Hall of Fame finalists announced - TO in Final 15

[GunnerBill]

A 12 year career which only six of the 12 season had a record of better than .500 and three times with three different teams being benched and replaced is HOF caliper??

 

He was inducted into the Arena League HOF BTW

 

Not saying he absolutely doesn't belong in the HOF, but do think he's marginal career, likely the back story helped sway some votes his way.

 

 

I wasn't disagreeing with the bit that purely factual... but of your opinions... I don't agree his career didn't do much or that he had a career so short that it should go against him or that it was more the story than the on field.

 

Warner had 11 years where he saw significant game time. 6 very good ones, a couple of reasonable ones (including when he was benched despite being 5-4, playing alright and having the Giants in a playoff hunt so they could go to their rookie) and a couple of bad ones (basically his last two in St Louis).

I think that on its own might not be enough.... but when you add to that the fact that he hold a plethora of post-season records and the story (which to me does play in and should play in - not be a deciding factor but be a factor) then I think the whole career is HOF worthy.

Edited February 5, 2017 by GunnerBill

[Rico]

FWIW, here's a fun article on the least deserving HOFers: https://www.google.com/amp/ftw.usatoday.com/2015/08/pro-football-nfl-hall-of-fame-who-doesnt-belong-worst-troy-aikman-canton/amp?client=safari(be aware Marv is on the list).

Ralph is most conspicuous by his absence, so is Fred f'n Dean.

[Bad Things]

Really surprised that Terrell Davis got in. I personally don't think he belongs. (I lived in Colorado while he was playing and unfortunately watched a lot of Broncos games.)

Don't get me wrong... he was a great player, but I don't think HOF worthy.

 

Short career with backups coming in and also being successful.

[Kirby Jackson]

Ralph is most conspicuous by his absence, so is Fred f'n Dean.

I think Ralph's contributions to the merger and the AFL help his case. If he wouldn't have financially supported other teams I wonder if he would have gotten in?

[Rico]

I think Ralph's contributions to the merger and the AFL help his case. If he wouldn't have financially supported other teams I wonder if he would have gotten in?

Help his case? That's his only case, and it's more than offset by the horrendous job he did as Bills owner. If Ralph is in, Bill Bidwell also belongs.

[klos63]

Joe Namath

I don't think Namath deserves to be in.

Bill Mazeroski was a mistake and voted in by the veteran's committee, which has made almost all the mistakes in the baseball HOF. He is in no way similar to the impact of Lynn Swann.

Never saw Mazeroski play, but from what I hear, he was an exceptional defensive 2B. That usually doesn't count for much, but it should.

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

I don't think Namath deserves to be in.

Never saw Mazeroski play, but from what I hear, he was an exceptional defensive 2B. That usually doesn't count for much, but it should.

I never saw him either, but his defensive stats and reputation make for an exceptional 2B. It definetly was a major reason he got in. However, I never supported his election from a holistic point of view. He hit .260, never walked, had marginal power and couldn't run. But, yes he was a great, great fielder.

Edited February 5, 2017 by horned dogs

[26CornerBlitz]

@RickGosselin9

Insightful read by John Turney of Pro Football Journal on HOF candidacy of Terrell Owens: http://nflfootballjournal.blogspot.com/2017/02/terrell-owens-will-be-elected-to-hall.html

[dave mcbride]

I am agreeing that it is about more than numbers. Numbers are important though. He's not in the top 225 in catches or yards. He's 113th in TDs. Yes, it wasn't the same passing era but there are A LOT of guys between him and the top including many in the 70's and 80's. I used Clayton earlier. Stanley Morgan had 557 catches, 10,716 yards and 72 TDs. He had over 200 more catches and DOUBLE the yards. No one is banging the table for him to go into the hall. There are TONS of examples like that.

 

Swann also played at a time where certain teams were seen more. That played a role for sure. He was very talented but did not produce the way that other HOFers did.

I'm not really arguing for Swann here, but simply to emphasize that the postseason matters and that postseason stats should never be excluded. For instance, in 8 postseason games, Terrell Davis rushed for 1,140 yards, 12 TDs, and 5.6 ypc. And this was by definition against the best competition. Extrapolated to a full season, that 2,280 freaking yards. That is a staggering statistic, and 8 games is a healthy sample size.

 

Swann's postseason #s were very good but hardly staggering: in 16 games, he had 48 catches for 907 yards, 9 TDs, and 18.9 ypc.

 

Over 13 postseason games, Warner was great: 3,952 yards, 31 TDs, 14 INTs, 8.6 YPA, 66.5% completion pct, and a rating of 102.8. His teams went 9-4 in the playoffs when he was at the helm. He's a definite hall of famer in my book.

 

Really surprised that Terrell Davis got in. I personally don't think he belongs. (I lived in Colorado while he was playing and unfortunately watched a lot of Broncos games.)

Don't get me wrong... he was a great player, but I don't think HOF worthy.

 

Short career with backups coming in and also being successful.

1,140 postseason rushing yards in 8 games. That is simply incredible.

Edited February 6, 2017 by dave mcbride