Free agent running back Thomas Jones signed with the Kansas City Chiefs Tuesday in a move I don’t completely understand.

Jones, who played 2009 at 31 years old, is coming off of the two most productive seasons of his career during which he’s run for a total of 2,714 yards and 27 touchdowns while adding two more scores through the air in 2008.

Despite the fact that he appears to be getting stronger with age, he was clearly being usurped by Shonn Greene during the New York Jets’ playoff run last season. And the Jets cut Jones in early March, though by some accounts they wanted to sign him back after avoiding paying him a $3 million roster bonus.

His teammates reportedly wanted him back, though in the end Greene showed a speed-power combo last year that as the season wore on Jones wasn’t able to match.

Thing is, by signing with the Chiefs, Jones joins a team where he’ll be competing for carries … with a younger, shiftier back that showed great potential during the 2009 season.

Sound familiar?

Jamaal Charles looks nothing like Shonn Greene. The Chiefs’ sudden superstar is 30 pounds lighter than Greene and not quite the moose behind the tackles that the Jets appear to have in the 2009 draft choice from Iowa. But Charles opened eyes after Kansas City jettisoned Larry Johnson by finishing the season with 1,120 yards on just 190 carries. Charles also showed promise at the stripe, scoring seven times on the ground.

So, while there’s a role to be had for Jones, he’s likely to end up on the short end of a timeshare in Missouri much like he probably was destined to do in New York.

And he’ll be doing so on a rebuilding team rather than one that looks like it should be one of the favorites to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl in 2010.

And he’ll be doing so on a team with a much, much less skilled offensive line – the Jets’ blockers are arguably the best in the NFL while the Chiefs front wall … well, isn’t.

Don’t get me wrong – I like some of the young guys the Chiefs have brought in, including Charles. And Jones does become part of a two-headed monster rather than a three-headed one, which the Jets’ running game was likely to become if Jones had re-signed and when Leon Washington returns from his broken leg.

But at this stage in Jones’ career, if he’s not going to be the undisputed number one running option, why wouldn’t he choose to be a rotation guy with a role on a good-to-great team over a similar role on one that has only won 10 games the last three seasons and is a ways away from being a real contender?

Maybe there’s some pride involved. I can only imagine how frustrating it would be for a player to put forth his best season ever only to see his role reduced late in the season. But the situation in New York just seemed to me like a much better fit in the short-term. And at 32, running backs in the NFL are running on borrowed time.

Brett Favre had a heckuva 2009 season leading Minnesota to the NFC Championship game before the Vikings faltered against New Orleans.

But his opponents in the NFC North are busy arming themselves in the event that Favre comes back for more in 2010.

The Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears both roared into the new league year with multiple signings and in both teams’ headline moves included adding firepower to their respective defensive lines.

Chicago adding Julius Peppers was the highest profile signing Friday. He turnstiled the Vikings’ inconsistent left tackle Bryant McKinnie while playing for Carolina against Minnesota late in the 2009 season. And there’s no doubt that when he’s on his game Peppers is one of the league’s most dominant pass rushers.

He doesn’t come with the same kind of character baggage that Albert Haynesworth did when he signed his big buck deal with Washington last year. But Peppers does face questions about his consistency and whether or not he’ll keep his level of play up after cashing in on his deal with the Bears. Still it would seem to be a worthy risk for a team that had 35 sacks in 2009 and lacks first and second round draft picks.

The Bears also signed former Viking running back Chester Taylor and blocking tight end Brandon Manumaleuna on the opening day of free agency.

The defensive line was a focus on day one in Detroit as well. The upside offered by defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch isn’t as high as that offered by Peppers. But Vanden Bosch played with Lions coach Jim Schwartz when the latter was a coordinator in Tennessee. And Vanden Bosch will never be questioned for his effort.

He’ll be heading into his 10th season and he hasn’t been quite as effective the last two seasons as he was when he netted 12 sacks in 2007. But he’s an immediate upgrade for the Lions’ defensive line, which has been atrocious for a long time.

