Duane Sampson
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Meet the Pro Football Hall of Fame 2007 inductees The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, will welcome six new members into its hallowed ranks Aug. 4. USA TODAY takes a look back at each of the inductees' NFL careers: â€â€GENE HICKERSON • Position: G. Height: 6-3. Weight: 248. • College: Mississippi. • Drafted: Future choice in seventh round of 1957 draft. • NFL team: Cleveland Browns, 1958-73. • Honors: Two-time all-pro selection, five-time All-NFL selection, six-time Pro Bowler, member of the 1960s All-Decade team. • Highlights: Hickerson served as the lead blocker for Hall of Fame running backs Jim Brown, Bobby Mitchell and Leroy Kelly. … He started at right guard in four NFL title games, including the 1964 championship win against the Baltimore Colts. Cleveland never had a losing season during Hickerson's tenure. … A broken leg cost him the 1961 season and he missed the first two games in 1962; otherwise he never missed a contest. • Modern equivalent: The Minnesota Vikings' Steve Hutchinson. Like Hickerson, Hutchinson is a superb athlete who can lead running backs downfield and has little problem getting to the second level to wipe out linebackers. â€â€MICHAEL IRVIN Position: WR. Height: 6-2. Weight: 207. College: Miami (Fla.). Drafted: First round (11th overall) of 1988 draft. NFL team: Dallas Cowboys, 1988-99. Career numbers: Receptions  750, tied for 20th all time (career-high 111 in 1995); receiving yards  11,904, 14th all time (career-high 1,603 in 1995); touchdown receptions  65, tied for 37th all time (career-high 10 in 1995). Honors: One all-pro selection, five-time Pro Bowler, member of the 1990s All-Decade team. Highlights: As a member of the 1990s Cowboys' vaunted "Triplets," along with quarterback Troy Aikman and running back Emmitt Smith, Irvin etched his name throughout the franchise record book. More important, he was recognized by his teammates as the emotional engine for a squad that became the first to win three Super Bowls in a four-year span. … Irvin shone despite playing in an era when the NFC boasted a bevy of talented wideouts including Jerry Rice, Cris Carter, Andre Rison, Sterling Sharpe, Isaac Bruce and Herman Moore. … Irvin had his best statistical year in 1995, establishing a league-record with 11 100-yard receiving games. … His 87 career playoff catches and 1,315 receiving yards are surpassed only by Rice. Modern equivalent: The Arizona Cardinals' Anquan Boldin. An even bigger target than Irvin, Boldin can beat defenders on the outside, in the seam or over the middle. He also delights in imposing his physical nature while blocking smaller defensive backs. â€â€BRUCE MATTHEWS Positions: C-G-OT. Height: 6-5. Weight: 289. College: Southern California. Drafted: First round (ninth overall) of 1983 draft. NFL team: Houston/Tennessee Oilers and Tennessee Titans, 1983-2001. Honors: Nine-time all-pro selection, 14-time Pro Bowler (tied for most ever with Merlin Olsen), three-time Offensive Lineman of the Year, member of the 1990s All-Decade team. Highlights: One of the most accomplished offensive linemen to wear an NFL uniform, Matthews started at every position along the line (left tackle, 17 starts; left guard, 99; center, 87; right guard, 67; right tackle, 22) and was a long snapper for most of his 19 seasons. His 296 games played are the most for any NFL positional player. … Matthews' 14 Pro Bowl selections (nine at guard, five at center) are tied for the most with Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen. Matthews started every game in the 1990s and 232 consecutive; he never missed a game because of injury. … Former Houston Oilers head coach Jerry Glanville called Matthews "the greatest offensive lineman ever to play the game." … Matthews' father, Clay Sr., played defensive line for four years with the San Francisco 49ers. Brother Clay Jr. was a linebacker for the Browns (1978-93) and Atlanta Falcons (1994-96). Modern equivalent: The Pittsburgh Steelers' Alan Faneca. Faneca has been a sturdy, steady, powerful presence on Pittsburgh's offensive line for nine years and has opened holes for six 1,000-yard rushers in that span. Faneca, a guard, doesn't match Matthews' versatility, but he did shift to left tackle for