NFL Hall Of Fame 2012: Curtis Martin, 5 Others To Be Inducted

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Sports Illustrated’s Jim Trotter was in the room for this year’s Hall of Fame voting and has his thoughts on how and why some notable names were left out. Many were perplexed when Bill Parcells, Cris Carter, Andre Reed and others did not make the final cut, and Trotter tries to explain why this happened.

The problem is the numbers, with only five modern-era candidates inducted each year. Further compounding the problem, Trotter hypothesizes, is the candidates that will become eligible in the near future. Which led him to this.

The Giants burst onto the scene in the middle part of the decade, a franchise rejuvenated after decades of searching. It matched the whole Morning In America nonsense that had seeped into movie theaters in those years. Lawrence Taylor approached quarterbacks like Rambo, shooting from the hip and leaving a pile of bodies and consequences for someone else.

Masterminding the whole thing was a sloppy looking, silver-haired guy on the sidelines. Bill Parcells was like Richard Crenna’s colonel, a pigskin Svengali who coaxed the killer instinct out of his men.

As a Seahawks fan, this moment was a long time in the making. Cortez Kennedy shined in Seattle, toiling away on some terrible teams but always shining along the way. And on Saturday, his efforts were rewarded as he earned the necessary votes for induction with the 2012 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

Kennedy played his entire career in Seattle, spanning 11 seasons, from 1990 to 2000. In 1992, Kennedy won the Defensive Player of the Year Award, despite playing on a two-win team. In his 11 years in the league, Kennedy was named to the Pro Bowl eight times, the first-team All Pro team three times, and the second-team once.

One day before Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, the NFL announced its 2012 class of Hall of Fame inductees. These men will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August to kick off the 2012 NFL season.

Again this year, the wide receivers were left out. Among the snubs was Andre Reed, who made the cut to 10 finalists, but did not make the final cut.

One day before Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, the NFL announced its 2012 class of Hall of Fame inductees. These men will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August to kick off the 2012 NFL season. The newest class of Hall of Fame inductees was announced on Saturday, with a cut from 15 to 10, another from 10 to five, then the final announcement of the 2012 Hall of Fame Class.

Cris Carter was, somewhat surprisingly, left out. He did make the first cut on Saturday, joining nine others, but did not make the cut to five and will not be joining the Hall of Fame this year.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2012 has been selected, with the maximum of five modern-era players selected to be enshrined and one veterans committee player selected. There were a number of surprises, but the group of 17 finalists was incredibly strong, and the limitations set by the Hall of Fame mean that a number of spectacular players are left out every season.

Dawson played 184 games and started 181 games in his NFL career, playing his entire professional career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. In his time in the NFL, Dawson was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and a six-time All-Pro selection.

One day before Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, the NFL announced its 2012 class of Hall of Fame inductees. These men will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August to kick off the 2012 NFL season.

Despite many expecting Bill Parcells to make it into the Hall of Fame with ease on his first try, though, the long-time NFL head coach was left out. Parcells made the cut from 15 to 10, but did not make the final cut to five, joining all the wide receivers, including Cris Carter on the outside looking in.

Parcells finished his NFL coaching career with a record of 172-130-1, two Super Bowl rings, three Conference championships and two AP Coach of the Year awards.

Although there is no set number for any class of enshrinees, the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s current ground rules stipulate that between four and seven new members will be selected each year. No more than five modern-era nominees can be elected in a given year.

The 2012 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony won’t take place until August, but on Saturday afternoon we’ll find out the candidates who will be enshrined into Canton. Forty-four voters will meet in a hotel on Saturday before the Super Bowl and state their case for the next class in the Hall.

The 2012 candidates include: