![]() He won the NFL rushing title in 19, no small thing given Manning was revving up his career at the time. James finished with more than 3,300 yards receiving and more than 12,000 yards rushing. “Started With Gold Teeth, Ended With a Gold Jacket,” James posted on social media after receiving the word. James also played three seasons with the Cardinals and a half-year with the Seahawks. A flashy first-round draft pick out of Miami, James made a name for himself with his ability to carve out room on the ground while playing in Peyton Manning's offense with the Colts from 1999-2005. ![]() James was a bastion of versatility and durability. Though receivers were mostly at risk, it was his shoulder-to-shoulder disintegration of 250-pound Chiefs running back Christian Okyoe, “The Nigerian Nightmare,” while mic'd up on “Monday Night Football” in 1990 that truly put Atwater on the map. One irony of Atwater's late-recognized greatness is that many of his whiplash-inducing hits would be illegal in today's NFL. I’m extremely honored to go in with all these men.”Ī two-time All-Pro who won two Super Bowls, Atwater prowled the backfield and delivered vicious hits to anyone coming across. (An honor many in Denver believe should belong to Orange Crush linebacker Randy Gradishar.)Ītwater said when he got the much-anticipated knock on his hotel door "it was pretty obvious it wasn’t the maid so I was pretty excited. and became the first home-grown Broncos defender to join the hall. “I’ve written the speech the past few years in the shower and it’ll really be about the people who helped me get here,” Hutchinson said.Ītwater made it - in his 16th year of eligibility, no less. He'd been a finalist in all three years since becoming eligible and broke through in this, a class that didn't include any slam dunks - or a single quarterback among the list of finalists. It was Steve Hutchinson, who played guard for the Seahawks, Vikings and Titans over a 12-year career. The Jaguars are still without a player in the hall.Īn offensive lineman did make it, though. Neither did Tony Boselli, the dominant Jaguars offensive lineman whose career lasted only 91 games because of shoulder injuries. Lynch, in Miami this week for the Super Bowl as GM of the 49ers, was also among the 15 finalists whose resumes were debated and discussed throughout the day by the panel of four dozen voters. “He's waking people up to the impact a safety can have in today's game,” another safety, John Lynch, said in an interview while Polamalu was in his prime. Though game-changing safeties were nothing new to the league, Polamalu could line up near the linebackers, or the defensive linemen, or deep in the backfield, and wreck a game plan from any of those spots. "It’s a huge blessing to go in with Coach Cowher and a tremendous honor to go in with Donnie Shell because the Steelers’ defenses in the ‘70s laid our foundation,” Polamalu said. Polamalu will go in the same year as Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher and defensive back Donnie Shell, each of whom were voted in as part of the hall's special centennial class designed to celebrate the NFL"s 100th year. His rambling, cross-the-field fourth-quarter pick-six against Joe Flacco in the 2008 AFC title game cemented the win and was a highlight of what might have been his best season he had seven interceptions that year and the Steelers won the Super Bowl. Selected in his first year of eligibility, Polamalu was a four-time All-Pro, was voted to eight Pro Bowls and finished with two Super Bowl rings in three trips.
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