Hall of Fame Voters Should be Ashamed for Snubbing Broncos' All-Time Center Tom Nalen

Tom Nalen doesn't deserve the disrespect he's received from Hall of Fame voters.

In what universe does a two-time Super Bowl Champion, two-time first-team All-Pro, and five-time Pro Bowler get passed over for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for a player who has a single Pro Bowl selection to his name? We must be living in an alternate reality because it just happened to former Denver Broncos center Tom Nalen. 

The Hall of Fame selection process left one of the greatest centers of all time off of the list of nominees for induction into Canton for 2022. Nalen was passed over for Allen Rossum, a cornerback/return specialist whose acknowledgments start and end with a single Pro Bowl nod. 

I would not be surprised if Broncos fans are asking, who? Rossum was a nice returner but had a forgettable career ultimately. Yet he was deemed a better candidate for the Hall of Fame than Nalen.

Broncos Country probably remembers Dre’ Bly. His two Pro Bowl selections were deemed enough to get him nominated over Nalen as well. Bly’s career includes getting burned so badly by backup receivers he was booed by the entire Mile High stadium. This all seems like a sick joke.

Actually, it is a disgusting display of infinitesimal football knowledge and an utter inability to recognize great football players. Granted, Nalen has been nominated a few times, but rarely gets much Hall of Fame love from the voters. This is all a mockery of the great game of football.

Nalen's Resume Transcends Accolades 

There have only been two starting centers in the history of the NFL who were the leaders on an offensive line that paved the way for a whopping 10 1,000-yard rushing seasons and one 2,000-yard rushing season. Kevin Mawae and Nalen. These two greats played the game in the same era and at the exact same time. For those reasons, they're each other's only true peers.

Mawae is in the Hall of Fame. Nalen is not. Nalen hasn’t been particularly close to getting in either which is an injustice of epic proportions. Players get into the Hall of Fame because of what they did during their career was remarkable. 

Set aside for a moment the accolades that come from votes — All-Pro selections, All-Decade teams, Anniversary teams, etc. These are awards that are given out by essentially the same people who vote for the Hall of Fame — East Coast media who mostly watch those teams in their area. They confirm their own earlier decisions time and again without anyone there to add a reasonable rebuttal. 

Instead of awards, think of remarkable events that can be attributed to a player on the field. Take for example Joe Namath. By most measures, his career was rather average. Statically speaking, his numbers aren’t great. As a starting quarterback, he has a career record of .500. Those type of numbers typically garners little attention.

Remarkable events were enough for voters to look past the meager statistics. He guaranteed a victory in Super Bowl III and then went out and backed up his boast, bringing legitimacy to the AFL. He was also the first quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a season. In doing so, his bronze bust would be cast.

Now back to Nalen and Mawae. Mawae deserves to be in the Hall and I am not trying to diminish his legitimacy for that recognition, but I will ask, what events were remarkable about his career?

Mawae helped Hall-of-Famer Curtis Martin rush for several consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and got Chris Johnson to 2,000 yards. One could also include the lone 1,000-yard rushing season for underachiever Lendale White. Mawae never won a Super Bowl. He made it to the playoffs only four times in his 16-year career, but was ousted each time by round two.

What was Remarkable About Nalen

He won back-to-back Super Bowls, the first of which nobody gave the Broncos' offensive line a chance versus the heavyweight defensive line of the Green Bay Packers. Nalen pushed massive Packers' defensive tackle Gilbert Brown around the field like he was on roller skates, paving the way for Terrell Davis to rush for a Super Bowl record three touchdowns and 157 yards. Davis subsequently took home the Super Bowl XXXII MVP award.

Nalen was the leader of one of the greatest offensive lines in history, nicknamed the Orange Hush. It was a line that brought an entirely new concept to the professional game in such a prolific way that those concepts are still a mainstay in many offenses today, even though rules have been changed that limit its effectiveness. He was the leader of an offensive line that literally changed how the game is played.

He helped Davis become the greatest playoff running back of all time. Nalen also helped him become only the fourth running back to enter the 2,000-yard club. Davis had arguably the best 2,000-yard season of any in that club and arguably the best four consecutive years of any running back ever.

After Davis was hurt in 1999, Nalen was able to power a cell phone salesman and a ham sandwich to 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Nalen's blocking vaunted other running backs to 1,000-yard campaigns, backs whose names were so little known that if I said them aloud, most fans would have no idea who I'm talking. He did this with many changes to personnel on the offensive line and many of those players are forgotten names by most NFL observers. Nalen was the linchpin of it all.

Nalen was arguably the most technically sound center of all time. He had to be because, although he was listed at a playing weight of 286 pounds, most opined he actually played around 275. To succeed against defensive linemen who outweighed him by 50 pounds, he had to use great technique. Quarterback legend John Elway said Nalen was “the epitome of grit, toughness, and athleticism for centers."

These are all remarkable distinctions. A combination of accomplishments and feats that no other centers can claim. Remarkable achievements are why players get into the hallowed halls of Canton. How is Nalen not worthy of a gold jacket? Nalen being passed over is a crime against football.

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Let's Talk About Awards

Both Mawae and Nalen have received several. In his 16 seasons, Mawae received three first-team All-Pro awards. In Nalen’s 14 seasons, he received two. Mawae went to the Pro Bowl eight times and Nalen five times. Not a huge disparity.

Remember, they played at the exact same time in the same conference, so they competed for All-Pro votes every year. Mawae played in New York City, Nalen in Denver. The eyes of the voters were on Mawae much more often. Mawae’s third and final All-Pro award came after Nalen retired.

Now, think about this nugget of information that is conveniently unnoticed by the voters. Nalen is the only center since the merger who competed against another Hall of Fame center in their prime seasons as starters. 

Nalen also competed for half of his career against two Hall of Fame centers. Both those centers played for teams and markets that garner much more media recognition than Denver. 

This is why all the voter “awards” are hard to come by for Nalen and should not be used as an excuse to exclude him. There is only one first-team All-Pro award handed out each season. This fact unjustly hurts his candidacy. See the graphic below for illustration.

This graph includes every first-team All-Pro center from 1970 to 2012. Gold represents Hall of Fame players. Blue represents the years a player was at center in their prime starting years. Each Hall of Fame center had periods where a previous Hall of Fame center’s career was winding down and before a new Hall of Famer's career started to ramp up.   

Otto gave way to Langer, then Langer to Webster, and so on. Non-Hall of Fame players filled the gaps between those careers. Nalen did not have that luxury. He competed every season with Mawae and half of his career with Mawae and Dermotti Dawson combined.

The Final Insult

As awards go, Nalen was inexplicably not given a first-team All-Pro award in 1998. That was the season he powered the greatest 2,000-yard season of all time and one of the best offenses in NFL history. Instead, that award was given to Dawson, who powered Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis to a meager 1,185 yards, nearly half of the production of the Davis/Nalen ticket. 

Furthermore, that Pittsburgh Steelers offense was downright dreadful that season, ranking 28-of-30 teams in the NFL. Dawson receiving the award was due to name recognition only. Snubbing Nalen was a naked injustice. Had he gotten that third first-team All-Pro, he would have been fitted for that gold jacket already.

Bottom Line

Nalen is one of the greatest centers in Pro Football history, regardless of the voted awards. I would argue that he is the greatest based on his skill, his lasting impact on the game, and the era he played. His bronze bust should be in Canton already. 

To not receive a nomination in 2022 should give every fan doubts that the Pro Football Hall of Fame committee can accurately judge the game of football and how it is played. This decision is an insult to all the legends who left their blood, sweat, and tears on the field.

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Follow Thomas on Twitter @ThomasHallNFL.

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