INDIANAPOLIS -- For the second straight year, former Jets great Curtis Martin is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A 44-member selection panel, here at the Super Bowl, will vote on Saturday and the results will be announced Saturday at 5:30 p.m. on the NFL Network.
This is highly unscientific, but the vibe I get from several voters is that Martin has an excellent chance of making the Hall this time. Ditto, former Steelers C Dermontti Dawson.
I interviewed to Hall-of-Famer RB Floyd Little the other day for a story about Tom Coughlin and his Syracuse roots, and we got around to talking about Martin's candidacy. Little believes Martin, the fourth all-time leading rusher, is worthy of Canton.
"He’s a guy I’ve admired for many, many years," Little said. "He’s had such a great career. The problem is, he’s fallen in with other good running backs. He comes up against (Jerome) Bettis, who won a Super Bowl. It seems like guys who won a Super Bowl get priority. I know Curtis very well ... I like Curtis. As a player, he’s done a lot. He’s certainly Hall-of-Fame worthy, but it’s not my call."
Former Giants and Jets coach Bill Parcells also is a finalist. I've heard a lot of positive feedback from voters about Parcells, but there appears to be less certainty about his chances than Martin.
Here are the other finalists:
RB Jerome Bettis
WR Tim Brown
CB Jack Butler
WR Cris Carter
Owner Edward DeBartolo, Jr.
DE Chris Doleman
LB Kevin Greene
LB Charles Haley
DT Cortez Kennedy
WR Andre Reed
OT Willie Roaf
G Will Shields
G Dick Stanfel
CB Aeneas Williams