Road to Canton (via South Florida)
On the day before Super Bowl XLIV in South Florida next February, the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Board of Selectors will meet to hold its annual selection meeting to elect between four and seven individuals who will comprise the Class of 2010. The 44-person committee will debate the merits of 17 final candidates. Two of those finalists are this year’s senior nominees, former Detroit Lions defensive back Dick LeBeau and Denver Broncos running back Floyd Little.
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Between now and Thanksgiving Weekend, Profootballhof.com will profile the groups of players who comprise this list of nominees for the 2010 class.
THIS WEEK:
Defensive Backs
NEXT WEEK: Wide Receivers & Tight Ends
PREVIOUS WEEKS:
First-Year Eligibles | QBs | Special teams, Coaches & Contributors | Defensive Linemen | Running Backs | Offensive Linemen | Linebackers
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Fourteen of the 131 preliminary nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010 are defensive backs. The list includes six cornerbacks, six safeties, and a pair of players who split time between both of those positions.
The group includes one player who is eligible for the first time. Aeneas Williams earned All-Pro honors four times as a cornerback before moving to safety late in his career. He was named to eight Pro Bowls during his career with the Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals and the St. Louis Rams.
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| Aeneas Williams is eligible for the Hall of Fame for the first time. He played 14 seasons in the NFL with the Cardinals and Rams. |
Two players among the nominees have been semifinalists as well as finalists in previous years. Former Steelers safety Donnie Shell was among the 15 finalists for the Class of 2002 and was also a semifinalist in 2004, the first year that reduction vote was added to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s selection process. Raiders’ cornerback Lester Hayes has been a semifinalist six straight times (2004-09) and was a finalist four consecutive years from 2001 to 2004.
A defensive back has been elected to the Hall of Fame in each of the past three classes of enshrinees. There are a total of 20 defensive backs enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Here’s a closer look at the 14 defensive back nominees under consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010 and how they compare to each other.
CORNERBACK-SAFETY
Carnell Lake – 1989-1998 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1999 Jacksonville Jaguars, 2001 Baltimore Ravens
Aeneas Williams – 1991-2000 Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, 2001-04 St. Louis Rams
CORNERBACK
Eric Allen – 1988-1994 Philadelphia Eagles, 1995-97 New Orleans Saints, 1998-2001 Oakland Raiders
Raymond Clayborn – 1977-1989 New England Patriots, 1990-91 Cleveland Browns
Lester Hayes – 1977-1986 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders
Albert Lewis – 1983-1993 Kansas City Chiefs, 1994-98 Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders
Frank Minnifield – 1984-1992 Cleveland Browns
Louis Wright – 1975-1986 Denver Broncos
SAFETY
Steve Atwater – 1989-1999 Denver Broncos
Joey Browner – 1983-1991 Minnesota Vikings, 1992 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
LeRoy Butler – 1990-2001 Green Bay Packers
Kenny Easley – 1981-87 Seattle Seahawks
Donnie Shell – 1974-1987 Pittsburgh Steelers
Darren Woodson – 1992-2003 Dallas Cowboys
| Defensive Back Nominees for 2010 Election | |||||||||||||||
| Interceptions | Punt Returns | Kickoff Returns | Scoring | ||||||||||||
| Player | Yrs. | No. | Yds. | TD | No. | Yds. | TD | No. | Yds. | TD | TD | PAT | FG | TOT | Other |
| Eric Allen | 14 | 54 | 826 | 8 | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 54 | Sacks: 3.0; Fum Ret: 1 TD |
| Steve Atwater | 11 | 24 | 408 | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | Sacks: 5.0 |
| Joey Browner | 10 | 37 | 465 | 3 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 24 | Sacks: 9.5; Fum Rec: 1 TD |
| LeRoy Butler | 12 | 38 | 533 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | Sacks: 20.5; Fum Ret: 1 TD |
| Raymond Clayborn | 15 | 36 | 555 | 1 | – | – | – | 57 | 1,538 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 20 | Safeties: 1 |
| Kenny Easley | 7 | 32 | 538 | 3 | 26 | 302 | 0 | – | – | – | 3 | 0 | 0 | 18 | Sacks: 8.0 |
| Lester Hayes | 10 | 39 | 572 | 4 | – | – | – | 5 | 57 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 30 | Fumble Ret: 1TD |
| Carnell Lake | 12 | 16 | 161 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 5 | 0 | 0 | 30 | Sacks: 25.0 Fumble Ret: 2TD |
| Albert Lewis | 16 | 42 | 403 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | Fumble Ret: 1TD; Sacks: 12.5; Safety:1 |
| Frank Minnifield | 9 | 20 | 124 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | 0 | 0 | 18 | Blocked Punts TD: 2; Lateral on Punt Return TD: 1 |
| Donnie Shell | 14 | 51 | 490 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | – | – | – | 4 | 0 | 0 | 24 | Lateral on Punt Return TD: 1 |
| Aeneas Williams | 14 | 55 | 807 | 9 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12 | 0 | 0 | 82 | Sacks: 3.0; Fum Rec for TD: 3 |
| Darren Woodson | 12 | 23 | 271 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | Sacks: 11.0 |
| Louis Wright | 12 | 26 | 360 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 4 | 0 | 0 | 24 | Fumble Ret: 2TD; FG Ret: 1TD; Sacks: 2.0 |
| Honors | Championship Teams | ||||||
| Player | Yrs. | All Pro | All Conf. | Pro Bowls | Div. | Conf. | League |
| Eric Allen | 14 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Atwater | 11 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Joey Browner | 10 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| LeRoy Bulter | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Raymond Clayborn | 15 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Kenny Easley | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lester Hayes | 10 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Carnell Lake | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Albert Lewis | 16 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Frank Minnifield | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Donnie Shell | 14 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| Aeneas Williams | 14 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Darren Woodson | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Louis Wright | 12 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
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