Steelers Bettis and Greene Make Final 15 in HOF Ballot

Kevin Greene punished quarterbacks while with the Steelers for three seasons.

The HOF ballot folks announced the final 15 on Friday morning for the 2013 HOF Class.  For the second year in a row, both Kevin Greene and Jerome Bettis have made the cut for the final 15.

Obviously, last year, the two men missed the final selection into Canton itself.  Greene is in his ninth year of eligibility and Bettis is in his third.  Both former LA Rams then Steelers have stiff competition once again this year.  The other finalists include – Larry Allen, Jonathan Ogden, Warren Sapp, Michael Strahan, Eddie DeBartolo Jr., Art Modell, Bill Parcells, Tim Brown, Cris Carter, and Andre Reed.  Many will be split on the three receivers of Brown, Carter, and Reed probably keeping most if not all of them out.  Bettis could actually get in this season, but Greene could be overlooked once again.

With defensemen like Sapp and Strahan, Greene might get passed by for more recent achievements – like Strahan’s single season sack record.  What most forget about Greene is that he is third in all-time sacks.  He practically made the 3-4 defense possible with his style of pass rushing.  I respect Greene immensely, even though he (then linebackers coach for the Packers) fired up Clay Mathews during Super Bowl XLV right before Mathews caused a crucial turnover by knocking the ball loose from Steelers Rashard Mendenhall.

The Class of 2013 will be determined at the Selection Committee’s annual meeting on Saturday, Feb. 2, in New Orleans, La. the day before Super Bowl XLVII. The election results will be announced immediately afterward from the Super Bowl media headquarters.  The Class of 2013 will be officially enshrined on Saturday, Aug. 3.