NFL Hall of Fame Committee Got It Wrong!

The NFL Hall of Fame selection committee of 44 made a big mistake last night on deciding their Hall of Fame inductees for 2012. Leaving off Bill Parcells is just wrong and there seems to be no serious justification why the man who lead 4 different teams to the playoffs (the only man to do so ever in the NFL; Giants, Patriots, Jets, & Cowboys) was told to stay away from Canton this year.

First, let me give the committee a little credit. They inducted several offensive & defensive linemen this year which shows the recognition is being given more equally in each position as it should be. Often, linemen are overlooked...not this year. However, of the 4 linemen who were inducted this year, guess how many have won a Super Bowl?!? Zero, none, nada. Parcells has two Super Bowl wins and missed out on a third when Brett Favre had his MVP year and Desmond Howard ran circles around the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

The other modern inductee into the Hall of Fame this year was running back Curtin Martin who played from '95 to '06 w/ the first three years as part of the Patriots before joining the Jets for the remainder of his career. Martin was a model of consistency getting over 1,000 yards rushing in each of his first ten seasons (at the time he was the second person ever to accomplish this task, the great Barry Sanders being the other). However, the 1,000 yard mark is a very overrated one. That's averaging only 62.5 yards a game. Would you draft that person on your fantasy team? Hell No! Only in one year out of his 11 did her average more than 100 yards a game (2004). He was merely a system running back blessed with health; something must running backs aren't so fortunate to have these days with D-Lines & LBs bigger, stronger, and almost faster than them.

He earned a ticket to Canton while having the second lowest Yards Per Carry average of the Top 20 RBs by Yards Gained of all time. Yep, his YPC was 4.0...beating only Jerome Bettis of 3.9 who is not in the Hall of Fame. Yet, Martin was never prideful, never guaranteed wins, and always stayed humbled.

But back to Parcells. By now you can probably tell I'm not completely understanding the Martin pick over Parcells. If you haven't figured that out.. stop reading now because you're hopeless.

Bill Parcells won two Super Bowls (1986 & 1990). In 85 & 86 he beat the best offensive minded coach (Bill Walsh) & QB (Joe Montana) of the decade in the playoffs while only allowing 3 points to them each year. He changed defensive strategy forever in the NFL and focused Lawrence Taylor's raw, juiced up energy on harming quarterbacks rather than his adolescent personality damaging the team's harmony. For today's comparison sakes, that would be like taking DeMarcus Cousins of the NBA and turning him into the league MVP en route to an NBA title. When he won the 1990 Super Bowl he did so w/o his Hall of Fame QB Phil Simms (who was out with a broken foot), instead coaching up a forgotten Jeff Hostetler.

He later moved on to the Patriots & the Jets when both teams were in utter despair. What'd he do w/ them? He lead each to winning playoff games, advancing the Pats to the Super Bowl & the Jets to the AFC Championship game. For his encore, he lifted up the Cowboys back to the playoffs where he should have advanced much further if not for the infamous Tony Romo fumbled FG snap from the 2 yard line.

What about his coaching influence in the form of coaching disciples? Oh, only of a few important coaches, no big names... um, cough... Belichick & Coughlin... cough. Aren't they like playing in some big game tonight? I'll add one more for fun, how about Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints? Yep, a Parcells disciple.

In the end, Parcells will get another shot next year, but this should have been a cinch, as easy as an extra point, selling a Tebow Jersey, or throwing a TD pass in a Pro Bowl Game. Curtis Martin got in, and somewhat surprisingly to some. Yet, guess who he gives his credit to for developing him into such a good running back? Yep, Bill Parcells.

At the Hall of Fame enshrinement this August in Canton, Parcells won't have a bronze statue in his honor, but he will be there. Curtis Martin graciously asked Parcells if he'd do his introduction, as there could be no greater honor than being introduced by one of the greatest coaches to ever compete in the NFL.