The 2012 candidates for the Pro Football Hall of Fame have been released and two potential members of the class have ties to the New England Patriots.
The first is former quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Bledsoe, who played 14 seasons in the NFL, nine of them with the Patriots was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame this year. He threw for 3,839 yards along with 251 touchdowns and was elected to the Pro Bowl four times and was a part of two Super Bowl teams, losing to the Green Bay Packers in 1997 and winning a ring as a back-up to Tom Brady in 2002.
The other Hall of Fame candidate with ties to the Patriots organization is former head coach Bill Parcells. Parcells coached the Pats to a Super Bowl appearance in 1997 (a 35-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers) and helped lay the foundation that would eventually lead to three Super Bowl victories in the last decade. Overall, Parcells won two Super Bowls in his 22 years as a coach (both with the New York Giants) and finished with a career record of 172-130.