The NFL's list of finalists for the Football Hall Of Fame Class Of 2011 includes former Steelers Jerome Bettis and Dermontti Dawson. Bettis is in his first year on the ballot, and has been pretty visible in Pittsburgh recently - SB Nation Pittsburgh interviewed him last week. Dawson, who played for the Steelers from 1998 to 2000, has been a finalist before. Dawson is part of a string of great Steelers centers that also includes Mike Webster and Jeff Hartings. (It's way too early to judge, but it would be nice to see Maurkice Pouncey fit into that lineage someday.)
↵Other first-time-eligible Hall Of Fame candidates include Marshall Faulk, Curtis Martin, Deion Sanders, and Willie Roaf. Other candidates on the ballot include Tim Brown, Cris Carter, Richard Dent, Chris Doleman, Charles Haley, Cortez Kennedy, Andre Reed, and Shannon Sharpe. Also, Chris Hanburger and Les Richter were selected as candidates by the seniors committee, and NFL Films' Ed Sabol is on the list as well.
↵Former Steelers linebacker Kevin Greene was among 11 semifinalists who didn't make the cut.