LogFAQs > #976902132

Haden - Yes

I'm not expecting him to get in. I don't have a statistical argument for him as is the case for most CBs. I do have a speculative one though. The Dolphins lost the Super Bowl for the third time in as many tries. Their legion of boom then evaporated with CBs Antoine Winfield and Chris McAllister as well as SS Shaun Williams all retiring. That left them with FS Ed Reed (in what would turn out to be his final season maybe) and backups CB Antonio Cromartie and SS Antoine Bethea being elevated to starters. The Seahawks lured away RFA DT Matt Kroul and with the pick the Dolphins received, they selected Haden in what would start a string of absolutely filthy secondaries that included multiple seasons where they allowed under 100 passing yards a game. I attribute the shutdown to Haden more than any other starter in that secondary (FS Tony Jefferson would succeed Ed Reed and CB#2 would eventually be a revolving door). I didn't put Cromartie on the ballot, and when Bethea hangs up his cleats, I'm not sure if he will be on the ballot, but I just really feel that Haden has been one of if not the most impactful CB in our league's history. The fact he was able to maintain a 90+ rating to the very end makes me think that I'm right.

Smith - Yes

Forget the rings, forget the Pro Bowls, and forget helping to set elite Ds on multiple teams, the combination of which are Hall of Fame worthy, and just look at that per 16 game ridiculous line for a FS. Some other FSs will be retiring in the next few seasons with some comparable stats in some areas, but that entire line will be hard to match up to.

Browning - No

I don't know what it is for all these SSs to have late career renaissances where they end being at or near the top of their field. Browning's case is a bit more curious because he was excellent in INTs and FRs and a total non-factor sacking and forcing fumbles. While I don't think he deserved them all, he did do something that many other SS candidates haven't done, and that is win three DB of the Year awards (all in the final four seasons of his career). He was both the Madden and User pick only one of those seasons. The other two he was the Madden pick while the users went in another direction. Personally, he doesn't jump out to me, but I figured that I had to include him for winning a position-specific award three times. He was part of the SS factory the Broncos had with their backups that includes high-end active players in Scott Morris and Derek Linde.

Julmiste - No

An unheralded and underrated career Julmiste had. Julmiste entered the league as a 2nd round backup. You know how many non-first round DEs from the offensive heyday of this project that started as backups and ended up having long productive, borderline Hall of Fame careers? Cordero Moore, Kroy Biermann, Charles Johnson, and maybe that's it? The list is very short. Julmiste's averages are skewed by his backup status his rookie and final seasons where the combined 32 games resulted in 10 tackles and nothing else. In my heart he's a hall of famer, but I know that he ultimately falls just short. He and fellow retiree Doug Worthington teamed up to formed one of the low-key best DE tandems for over a decade in Atlanta.

Curry - No

All of the OLB candidates (Curry, Tufts, and Bonds) were fringe candidates that I was likely going to say no to, but Curry's averages looked the best to me with him only playing 11 seasons. He was an across the board contributor while never being "the guy" on some rough Browns and underperforming Seahawks defenses, but the converted MLB had great totals for only playing 11 seasons. I think that they fall short of Hall of Fame material, but I wanted to add some positional variety, and there's someone or people who might think that he is Hall-of-Fame worthy.