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 Wide Receiver/Returner, Tim Brown.
Tim Brown first became eligible for the Football Hall of Fame in 2010, and was named a Finalist that year, and has been every year since. Brown has some substantial Hall of Fame credentials but has been caught in a logjam of more deserving Wide Receivers namely Cris Carter and Andre Reed who had a bit of a wait themselves.
Again, Brown is not the highest regarded Wide Receiver who made the Finals as Marvin Harrison, who personally I was shocked when he was not a first ballot inductee last year, did not get in. Last year, when the Hall of Fame reduced from fifteen to ten names, Harrison made the final ten, and Brown did not, indicating that he is still not on the top of the wideout pecking order.
This is not to say that he is not a Hall of Famer caliber player, because he does have a lot on his resume. What he lacks in First Team All Pro Selections (he has none) and Super Bowl Rings, he makes up for in Pro Bowl selections (nine) and Special Teams credentials.
Brown’s first Pro Bowl was as a Special Team selection and in that rookie campaign he would lead the NFL in Kick Return Yards. He would later lead the NFL in Punt Return Yards in 1994 and overall would contribute a total of 4,555 Return Yards and 4 Touchdowns; a mark that no other Wide Receiver can state.
Does that matter?
It should, but as we know, the Pro Football Hall of Fame never has put a lot of premium on Special Teams players, so why should we expect that they will care about a Special Team “add on” to a Wide Receiver career?
Perhaps that is the problem, as Tim Brown’s Wide Receiving was decent, he was never ever considered among the top two in his position, and if he ever was at any given time, he could at least cling to that.
That does matter, as being considered an elite performer at an offensive skill position he would probably be indicted already. Just one season, in addition to his career statistical accomplishments would have made him impossible to overlook by this point.
Even with the inflated statistics that exist within Wide Receivers at this time, Tim Brown is still in the top five in Receptions and Receiving Yards and while he was able to successfully to climb the all time stat ladder, he still did so in an era where he had a lot of competition.
With his additional dimensions on Special Teams and his accumulated totals on Offense, he would receive my vote, and has waited long enough.
Saying that, I don’t think he will get the call this year either.
Comments powered by CComment