10 NFL Hall of Famers Who Wouldn't Make a Roster Today

Since the NFL began in the 1920s, an awful lot has changed about the way the game is played. The thing that has changed the most has to be the type of athletes that are playing the game, as with every passing generation, it appears that the game continues to see athletes that are bigger, stronger and faster than the generation before them.

Of course, there are major shifts in the formations, schemes and play designs over the years. But from the coaching, use of technology, year-round attention to training and diet, the NFL players from the 1920s would scarcely recognize the game today, when they realized how big and fast everybody was.

For today's article, we want to take a look back in NFL history at the members of the Hall of Fame and nominate 10 players that we think would have difficulty making a current NFL roster.

Who Exactly Is in the Hall of Fame?

Before we can go ahead with the challenge of identifying which NFL Hall-of-Fame members would have difficulty making a current NFL roster, it would help to actually know who is in the Hall of Fame.

So, here is a link to the current roster of NFL Hall-of-Fame inductees. I would like to thank the Hall of Fame.com web site for the information we used regarding the physical sizes and weights of the Hall of Fame players we selected, along with the photographs that accompany each slide.

As you click through the various names, keep in mind that besides the players' height and weight, we don't really have much more information to go on. We can't throw on a tape to watch his games from the 1920's or 1930's.

We don't know how much they could bench press, how fast they ran the 40 or what was the size of their heart. We also don't know what kind of God-given talent they had and if they had the ability to fake guys out of their socks.

All we have is their list of accomplishments, and armed with that and their physical size, we try to then use our best judgement to figure out who could still play today and who would struggle.

Morris (Red) Badgro

Morris "Red" Badgro was a two-player in the 1920's and 1930's. He played wide receiver on offense and defensive end for the New York Yankees and the New York Giants.

He was also a professional baseball player and left his NFL career to play with the New York Giants.

As we have sighted earlier in the presentation, the tough thing about deciding which players to place in this presentation is that we don't have the benefit of watching tape of players in the 1920's or 1930's to see how good they were, how fast they ran or what kind of moves they have.

What I can tell you about Badgro was that he was only 6'0" and weighed 191 pounds, and I know there is no way he could have played defensive end being that small.

Tony Canadeo

Tony Canadeo was a football player that could basically do it all.

According to his biography at the NFL Hall of Fame web site, Canadeo played offense and defense, ran with the ball, threw passes, caught passes, returned punts and kickoffs, punted and intercepted passes. In 11 years, he rushed for 4,197 yards, passed for 1,642 yards, recorded 69 receptions for 579 yards, gained 513 yards on punt returns, 1,736 on kickoff returns and scored 186 points.

The trouble I have with Canadeo playing in the NFL today is the following. From a size perspective (5'11" and 190 pounds), he would be considered too small to play. On top of that, he was not considered to either be fast or elusive, so what you have is a small, slower player that was a straight line plodder. That doesn't even sound like he would warrant a tryout, much less a place on the roster.

John Driscoll

Back in the 1920's, football players took on a number of roles on the team, similar to what a guy like Brad Smith does now for the Buffalo Bills (runs the Wildcat, wide receiver, kick returner, special teams member).

One such player from the 1920's was John "Paddy" Driscoll, who played quarterback, halfback, punted and was also a very good drop-kicker.

The problem I have with Driscoll is that as a quarterback, he would have struggled to last a quarter in today's NFL. He was 5'11", but only weighed 160 pounds. Can you see a 160-pound quarterback taking a hit from James Harrison or Vince Wilfork and then springing right back up for the next play?

Not only that, but I would have to think that the ability to be an effective drop-kicker would be greatly discouraged by how quickly he could be rushed and how high the defenders can jump to block the kick.

Ed Healey

George Halas was supposed to have been a big fan of Chicago Bears tackle Ed Healey, but I just have trouble seeing how Healey could have cut it as a tackle in the current NFL.

Healey was 6'0" tall and weighed 207. He would have trouble slowing pass rushers down, much less opening up holes for the running game.

This choice was purely a result of a size issue, making him seem like a poor fit for the NFL of 2011.

Frank (Bruiser) Kinard

Frank (Bruiser) Kinard was an offensive lineman from the 1930's and 1940's that played a very physical style of offensive line (hence the nickname of "Bruiser"), but I am not convinced that he would have been making much of a bruise on any current NFL players.

Kinard was 6'1" and weighed 216 pounds. While his heart and passion were fine for today's game, he probably would have struggled in both run blocking and pass blocking by being overwhelmed by people that were much bigger and stronger than he was.

William Roy (Link) Lyman

William Roy (Link) Lyman was a tackle in the NFL in the 1920's and the 1930's.

Lyman was considered to be a good-sized tackle for his day, (6'2" and 233 pounds), but if you take anybody with that kind of size and ask them to block DeMarcus Ware or Von Miller, they will get steamrolled.

Lyman was also considered to be an agile blocker, but he would need more than agility to be effective in the current NFL. Just too small to make a roster as an offensive lineman.

Mike Michalske

Mike Michalske was a guard in the NFL during the 1920's and 1930's.

Michalske's size was not an issue back then, at 6'0" and 210 pounds, but with the linemen today in the NFL usually coming in at 300 pounds or more, 210 pounds just doesn't cut it.

During his career, he played guard, end, fullback and tackle. His nickname was "Iron Mike" because he played all 60 minutes each game and didn't get hurt.

Clarence (Ace) Parker

Clarence (Ace) Parker was a quarterback in the NFL during the 1930's to the 1940's.

Not a big man, Parker only stood 5'10" and weighed 178 pounds. He was not the most durable player, as he suffered two different broken ankles during his career. Not sure if the characterizations of him not being fast was because he was just a slower athlete or if it was the result of the broken ankles.

But to be smaller, slower and somewhat fragile in the quarterback spot all leads me to the conclusion that he would have really struggled to have made a current NFL roster.

Andy Robustelli

Andy Robustelli was a popular defensive end for the New York Giants during the 1950's and 1960's.

Robustelli's size was typical for defensive linemen in the 1950's, as he went 6'1" and weighed 230 pounds. If you took an athlete at the combines who was 6'1" and weighed 230 pounds, where would your first inclination be with regards to what position you would want him to play on defense?

It sure wouldn't be at defensive end. The difference of 50-60 years in NFL history leads me to think that players like Robustelli would just simply never made the grade because they physically would have trouble competing and winning those one-on-one matchups that make the battles in the trenches so critical to how teams control the line of scrimmage.

Well, we have come up with 10 Hall-of-Fame players that we think would have struggled making current NFL rosters. If you are aware of other Hall-of-Famers that you would like to add to our list, please feel free to nominate someone in the comments section.