Yet again, Cowboys legend Darren Woodson missed out on the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The longtime safety was in his 18th year of eligibility and fourth as a finalist. Woodson is the Cowboys’ all-time leading tackler with 1,350 takedowns, won three Super Bowls and was a four-time All-Pro.
Prior to the announcement, Woodson joined The Hardline on Sportsradio 96.7 FM/1310 The Ticket (KTCK-AM) and discussed his candidacy and some of his frustrations with the voting process.
“The writers get together, some of these writers have never seen me play,” he explained. “I mean, people didn’t even know I covered the slot receiver. I found that out just recently, and thought: Wow. They’re voting on me?
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“I’m competitive across the board, I love the game. I played it at the highest level, even in business today and in the commercial real estate business, when we lose it takes me days to get over it, right? So if I don’t get my name called, you better believe it. I’m not ashamed to say it. Oh, it’s like a gut punch.”
But the caveat in his comments was that he already knew the results of the Hall of Fame vote at the time of the interview, he just wasn’t yet revealing if he got in. Those involved find out when the vote is taken and it’s kept a secret until the announcement at the NFL Honors show. Woodson has two year years of eligibility as a Modern Era candidate before being moved to the seniors category.
However, this year’s announcement had a cloud hanging over it. The class that included Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly, Adam Vinatieri and Roger Craig will always be associated with the controversy of legendary Patriots coach Bill Belichick not being a first-ballot selection.
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Woodson feels the leak of Belichick’s snub took away from those guys’ moment.
“That broke the norm,” he said. “The norm is that you don’t get in, you just keep it quiet and he shattered that. So it’s like the cat is out. I think everybody kind of knows I can’t say anything. And the reason why I wouldn’t say anything is because it’s that whoever gets in, it’s their moment. Let them enjoy this moment.
“I would want to enjoy this moment instead of someone letting the cat out the bag. I just feel like it’s not fair.”
Regardless of how much the leak frustrated Woodson, he still understands why the omission of the eight-time Super Bowl champion coach from this year’s class was such a stunner.
“I get why Belichick was such a surprise, because there’s no way in hell that he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, right?”
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