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2016 Pro Football Hall of Fame Finalists

By Dave Stevenson

Aug 7, 2015; Canton, OH, USA; General view of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Stadium and the banners of 2015 inductees Jerome Bettis, Tim Brown, Charles Haley, Bill Polian, Junior Seau, Will Shields, Mick Tingelhoff and Ron Wolf at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 7, 2015; Canton, OH, USA; General view of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Stadium and the banners of 2015 inductees Jerome Bettis, Tim Brown, Charles Haley, Bill Polian, Junior Seau, Will Shields, Mick Tingelhoff and Ron Wolf at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Mandatory Credit: Focus on Sport/Getty Images /

The Controversial Figures

It is said that there is a fence. Either you’re over the fence (and therefore in the Hall of Fame) or you aren’t. Quarterback Kurt Warner is just chilling on the top of the fence right now. There are strong arguments to both sides of his Hall of Fame case. On one hand, Warner doesn’t have the fancy numbers that voters tend to want to see out of Hall of Famers, which is understandable. He didn’t even throw for 30,000 career passing yards, and in this era, that’s a must.

However, his supporters have some very good points. He was extremely dominant when he was at his best. Warner won two NFL MVPs and led his Rams to a Super Bowl title, then he led the Rams to another Super Bowl appearance before a few years later taking the Arizona Cardinals there as well. Each time, Warner did his part to ensure his team was in a great position to win but was outdone by a future Hall of Fame quarterback (Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger). Nothing to be ashamed of there.

Another controversial figure who is remarkably similar to Warner is running back Terrell Davis, who had a very short NFL career. Davis only played for seven seasons and he battled injuries during his final three seasons. So he only really has four seasons to point to. But those four seasons were as good as any four-year stretch that any running back has ever put up. His four-year prime saw him win two Super Bowls alongside John Elway. He rushed for 6,413 yards and 56 touchdowns in his first four seasons, and really, Davis was one of the best backs in NFL history when healthy, but sadly he couldn’t say healthy.

Don Coryell used to never get the recognition he deserved. He was one of the first coaches to experiment with a pass first offense and he paved the way for Bill Walsh’s famous West Coast offense that led Walsh to three Super Bowl victories with the 49ers. Coryell has been named a finalist for the third consecutive year, so that’s a very good sign. Coryell will most likely get in eventually, but not when there are so many other great figures waiting to get in.

Next: Falling Just Short

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