gold star for USAHOF

John Lynch: 2015 HOF Finalist



Having a lot of fun doing our Baseball debates with two of my bloggers, DDT and the Phillies Archivist, I wanted to repeat the same idea with this year’s Football Finalists, but due to time constraints I will take a deeper look at each candidate myself and offer a few thoughts as to their Hall of Fame candidacy

Next, I take a look at former Safety, John Lynch.

Lynch is a Finalist for the second year in a row, but pure Safeties only number eight in Canton, the last being in 1998 when Paul Krause got in, who is still the all time leader in Interceptions.  Lynch only has 26, significantly lower than Krause (81), but that was not why he was chosen for nine Pro Bowls and two First Team All Pro squads. 

The former Tampa Bay Buccaneer and Denver Bronco was considered to be one of the most ferocious hitters in the NFL and he put the fear of God in open Wide Receivers.  Lynch was named the Defensive Back of the Year by the NFL Alumni in 2000 and in 2003 was a major part of the defensive effort that decimated the Oakland Raiders in the Super Bowl.

That defense has already seen two players go to the Hall of Fame (Warren Sapp & Derrick Brooks) and could see another when Ronde Barber is eligible.  Lynch was a big part of that effort, but will Canton see fit to pit in a third and a fourth from that D? 

We have talked about character and the Hall of Fame, and if that were the main prerequisite, Lynch’s head would be measured for that bust right now.  He is a former winner of both the Bart Starr and Whizzer White Man of the Year and was known throughout the NFL for being a genuinely nice guy, but that is not what this should be all about.

As for me, I am not yet convinced that the third Buccaneer Super Bowl winner enshrined in Canton shouldn’t be Barber, and I am on the side of the fence that does not see him get in.  My wager is that is how it will play out this year too. 




Last modified on Thursday, 19 March 2015 18:48
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Kirk Buchner, "The Committee Chairman", is the owner and operator of the site.  Kirk can be contacted at [email protected] .

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