The Lions also added defensive tackle Corey Williams in a trade with Cleveland. Detroit still needs a wide body on the line to snuff out the run better. But Williams was productive with Green Bay as a pass rusher out of the 4-3 before heading to Cleveland, where he was miscast in a 3-4 defense, noted Tom Kowalski, a Lions beat writer for MLive.com, when he was interviewed on NFL Network this afternoon.

In other moves, Detroit dumped defensive tackle Grady Jackson and cornerback Phillip Buchanon (which leaves them without a true cornerback on the roster right now, Kowalski also noted) and added wide receiver Nate Burleson, who can stretch the field and draw coverage away from stud Calvin Johnson.

“They were desperate moves but they were good moves,” Kowalski said on NFL Network. I think he’s right. They may have overpaid for Vanden Bosch and especially Burleson at the current stages of their respective careers. But they weren’t obnoxiously expensive moves. And I think the Lions may have, at least in part, been overspending on veterans with decent character to show other players they are serious about turning the team around.

Both the Bears and especially the Lions, I think, still have a ways to go to catch Minnesota (assuming Favre does return to quarterback for at least another season) and Green Bay. But while it doesn’t say a lot when you’re coming off sub-.500 seasons, both teams are likely substantially better this evening than they were when the day started.

In the weeks following their shocking exit from the AFC playoffs the San Diego Chargers have announced plans to release LaDainian Tomlinson and not to tender Darren Sproles.

The first announcement didn’t surprise me. After seven fantastic seasons Tomlinson has struggled with injuries and performance the last two years, finishing 2009 with the lowest number of carries and yards-per-carry averages of his career.

The Sproles announcement, on the other hand, I found just short of stunning. First off, the guy has been a fireplug when he’s had the opportunity to play regularly, including the January 2009 playoff game where he had more than 300 all-purpose yards in the Chargers’ overtime win over Indianapolis.

Second, dumping both Sproles and Tomlinson left San Diego’s depth chart virtually bare, with just Michael Bennett – who hasn’t had as many as 50 carries in a season since leaving Minnesota after the 2005 season – listed as a halfback and two fullbacks, Jacob Hester and Mike Tolbert, who have combined for just 78 carries between them in their two NFL seasons.

Tomlinson and Sproles combined to take 74 percent of the team’s rushing attempts in 2009 and 84 percent of them in 2008 while amassing 75 percent of the team’s rushing yards in 2009 and 83 percent in 2008.

And while he’s struggled, Tomlinson still scored 23 of the Chargers’ 30 rushing touchdowns the last two seasons with Sproles compiling four of the remaining seven.

In fairness, few are claiming the diminutive Sproles could take the pounding associated with being a 20 to 25 carry per game back. But with the Chargers turning into more of a pass-oriented offense with Philip Rivers at the helm, I’ve always wondered why he didn’t get four to five passes minimum a game along with another 10 to 12 carries out of multiple-receiver spread formations where he would have had more opportunities to get into open spaces.

On the other hand, Sproles made a ton of money in 2009 as the team’s franchise player and it is likely San Diego didn’t want to spend that kind of cash on a part-time player.

Furthermore, while the depth chart looks ugly at first glance, the cupboard might not be as empty as it looks.

Hester arrived in 2008 as a third-round pick out of Louisiana State. Lindy’s Sports Annuals called him the “inspirational leader of [the] Tigers whose motor never stops” and added that he “will work hard at all assignments.”

Most of those assignments thus far have involved blocking for Tomlinson and Sproles but in 40 career carries the 235-pound motor home does have a 4.2 yard-per-carry average.

Tolbert, who arrived the same year as a rookie free agent, is even bigger than Hester and has averaged 4.9 yards-per-carry in two fewer carries.

Neither of those guys are likely to take on a full-time feature role in 2010 but in this running back-by-committee era they can provide a piece of the overall Chargers’ running game solution.

