Seven Legends To Be Inducted Into Hall of Fame
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Michael Strahan, Derrick Brooks, Walter Jones, Andre Reed, Aeneas Williams, Claude Humphrey and Ray Guy will be formally enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame during a ceremony in Canton, Ohio, today.
Strahan downplayed his accolades despite recording double-digit sack totals six times in a nine-season span including a NFL season-record 22 1/2 sacks in 2001. A five-time All-Pro pick, he amassed 141 1/2 sacks in his 15-season career with the New York Giants.
Giants great and Hall of Famer Harry Carson said Strahan is among the top five or six defensive players in team history, but Strahan doesn’t even think he’s as talented as recent and current Giants defensive ends Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and Jason Pierre-Paul.
“These guys are so talented, I don’t know if I would have started (with them),” Strahan said Friday, according to NJ.com. “If you look at Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Jason Pierre-Paul and myself, I’m No. 4.”
It sounds like Straham is just being modest based on his sacks alone.
Highlights of the other inductees:
–Brooks never missed a game during his 14-season career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A six-time All-Pro selection and member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s, he was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2002.
–Jones stepped into a starting role as a rookie and excelled as one of the game’s
finest tackles during his 12 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. A member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s, he was named All-Pro six times and voted to nine Pro Bowls.
–Reed caught 951 passes for 13,198 yards and 87 touchdowns in his 16-season career. He hauled in 50 or more passes in 13 seasons which ranked second at the time of his retirement.
–Williams, a four-time All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowl selection, intercepted 55 passes for 807 yards and nine touchdowns during a 14-season career with the Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams.
–Humphrey was named first-team All-Pro five times and earned six Pro Bowl nods during his career with the Atlanta Falcons (1968-1978) and Philadelphia Eagles (1979-1981). Although not an official statistic at the time, he is credited with 122 career sacks.
–Guy becomes the first full-time punter to earn election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. An impact player throughout his entire 14-season career with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, he was named All-Pro six straight years.
