This really could be the year Andre Reed gets into the Hall of Fame

FROM KEITH GROLLER

To no one's surprise, Andre Reed is again among the 15 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The list of finalists was released on Saturday and the final voting will be conducting on Feb. 4, the day before the Super Bowl, in Indianapolis.

Reed has been chosen as a finalist for the sixth consecutive year and once again people will be comparing the former Dieruff High, Kutztown University and Buffalo Bills star wide receiver with Cris Carter and Tim Brown.

One of the three former wide receivers will likely be selected, but probably not two. Anywhere between four and seven of the 15 finalists will receive the 80 percent support of the voters and get the call to Canton next July.

Last year, no wide receiver was chosen. Reed, Carter and Brown were bumped out by tight end Shannon Sharpe.

This year's list of candidates lacks the star power of recent ballots. There is no Emmitt Smith, no Jerry Rice, no Marshall Faulk or Deion Sanders on the board.

Perhaps the biggest star on the list of the final 15 is former Giants, Jets, Patriots and Cowboys coach Bill Parcells. He's probably the biggest lock.

Although technically a first-year eligible candidate, Parcells has been a finalist twice before (2001, 2002) following his announced retirement as head coach of the New York Jets in 1999. At the time the Hall of Fame By-Laws did not require a coach to be retired the now mandatory five seasons. Parcells returned to coach the Dallas Cowboys in 2003 and the five-year waiting period was in effect when he retired from coaching in 2006

In talking to many of Reed's former teammates and even former Eagles receiver Mike Quick last summer at Reed's golf tournament at Lehigh Country Club, the consensus was that this was going to be Reed's year.

Whether that was just wishful thinking or not, we'll know in about four weeks, but you can bet the entire Reed family will gather at Starters Riverport on Feb. 4 and will be rooting like crazy for a moment that they have waited a very long time for.

They thought he had it last year when Reed made it to the final 10 and no other wide receivers were among those final 10. Then there was bitter disappointment when it didn't happen.

To his credit, Andre, himself, has always confidently believed he will make it and that it would happen when it was meant to happen. My sense is that he thinks this is the year.

When you look at the list, this seems to be his time, although not everyone agrees.

Listening to Mike Francesa on WFAN radio on Sunday morning, he said his five votes would go to Parcells (his good buddy), Curtis Martin, Charles Haley, Dermontti Dawson and former 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo, Jr.

Here is the complete list of the 15 finalists:



Jerome Bettis – Running Back – 1993-95 Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams, 1996-2005 Pittsburgh Steelers

Tim Brown – Wide Receiver/Kick Returner – 1988-2003 Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, 2004 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jack Butler* – Cornerback – 1951-59 Pittsburgh Steelers

Cris Carter – Wide Receiver – 1987-89 Philadelphia Eagles, 1990-2001 Minnesota Vikings, 2002 Miami Dolphins

Dermontti Dawson – Center – 1988-2000 Pittsburgh Steelers

Edward DeBartolo, Jr. – Owner – 1977-2000 San Francisco 49ers

Chris Doleman – Defensive End/Linebacker – 1985-1993, 1999 Minnesota Vikings, 1994-95 Atlanta Falcons, 1996-98 San Francisco 49ers

Kevin Greene – Linebacker/Defensive End – 1985-1992 Los Angeles Rams, 1993-95 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1996, 1998-99 Carolina Panthers, 1997 San Francisco 49ers

Charles Haley – Defensive End/Linebacker – 1986-1991, 1999 San Francisco 49ers, 1992-96 Dallas Cowboys

Cortez Kennedy – Defensive Tackle – 1990-2000 Seattle Seahawks

Curtis Martin – Running Back – 1995-97 New England Patriots, 1998-2005 New York Jets

Bill Parcells – Coach – 1983-1990 New York Giants, 1993-96 New England Patriots, 1997-99 New York Jets, 2003-06 Dallas Cowboys

Andre Reed – Wide Receiver – 1985-1999 Buffalo Bills, 2000 Washington Redskins

Willie Roaf – Tackle – 1993-2001 New Orleans Saints, 2002-05 Kansas City Chiefs

Will Shields – Guard – 1993-2006 Kansas City Chiefs

Dick Stanfel* – Guard – 1952-55 Detroit Lions, 1956-58 Washington Redskins

Aeneas Williams – Cornerback/Safety – 1991-2000 Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, 2001-04 St. Louis Rams

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