While it’s risky for a top-notch, likely again playoff-bound team to put their eggs in the basket of a rookie, I would guess the NFL draft will also provide the Bolts with some new resources for their ground game.

The Chargers reportedly aren’t likely to get a shot at C.J. Spiller from Clemson without making a move up the board, but guys like Georgia Tech’s Jonathan Dwyer, Fresno State’s Ryan Mathews and California’s Jahvid Best are, by many accounts, being projected anywhere from the late-first to early-second round.

And running back is the one position coaches and scouts generally say is easiest for rookies to pick up in time to contribute right away.

If they don’t want to go the rookie route – or if they want to at least have a backup plan in case the rookie of their dreams doesn’t pan out, a Chester Taylor might be ready to move on from Minnesota. Guys like Brian Westbrook and Thomas Jones, who helped the Jets knock the Chargers out of the playoffs, are going to be on the free agent market as well.

So while if I was running the Chargers I’d have tried to find a way to keep Sproles on the roster I can see why their upper brass made the decisions they did.

It’s some risky maneuvering. But with an uncapped year all but a foregone conclusion for 2010, a deep draft and teams all around the league making moves at the position, letting their top two running backs from the last two seasons go at the same time might not be as crazy as it looks on the surface.

It didn’t take an expert watching Tim Tebow play quarterback for Florida over the last four years to see that he was a great college player and a good and decent human being. It also didn’t take a genius to guess that he’d have trouble translating his ample skills to the National Football League, at least if he wanted to continue playing quarterback.

While he was a great scrambler and he could buy enough time in college where his long windup didn’t hurt him he wasn’t going to get away with windmilling his throws playing against elite competition every week.

Those beliefs seemed to be confirmed when Tebow went to the Senior Bowl and promptly struggled – not only with his throwing but with taking snaps from center.

Give Tebow credit for paying attention. In a recent story published at Bleacher Report he indicates a realization that he’s got shortcomings and that he is and plans to continue working on them.

That same story, however, indicates that he won’t throw at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Huh?

If you know you have issues to overcome and you know all the scouts know you have issues to overcome and you say you’ve been working on correcting them wouldn’t you want to show that off?

“The changes I’m making have gone very well and it’s becoming more and more natural to me,” Tebow told ESPN’s Adam Schefter, according to Bleacher Report.

So throw at the Combine. Give scouts a reason to believe they should bump you up on their boards.

I’ve never been a fan of players not doing all the drills at the Combine. To me it shows confidence in your abilities if you go and do everything even if you are projected to be a top pick rather than picking and choosing the drills you are going to take part in. But it’s a bigger mystery when guys who aren’t at the top sit drills out. That only makes it look like you’re trying to cover up weaknesses.

As far as Tebow goes it’s hard to say where he’s projected to go. Most experts seem to indicate that he’ll be drafted but only as a project who’s going to need to sit for a couple years while fine-tuning those fundamentals he missed out on playing in the Gators’ spread offense.

If he is making progress one would think he’d want to take every opportunity he might have to show people and move up a few notches on their draft boards.

Or maybe not. What do I know?

We’re closing in on two weeks since the Saints beat the Colts in the Super Bowl and my body is slowly adjusting to the next six months without football.

One of the things I keep reading in the days since what I thought was a pretty exciting game between two very good teams and two great quarterbacks is that the interception Peyton Manning threw on his way to the game-tying touchdown drive somehow cheapens his legacy as a star quarterback.

I’ll grant you, Manning has, at times, struggled in big games. But to say throwing a pick-six against New Orleans somehow detracts from him being one of the top quarterbacks of all-time is ridiculous.

First of all, this wasn’t an all-time great Colts team all season long. Sure, they were 14-0 before the coaches pulled the starters against New York. But Indianapolis won eight games by one score or less. Other than a four game stretch of dominance from their third game to their sixth game, when they won games by 21, 17, 22 and 36 points, the Colts generally played competitive games this year. This was a very, very good team, but any belief that this was a dominant bunch was misguided.

