Michael Strahan is one of the best defensive players of all-time, but he missed the cut for the Hall of Fame class of 2013 that was announced at the Super Bowl on Saturday.
This year's class included New York Giants head coach Bill Parcells is in, as well as three first-ballot players in offensive lineman Larry Allen, tackle Jonathan Ogden and defensive tackle Warren Sapp. Receiver Cris Carter is the fifth modern-era selection, in his sixth turn as a finalist after missing out last season in a close vote. Curley Culp and Dave Robinson were selected as senior candidates.
The former Giants defensive end was looked at as a strong possibility to make the class after finishing his career with a Super Bowl championship and the all-time single-season sack record, but voters decided to put Sapp in instead. Although both played different positions along it, te two were dominant on the defensive line.
The vote totals are never released and the writers involved are usually tight lipped, but Strahan was likely the sixth man out of the process, as a maximum of five players are allowed in per year. Apart from Strahan, the other players that made it to the final cut down were Charles Haley, Aeneas Williams, Andre Reed and Jerome Bettis, who also finished his career with a Super Bowl championship.
Strahan has the statistics to back up the way he played the game and finished his career with six seasons of double-digit sack totals. He set the single season record for sacks with 22.5 in 2001 and helped lead the Giants to a victory in Super Bowl XLII against the New England Patriots.
The defensive end finished his career with 854 tackles, 141.5 sacks, four interceptions and two touchdowns. Strahan was a seven time Pro Bowl player and was named All-Pro four times. He is one of the members of the 100 sack club and appeared in two Super Bowls, winning one. The Giants drafted him in the second round in 1993 out of Texas Southern.
Each of the finalists for the Hall of Fame are presented to the panel of voters by the representing writers from their city and according to NJ.com, Strahan was the last finalist to be presented for the selection meeting. The report said that Strahan followed fellow defensive linemen Charles Haley and Warren Sapp.
According to NJ.com, "One Hall of Fame voter, Sports Illustrated Jim Trotter, said on NFL Network that he voted for Haley ahead of Strahan "simply because he's been waiting so long."
Also from NJ.com: Before the Hall of Fame vote, Giants co-owner John Mara said Strahan's selection on the first ballot should be a "no-brainer," and former teammate Justin Tuck called him a "shoo-in." Osi Umenyiora also said "there's going to be some furniture moving" if Strahan's name were not called this year.
Strahan wished the best to the 2013 Hall of Fame class, writing: "enjoy the well deserved honor." He also thanked fans for their messages after the announcement. "I hope I eventually make it in," Strahan wrote. "I look at it as a delayed blessing."
The voters may have felt that Strahan wasn't a first-ballot Hall of Fame player anyway, but a Hall of Fame player is a Hall of Fame player no matter how many years it takes to get in. Cris Carter was on the ballot for a number of years and he now will always be known as a Hall of Fame player. Parcells won two Super Bowls with the Giants and it would have been very interesting for him and Strahan to get in together.
The voters are a combative group at times and there is a good chance they put their heads together and thought it best to give Strahan his honor when the Super Bowl is in New York in 2014.
Strahan likely will make the cut next year and it will be even more special for him to find out the news in New York and be honored the home stadium of the Giants for the coin toss before Super Bowl XLVIII.