I can get behind the idea of Randy Gradishar being in as well as Gary Zimmerman, and I can also potentially see a case for Steve Atwater. They’re all eligible as regular candidates, though this is Gradishar’s last year as such.

Karl Mecklenberg however is caught in a LB numbers crunch with other guys from his time including Andre Tippett, Chris Spielman, Clay Matthews, Cornelius Bennett, Charles Haley (also DE), Wilbur Marshall, Sam Mills, Rickey Jackson, and Kevin Greene. All have anywhere from 1-3 all pro selections and 3 to 6 pro bowls. The only meaningful thing I see separating them from each other are the appearances of Tippett, Greene, and Bennett on all decade teams. Distinguishing between them in HoF worth doesn’t strike me as easy, and I’m not sure why Mecklenberg is more deserving than these other folks.

And I have no problem at all with the three ’70′s St. Louis Cardinals being in. Can anyone make a case for why Dan Dierdorf, Roger Wehrli, and Jackie Smith don’t belong in? I don’t see any good argument against them, and besides, running down guys who are in strikes me as being bad form and bad karma.

But I do think the two seniors nominees this time around are really, really bad ones:

1. Marshall Goldberg played 8 years, about half of it during WWII against a depleted talent pool. And even then, his numbers look like Hall of the Very Good, and that is being really charitable. He never was a first team all pro and is not on any all decade teams (there was no pro bowl back then). And he had already come up as a Seniors candidate in 1979 and was voted down. Why choose him when they could have picked 40s linemen Al Wistert or Riley Matheson, both named to several all pro teams? Or 20s lineman Duke Slater, a fine player whose career was hurt as badly by racism as that of Fritz Pollard? Or 20s end Lavie Dilweg? Or if they needed a back, why not Dilweg’s teammate Verne Lewellen? Awful, awful choice, if you ask me.

2. please tell me why Emmitt Thomas was chosen ahead of other DBs who are equally or more deserving, including (deep breath) Cliff Harris, Johnny Robinson, Lemar Parrish, Bobby Dillon, Bob Boyd, Abe Woodson, Jack Butler, and Jim Patton. Sure, Thomas has lots of interceptions — but so do Robinson and Boyd. Thomas was an all pro twice, but except for Robinson, who spent almost all his career in the AFL, every one of these players made more such teams: Parrish and Butler 3, Boyd, Harris, and Woodson 4, Patton and Dillon 5. If you compare pro bowl appearances (or AFL equivalents), Thomas has 5 but so do Woodson and Patton, while Harris has 6, Robinson has 7, and Parrish 8. Dillon has 4. Butler also has 4 and Boyd only 2, but both are on their respective all-decade teams. And Thomas had a reputation for being a big on-field risk taker, one who sometimes got the pick but also got torched for TDs and big gainers. Hard to see this choice, either.

I certainly won’t gripe if neither gets elected. I don’t think they belong at all.

So don’t fret Andrew. We know what we know, and that includes knowing Art Monk is a class act, and Bronco’s players played for the best club and fans in the world.