Committee Chairman

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.

Mick Tingelhoff: 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 Center, Mick Tingelhoff.

Tingelhoff is part of all four Minnesota Vikings teams in the 1970’s that made it to the Super Bowl, though failed to win the big one. Saying that, while he was still regarded as an above average Center in the National Football League, it was in the 1960’s that he was an elite performer.

That decade, Tingelhoff went to six Pro Bowls, five of which saw him named as a First Team All Pro Selection. His overall durability saw him play 240 consecutive games, all of which as a starter, a mark that at the time of his retirement placed him second overall.

Tingelhoff, who is already in the Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor and has had his number retired by the organization, has long been a player that Vikings fans have been clamoring for to enter the Hall of Fame, and history shows that they will likely get what they want.

Over 65 percent of past Senior Candidates have gotten in, and now with their being only one on the ballot, many, including us think that Tingelhoff will no longer be on the outside looking in, which is how it should have been for years.

Will Shields: 2015 HOF Finalist

Jan 24, 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 Offensive Guard, Will Shields.

This is Shields fourth consecutive year as a Finalist, which is also his fourth on the ballot. The Right Guard started 223 of his 224 Games Played and of his fourteen seasons, he was a Pro Bowl Selection for twelve of them, not to mention a First Team All Pro Selection twice.

A consistent player, Shields was the steadying force in what was predominantly one of the better Offensive Lines in the NFL and was rarely beat, much to the delight of the his Quarterbacks, Elvis Grbac and Trent Green who both had 4,000 Yard Passing seasons.

What has kept Shields out thus far is the high amount of Offensive Linemen who have been eligible at the same time, and this year is no exception with Orlando Pace and Senior Candidate Mick Tingelhoff, the latter of which has a great chance of getting in based on the recent frequency in which Senior Candidates have been getting inducted.

Saying that, I think he will get in (and should) this year, but if he is passed over again, the former Kansas City Chief won’t wait long.

Jimmy Johnson: 2015 HOF Finalist

Jan 23, 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 Head Coach, Jimmy Johnson.

The former Dallas Cowboy and Miami Dolphin Head Coach has been eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for over a decade but this is the first time he made this far. The initial question might be why, but it appears that longevity would have to be the answer.

Johnson would only coach for nine seasons and his 80 and 64 record is well below a lot of other Head Coach’s winning percentage is not in line with others in Canton. That is something that probably should not matter, but having a win total well under 100 has to be something that has prevented him getting him this far until now.

Now that being true, he does have three major things going for him, and two of them are Super Bowl Rings. You pay coaches to win the big one, and his record is skewed a lot from that 1 and 15 inaugural season in Dallas, but ask Cowboys fans if they care about that now? They don’t and nor should they based on what he built.

What also works in his favor is that Johnson was the architect of putting together the team (he was the head of all those decisions) and through drafts and the brilliant trade of Herschel Walker that netted him a plethora of draft picks, he built a mini-dynasty that would win another Super Bowl under Barry Switzer that largely was due to the personnel decisions by Johnson.

Perhaps the best comparison is John Madden, who like Johnson had a relatively similar career with ten seasons as the Raiders Head Coach and one Super Bowl win, though his regular season record was much better (100-32-7), though wouldn’t he heave traded some wins for a second Super Bowl? Also, both remained largely in the public eye with their broadcasting career, and make no mistake, that does subconsciously play into the minds of many voters.

For me, the most important thing is the two Super Bowl Bowls, and arguably an assist on the third, which in my mind makes him not only a Pro Football Hall of Fame Finalist, but an inductee as well, and he should have been a Finalist long ago.

If it was up to me he will get in this year, but he won’t. Tony Dungy will likely get that spot instead.