As for my hopefully less detailed than normal public ballot:
HB Doug Martin -
Yes
- He's certainly on the Mt. Rushmore of B8NFLL HBs. Looking beyond the incredible career totals in "only" 11 seasons are the insane per 16 game averages. Nearly 1700 rushing yards a season. What the hell is that!?
HB Dexter McCluster -
Yes
- It's tough being on the same ballot as an all-timer like Martin, but even when comparing the two, McCluster's body of work and efficiency looks remarkable. Like Martin, McCluster never had a YPC under 4.1 in a season
C Andy Levitre -
Yes
- High blocks, fantastic block:sack ratio for an interior OL, and being almost inarguably the most important OL for one of the more prolific running attacks during his time in Pittsburgh make this a pretty easy choice for me.
C Max Unger -
No
- His ratio look great but his overall body of work and perceived impact are not special enough to separate himself from borderline status.
LG Willie Colon -
Yes
- the ratio is good but not great, so his inclusion on the ballot and my vote might seem odd, but there's a reason why he was so decorated with the six Pro Bowls. His stretch with the Falcons was phenomenal. It's weird that he didn't work out with the 49ers, but in seven seasons with the Falcons, he was invited to six Pro Bowls with a line of 390 blocks vs 54 sacks allowed or 7.2 blocks per sack (aka what Levitre averaged). 7 straight years of dominance is worthy to me.
MLB James Laurinaitis -
Yes
- If he didn't lose his job in the preseason last season, his stats and distance from the rest of the pack would be even greater (at least in tackles and FFs). He may not have been decorated as his level of player deserved, but he was one of the league's best against the run every year, and he was deceptively very disruptive with his 49 combined FFs + FRs. If that tackle record is ever going to fall, it won't be for a long time.
MLB Korey Norton -
Yes
- Him being a consistent menace in run-stopping and pass-rushing while being the face of the defense pretty much seals his candidacy. 1313 tackles and 88 sacks? Good lord. David Harris is right up there with him in those two categories, but Harris will have played two more seasons, so Norton's per 16 averages will still look the most insane.
MLB Bryan Vinson -
No
- Vinson was once Norton's side buddy in that 3-4 San Fran D. He basically got better in each of his stops, even if his time in Detroit was weird with all the D alignment changes and injuries. Even though he actually won a Def Player of the Year award, his inconsistency at one of the more consistent positions in the game is part of the reason I'm saying no.
MLB Sam Crooks -
Yes
- I know that the stats will ultimately have him fall short of the Hall. I will stand in his corner alone as beliving that he was one of the most impactful MLBs during his stay in the league. The journeyman made each of his teams' Ds better, and the team's who let him enter into free agency paid for it by seeing immediate defensive regression (see Steelers last season).
MLB Rolando McClain -
No
- At his height, he was a very productive and disruptive player, but he was jerked around a lot with defensive alignments, and his playmaking was sapped in his final seasons.
LOLB Cedric Young -
No
- Originally a (backup) MLB before retirements and cap constraints led to a move to the outside and a starting gig, the former 105th overall pick had a great career with the only team he's ever played for and was very important for the Ravens to continue their winning ways with all the player movement on both sides of the ball, but I just don't see him as a Hall of Famer.
ROLB Sean Spence -
No
- An interesting late-bloomer who went from being an adequate starter to a high-end OLB in his 30s. I just don't think that he ultimately had the body of work.
RE Cordero Moore -
Yes
- It's almost unheard of for a DE to be a backup for three seasons and then become a starter. I would say that it's unprecedented in B8NFLL for such a player to end up with over 100 career sacks. If the per 16 game figures were to account for that, would he average nearly 9 sacks a season? He wasn't all sacks though. He was an above-average edge against the run and had more FFs than any DL, who played last season, at the time of his retirement. The three years then starter then 100 sacks narrative is good enough for me though.
DT DeMarcus Granger -
No
- #1 overall picks have had a mixed history, but Granger might be the first one to have a legitimate case for the Hall of Fame (I'm not fact-checking that). Some of his averages are similar to some DL that we did elect to the hall, but I don't think he was quite as impactful as them.
FS Earl Thomas -
Yes
- Thomas however is a former #1 overall pick who does check off all the boxes. DBs can be hard to evaluate, especially non-SSs since SSs tend to soak up the stat collecting. Seeing Thomas' rankings across the board though do paint an excellent picture of just how good he was. He was also instrumental into transforming the D into the elite unit it is today.
KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy