The 2014 Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee class spent some time with the media before they were presented with their Gold Hall of Fame jackets. Pro Player Insiders got the chance to sit down and get some one on one time with three of the proud new members of the elite group during their Hall of Fame presser.
I first started doing draft analysis back in 1995. The first NFL draft prospect that I ever analyzed was none other than Derrick Brooks. Over the past couple of years I have been able to establish a great relationship with one of the all time greats. He offered his insight on what the Hall of Fame means to him and how important it was to join his teammate Warren Sapp in one of he world’s most exclusive fraternities. Here are some of the best quotes from his presser:
Brooks: I would say that early on to me in childhood it became important to be more than a great football player. I tell the story about my father getting me on the right track. To me it was about life, no matter what I was going to do to have a great respect for people. I never had a problem distinguishing the role that my professional life would play along with my personal life.
This honor in terms of coming to the Hall of Fame, I am still trying to grasp it. I am in awe. It gives me the feeling like I am a rookie all over again. This fraternity of men that I am now a part of, to me, it’s a challenge that I am willing to accept and try to make it better. I can honestly tell you that coming out of the room for the past three hours, the fire is burning. I can’t wait to get started on my new mission to make this the best Hall of Fame in all of sports. It’s an individual honor in the ultimate team sport. I have to get my head around it. The Canton air feels good, it’s rare. Only 287 noses get the chance to breathe it.
I made my way around to shake all of their hands. I had a goal to shake their hand and tell them thank you for what they have done to impact this game. It’s nice to follow Warren Sapp’s footsteps to the Hall of Fame. I’m smiling more than I have ever before. Warren and I, in terms of how we are connected, God had a plan for that. We are friends too. The true essence of what this is and how we came together and have been an instrumental part of turning around this franchise, a lot of people can’t say that. It’s not ironic that he was the last in of his class #280 and I was the first in of my class #281. Everything that we have been able to accomplish thus far has been as teammates. To say that in the highest individual honor you can get in terms of football and still be teammates, a lot of guys cant say that.
The Gold Jacket ceremony is the first opportunity for my family to get to physically be a part of this journey. I can’t wait to have my son slip the jacket on me. I am excited to see what the next steps are for Derrick Brooks. The life of Derrick Brooks moves on. Being a great person is more important without a doubt. Unlike football, being a person has no shelf life. It goes well beyond a football field. Being in the NFL has definitely given me a stage. ‘Coach Dungy said it the best when he said that if we are here to just win football games and not impact the community, we are going to lose.’
Andre Reed is looked upon as one of the best runners after the catch to have ever played the game. His work ethic and toughness showed every time he stepped on the field. The way that he was so willing to go across the middle, break tackles and turn those short throws into long touchdown runs was a testament to his will to be the best. Reed talked about what motivated him and how he refused to settle for being mediocre.
Reed: I just said right away that Marv Levy was going to be my speaker at the Hall of Fame ceremony. Next to my dad, Ralph Wilson will be on my mind. I wish he could have held on a little bit longer. To have the patriarch, the guy that started everything not here, it’s going to be very emotional. Will be a very emotional time for the whole Bills family.
I am going to have to have a tennis ball to squeeze because of the tension. There’s going to be so many thoughts going through my head, so many emotions. It’ll be hard to speak without getting choked up. It’s a right of passage. Putting that jacket on tonight, it gives me goosebumps. There’s a lot of people in that jacket. This is a time in my life that 30 years of football flashed through my brain in a half a second. I thought of my coaches, family, teammates and everyone that helped me get here.
I am so proud to be a part of this class because they represent what the Hall of Fame is about. These guys are not only great football players, they are great people. Going into the Hall of Fame changes your life. This is a validation of how good I was. My dad never settled for mediocre. He was a pretty hard core guy. He loved to watch his kids play sports. He had his faults like anyone else. That was my inspiration. I wanted to make him proud because his life wasn’t great. I wanted him to see me so that he could be proud of what I did.
I didn’t play with a chip on my shoulder, I played with the passion and desire to be the best that I could be. I always felt that I could be better the next day at something. I always kept that in mind. That’s why I am here. Over the years, they would tell me who I was passing on the all time lists and I would just shrug it off because I was just playing ball. But after I stopped playing, I looked back and it hit me. I was like wow, that’s amazing.
It’s phenomenal to be in the same room and the same fraternity as the guys that I watched when I was a kid. The wait wasn’t frustrating, I was disappointed because my family would have a party every year and every year there was a letdown. I was able to handle that but I didn’t want to see them go through it. My teammates waited for me and for them to see me go in, it feels like we’re complete. They feel like I was the final piece to the puzzle.
Walter Jones was one of the original big, freak athletes that played the tackle position. He knew how to use his athleticism to excel at both run and pass blocking. Playing in the Pacific Northwest didn’t always allow him the chance to get national media coverage but those who knew the game knew that Jones was one of the premier tackles in the early 2000s. He was willing to share what it was that allowed him to translate his athleticism to the football field.
Jones: When I came into the league, I wanted to be the best tackle in the league. I watched a lot of the left tackles in the game and you see that they are technicians. I took pride in being a pass protector. It’s amazing to be going into the Hall of Fame with Derrick Brooks. When I first was recruited to Florida State, he was the guy in the highlight reels. For me to be able to say that I know that guy and that we are going into the Hall of Fame together, it’s pretty amazing.
It was important because we had some good running backs. I wanted to be able to control the guy in front of me. I wanted to be the best at both pass protection and run blocking. I was never a guy that fussed about the play call. I figured out that this was something that I wanted to do and be good at. The great left tackles are athletes. You have to figure out how could I make this game athletic for me. I told myself that I could play somewhere else but this was what I wanted to play and be good at it. I honed in on my skills and took pride in doing the little things especially when people weren’t looking. I used to just sit in my room and do sets. I did them over and over, just envisioned it so no matter what happened, I knew that I was just stepping in the right way.
I understood that I was an athlete but an offensive lineman. For someone to see an offensive lineman and say, that guy’s an athlete, that makes you feel good. For me, I used to hang out with defensive guys to get that mentality, but just controlled. I wanted to see what they were thinking, how they thought about us.
The 2014 Pro Football Hall of Fame class was presented with their Gold Jackets after they held their pressers. This was the first time that they were publicly seen with their custom jackets on. The next step will be the unveiling of their Hall of Fame bust and that will be followed by their Ring of Honor presentation during the regular season in each of their home stadiums.
