Super Bowl With a Smirk: Will Canton finally call Zach Thomas’ name? Predicting the Hall vote
Super Bowl With a Smirk returns with the last of five daily columns needling of the self-important NFL and the gravitas of its big game. Flying under the banner, “Make Fun, Not War,” Smirk is an annual Super Bowl Week feature in the Miami Herald years we remember to do it.
The 10th annual NFL Honors awards show will go on virtually in Tampa on Saturday, pre-recorded and airing at 9 p.m. on CBS. Since Steve Harvey is hosting, Smirk is obliged to hope that when meaning to say Aaron Rodgers’ name, Steve does not inadvertently announce that the MVP winner is Miss Colombia.
The Miami Dolphins are in the spotlight three times, with Zach Thomas, Brian Flores and Xavien Howard representing.
Thomas is a finalist (again) for the Hall of Fame, Flores for coach of the year and Howard for defensive player of the year.
Howard is a long shot despite leading the league in interceptions, as betting odds strongly favor Aaron Donald or T.J. Watt to win.
Flores and Buffalo’s Sean McDermott are judged nearly even for the coach award. Flores deserves to win. His Fins improved by five victories this season to the Bills’ three, and Flores did it with a combination of a journeyman and a rookie at QB.
As for Canton, Ohio, Thomas is right on the edge. He should get in, as I have championed through the years — including here — but it’s no lock his disappointment finally will end in his eighth year of eligibility.
As many as five of the 15 modern-era finalists will be voted in, and two of those spots are guaranteed for Peyton Manning (a mortal lock) and Charles Woodson (a near-certainty).
For the other three spots Zach has extremely tough competition especially from (as I see it) Calvin Johnson, Reggie Wayne and Alan Faneca.
Wayne and Faneca, along with Manning and Woodson, are the four finalists with career quality ratings above that of the Hall of Fame average at their positions, according to profootballreference.com’s respected Hall of Fame Monitor. And Johnson, despite retiring early, could make it in his first year on the ballot.
Thomas? The average Hall of Fame inside linebacker had a career quality rating of 114.00. Zach’s was 112.75. Brian Urlacher, who got in, had 113.40. That’s how close it is for Miami’s all-time leading tackler.
Most betting odds have Thomas tied for seventh, after Manning, Woodson, Faneca, Wayne, Johnson and LeRoy Butler, and even with Ronde Barber.
If Butler, Barber or anyone not mentioned here gets in ahead of Zach, it will be a crime. The opening might be if voters judge that Johnson isn’t quite worthy of first-ballot induction.
If I’m betting? It’s a gut feeling that may be wishful thinking, but I say Zach finally gets in. He deserves to.
▪ Yeah, its Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes, but a third quarterback is prominent this Super Bowl Week. A huge mural and several billboards have gone up in Tampa bearing Colin Kaepernick’s likeness to raise awareness of police violence against minorities, as part of his partnership with Ben & Jerry’s.
▪ The annual Taste of the NFL fundraiser goes on but virtually, Sunday at 11:30 a.m., featuring three celebrity chefs and guests including the ubiquitous Peyton Manning and (hmm, wrong sport) Derek Jeter.
▪ Most betting odds are 1 minute 59 seconds as the over/under for the national anthem to be sung Sunday by Eric Church and Jazmine Sullivan. What prevents the two of them from having someone else place an exorbitant wager for them on the ‘over’ and then making sure they go long? (Asking for a friend...)
▪ Roger Goodell, Commissioner of Gloom, on whether the 2021 NFL season will be back to normal: “I don’t know when normal will occur again, and I don’t knew if normal ever will again.”
▪ OnBuy.com surveyed fans worldwide and collated YouTube views to rank the top five favorite SB halftime shows of the past 20 years. Its list: 1. Coldplay/Beyonce/Bruno Mars, 2016; 2. Shakira/J-Lo, 2020; 3. Prince, 2007; 4. Madonna, 2012; 5. Beyonce, 2013. Numbers 2 and 3 both happened in Miami, by the way. You’re welcome!
▪ Answer: America, you may have a gambling problem. Question: Did you know that the most popular Super Bowl prop bet is on the pregame coin flip?
▪ Finally, our parting Super Bowl Party Tip du Jour: Why do what every other party does? As the Chiefs and Bucs line up for the opening kickoff, abruptly switch the channel from the game to NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt.
This story was originally published February 5, 2021 at 11:28 AM.
