One can also add 22 playoff games to Favre’s streak. Just for nitpicking purposes
I don’t know what Marshall’s would have been with playoffs added in. But it’s damn impressive regardless.
[QUOTE=NurseCarmen]
Marshall never played hopped up on Vicodin.
[/QUOTE]
Are you sure?
Marshall was a great player, Favre was a great player.
Of course Marshall did run the wrong way once.
just sayin’.
[QUOTE=Gangster Octopus]
Which games would that be?
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Off the top of my head… oh there was a game probably three years ago. He played the first series and then sat for a while, I don’t recall if it was the rest of the game. He was coming off an injury and there was speculation that he wouldn’t play. Maybe I’m blowing the severity his lack of playing time in that game out of proportion being that, as a Bears fan, I hate Favre. Sorry I can’t recall specifics, it probably sounds like I’m making shit up.
Hmm, I was probably thinking of the 11/19/06 game against the Patriots where he played a bit less than a half.
[QUOTE=Snarky_Kong]
Hmm, I was probably thinking of the 11/19/06 game against the Patriots where he played a bit less than a half.
[/QUOTE]
He left that game because he hurt his elbow during the game.
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan]
One can also add 22 playoff games to Favre’s streak. Just for nitpicking purposes
I don’t know what Marshall’s would have been with playoffs added in. But it’s damn impressive regardless.
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Marshall played in 19 additional.
[QUOTE=samclem]
Marshall played in 19 additional.
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That’s awesome! 
Marshall’s jersey is on display in the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton as “the NFL Iron Man” (or was a while ago) but but he is not enshrined there (probably because Page and Eller from his same DL are already in & he only played in 2 Pro Bowls).
I agree that it takes some kind of weird reasoning to put Favre’s achievement first
I think punters can be football players, it’s a matter of attitude. If the punter runs down with the coverage team and tries to hit someone, he’s a football player. I remember Derrick Frost giving out one of the more brutal special teams tackles I’ve seen.
[QUOTE=SenorBeef]
If the punter runs down with the coverage team and tries to hit someone, he’s a football player.
[/QUOTE]
I thought punters were generally coached not to do that, so they can be the last line of defense if everybody else gets beat.
[QUOTE=Cheesesteak]
OTOH, defensive linemen aren’t asked to stand motionless looking 20-30 yards downfield while 4 guys 50+lbs heavier than he is are trying to knock the stuffing out of him. How often to you think Marshall was standing upright and got clobbered from behind by a bigger guy who had 4 full strides to get up to speed? QBs are targets.
Linemen also don’t get sidelined by things like broken fingers, which would put a QB completely out of action, even if he’s more than healthy enough to run around on the field.
[/QUOTE]
Linemen face significant injuries, both during their careers and after. As exhibit A, I give you Mike Webster. It has been surmised by some that while he was an extreme case, the extreme is not too far removed from the norm.
While we admire toughness in football players, we should also recognize that what we admire can (and often does) reduce the quality and length of football players’ lives after retirement.
[QUOTE=Airman Doors, USAF]
Linemen face significant injuries, both during their careers and after.
[/QUOTE]
No question, however there are factors that distinguish those injuries from normal QB injuries. The type of injuries they get, and the demands of the position make it more likely that they can play through the injury. QB is a precision position, he has to do much more than just run around and slam into other guys. Injuries that any average lineman would play through can sideline a QB, because he can’t meet the demands of the position. That’s why I would generally consider a consecutive game streak more unusual in a QB than in a lineman.
One other thought on Feagles, he was known as being one of the best directional punters around. That style sacrifices total kick length for reducing the chances of a good return. Fewer good returns means fewer chances to get blindsided by a block, or injured trying to tackle the return man.
[QUOTE=Marley23]
I thought punters were generally coached not to do that, so they can be the last line of defense if everybody else gets beat.
[/QUOTE]
This generally seems to be the case. I’m not sure to what degree it’s strategy, and to what degree punters aren’t willing or physically able to be part of the coverage team. It’s an interesting question whether having the punter back there as a last line of defense would be more effective than having 11 guys downfield together (if, say, you had a linebacker-quality athlete who was capable of punting).
[QUOTE=SenorBeef]
This generally seems to be the case. I’m not sure to what degree it’s strategy, and to what degree punters aren’t willing or physically able to be part of the coverage team. It’s an interesting question whether having the punter back there as a last line of defense would be more effective than having 11 guys downfield together (if, say, you had a linebacker-quality athlete who was capable of punting).
[/QUOTE]
Hunter Smith is one of the three or four fastest guys on the entire Colts roster (so sayeth Dungy and Manning, anyway) and he does exactly what other punters do - stay in the backfield and hope it doesn’t come down to you.
To answer the OP, Ray Guy belongs in the Hall of Fame, but Jeff Feagles’ starting streak is not nearly as impressive as the other two.
Ray Guy could kick the shit out of the ball, but didn’t punt that well strategically, i.e. pin the other team deep with a coffin corner kick.
Dr. Z (Paul Zimmerman, who is a HOF selecter) said as much in a mailbag item in this column.
[QUOTE=Dr. Z]
Ray Guy’s name comes up every year and always gets rejected. A boomer who never bothered to avoid the middle of the end zone.
Which brings us to Steve of Toronto, whose aims are for modest for the Giants’ Jeff Feagles, the best placement punter in the game today. Pinned the Eagles deep in the last minute with his perfectly placed effort, caused them to start on their own 11. Will these types of performances at least get Feagles into the Pro Bowl? Afraid not. Most of the voters look at numbers … highest gross, and in rare instances, highest net. Feagles’ work is appreciated only by people who understand the game, which eliminates about 90 percent of those who pack the Pro Bowl ballots.
[/QUOTE]
It looks like punters aren’t going to be getting any love from the HOF selecters any time soon.