nine games in 2003 when the Steelers were hobbled by injuries. â€â€CHARLIE SANDERS Position: TE. Height: 6-4. Weight: 230. College: Minnesota. Drafted: Third round (74th overall) of 1968 draft. NFL team: Detroit Lions, 1968-77. Career numbers: Receptions  336 (career-high 42 in 1969, 1974); receiving yards  4,817 (career-high 656 in 1969); touchdown receptions  31 (career-high six in 1970). Honors: Two-time all-pro selection, an All-NFL selection once, seven-time Pro Bowler, member of the 1970s All-Decade team. Highlights: Sanders thrived as a receiver in an era when tight ends were typically used as blockers, using a combination of size, strength and quickness atypical for the position in the 1970s. … No tight end in the Hall of Fame has more Pro Bowl selections than Sanders' seven. … Sanders also played basketball at the University of Minnesota and brought those skills to the gridiron, making him a precursor to such modern stars as Antonio Gates. Modern equivalent: The Kansas City Chiefs' Tony Gonzalez. Gonzalez's speed, size and ability to use them to his advantage have made him a formidable downfield presence for the Chiefs since he came into the league in 1997; like Sanders, he played college basketball as a power forward for California. â€â€THURMAN THOMAS Position: RB. Height: 5-10. Weight: 198. College: Oklahoma State. Drafted: Second round (40th overall) of 1988 draft. NFL teams: Buffalo Bills, 1988-99; Miami Dolphins, 2000. Career numbers: Rushing yards  12,074, 12th all time (career-high 1,487 in 1992); rushing touchdowns  65, tied for 29th all time (career-high 11 in 1990); receptions  472 (career-high 62 in 1991); receiving yards  4,458 yards (career-high 669 in 1989); TD receptions  23 (career-high six in 1989). Honors: 1991 MVP; three-time all-pro selection, five-time Pro Bowler, member of the 1990s All-Decade team. Highlights: Thomas was a major cog of the Bills' K-Gun offense in the early 1990s when the team reached an unprecedented four consecutive Super Bowls. A threat running the ball or catching it out of the backfield, Thomas ranks eighth with 16,532 yards from scrimmage. … He was the league MVP in 1991 when he became the 11th player to surpass 2,000 yards from scrimmage; he repeated the feat the following season. He led the league in yards from scrimmage a record four consecutive years from 1989 to 1992. … Thomas also performed well on the big stage  his 2,124 career net yards and 21 playoff touchdowns are second only to Jerry Rice. … Thomas turned in an MVP-caliber performance in Super Bowl XXV, racking up 190 total yards and a touchdown in the Bills' 20-19 loss to the New York Giants. … He led the AFC in rushing three times. Modern equivalent: San Francisco's Frank Gore. Though neither is in the game-breaking mold of Marshall Faulk or LaDainian Tomlinson, Gore, like Thomas, is dangerous on the ground or through the air. Thomas and Gore both overcame major college knee injuries to star in the NFL. â€â€ROGER WEHRLI Position: CB. Height: 6-0. Weight: 190. College: Missouri. Drafted: First round (19th overall) of 1969 draft. NFL team: St. Louis Cardinals, 1969-82. Career numbers: Interceptions  40 (career-high six in 1970, 1975); interceptions returned for touchdowns  two. Honors: Five-time all-pro selection, seven-time Pro Bowler, member of the 1970s All-Decade team. Highlights: Wehrli stepped into the Cardinals starting lineup in 1969 and was a mainstay at cornerback for the next 14 years, rarely missing games. … He was a defensive linchpin for a club that won back-to-back NFC East titles in 1974 and 1975, the high point of the franchise's tenure in St. Louis. He was one of the first to gain a reputation as a lockdown cornerback. … Wehrli led or tied for the team lead in interceptions four times. … In his final game, Wehrli rushed for a touchdown on a fake field goal attempt against the Giants. Modern equivalent: Former Arizona Cardinal and St. Louis Ram Aeneas Williams. A sterling cornerback like Wehrli, Williams also toiled as a star in obscurity for years. "A great corner on a poor defense can be hidden," says Dan Dierdorf, a Hall of Famer and former teammate of Wehrli's. Sources: Pro Football Hall of Fame, USA TODAY research Compiled by: USA TODAY's Nate Davis
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