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Four with Steelers ties reach semifinals
Rod Woodson, Kevin Greene, Dermontti Dawson and Russ Grimm are among the 25 semifinalists being considered for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.
Of that group, this is Woodson's first year of eligibility.
Woodson is considered a shoe-in for induction, while the others have been up for vote in the past and come up short.
To me, Woodson, Dawson and Grimm should all be easy choices.
Woodson was a game-changing cornerback for the Steelers before switching to safety later in his career and excelling at that as well.
Dawson was the most dominant center - and possibly lineman - of his era.
And Grimm was a cornerstone for the Redskins' Hogs of their Super Bowl teams in the '80s before going into coaching.
Greene is among the league's all-time sack leaders, but was perhaps too one-dimensional in my opinion to be a sure-fire Hall of Fame player.
That one dimension was pretty good, but he was a liability in coverage. When he was with the Steelers, he wasn't even the best defensive player on his team, ranking behind Woodson, Greg Lloyd, Levon Kirkland and Carnell Lake in the pecking order - in my opinion.
© The Steelers should get Bryant McFadden back this week against the Patriots, while Willie Parker is questionable to play.
Deshea Townsend and Brett Keisel are definitely out, as is Marvel Smith.
© Mike Tomlin didn't exactly give Mitch Berger a ringing endorsement today when asked why the team chose to re-sign him, saying it came down more to continuity at holder for Jeff Reed.
That's what I've been saying about the signing. But even a hobbled Berger has to be better than Paul Ernster was in the two games he replaced Berger in.
Berger has had nearly a month since he last kicked, so his injured hamstring should be better.
Rod Woodson, Kevin Greene, Dermontti Dawson and Russ Grimm are among the 25 semifinalists being considered for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.
Of that group, this is Woodson's first year of eligibility.
Woodson is considered a shoe-in for induction, while the others have been up for vote in the past and come up short.
To me, Woodson, Dawson and Grimm should all be easy choices.
Woodson was a game-changing cornerback for the Steelers before switching to safety later in his career and excelling at that as well.
Dawson was the most dominant center - and possibly lineman - of his era.
And Grimm was a cornerstone for the Redskins' Hogs of their Super Bowl teams in the '80s before going into coaching.
Greene is among the league's all-time sack leaders, but was perhaps too one-dimensional in my opinion to be a sure-fire Hall of Fame player.
That one dimension was pretty good, but he was a liability in coverage. When he was with the Steelers, he wasn't even the best defensive player on his team, ranking behind Woodson, Greg Lloyd, Levon Kirkland and Carnell Lake in the pecking order - in my opinion.
© The Steelers should get Bryant McFadden back this week against the Patriots, while Willie Parker is questionable to play.
Deshea Townsend and Brett Keisel are definitely out, as is Marvel Smith.
© Mike Tomlin didn't exactly give Mitch Berger a ringing endorsement today when asked why the team chose to re-sign him, saying it came down more to continuity at holder for Jeff Reed.
That's what I've been saying about the signing. But even a hobbled Berger has to be better than Paul Ernster was in the two games he replaced Berger in.
Berger has had nearly a month since he last kicked, so his injured hamstring should be better.
Let's hope that voters take their heads out of their rectums and elect the center that had all of the best attributes of Hall of Fame centers Mike Webster and Dwight Stephenson in one body.
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