Second, the team wasn’t full strength all season. Sure, guys like Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie and Antoine Bethea stepped up during the regular season. But when you lose guys like Anthony Gonzalez and Bob Sanders for almost the entire season it’s eventually going to hurt. And then when your top wideout, Reggie Wayne, hurts his knee heading into the big game it’s going to make it that much tougher.

This was illustrated at least twice during the game – once when Wayne had the chance to catch a touchdown to bring the Colts within a touchdown in the waning seconds of the game and previous to that on the big Tracy Porter interception. Yes, on the pick everyone is criticizing Manning for throwing Wayne does little to help his quarterback out. He got outmuscled to the spot and didn’t do enough to turn into a defender when it was clear Porter had position on him.

That’s not to say Manning is without fault. He wasn’t his typically great self. But let’s also give the Saints some credit. This beleaguered defense was flawed. But throughout the playoffs they showed up when it mattered. After giving up a 70 yard touchdown run to Tim Hightower on the first offensive play of the divisional playoff game against Arizona, the Saints ass-whipped the Cardinals 45-7 the rest of the way – knocking Kurt Warner out of the game in the process.

The following week the Saints were by most statistics outplayed by the Minnesota Vikings. But five turnovers and numerous crushing shots that made Brett Favre’s body match his jersey color later New Orleans outlasted the Purple, claiming the NFC crown in overtime.

Finally, if that’s not enough, let’s look at the history of the Super Bowl. My brother wrote a post during the week leading up to the game asking if Manning vs Drew Brees was the best quarterback matchup in the league’s Super Bowl history. While that remains an arguable point, further analysis of those who have played in the game indicates that just 10 quarterbacks have ever won more than one Super Bowl.

So Manning missed an opportunity to join that crowd. But think about that – over the course of 44 seasons just 10 quarterbacks have won more than one Super Bowl.  And only 28 quarterbacks have ever been at the helm of Super Bowl winning teams. At anywhere from 26 to 32 teams for most of those 44 seasons that’s somewhere well north of 1300 quarterbacks who have started in the NFL during the timespan. Just 10 have won the big game more than once. And just 28 have ever won the Lombardi Trophy.

So sure. Peyton Manning isn’t perfect. He’s had his flaws in big games at times. But without getting into the all-time great numbers he is comfortably on his way to posting for his career he is still comfortably among the greats in terms of Super Bowl output, even with adding the loss to the Saints to his resume.

He’s a 10 time Pro Bowl selection and a five time first-team all pro. Despite the occasional flaws I’d take him at the top of any list of quarterbacks I was putting together if it came down to choosing someone to win the big game. So his legacy remains strong as far as I’m concerned.

Well, for better or for worse the 2010 Hall of Fame inductees have been named. The debates over the merit of those inductees are taking place on other articles on this site.

Now, as per normal, it’s time for us to start looking ahead to next towards 2011.

Many great candidates – Shannon Sharpe, Cris Carter, Andre Reed, Tim Brown, Dermontti Dawson, Charles Haley, and Richard Dent, among others – were held over for at least another year.

Meanwhile the 2011 crop brings several more first time nominees. The most oft-mentioned of that crew is Deion Sanders, the brash, trash-talking cornerback who played in Super Bowls for Dallas and San Francisco after being drafted by Atlanta in 1989. In his first year of eligibility he could join three other top five picks from that 1989 draft in the Hall – Troy Aikman, Derrick Thomas and Barry Sanders.

A trio of upper echelon running backs in Marshall Faulk, Curtis Martin and Jerome Bettis also will take their first turns in front of the Hall voters. Each is in the top 10 all-time leading rushers and both Faulk and Bettis have Super Bowl rings.

Among offensive linemen Willie Roaf gains eligibility.

The list would have been even more crowded if Priest Holmes and Junior Seau hadn’t changed their minds on retiring after 2005. But there’s plenty of competition for slots in the Hall again next year.

