Committee Chairman

John Lynch: 2015 HOF Finalist

Jan 28, 2015

Published in Hall of Fame Debates

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.

Junior Seau: 2015 HOF Finalist

Jan 27, 2015

Published in Hall of Fame Debates

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 Linebacker, Junior Seau.

When Seau retired, virtually every football fan and journalist pegged him as a surefire first ballot inductee and why not? Seau was regarded for many years as the top Linebacker in the National Football League, and has the trophies to prove it.

The former linebacker was the consensus Defensive MVP in 1992, a twelve time Pro Bowler, a six time First Team All Pro Selection, a member of the 1990’s All Decade Team and the NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year in 2003. Stat wise, he has 56.5 Quarterback Sacks, 18 Interceptions and 1,849 Tackles over a twenty year career. He has suited in the second most games of any Linebacker.

It can be criticized that Junior Seau never won the Super Bowl, though he has been to two, the first with the San Diego Chargers where he was a major reason they got as far as they did in the first place. It should also be noted that Seau also won the Walter Payton Man of the Year, an accolade showing his charitable work.

Perhaps that is why his suicide caught all of us by surprise when he committed suicide as we all thought he was such a happy well adjusted man who loved life. We did not know about the concussion related injuries and depression that he had about no longer being a football player and the other issues he had.

While the Pro Football Hall of Fame has posthumously inducted players in the past, there has never been one before where people have pointed at the injuries suffered at the gridiron as a possible cause to his death.

This should not keep him out, but it does raise the question of the costs of playing football are, and though Seau should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and should go in immediately, there will be articles written about the cost of playing the game.

Could that prevent him from getting in? If it was a player with less accolades that could happen, but this is a player who was one of the best Defensive players ever, so it is not only likely to happen, he will get in on the first ballot.

Anything else is criminal.

Jerome Bettis: 2015 HOF Finalist

Jan 26, 2015

Published in Hall of Fame Debates

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 Running Back, Jerome Bettis.

This is “The Bus’s” fifth consecutive year as a Hall of Finalist, but this year seems different, as there are not as many obstacles in his way. There had been higher profile Running Backs ahead of him in the past, and while Terrell Davis is also a Finalist, based on previous voting patterns, it stands to reason that he is behind him in line. Bettis also made it to the final ten last year showing that he is very close to the door.

He should be. Amassing 13,662 Rushing Yards and 91 Touchdowns over his career, the popular Running Back is considered one of the best “big” backs ever and statistically he is among the elite. Bettis has six Pro Bowls and two First Team All Pro selections to his credit, and in 1996 he won the NFL Alumni Running Back of the Year, indicating that there was a sizable segment that considered him the best at one point in his career.

Character (good or bad) should not really be a factor in getting into the Hall of Fame, but who are we kidding? Where it hurts Charles Haley, it helps Jerome Bettis, a former Walter Payton Man of the Year Award (2001), and was also named the PFWA Good Guy Award in 2005. Through broadcasting, Bettis remains in the public eye and still has a high level of respect within the community.

Bettis would win a Super Bowl Ring in his final season in the NFL, but he was largely ineffective and almost cost the team the game, so that is not exactly a selling point.

Personally, I have always viewed Jerome Bettis as a marginal Hall of Fame talent, but one if he got in would not bother me, and if he never got in would be fine also. Saying that, this is his year, and all signs are for the bus to make a final stop in Northern Ohio.

Terrell Davis: 2015 HOF Finalist

Jan 25, 2015

Published in Hall of Fame Debates

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 Running Back, Terrell Davis.

For the first time in eight years, Terrell Davis has made it to the Final Round, a feat inconceivable four years into his career when he had just completed a three year stint as the best Running Back in the National Football League.

Those first four seasons were among the most impressive by any Running Back in NFL history. Davis would win the Rushing Title in 1998 and would lead the league in Rushing Touchdowns twice in 1997 and 1998, and is one of the rare people to rush for 2,000 Yards in a NFL season. More importantly, Davis would be a featured performer taking the Denver Broncos to two consecutive Super Bowls, where he would be named the MVP of his first one, and was the MVP of the NFL in the regular season the year after.

So what happened?

Like so many professional athletes, Terrell Davis succumbed to injuries way to early in his career and in his final three seasons only saw the Running Back play 17 Games. He just wasn’t the same player and there are many who look at Hall of Fame players for Canton and expect that they should have longer careers than only seven NFL campaigns.

While I can understand that sentiment, a very important fact remains is that Davis WAS at one point the undisputed best Running Back in the NFL and not just for a moment. That reality makes him a bona fide contender for the Hall of Fame and despite the brevity of his career makes him someone that I would personally vote for, champion for and induct into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Saying that, will he get in?

Not this year, as the patterns we have seen have shown as that those who have “toiled” in the Semis and eventually make it to the Finals never get into the Hall of Fame the year they finally break through.

Although this is very unlikely to be the year that Davis breaks through…well, we can hope can’t we? I am sure that there are many in the state of Colorado thinking the same thing.