Professional Football Researchers Association Forum
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The players the NFL chose are:
10. Adam Vinatieri
9. Steve Nelson
8. Stanley Morgan
7. Troy Brown
6. Ty Law
5. Mike Haynes
4. Andre Tippett
3. Rob Gronkowski
2. John Hannah
1, Tom Brady
Those top 10 shows on the NFL Network (which this came from originally) are usually terrible, and this is no exception. Definitely agreed about the ridiculousness of leaving off Antwine and Buoniconti. The latter is in the PFHoF, for heavens sake, and one could make an argument for the former as well. Those 60s Pats actually had a solid d-line. Antwine was probably the best of them, but Larry Eisenhauer was named 1st team all pro four times and both Jim Hunt and Bob Dee went to multiple pro bowls. LB Tom Addison and C Jon Morris were also all pro level players on those squads.
I also don't get the love for Gino Cappelletti, who some oddly tout for the HoF. One could easily argue that Jim Colclough was at the utter least every bit as good as Cappelletti as a receiver and usually better during the Pats' first six seasons overall. As a kicker, Cappelletti converted 52.9% of FG tries, which doesn't seem too special for the time best as I can see. He also had no 1st team all pro selections and is not on the all-AFL team.
bachslunch wrote:I also don't get the love for Gino Cappelletti, who some oddly tout for the HoF. One could easily argue that Jim Colclough was at the utter least every bit as good as Cappelletti as a receiver and usually better during the Pats' first six seasons overall. As a kicker, Cappelletti converted 52.9% of FG tries, which doesn't seem too special for the time best as I can see. He also had no 1st team all pro selections and is not on the all-AFL team.
The fact that Cappelletti was a part of the Pats radio broadcasts through 2011 means (in NFLN terms) that he still is (relatively) current. Plus, his PBP partner has continually hyped him as a HOF candidate.
At least they did chose Steve Nelson, who IMHO, if he didn't have to compete with Jack Lambert and Randy Gradishar for Pro Bowls and All-Pro/AFC, he could had as many Pro Bowls as Harry Carson in the NFC.
They did put Hannah and Tippett in the top 5 so that was well done.
They also made a big stink that Haynes had played half his career with the Raiders.
Perhaps that's the rationalization for not including Buoniconti (that he played 1/2 his career with the Dolphins).
Whom I don't recall them mentioning at all was Babe Parilli.
JuggernautJ wrote:They did put Hannah and Tippett in the top 5 so that was well done.
They also made a big stink that Haynes had played half his career with the Raiders.
Perhaps that's the rationalization for not including Buoniconti (that he played 1/2 his career with the Dolphins).
Whom I don't recall them mentioning at all was Babe Parilli.
I would think Grogan, Eason, Bledsoe and Brady would have stronger claims than Babe ...
"Gentlemen, it is better to have died a small boy than to fumble this football."