Do any of these guys make it on their first go-around? Or do the voters make this collection of players, which is good but not quite as star-studded as this year’s Emmitt Smith/Jerry Rice class, wait while clearing some of the logjam that has collected in recent years?

As always, we’re looking forward to seeing your thoughts.  But first, here’s ours:

Looking back quickly at 2010, we only actually nailed two of the inductees–the two most obvious inductees in several years in Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith.  One of our picks (Paul Tagliabue) didn’t even make the finalist list, while the other two (Dermontti Dawson and Shannon Sharpe) did make the final cut to 10, but not the final five.

So, here’s the list of 2010 Pro Football Hall of Fame Finalists to not be elected:

Tim Brown – Wide Receiver/Kick Returner – 1988-2003 Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, 2004 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Cris Carter – Wide Receiver – 1987-89 Philadelphia Eagles, 1990-2001 Minnesota Vikings, 2002 Miami Dolphins

Don Coryell – Coach – 1973-77 St. Louis Cardinals, 1978-1986 San Diego Chargers

Roger Craig – Running Back – 1983-1990 San Francisco 49ers, 1991 Los Angeles Raiders, 1992-93 Minnesota Vikings

Dermonti Dawson – Center – 1988-2000 Pittsburgh Steelers

Richard Dent – Defensive End – 1983-1993, 1995 Chicago Bears, 1994 San Francisco 49ers, 1996 Indianapolis Colts, 1997 Philadelphia Eagles

Charles Haley – Defensive End/Linebacker – 1986-1991, 1999 San Francisco 49ers, 1992-96 Dallas Cowboys

Cortez Kennedy – Defensive Tackle – 1990-2000 Seattle Seahawks

Andre Reed – Wide Receiver – 1985-1999 Buffalo Bills, 2000 Washington Redskins

Shannon Sharpe – Tight End – 1990-99, 2002-03 Denver Broncos, 2000-01 Baltimore Ravens

Making the final ten along with Sharpe and Dawson were Dent, Kennedy and Reed.

Given that only one finalist from 2009 did not make the list in 2010 (Tagliabue), and I think those were for some special circumstances, we’re going to operate under the assumption that all 10 players/coaches will make the finalist list again in 2011–the only name that gives me any pause from that list is Don Coryell.

That leaves five open spots for semifinalists from 2010, or newly eligible players.

Realistically, I think all five of the first time eligible players mentioned above have a shot at being finalists–although I don’t think that all five will, unless Coryell falls off the list.  Realistically, I see three of them making the finalist list for sure–Deion Sanders, Willie Roaf, and Marshall Faulk.

I give the edge to Faulk over Martin and Bettis due to his superior all-purpose yardage, touchdown production 130 to 100 to 94), and post-season award profile (7 Pro Bowls & 3 All-Pros to 5 & 1 and 6 & 2).  If a fourth first year player makes it, realistically I see it probably going to Bettis, due to the slightly better profile, his Super Bowl appearance, and the fact that he was a Steeler–although I actually like Martin a little better as a player.

So, assuming just three of the new guys make the list, who else joins the ranks of finalist, presumably from the 2010 semifinalist list?

Terrell Davis and Kevin Greene seem like they might have a shot.  Maybe Ray Guy in a last ditch effort. Or even Art Modell as an owner.

But the guy that jumps out most at me from last year’s list is Aeneas Williams, who I was surprised didn’t make the finalist list this year, especially given the 8/3 post-season profile.  The other guy that jumps out to me a bit is Chris Doleman, with his 8/2 profile and 150.5 sacks (I initially went Kevin Greene, but the profile swayed me at the last second).

So, that gives us a finalist list of:
WR Tim Brown
WR Cris Carter
Coach Don Coryell
RB Roger Craig
C Dermonti Dawson
DE Richard Dent
DE Charles Haley
DT Cortez Kennedy
WR Andre Reed
TE Shannon Sharpe
CB Deion Sanders
T Willie Roaf
RB Marshall Faulk
CB Aeneas Williams
DE Chris Doleman

And the Zoneblitz.com Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2011 looks like:

CB Deion Sanders – The lone first year guy to get elected.

