New Hall members push agendas

Kickers, RBS, DBS need stronger consideration

CANTON, Ohio —Forseveral members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s class of 2017, it was a time to campaign while celebrating.

Terrell Davis wants more attention paid to the running game and stronger hall consideration for running backs. Like this year, when both he and Ladainian Tomlinson were selected.

Morten Andersen, just the second full-time kicker to make the hall, spoke Friday in behalf of kickers.

Kenny Easley can’t believe there are only eight pure safeties enshrined.

So while enthusiastically embracing their entry into the hall — which happens Saturday, along with Kurt Warner Jerry Jones and Jason Taylor — Davis and Andersen and Easley campaigned.

“The running game is not just go to minicamp and then training camp in shorts and T-shirts and think you will be successful,” Davis said. “You need the pads on, need lots of hitting and repetitions. It’s likeanorchestra.

Davis also pushed for more Broncos in the hall. From the two Denver teams he helped win NFL titles in 1997 and ‘98, only John Elway and Shannon Sharpe also are in.

Andersen joins Jan Stenerud as the enshrined kickers; Ray Guy is the only pure punter in the hall. Although Andersen is the NFL’S scoring leader and kicked for 25 seasons, it took him eight years of

eligibility before getting in.

Considering the role kickers play, especially in today’s game, he believes that trend will change.

“With my election to the Hall of Fame and the level of skill today, it moves the conversation along,” Andersensaid.“iwouldarguethat, besides the quarterback position, kickers affect the outcome of games more than anyone.”

” Easley, selected by the seniors committee, is in more of a rush to see safeties inducted.

“We set the tone on defense,” the former hard-hitting Seahawks standout said. “We’re going to get a lot of these guys in the hall. Between John Lynch, (Steve) Atwater, Brian Dawkins, Darren Woodson — any of those four are fine, or all of them.

“I prefer all of them,” he added. Beyond that quartet — Lynch has

been a frequent finalist in the voting — Easley recognized another group that soon will be eligible.

“We’ve got a lot of guys coming behind them, you know, Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu,” Easley said. “We got some guys who (annually) will be genuine contenders.”

Davis’ election was delayed by questions about such a short career: Davis played seven NFL seasons, the last two wrecked by injuries. But the other five were spectacular.

His comparison, he noted, is Gale Sayers, who also had a mercurial career but was a first-ballot entry. That led to more campaigning by Davis.

“Nowtheprecedentisreset,”he said. “It should not be how long you played. What it should be based on is how well you played in the NFL.”