Odds can’t be bad for the five finalists on the Pro Football Hall of Fame ballot that are defensive players.

That’s the reasoning Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News takes, and it makes sense.

No more than five modern-era candidates will be voted in when the selection committee gathers on Saturday in Miami. Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice are slam dunk selections in their first year of eligibility. Gosselin writes that the selection committee has made a move recently to close a wide gap that has favored offensive players, particularly skilled position players. He reports that 50.9 percent of all players enshrined in Canton, Ohio, are offensive players. Only 30.4 percent are defensive players and 18.2 percent make up coaches and contributors.

Here’s the rub – there are 15 finalists on the ballot and with just five defensive players, those men would stan a better chance than many. It’s just simple math. The five are pass rushers Richard Dent and Charles Haley, tackles Cortez Kennedy and John Randle and linebacker Rickey Jackson. Dent, the MVP of Super Bowl XX, has been a finalist several times. Haley has five Super Bowl rings.

Sounds like you can count on at least two of these five getting in. We’ll find out Saturday.

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