There's no denying the fact that Redskins great Joe Jacoby deserves to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Jacoby's exceptional body of work over his 13 years in Washington is grounds enough for him having permanent real estate in Canton, Ohio, but for some reason, he was passed over in the final stages of voting for a second straight year, leaving many scratching their heads and wondering why.
One person who's perplexed by Jacoby's situation is Talk Of Fame Network's Clark Judge, who felt Jacoby's best chance of making it in the Hall of Fame just went by the wayside.
Judge feels the hourglass is about out of sand for Jacoby, being that he was in his 19th year of Hall of Fame eligibility. If Jacoby doesn't get voted into the Hall of Fame in 2018, he gets a different designation altogether – one that Judge isn't too fond of.
"He [Jacoby] moves out of the shallow end of the pool into the wild, blue yonder - otherwise defined as the senior pool of candidates," Judge said. "That list is reserved for players out of the game more than 25 seasons - meaning a five-year waiting period and 20 years or more of eligibility - and it is exactly where you do not want to go."
Judge is concerned that Jacoby might get washed away if he ends up with the senior designation.
"Let's just say Jacoby is not elected in 2018," said Judge. "He then moves out of the modern-era category to join all-decade tackles Jimbo Covert and Ralph Neely on the island of forgotten players. Those three are the only all-decade tackles from the 1950s, 1960s, '70s or '80s not enshrined in Canton, and tell me you like their chances of getting senior nominations when guys like Robert Brazile, Maxie Baughan, Alex Karras, L.C. Greenwood and Harvey Martin have been waiting.
"There are too many deserving Hall of Fame candidates who have been lost as seniors and who need to be recognized," Judge said. "But until or unless the system is tweaked or overhauled, that won't happen, and luminaries like Kramer, Covert, Pearson and Robinson will continue to be ignored."
Judge called Jacoby a "sleeper" for the Hall of Fame Class of 2017, as he was of 15 Modern-Era finalists. Unfortunately, that's where Jacoby's run ended, as he was unable to make the final 10, although two offensive linemen who were first-time finalists – tackle Tony Boselli and center Kevin Mawae – did make it there.
For two first-time finalists to jump past Jacoby into the Top 10 of voting concerns Judge greatly. That, and the fact that Jacoby will be facing an even bigger hill of competition in 2018.
"It includes first-time eligibles Ray Lewis, Brian Urlacher, Randy Moss, Steve Hutchinson, Ronde Barber and Richard Seymour – all all-decade choices, with Lewis a virtual slam-dunk to get in," Judge said. "That's more than a minefield."
