Moss finds his direction
NFL receivers usually are tall or fast. Randy Moss was both, making him the most dangerous pass- catcher in the game, and now a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
A first- year nominee, the 6- foot- 4, 210- pound Moss brought the perfect combination of height, speed, soft hands and agility to Minnesota as the 21st overall draft pick in 1998 after a rocky college career. His 69 receptions, 17 for touchdowns, and 1,313 yards helped the Vikings go 15- 1 and earned him Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
That was just the start for the eccentric but always dynamic Moss. When he finally hooked up with an elite quarterback, he caught a record 23 TD passes from Tom Brady in New England’s perfect 2007 regular season.
Moss rubbed the face and top of his bust, then delivered a sermon worthy of any church or synagogue.
“When I came into the NFL I had no sense of direction,” Moss said. “All I wanted to do was play football. Not for one day did I not think God was with me.”
Weapon X is now a Hall of Famer.
Brian Dawkins, one of the hardest- hitting and most versatile safeties in NFL history, has been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame shrine in Canton, Ohio.
Dawkins stared at his bust and nodded his approval to the crowd.
An extremely popular player for 13 seasons in Philadelphia and another three in Denver, Dawkins guaranteed he would cry during his inductions speech. He was true to his word during a passionate oration that echoed his playing style.
“The majority of success I have had has come on the back end of pain,” he said noting he had suicidal thoughts when he battled depression. “On the other side of it, all of a sudden I became better. There’s a purpose for my pain.
“I have grown leaps and bounds because of the things I went through. For those going through this now, there is hope on the other side. Keep moving, keep pushing through.”
Brian Urlacher became a record- 28th Chicago Bear to be inducted.
A first- year nominee who filled the tradition of great middle linebackers in the Windy City so brilliantly, Urlacher actually was a safety at New Mexico. Chicago selected him ninth overall in the 2000 draft and immediately converted him to linebacker. He spent two weeks in training camp on the outside, then was moved inside — for 13 spectacular seasons.
“I love everything about football: the friendships, the coaches, the teachers, the challenges, the opportunity to excel. I loved going to work every day for 13 years,” said the 2000 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and 2005 Defensive Player of the Year, a season in which Urlacher had 171 tackles.
The long, long wait for Jerry Kramer has ended. At last, the star guard of the Green Bay Packers was inducted.
A senior committee nominee, Kramer became eligible in 1974 after 11 seasons with the Packers in which he won five NFL championships and two Super Bowls. Now 82, he admitted to being bitter when often passed over for the Hall, but that any such feelings “disappeared” when he got in this year.
Bobby Beathard, who won four Super Bowls as a team executive and drafted four Pro Football Hall of Famers, entered the hall himself.
A contributor’s committee nominee, Beathard worked for the Chiefs, Falcons, Dolphins, Redskins and Chargers. He won NFL titles each with Miami, including the perfect 1972 season, and Washington — where he hired fellow Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs as coach. He also helped Kansas City and San Diego make Super Bowls.
Dr. Doom has entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Robert Brazile, who earned that nickname by playing in all 147 games for the Houston Oilers in his 10- year NFL career, has been inducted into the Canton shrine.
Earlier in Chattanooga, Tenn., Terrell Owens came in wearing a suit spotted with the Pro Football Hall of Fame logo and swapped that out for the prized gold jacket.
His bust? That remained 600 miles away in Canton, Ohio, along with the seven other members of this year’s Hall of Fame class, leaving the stage at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga all alone to Owens.