ESPN NFL

It's easy to get lost in the shuffle when you played during the golden age of the NFL's most celebrated franchise. Dave Robinson was an elite playmaking linebacker on some of Vince Lombardi's best Green Bay Packers teams, but it took 38 years after his retirement before he was recognized as such by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Robinson will be enshrined as part of the 2013 class thanks to the Hall's senior committee, which nominated him and Curley Culp (a Detroit Lions defensive lineman in 1980-81) last summer. As we discussed earlier in the week, a nomination from the seniors committee generally is viewed as an attempt to right a previous wrong, and 25 of the past 30 nominees have been elected by the larger selection committee.

Robinson was one of the first linebackers with the speed an athleticism to cover the emerging tight end position. He had 21 interceptions in 10 seasons with the Packers, including 12 during the period from 1965-67, an NFL-high for linebackers. In Packers history, the only linebackers with more interceptions are John Anderson and Ray Nitschke.

By my count, Robinson played with 10 other Packers players who ultimately made the Hall of Fame and was coached by an 11th, Vince Lombardi. That's just an incredible number. At various times during his career, he played alongside Nitschke, cornerback Herb Adderly, defensive end Willie Davis, safety Willie Wood and defensive tackle Henry Jordan. Can you imagine a defense with seven Hall of Famers? Wow.

Overall, Robinson is the 22nd member of the Packers organization to be elected to the hall of Fame. Congratulations on an honor that was no doubt worth the wait.

As you might have heard, three of the four Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists with NFC North ties were elected Saturday to the class of 2013. Minnesota Vikings receiver Cris Carter, along with senior nominees Dave Robinson (Green Bay Packers) and Curley Culp (Detroit Lions) are all among the seven-man class.

I'll have more on the blog as the evening continues. I think we all know it has been a matter of when, not if, Carter would be enshrined. In his career, he caught 1,101 passes for 13,899 yards and 130 touchdowns. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the only other player in NFL history with those totals is Jerry Rice.

Meanwhile, Hall voters have made a habit of electing senior nominees, as we discussed this week. Over the past 20 years, 25 of 30 senior nominees have made it. We figured that would bode well for Robinson and Culp.

More in a bit.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee has included a player with NFC North ties in every class dating back to the inception of this blog.

We had Minnesota Vikings guard Randall McDaniel in 2009. In 2010, Vikings defensive lineman John Randle and Detroit Lions defensive back Dick LeBeau were enshrined. Chicago Bears defensive end Richard Dent was elected in 2011 and Vikings defensive end Chris Doleman got in last year.

Will the streak continue in 2013?

As we noted earlier this month, four of the 15 finalists have ties to one of our teams. Former Vikings receiver Cris Carter and current Green Bay Packers outside linebackers coach Kevin Greene find themselves in familiar situations. Carter, as we discussed in detail last year, remains ensconced in a three-way logjam of receivers along with Tim Brown and Andre Reed. Greene, meanwhile, still has more career sacks (160) than any player not in the Hall of Fame. (My thoughts on Greene from last year's exclusion.) A newly eligible pass-rusher is on this year's ballot; Michael Strahan had 141.5 sacks in his career.

My AFC West colleague Bill Williamson spoke with defensive lineman Curley Culp earlier this week; Culp played his final two seasons with the Lions in 1980 and '81. So that leaves us to discuss former Packers linebacker Dave Robinson.

Like Culp, Robinson was nominated by the Hall's senior committee, and that status alone gives him a pretty decent chance to win election. The class' five-man limit doesn't include senior nominees, so they don't get caught in a numbers game. Over the past 19 years, 82 percent of senior nominees have been elected (23 of 28). The success rate remained high even after the Hall began allowing two senior nominees per year in 2004. Since then, all but four of the 18 nominees have been elected.

The procedure allows voters to correct perceived wrongs from previous generations, and Robinson is generally considered one of the best defensive players from his era. He was the Packers' first-round draft choice in 1963, started in three consecutive NFL championship victories, intercepted 27 passes in 12 seasons and was named to the league's all-decade team for the 1960's.

Voters will gather early Saturday morning, and the nominees will be announced during an NFL Network broadcast scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. ET. I'll be here to blog whatever needs to be blogged.

Five of 15 modern-era finalists for 2013 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement have ties to teams currently in the NFC West.

Their names are shaded in the chart below: Kevin Greene, Charles Haley, Aeneas Williams, Jerome Bettis and Eddie DeBartolo Jr.

The first two men listed qualify as seniors candidates. Their enshrinement does not affect the maximum five slots available to modern-era candidates.

San Francisco 49ers great Roger Craig was among the 12 semifinalists not making the reduction to 15 this year. The others were: Morten Andersen, Steve Atwater, Don Coryell, Terrell Davis, Joe Jacoby, Albert Lewis, John Lynch, Karl Mecklenburg, Paul Tagliabue, Steve Tasker and George Young.

The next round of voting begins and ends one day before the Super Bowl. I'm one of the voters and will have a tough time reducing to five on the final ballot, as usual. It's a select group that makes it in the end. Strong cases can be made for each of the four players eligible for the first time. Adding them to the list makes it tougher for some of the holdovers.