COLORADO, USA — Let’s look at the height, weight and tackling punch of the NFL safeties who are up for football immortality.
Troy Polamalu was 5-foot-10, 207 pounds.
John Lynch was 6-2, 220.
Steve Atwater was 6-3, 218.
Who would you rather have been hit by? We all know who Christian Okoye would not choose.
Yet, deserving as Atwater and Lynch are of having their busts bronzed for football immortality, the former Broncos’ safeties must hope a second player at their position is elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame when voters put forth five modern-era players for the Class of 2020 on Saturday in Miami.
Polamalu, who was a remarkable playmaker for some very good Pittsburgh Steeler teams, including two Super Bowl champions, is a good bet to become a first-ballot selection based on inquiries 9NEWS made with several Hall of Fame voters Monday. Maybe not a slam-dunk, but it would be a surprise if Polamalu didn’t make it on his first try.
“I thought about some of the possibilities but at the end of the day it’s pure speculation,'' Atwater said by phone Monday. "I have no idea what’s going to happen. I know last year they put two corners in (Champ Bailey of the Broncos and New England's Ty Law) and we have four safeties in the running. I’m like you, I think Troy Polamalu will probably be first ballot as well. I’m just trying not to get caught up in it. I’m trying to stay level-headed thinking it’s possible but knowing it’s also not possible.”
After the Steelers’ safety, the other four Hall of Fame modern-era spots are considered wide open heading into election Saturday. The positional breakdown of the 15 modern-era finalists (with, again, five to be elected):
Safeties: 4 (Atwater, LeRoy Butler, Lynch, Polamalu)
Offensive linemen: 3 (Tony Boselli, Alan Faneca, Steve Hutchinson)
Receivers: 3 (Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Reggie Wayne)
Defensive linemen: 2 (Richard Seymour, Bryant Young)
Linebackers: 2 (Sam Mills, Zach Thomas)
Running back: 1 (Edgerrin James)
One receiver figures to be elected. Bruce, a four-time finalist, still ranks No. 5 all-time in receiving yards. Wayne, the second strongest first-ballot candidate behind Polamalu, ranks 10th all-time in both receptions and yards.
There also figures to be an offensive lineman elected as all three finalists have been waiting a while. Faneca is a five-time finalist. Boselli, who was raised in Boulder and graduated from Fairview High School, is a four-time finalist. Hutchinson is a finalist for a third time.
If Polamalu does become a first-ballot Hall of Famer as expected, that should leave Atwater and Lynch competing with five others – Seymour, Young, Mills, Thomas and James – for the final two spots.
Lynch has been a finalist 7 times, easily the most among the 15-player group up for election. Butler is a finalist for the first time so he’s an extreme longshot to come out of this stacked safety position.
Lynch’s chances may also be bolstered by the fact he is currently the general manager of the San Francisco 49ers, who will play the following day in Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs in Miami.
Lynch played 11 of his 15 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he made five Pro Bowls and was a defensive leader of their Super Bowl championship team in 2002. He also made his four seasons with the Broncos count as Lynch was a Pro Bowler all four years in Denver.
However, until his 49ers reached the Super Bowl, Lynch’s HOF candidacy had been losing momentum as he did not make the cut from the final 15 to top 10 last year.
Atwater did make the final 10 last year, just missing out on the cutdown to the elected 5. He has been a unique, late-blooming candidate for Hall of Fame voters.
Despite playing for two Super Bowl champions, delivering his iconic hit on the “Nigerian Nightmare” before a 1990 Monday night audience, and earning eight Pro Bowls in his 10 seasons with the Broncos – and he should have made it in his 1989 rookie season for a ninth berth – Atwater didn’t even make the cut to 25 semifinalists in his early years of Hall of Fame eligibility.
He eventually did become a top 25 semifinalist, and has now made that cut 9 times, but the election Saturday will be only the third time he’s been a top 15 finalist.
Yet, he received such a strong push last year – catapulting Lynch into the top 10 -- that had Polamalu not come on the ballot this year and had Lynch’s 49ers not reached the Super Bowl, Atwater would have been a favorite for election this year.
He still could make it. Looking at this group, it will be easy for the Hall of Fame block of 48 voters to justify the election of two safeties among their modern-era 5. Here's another fun fact that should Atwater's case as the voters gather Saturday to consider the finalists: Only 24 players in NFL history have been to at least 8 Pro Bowls and started in three Super Bowls. Twenty of those 24 are already in the Hall of Fame.
The other four: Polamalu, Atwater, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
“I fall back on I know there are a lot of great players who aren’t on this finalist list,'' Atwater said. "So it’s a blessing to be one of the finalists. If they pick Troy Polamalu and whoever the other four guys are, I’ll still believe they’re all deserving and hopefully I’m one of them.’’
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