Left tackle Orlando Pace of the formerly St. Louis Rams and defensive end/linebacker Kevin Greene who played in Los Angeles with the Rams were voted into the Pro Bowl Hall of Fame class of 2016. Of the Rams that did not get in were Steve Atwater and Kurt Warner.
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The 2016 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
Warner made the final 10 for the second year in a row according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, but will have to wait yet another year. Making the final ten in back to back years is a good sign. While it is disappointing that he didnt get in, but his time is coming.
The good news is, the Rams will be represented in Canton this year by Pace and Greene. Pace played 12 years with the Rams where he went to seven Pro Bowls and helped protect the quarterback in an offense that finished in the top 10 seven times and led the league in total yards, passing yards and points three straight seasons. He had five All-Pro honors and landed a spot on the second team of the NFL’s 2000s All-Decade team. Without Pace on the blindside, there is arguably no greatest show on turf.
Greene on the other hand played for four teams over his 15-year career, the first eight with the Rams in LA from 1985-92. He made five Pro Bowls and finished with 160 career sacks, which ranks third in NFL history.
Joining Pace and Green in the Class of 2016 include quarterback Brett Favre, wide receiver Marvin Harrison, coach Tony Dungy, Former San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr.,quarterback Ken Stanfel and guard Dick Stanfel.
Among those inducted there aren’t many surprises or controversies. Terrell Owens, Alan Faneca, John Lynch, and Terrell Davis include finalists who were not inducted in. There had been some controversies with Owens possibly leapfrogging Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt into the Hall of Fame, but that wasn’t the case.
Two former Rams have made the final cut for the NFL Hall of Fame's 2016 class. The 2016 NFL Hall of Fame class has been set, and it includes two former Rams:
OT Orlando Pace
Pace makes it the second Hall of Famer from the Greatest Show on Turf following Marshall Faulk's induction in 2011. A seven-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro first team member (five times overall) following being selected first overall in the 1997 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, Pace goes down as one of the best offensive tackles in collegiate and NFL history without argument.
Greatest Show on Turf celebrate offensive tackle Orlando Pace #GSOT @ProFootballHOF | https://t.co/KoVDKY3Zmg pic.twitter.com/Z1HfrZrRh1
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) February 7, 2016
DE/OLB Kevin Greene
Greene was a fifth-round pick in the 1985 NFL Draft out of Auburn who played with the Rams for the first eight years of his 15-year career.
He spent the first three years at defensive end before a move to OLB under DC Fritz Shurmur (whose nephew Pat would take the offensive coordinator reins for two years under HC Steve Spagnuolo in 2009 and 2010) exacerbated his career.
In that first year at OLB, Greene jumped up to 16.5 sacks from 6.5 the year prior. It would be the first of Greene's 10 seasons with 10 or more sacks, finishing with 160 career sacks, good for third all-time behind only Hall of Famers Bruce Smith and Reggie White.
Congrats Kevin Greene on being inducted into the @ProFootballHOF! pic.twitter.com/5xZP1BUaxU
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) February 7, 2016
The other members of the NFL's 2016 Hall of Fame class include (in alphabetical order):
Tony Dungy
Dungy had a four-year career as a player in the NFL preceding a 28-year coaching career ending with a 148-79 record and two Super Bowl rings, one as a player and one as coach.
Brett Favre
Favre, perhaps most forgotten, was drafted with the first pick in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. Shunned by then Head Coach Jerry Glanville, Favre landed in Green Bay a year later and crafted a 16-year career with the Packers that led to eight division championships, five NFC Championship appearances, two Super Bowl appearances and a career-capping win in Super Bowl XXXI.
The list of records he broke and/or holds is absolutely ridiculous.
Marvin Harrison
Harrison spent all of his 13 NFL seasons with the Indianapolis Colts after being selected in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft out of Syracuse. Two years later, the Colts would select QB Peyton Manning who along with Harrison would form one of the greatest QB-WR tandems in the history of the NFL.
Similarly to Favre, his place in the NFL record books is too long to cite outside of encyclopedic records.
Eddie DeBartolo Jr.
The former owner of the San Francisco 49ers, "Mr. D" was well known as one of the most caring owners in the league. DeBartolo Jr., who transferred the team to his sister in 2000, oversaw the franchises' ascent into the history books winning five Super Bowls from 1981 to 1994.
Ken Stabler
"The Snake" was not the typical professional. He wasn't the typical football player. Hell, he just wasn't typical.
Known as much for his persona as for his football capabilities, Stabler was named to the Pro Bowl four times and led the Raiders to a Super Bowl XI championship.
Dick Stanfel
Along with Stabler, Stanfel was the other of the nominees from the Senior Committee. In his brief seven-year career, Stanfel was a growing force in 1952 and the MVP for the Detroit Lions in 1953 when they won back-to-back NFL Championships. Stanfel was named to the Pro Bowl in five of his seven seasons, including the final three NFL years he played with Washington.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony will take place Saturday, August 6th in Canton, Ohio.
