Carter, Doleman come up short in Hall of Fame meeting

DALLAS -- For the first time in three years, the Vikings will not send anyone to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Former receiver Cris Carter and defensive end Chris Doleman were among the first five players cut during a 7-hour, 26-minute Hall of Fame selection committee meeting at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel in Dallas, site of Sunday's Super Bowl XLV. The other three early cuts were defensive end Charles Haley and receiver Tim Brown.

The 10 remaining modern-era finalists were center Dermontti Dawson, defensive end Richard Dent, running back Marshall Faulk, defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy, running back Curtis Martin, receiver Andre Reed, offensive tackle Willie Roaf, NFL Films founder Ed Sabol, cornerback Deion Sanders and tight end Shannon Sharpe.

Of those 10, five players were then eliminted in the second cutdown by the committee's 44 members. Eliminated were Dawson, Kennedy, Martin, Reed and Roaf.

The five remaining candidates -- Dent, Faulk, Sabol, Sanders and Sharpe -- were then voted on, yes or no, by the members. Candidates needed at least 80 percent, or 36 votes, to be selected.

Earlier, the committee considered two Seniors' Committee candidates separately. There were former Redskins linebacker Chris Hanburger and former Rams linebacker Les Richter. They also needed at least 80 percent to be selected.

THE CLASS OF 2011 ended up being: Dent, Faulk, Hanburger, Richter, Sabol, Sanders and Sharpe.

I can say there was, like last year, a lengthy discussion overall on the receivers and how Carter, Brown and Reed compared with each other in a number of ways, including postseason play. There also was much discussion about what in fact constitutes a Hall of Fame receiver when one isn't a slam-dunk pick like Jerry Rice was last year.

Let's just say the logjam at receiver continues and is sure to resurface in 2012 in Indianapolis.

With Reed making it to the final 10 for the second consecutive year -- Carter made the final 10 two years ago -- it's safe to assume that more members of the committee were looking for signature postseason moments rather than statistics. Reed has the postseason moments, while Carter dominates statistically. Carter has 130 touchdowns, while Brown (100) and Reed (87) trail.

As for Doleman, I believe he was hurt by being a finalist for the first year. Amazingly, he's been eligible for six years, but this is the first time he was a finalist. The sentiment in the room for defensive linemen leaned toward Dent, who was making his seventh appearance as a finalist.

The good news for Carter and Doleman is next year's group of first-year candidates doesn't appear particularly strong. Bill Parcells is eligible and is a strong candidate, but the other bigger names include Bill Cowher, Marty Schottenheimer, Tiki Barber, Will Shields and Corey Dillon.

The most controversial discussion today centered on whether Sabol, the NFL Films founder, should be considered alongside players. Under current bylaws, "contributors," as Sabol was considered, are voted on alongside the modern players and coaches. Only the two Seniors candidates are considered separately.

Ultimately, enough of the voters determined that Sabol's work in telling and preserving the story and history of the NFL was important enough to make the final five ahead of 10 players who were cut.

Carter and Doleman were caught up in the numbers despite the fact they were among the very best at their positions statistically when they retired. When Carter retired, he was second in receptions (1,101) and touchdown receptions (130). Yet he came up short for the fourth time as a finalist.