Yeah, perhaps, but not within his first few years of eligibility I wouldn’t think.
Hmmmm, does Junior Seau belong on this list?
Well, he did have seasons of 14, 15, and 18.5 sacks in addition to the 22.5 season, and stands 5th on the all-time sack list.
Speaking of pass rushers, let me throw out a name: Chris Doleman. Eight 11+ sack seasons (including a 21-sack year), 8 Pro Bowls. You could say that he wasn’t the run defender that Strahan was, which is true, but maybe we’re judging the position too harshly if Doleman doesn’t meat our standards. Offensive skill position players are *vastly *over-represented in the Hall (especially QBs and RBs), consequently the other positions are under-represented, lineman in particular. I think that, in general, we’d do well to support the candidacy of marginal lineman-candidates over, say, marginal QB candidates.
Hell yes.
Speaking of quarterbacks, I was thinking about Randall Cunningham. 29,979 yards, 207 TD-134 INT, 57% completion, 81.5 rating. 4 Pro Bowls, 35 rushing TDs and a QB record of 4928 rushing yards. Also, just watching footage of him (especially as an Eagle) is pretty incredible sometimes. I was just looking at a QB I’ve never been a fan of just to compare stats… Joe Namath: 27,663 yards, 173 TD-220 INT, 50% completions, 65.5 rating. Sure Cunningham didn’t model pantyhose, wear a big fur coat, or promise to win a Super Bowl, but looking at his accomplishments and stats, I can’t believe he’s not even on that preliminary list that the voters start with every year! Another QB that isn’t just marginal and needs in is Ken Anderson.
Oh and as for Doleman, I’m with you on that. He is on the preliminary list each year.
Oops! He is on the list. I’m a dummy.
Players on the next list for the first time (2010): Gary Anderson, Tim Brown, Rich Gannon, Eddie George, Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Aeneas Williams
He was good at one thing and one thing only- he was a touchdown machine. I can see why his name might come up; after all, MVPs are not exactly thick on the ground, especially non-quarterback MVPs.
I would put Atwater, Reed or Dawkins in first.
That’s pretty much what most people think of him. I don’t know why he doesn’t get any love from the writers. Players universally respected the hell out of him.
Oh, absolutely they’re different types of kick, but you can figure out a guy’s leg strength from watching him kick off, and thereby roughly estimate how much leg he could put into a field goal. I should have said Prater never kicked for touchbacks in college, if it makes things simpler (which is also true).
I think there’s going to be a big fight over Warner. Huge numbers, but over two really short periods. I think he’d need to win another league MVP, Offensive POTY or Super Bowl MVP award to get real consideration, though. I mean, think about it- for all his gaudy numbers the last two years, did you at any time but him in the Brady/Manning/Brees conversation? Because that’s what you have to be to make the Hall of Fame- a candidate as the top player at your position.
I hope Gannon doesn’t get in. I could go either way on George and Williams. Anderson, Brown, Rice and Smith should be shoe-ins, though Anderson won’t be.
For Eddie George to go in while Roger Craig continues to be passed up would just be wrong. Same goes for Gannon and Ken Anderson. Ken Anderson has a career and stats in Gannon’s range, but I think should get in for his early use/ development of the West Coast Offense while Bill Walsh was his QB coach.
Oh, and I realized last night that John Randle was actually one of the ten finalists last year that didn’t quite make it.
As all things football for me revolve around University of Michigan, I have to put in a good word for Steve Hutchinson. Only 9 years so far, and most Offensive linemen who make it in seem to have 14+ year careers, so he isn’t there yet.
But he has been dominant so far, making Shaun Alexander a star, made Chester Taylor look good, and with Peterson running behind him now it isn’t going to drop off much, and a chance for maybe a superbowl or two on his resume.
He’s already been to a Super Bowl. You mean win one?
Yeah, along with Roaf, Mawae, Faneca, and Ogden, I thought about putting Hutchinson on the list, but decided not to since he doesn’t have as many years as the others.
I think Cunningham would be an interesting choice, a little down the line, but more as a “very good player with an *important *career” type than as simply a “great player” type.
Ken Anderson should absolutely get in, and this from a guy who wants a moratorium on all but the slam-dunks at QB and RB. His stats look really ordinary today, but you have to keep in mind that he was playing in the 1970s. In 1974 he threw for 2,667 yards . . . and led the league in passing. He had ten Top 10s in passer rating (including four years leading the league). Seven times in the Top 7 in YPA (two Firsts). Eight times Top 6 in Int% (3 Firsts). He was a great *passer *during an era in which being a great “quarterback” largely meant being an able complement to your great defense and running game.
Charles Woodson is making a late career push, but I am sure he will not quite make it.
Well, Namath is one of the worst players in the hall and absolutely does not deserve to be in it. It’d be better to compare to a more representative player.
He has had five great years out of a twelve year (so far) career.
2002 through 2006, getting benched by two teams and 93 fumbles will really count against him.
How is this “inflation?” It was a great offense, and he was a key element. Were Jerry Rice’s numbers “inflated” because of the WCO, or Jim Kelly’s because of the K-Gun?
Jim Plunkett is not in the HoF. He has two rings.
If the NFL tracked tackles for loss instead of sacks (which they should), Polamalu would be a much stronger candidate. He does many things that don’t show up on the stat sheet and is a dominant safety. I think Ed Reed and Brian Dawkins should be shoo-ins too. I’m a big fan of safeties and pay a lot of attention to them. The safeties playing now are better than ever. Ronnie Lott and Rod Woodson paved the way for these guys.
The big knock on Ed Reed always seems to be that he doesn’t tackle. I don’t buy it. In the passing game he aims to keep the ball out of the reciever’s hands rather than knock it loose and in the run game he’s playing behind Ray Lewis, there just aren’t that many guys getting through. He’s not an enthusiastic hitter like Polamalu is but he’s definitely an elite safety. I’d like to see all three get in. Obviously Polamalu needs to put in more years to qualify but he definitely has the skills.
Kickers over Jason Hanson?