Worst player in Canton

It’s being asked in another thread,“Who’s the worst player in Cooperstown?” May as well ask the football equivalent.

Gale Sayers, only played three full seasons and fractions of a couple others. Only rushed over 1000 yards in two.

Namath.

Way more interceptions than touchdown. and wasn’t in the dark ages of the forward pass like Layne.

This is a much tougher question than “who’s the worst player in the Baseball Hall of Fame” because stats arre harder to come by in the NFL, and aren’t always helpful when they are available.

It’s pretty easy to judge from stats who the best baseball players were, but does a fan who wasn’t around in the Seventies really have any way of knowing or calculating how good Mike Webster, John Hannah, Bob Kuechenberg or Ron Yary were as offensive linemen?

Heck, do I really know how good old-timers like Sam Huff or Chuck Bednarik were?

That said, I can think of a few “position players” in the Pro Football Hall of Fame whose numbers are mighty underwhelming.

Floyd Little is a good place to start. Good running back for the Broncos (I saw a lot of him because I was an Oakland Raiders fan in the late Sixties and early Seventies), but his career rushing average was only 3.9 yards and he only had ONE 1,000 season. Floyd Little was a solid running back, but he didn’t scare ANYONE.

There’s also five or six guys who get in every year and they always seem to have a couple of “old-timers”. Maybe the Baseball Hall of Fame wasn’t always so selective, but the Pro Football Hall of Fame does seem a degree or two less selective than Cooperstown. The Veterans Committee might as well not exist anymore for baseball.

Terry Bradshaw. So he won a bunch of Superbowls; big fuckin’ deal. He has 2 more touchdowns than interceptions.

I agree figuring the WORST O-lineman is impossible. Hell, figuring out the BEST isn’t any easier.

You have to compare his garage with his contemporaries. For example he led the league in '68 with 856 yards. He set many records during his career, some of which still hold. He’s also one of the best return men of all time. It’s ridiculous to say he’s the worst in the hall.

Is go with Namath too.

In his five “real” seasons, Sayers finished in the following spots on the league rushing list: 2nd, 1st, 3rd, 5th, 1st. He made four Pro Bowls in those seasons and was an All-Pro in all five.

He’s second on the all time YPC list despite having a sub-3 YPC for the '70 and '71 seasons (trying to come back from a blown out knee). He’s tied for the career lead in kickoff return touchdowns. He holds the record for career kick return average. He has the single season record for YPC.

Even tho I hated the guy at the time (Raiders fan back then), after his first 4 seasons that ratio was 171 TD, 137 Int, and his yards/attempt was very good (49th all time, twice leading the league, 7 top 10’s), and the Rings, hate to say, do count.

Worst player in Canton?

Probably Jayne.
What?

That’s not fair, at all. Actually, it’s insulting.

While longevity is a major consideration in HOF induction, in the case of Gayle Sayers his abilities highly overcame the lack of longevity. Just look at a minute of film of the guy. He was probably the best pure running back in the history of the game of football.

These days his knees would have been repaired and his career would have been extended. Back in his time, and the time of Bobby Orr, Joe Namath and a bunch of others, the intrusive surgery was the kiss of death to an athletic career.

The “Kansas Comet” was something very special. He was put in the HOF because he belongs there. Football people still talk about how they saw Sayers do this or that. An HOF exists for the purpose of telling the fans “Let’s Not Forget.” Gayle Sayers should never be forgotten.

Til 1975 there was a 14 game schedule. A 1000 yard season was very good and a lot more rare. Sayers was a hell of a good running back.

Ceteris paribus, it shouldn’t have been that rare, though. Today, a 1000 yard season requires 62.5 yards per game. Back then, it required 71.4.

Curtis Martin, who I think we can all agree was really good for a long time, but never great, averaged 83.9 yards per game. Clinton Portis, who has about as much chance as I do of getting into the Hall, has averaged 87.8. LaDanian Tomlinson, who will get into the Hall, but for scoring, not yardage, averages 85.9. Fred Taylor averaged 76.4.

As to your “Ceteris paribus”, it’s not accurate by using a “yards gained” statistic. The game was played differently. There was more emphasis on stopping the run. While it “shouldn’t have been that rare” it was. Rules changed, offenses changed, defenses changed, game plans changed. In Sayers’ time a 1000 yd. season was major. As RNTATB noted,

And rushing yards don’t include yards gained on kickoff returns.

Football is much more difficult to quantify than baseball on a statistical basis. Sometimes you have to see it to believe it. Sayers was the real deal. In his time, compared to his contemporaries, he stood out.

Uh… I am RNTATB.

Lynn Swann’s career numbers aren’t too impressive. He never had a 1,000 yard receiving season, and only had more than 800 yards twice. He was never even the best WR on his own team.

Hehe.

His garage? Now that’s a typo! :wink:

The biggest problem in determining who is good or bad in Football is that the game has changed dramatically in both rules and game philosophy over its lifetime. A player who dominated in the '30s is a totally differnt player from one in the '50s who is totally different from one in the 70’s who is totally different from one in the 80’s who is totally different from one in 2011. These were guys who were dominant in the era they played in which won’t make them dominant in another era, so comparing the two based on modern stats is meaningless.