C Dermontti Dawson – Got to have a Steeler every year, right?  Even if LaBeau technically isn’t going in as one…

TE Shannon Sharpe – Seriously can’t believe he didn’t make it this year.

DE Richard Dent – Gotta have one guy who played primarily in the 80’s, don’t we?

WR Tim Brown – I can’t believe Andre Reed finished higher than both Brown and Carter in the 2010 voting, and to be honest, I can’t believe that he gets into Canton ahead of them.  To be honest, I tend to think Carter was the better receiver–but my Minnesota bias might play a role in that, even though I never really liked Carter that much.  Even Pro-Football-Reference seems to give Carter the edge.  But I go Brown, if just because he might have more friends in the media.

We’re still ignoring the senior candidates for now-we might be back with another post in the next couple of weeks with our picks for those candidates, even though that seems to be a bit of a crap shoot…

So what do you think?

Drew Brees, not Peyton Manning, displayed the poise and leadership of a Super Bowl champion Sunday night in Miami, leading his New Orleans Saints to their first Vince Lombardi trophy.

Brees completed 32 of 39 for 288 yards and two scores, winning the MVP trophy in the meantime.

His career is far from over and he’s got a lot more history to write in the years ahead. But I asked the question two weeks ago – will Drew Brees make the Hall of Fame? His last four seasons have certainly been trending in that direction.

Super Bowl performances like the show he put on tonight certainly won’t hurt his cause. Sure, it took Tracy Porter’s pick of Manning late in the game to seal the deal. And Sean Payton’s onside kick was a gutty call. But Brees’ performance was nearly flawless. My guess is he leads the Saints to many more playoff victories over the next few years as well.

If he does it’d be hard to keep him out of Canton in a decade, give or take a year or two.

I don’t know if it means I know something or if it was a case of the blind squirrel finding a nut, but I nailed the conference championships, picking the Colts to beat the Jets both straight up and against the spread while guessing the Vikings would beat the spread but lose a close one to New Orleans. That puts me at 7-3 straight up and 6-4 against Vegas lines for the playoffs. And so on to the Super Bowl.

Straight up: Colts
Spread: Saints +5

The Super Bowl presents another intriguing match-up between two high-powered offenses going against defenses that have been vulnerable at times this season.

Among the most interesting aspects of this tilt will be the quarterback duel between Peyton Manning and Drew Brees – a match-up that brings back memories of Staubach vs Bradshaw or Montana vs Elway. With Dwight Freeney injured and either out or playing at less than full strength and the Saints sporting a very good offensive line, I expect Brees to have plenty of time to throw. The same should be true of Manning, who is rarely sacked.

Saints coaches have been quoted talking about the need to get “remember me” hits on Manning – the problem with that is even when he does get hit, Manning is so good at minimizing the damage that it makes those “remember me” hits difficult to achieve.

To the extent that either team runs the ball, the Saints I think are slightly better. They’ve got the power in Mike Bell and Pierre Thomas to go with the finesse of Reggie Bush. Joseph Addai has had a decent season for Indy, but I don’t see the Super Bowl coming down to the ground game.

I expect to see an aerial show with lots of points (I’d take the over if I were in Vegas) and yards. A couple score lead in this game won’t mean much because both teams are equipped with the talent to score quickly and frequently.

It’s trite and cliché, but it’s so often true that games like this come down to avoiding turnovers and catching breaks. Both teams have done that particularly well this season (witness Colts v Patriots or Saints v Bucs, Redskins). In the end I think Manning, having been in the Super Bowl before, is going to keep the Colts one step ahead of Brees and the Saints. I think the Saints will keep the score close throughout, though I think the Colts will win the game.

