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I will say this – perhaps, but definitely not first ballot.
First of all, he should never have made nine Pro Bowls – the voting process is flawed, and neither year with the Jets was Pro Bowl quality. He was solid, but not a Pro Bowler with Gang Green.
He did a lot of good things for the Jets. First off, he did an amazing job mentoring Nick and Brick, playing next to both of them. He also helped toughen up the Jets line as a whole.
Also, he did a terrific job run blocking with the Jets. He’s was a mauler.
But with that being said, he was wildly inconsistent as a pass protector, and had major issues with younger, quicker defense tackles, especially two in the Jets division – Buffalo’s Kyle Williams and Miami’s Randy Starks.
Considering how much he struggled in pass protection, how can you say he’s a lock for the Hall of Fame?
And don’t think this issue started with the Jets.
Maybe one day, but this one should lead to some heated debates in the Hall of Fame committee room.
Remember, the Jets let him go because they thought his game had slipped and wasn’t worth the money.
Pittsburgh let him walk in free agency because they felt he wasn’t worth the money he was demanding.
To me, if Faneca gets in, then it’s time to let Miami’s Bob Kuechenberg into Canton.
Faneca, who is a heck of a guy (which will help him with the writers on the committee, when it really shouldn’t), is a border line candidate . . .
I’m not that into rankings. I think they are a waste of time. So the Top 100 player list on NFL Network means nothing to me. It’s just filler during a downtime in the off-season and with a lockout.
As for ESPN’s ranking the owners, that is an absolute joke.
The writers voting on this, have very little knowledge of the inner workings of NFL organizations.
In other words, they don’t have enough information to analyze these guys.
Woody Johnson was ranked tenth.
I’m not going to be a hypocrite and say whether this is accurate or not, since I think these kind of rankings are mindless and mental mast (let me stop myself).
But what is my take on Johnson, who I have covered since the day he arrived in 2000?
For the most part, I think he’s a good owner. The Jets complex is spectacular – fields so flat you can cut a diamond on them (flat fields prevent injuries), state of the art training and weigh rooms and the players get three meals a day.
Johnson also clearly made a very good hirer, grabbing Rex Ryan when others shied away.
However, my one major issue with the Jets owner are ticket prices.
Almost every year he’s been owner, he’s raised prices.
I’m not comfortable with that. And then you throw in the PSL’s on top of that – Jets fans pay very, very high prices to see this team play.
So when people praise Woody for generosity, I have to then pass that praise over to the fans – they are making his generosity possible . . .
The photo above is of Al Toon and his son Nick, an NFL prospect out of the University of Wisconsin (Al’s alma mater). I have nothing to write about them right now. I just thought it was a good picture.
