http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolp...h-thomas-jimmy-johnson-nominated-for-hof.html Congrat's I do think Seau gets in before Thomas. Hopefully Vincent and Johnson get in.
When Zach Thomas gets inducted I'm going to Canton to see it live. I grew up with him. What a great player and what great heart. Same applies to Jason Taylor.
Really hoping Zach gets in 1st ballot. It's going to be an absolute travesty if he doesn't, IMO. There's not a LB in Canton who produced more than Zach Thomas. Period. Good human being too. A rarity it would seem. I could care less about Jimmy Johnson. He's not getting in for anything he accomplished in Miami... Although he did give us Zach and company.
no way Zach gets in on 1st ballot, but hopefully he does get in. I think the bolded part is a bit of a overstatement.
I would be surprised if Zach gets in on the first ballot but I do think eventually he will get in, it will be interesting to see how many votes he gets. No doubt he deserves it but voters are idiots at times.
If ZT isn't a first ballot HOF guy noone is. I understand he may not make it in tge first time but he deserves it
I completely agree that Zach belongs in the HOF. However, the national media often does not, and the media determines who gets in. Great as he was, Zach was and is often overlooked. I hope he makes it in eventually.
when is Jason eligible? I can see both of them going in together. this year's class may be too strong for Zach to make it..
ZT never got the respect or praise he deserved. Ray Lewis, Derrick Brooks and Brian Urlacher were always considered the high class LBs....even though ZT consistently matched and or outproduced them, with less natural gifts.
http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/positions.aspx 25 LB's currently in the HOF. Who's more productive than Zach Thomas?
It is more about perception rather than production. One of the reasons why Tim Brown isn't in the Hall of Fame. I think Zach is a hall of famer, however it wouldn't surprise me if he doesn't make it for 5 or more years.
If you look at MLBs listed, there are like 4-5 in the hall, and they are all good ones. Not sure Zach rises to that level, or that he will get a better chance later. JJ is in.
Zach Thomas has a very strong case. I think stronger than people realize. He's a 7-time Pro Bowler and a 5-time 1st Team All Pro. The latter is a BIG deal. You won't find many players in the entire NFL's history that have been voted 1st Team All Pro five or more times. He was also 2nd Team All Pro an additional two times and was voted to the 2000's All Decade Team. I mean, if you're All Decade, that's pretty much IMO an acknowledgment that you're a Hall of Fame player.
When I looked up the stats to see if Zach Thomas should be a Hall of Fame player, I was surprised by the 5-time 1st Team All-Pro. Mostly because it leads the Miami Dolphins. Marino had it 3 times.
It would be ironic if all of those accolades I just described, which is pretty rare in a player, get Zach into the HOF on the first ballot and it's his own fans that end up looking like they're short-changing him by assuming he's going to have a difficult time. I don't know if he'll get in or not but he certainly deserves it. As much as Urlacher does.
Often you will find that the most obvious common sense things are not so common. Sad but true. Hopefully I'm proven wrong. On a perspective outside of being a dolphins fan he deserves it and that in itself should say a lot to the voters.
Just remember that this isn't a vote by a bunch of fans doing some online polls and scanning old memories to try and figure if Zach Thomas was good enough to deserve it. This will be a vote by many of the same people that made him All Decade, that made him a 7-Time All Pro (5-time 1st Team). It would not surprise me at all if he got in on the first ballot.
Absolutely. And he got those first team All Pro awards during a time that guys like Urlacher, Seau, and Lewis were all playing the same position. Zach Thomas is a Hall of Famer, folks. He probably isn't going to be a first ballot entry, but his resume belongs. Look at the other 2 most recent HoF inductees... Tippett and Jackson... Zach's resume is worthy.
