As former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis prepares to take his rightful place in Canton, “The Bus” recently showed high praise for one of the guys who helped pave his way to the Hall of Fame.
Bettis recently was asked during a conference call of which former teammate he feels should join him in the Hall of Fame and he didn’t hesitate to say the name Alan Faneca.
“He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame,” Bettis said of Faneca.
Bettis is spot on with his assessment of Faneca as a future Hall of Famer as during his prime Faneca was perhaps the best guard in the NFL and with a career that spanned 13 years certainly should be enshrined in Canton sooner, rather than later.
Not only was a lot of Bettis’ success due to running behind Faneca, but guys like Willie Parker and even Ben Roethlisberger benefitted greatly from having the nine-time Pro Bowler in front of them.
After his 10-year tenure with the Steelers, Faneca impacted the New York Jets in a major way as the Jets rushed for 2,006 yards and 20 touchdowns during his first season in New York and 2,756 yards and 21 touchdowns the following season.
There is no debating Faneca’s merit for Canton, but the question will be how long will he have to wait?
Brett Favre is a lock this season as a first-year candidate and Terrel Owens and Faneca could make a strong push as first-year eligible players.
But with a ton of Hall of Fame caliber players that missed out a season ago; including former Steelers linebacker Kevin Greene, Kurt Warner, Marvin Harrison, Orlando Pace and others, Faneca may have to play the same waiting game that Bettis did.
Whether or not Faneca gets that call this year remains to be seen, but just like the guy who he helped pave the way to Canton for, that call will one day come.
When it does Steelers Nation will have another cause for celebration in canton.
Photo Credit: Associated Press