Zoneblitz sought a couple other opinions on the Super Bowl as well. Here’re their thoughts:

Anthony Maggio, freelance fantasy sports writer and owner if the Punting Baxter blog

The Colts and Saints should provide a fun game to watch but an awful one to listen to with references to “Hurricane Katrina,” “Who Dat,” “Destiny,” and plenty of other references to New Orleans deserving this opportunity for the city in full force. I’m not disagreeing or agreeing with any of it, I’m just prepared to be annoyed.

As for the on-field fireworks, I expect a close contest with plenty of scoring. Indy’s got a decent defense, but it won’t provide much resistance to Drew Brees’ flying circus. The Colts allowed 12 touchdown passes from Week 10 through Week 15 before throwing in the towel the final two games, then faced two run-heavy offenses in the playoffs. It’s not that I expect Indy to be unprepared, but it could be a bit overwhelmed after going so long between games against opponents who can actually throw the ball.

Peyton Manning is too good to let the Saints run away with the game, but will find New Orleans to be a much tougher challenge than Brees must deal with. The Saints have allowed just one touchdown pass in two playoff games and have allowed multiple touchdown passes just once in their last nine games. I expect a pair of them from Manning and probably something out of Joseph Addai, but ultimately I don’t think it will be enough for Manning to win his second Super Bowl.

My prediction: Saints 31, Colts 27.

Tony Tellijohn, co-owner, Zoneblitz.com

Saints 38, Colts 35

Not sure why. Just a gut feeling.

And that’s the kind of analysis that keeps you coming back to Zoneblitz.com.

Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith were the two shoe-ins for election into the NFL Hall of Fame this year. The rest of the class was a crapshoot. But in the end another deserving class of players got the call they had been waiting for.

Stephen A. Perry, the president and executive director of the Hall of Fame, made the announcement this afternoon on the NFL Network.

The Class of 2010 is:
WR Jerry Rice
RB Emmitt Smith
DL John Randle
LB Rickey Jackson
OL Russ Grimm
RB Floyd Little*
DB Dick LeBeau*
*Senior candidate

While the entrants are deserving some of the guys who didn’t make it are surprising. Cris Carter was left out again, not even making the list of 10 finalists. Neither did Tim Brown. Shannon Sharpe made the final 10, but didn’t survive the final cut. Charles Haley and Richard Dent also have to wait at least another year.

Viking John Randle surprised both of us here at Zoneblitz, not because he wasn’t worthy, but because of other candidates along the defensive line such as Dent, Haley, and Cortez Kennedy.

Jackson, who was called Randy when Perry first read the list, was another surprise. But he gets elected on the eve of his team’s first Super Bowl appearance.

This year’s senior finalists, Floyd Little and Dick LeBeau, were controversial when they were announced in August. But in the end both made the cut.

As we wrote a few months ago, this was the first year the fans got a say in the polling. While it didn’t count in the induction process, Van Heusen counted fan votes all season. Rice and Smith were the top vote getters, followed by Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Haley and Cris Carter.

We’ll have more on the selections in the days ahead. We’ll also be posting a 2011 Hall of Fame preview in a couple days as well – the guys that got in this year were great players, but some of the ones who were left out coupled with the guys eligible for the first time in 2011 make for a crowded list of future finalists.

What do you think of this year’s list?

So this story is already a week old, but apparently the Obama administration really is looking into reviewing the legality of the BCS Championship.  I only bring it up a week later because we’ve written about it a few times before.

And also because, when we shared the link above with a friend of ours (who’s a little more politically oriented than we are), he had an interesting reaction:

“I’m trying to imagine going back in time and asking the Federalists, ‘Now, if we ratify this thing, will it give the federal government the power to regulate tournament rules for collegiate sporting events?’”

You can find more of his thoughts on the topic at his blog.  Being a football blog, Zoneblitz does not necessarily agree or disagree with a lot of the topics covered on his blog–but we do agree with him that, if the NCAA wants their BCS solution to look good, getting the government involved might be the best thing for them.

The folks over at Despair.com have probably summed it up best:

“Government: If you think the problems we create are bad, just wait until you see our solutions.”

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