Anderson on the list of finalists, not Stabler.

My list of 15 finalists looks like this: New York Giants' executive George Young, coach Don Coryell, punter Ray Guy, cornerback Lester Hayes, linebackers Harry Carson and Randy Gradishar, defensive linemen Mark Gastineau and Claude Humphrey, tackle Joe Jacoby, guard Russ Grimm, center Kent Hull, wide receivers Art Monk and Henry Ellard, running back extraordinaire Barry Sanders, and quarterback legend John Elway.

Feel free to take me to task or discuss it further in the SC NFL board thread entitled "You Know You're Getting Old When..." See you there!

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