“It taught me how to be a man, how to get up, how to live in pain,” said Deion Sanders on what it the game of football taught him. “Taught me so much about people, timing, focus, dedication, submitting oneself, sacrificing.”

“When people told me I’d never make it,” said Shannon Sharpe, “I listened to the one person who said I could — me.”

Marshall Faulk summed up the 2011 Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremony well: “I am glad to be a part of it. This is football heaven.”

The others entering football heaven on Saturday were Richard Dent, Ed Sabol, Les Richter and Chris Hanburger.

Deion Sanders - Dallas Cowboys (Image: TSN.ca)

Post from: EveryJoe

Jim Brown is the big guy on the right

Image details: Jim Brown On The Bench served by picapp.com

1. JIM BROWN

2. BARRY SANDERS

3. WALTER PAYTON

4. EMMITT SMITH

5. GALE SAYERS

6. LADAINIAN TOMLINSON

7. MARSHALL FAULK

8. O.J. SIMPSON

9. LENNY MOORE

10. ERIC DICKERSON

source

Here is a list of the evaluators for ESPN

By the time all was said and done, Don Shula, Marv Levy, Dan Reeves, Robert Smith, Jerry Richardson, Floyd Reese, Jack Bushofsky and Emmitt Thomas had thrown around nearly four dozen names, debated the merits of runners who had seemed flawless when they entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame and helped pare a list to include only the most elite of the elite.

Jim Brown

Hey, Jim Brown was 6’2″ tall and 232 pounds in an era where a lot of linemen weren’t any bigger. He was fast and elusive. Brown only played for 9 years, but dominated all nine. Think of it, 12,000 yards in his career and they only played a 12 game season!

Barry Sanders

The Barry played for my hapless Lions. Oddly coaches used to pull him near the goal line, because of his small stature. Big mistake. Barry was the Lions for his entire career as they rarely surrounded him with any talent. Barry did not even have a good line in front of him. He was so fun to watch.

Walter Payton and Gale Sayers

The two great Chicago Bears blend in my memory. With power, grace, speed, and elusiveness, it seemed the Chicago Bears had great running backs forever.

Emmitt Smith

Dallas would usually give Emmitt a lead fullback block into a huge offensive line. Emmitt had the knack of making one cut off of the block and accelerating for max yards.

Who is in your top 10?

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Post from: EveryJoe

Jon Kitna stops to ask for Mike Martz to come back

Lions fans use the “Fire someone” slogan a lot. We feel the need to fire a lot of Lions employees.

Let’s see, there is the ever popular however unlikely Fire Bill Ford Sr. We expect that one to soon turn into the Fire Bill Ford Jr. Those are the owners and they sell a lot of Ford trucks during NFL games.

Then there is the standard that we all live and die by, the Fire Matt Millen. The 7 victories this year is his high as a GM.

Now we have a new one in Fire Mike Martz! Mike is the offensive coordinator that does not believe in the run.

Oh, but we should not chant that one, because journeyman quarterback and all around good guy Jon Kitna says we need to bring Mike Martz back.

“We have a great relationship,” Kitna said when asked about Martz’s future. “He’s somebody that we would love to have here. I understand he’s going to try to pursue his dreams, too.

“If that’s the case, so be it. I think it would be a mistake to let him go involuntarily.” source

But there are no excuses in the NFL. It is performance that counts and what have you done for me lately.

The Lions are 30th in the league rushing and that does not get it done no matter how you look at it. Last year they were 32nd. Hey, improvement! Hmm, you wonder what Kevin Jones, the injured running back thinks? He barely played enough to get injured.

The Lions also led the league in getting sacked for the second year in a row, often putting the team in third and longs, second and longs, and since they rarely run the ball, first and longs. You don’t win with a lot of first and longs.

The passing game has improved greatly under Martz compared to the Wet Toast Offense they ran under previous coaching regimes, but the Lions have not achieved the success Martz had in St. Louis, where he was offensive coordinator in 1999 and coach from 2000-05.

The Lions have failed to build a running game, and there have been ongoing criticisms Martz has been too quick to abandon the running attack in several games.

Martz has one more year left on his contract, at a salary of about $2 million.

There has been speculation Sunday’s season-ending game in Green Bay will be Martz’s last with the Lions

When it clicks the offense looks great, but it has turnover problems, red zone problems, and just plain problems. You can’t just pass all the time. This offense would not work in the NFL if the Lions had Marshall Faulk and Kurt Warner in their prime.

It is time to let Mike Martz go.

NFL Football Fan Question Has the Greatest Show on Turf seen its day?

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Post from: EveryJoe