The 2013 finalists that are still on the list are: Morten Andersen, Tony Dungy, Jon Lynch, Kevin Greene, Charles Haley, Will Shields, Jerome Bettis, Marvin Harrison, Tim Brown. The newly eligible players are: Jason Elam, Shawn Springs, Junior Seau, Jevon Kearse, Jon Jansen, Kevin Mawae, Orlando Pace, Chris Samuels, Tra Thomas, Edgerrin James, Jamal Lewis, Torry Holt and Kurt Warner. Think of those two groups as being the primary impediments to Zach's getting in. The newbies that could be up for entry on 1st ballot in my opinion are Junior Seau and either Kevin Mawae or Orlando Pace. It should be noted that Edgerrin James, Jamal Lewis, Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt, Kevin Mawae, Orlando Pace and Will Shields all join Zach Thomas on the 2000's All Decade Team. Of them, I don't believe Jamal Lewis is a serious contender to go ahead of Zach Thomas, due to some of the legal trouble he got in during his NFL career. And Edgerrin James would be a stretch to go ahead of Thomas I think as well. This would be my ranking of the guys that either were finalists last year, or are new this year and constitute significant competition for Zach: Junior Seau: 12-time Pro Bowl, 8-time All Pro 1st Team, 2-time All Pro 2nd Team, 1990's All Decade Will Shields: 12-time Pro Bowl, 7-time All Pro, 2000's All Decade Kevin Greene: 5-time Pro Bowl, 3-time All Pro, 1990's All Decade Kevin Mawae: 8-time Pro Bowl, 8-time All Pro, 2000's All Decade Orlando Pace: 7-time Pro Bowl, 5-time All Pro, 2000's All Decade Marvin Harrison: 8-time Pro Bowl, 3-time All Pro 1st Team, 5-time All Pro 2nd Team, 2000's All Decade (legal issues) Tim Brown: 9-time Pro Bowl, 1-time All Pro, 1990's All Decade Charles Haley: 5-time Pro Bowl, 2-time All Pro, 5-time Super Bowl Champ (bad reputation) Torry Holt: 7-time Pro Bowl, 1-time All Pro, 2000's All Decade John Lynch: 9-time Pro Bowl, 4-time All Pro Jerome Bettis: 6-time Pro Bowl, 2-time All Pro Edgerrin James: 4-time Pro Bowl, 1-time All Pro 1st Team, 2-time All Pro 2nd Team, 2000's All Decade Zach Thomas: 7-time Pro Bowl, 5-time All Pro 1st Team, 2-time All Pro 2nd Team, 2000's All Decade
I see about five, maybe six guys that NEED to go in before Zach Thomas goes in. So that could mean his odds are stacked this year.
Zach deserves in, but will probably have to wait. Although a league with the image issues they have currently, would be wise to take into consideration the character of Zach Thomas and how he represented himself, his teams and the league as a whole.
As far as JJ I love him. Canes coach, Dolphins coach...but lets be honest he's not going into the HOF for gis time with us
I'm not going to have this debate over statistics. One word: IMPACT. you are only looking through your homer dolphins glasses. Seau, Ray Lewis, Derrick Brooks and Brian Urlacher all led their defenses to the superbowl. I'd bet damn good money that none of the HOF voters would vote Zach THomas ahead of any of those 4 LBs. and that's just recent history. you really think any HOF voter thinks Zach is better than Singletary, Lawrence Taylor, Nitschke or Lambert? - again, all led their defenses to the Super Bowl. The only thing I will say is that there several on that list that I wouldn't consider as good as Zach Thomas (Tippett is a joke) and I do believe he deserves to be in there.
I disagreee simply because there is no such thing as leading your defense to the superbowl in my eyes. You replace Urlacher with ZT and those Bear defenses are just as potent.
I always thought a good comparison for Zach Thomas was Harry Carson, as soon as Carson got in I knew a case could then be made for Zach.
Bout time for ZT....JJ...meh...he had an impact on the game when he was coaching, but he left no legacy behind him...
Seau, Shields, Pace, Mawae, Haley and Lynch are the ones that NEED to be in immediately. ZT belongs in, eventually. The problem I have with ZT, isnt his resume. Its the fact he couldnt elevate the team in to at least contender status. That problem exists for JT as well. Right or wrong, Seau, Ray Lewis, Urlacher were viewed as inspiring leaders that elevated their team and their defense. They made at least 1 great run. Most had a few great runs in the playoffs. Hell of a player though. 3rd, maybe 2nd time through ZT will be in imo.
