Irv Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 I thought he was a HOF'er but then heard him on TV and radio. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 (edited) I think ‘specialists’ are appropriately devalued, otherwise where does it end. Greatest Long snapper of all time? he was a oddly great gunner, and a very forgettable WR. But he wasn’t a transcendent leader or media personality as a player. As an overall football player, he wasn’t an all time great. I just don’t see anyone outside of Bills fans making or buying an argument for his induction. plus the induction process is pretty democratic so... yeah his current status It what is ‘should be’. to paraphrase you are what the voters say you are. Edited June 24, 2020 by Over 29 years of fanhood 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanC883 Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 17 hours ago, Putin said: He was the Best at what he did so you got my answer this. if you let any special teams player in, then Tasker belongs in it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 Tasker belongs in the Hall. Additionally, if he played in this era he'd be every bit as good as Wes Welker or Julian Edelman at wide receiver. No one could cover that dude. 3 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigdaddyinOrlando Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 Yes and zero questions or doubts about it! He was a force on special teams and dominated his position like no other. I saw a stat from a previous poster that he won 9 games with his play, but he affected so many more by teams fair catching and designed returns away from him. If you game plan for a player over and over on special teams like him , then yes you effect the game for your team ! He was the best I ever saw and still is today! I hope he makes it so he and all of his teammates and us fans can celebrate and it’s not something that takes longer than necessary 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Success Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 10 hours ago, oldmanfan said: Yes. He revolutionized the importance of special teams. Agreed. And he also reinvented that role. To win a SB, they always say you have to have all 3 phases. Why do defensive and offensive players get all the recognition, but that vital 3rd phase is left out in the cold? Absolutely Tasker should be in the HOF. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
first_and_ten Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 19 hours ago, JetsFan20 said: What are your thoughts? You can certainly make an argument for him, but I think it’s hard to include him. That era in Bills football already has a ton of HOF representation. Just because an era has a ton of representation is not a reason on it's own to rule him out. He was the best at his position for a long time. Is special teams an integral part of winning and losing? Yes.So I say he does belong in the HOF. IMHO 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsFan20 Posted June 25, 2020 Author Share Posted June 25, 2020 These takes are interesting: What will hurt Tasker moving forward is that special teams is being de-emphasized in today’s NFL. I disagree with Matthew Slater as a HOF player for that reason. Here is a question: If Tasker wasn’t on those great Bills teams would anyone consider him a HOFer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let's Go Buffalo Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 Tasker shined on the biggest stage at the highest level year after year, and dominated many pros who are already in the Hall of Fame. Also, when some of those same Hall of Famers have said that Steve deserves to be in, then that's good enough for me. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerJ Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 I think he belongs. If he gets in, I can say I had dinner with a Hall of Famer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 You know, I get the impression that most who say he does not belong, are probably too young to have really seen him play. Their commentary is usually just snarky, and without substance...we all know he isn't the greatest broadcaster, but that seems to cloud the opinion as to whether he belongs in the HOF. Turn on an NFL football broadcast any Sunday during the season, and you will be listening to the analysis of once great players, who are terrible broadcasters. Broadcasting quality is irrelevant. When Tasker was playing, he wasn't just a Bills "fan favorite", he was highly known and regarded across the league, even to casual fans. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob in STL Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 Think about it more. How many great special teams players could cover punts and kickoffs, return punts and kickoffs, block punts, and recover on sides kicks. He was exceptional and should be recognized for it. He was a great slot receiver as well. He would have helped in SB XXV as a receiver (Beebe was out) but they didn’t know what they had yet. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceVilanch Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 Loved watching him play, absolutely deserves to be in. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 On 6/24/2020 at 3:03 AM, Peace Frog said: I would but not before some other STers on this list. (Note: this list is not updated.) https://www.stadiumtalk.com/s/best-special-teams-players-nfl-history-c8f50eef62574034 I'm surprised that Mark Pike was not on that list, seriously. Blocking Pike was like standing in front of a freight train. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMAKCruiser Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 7 hours ago, Bob in STL said: Think about it more. How many great special teams players could cover punts and kickoffs, return punts and kickoffs, block punts, and recover on sides kicks. He was exceptional and should be recognized for it. He was a great slot receiver as well. He would have helped in SB XXV as a receiver (Beebe was out) but they didn’t know what they had yet. I don't ever recall Tasker being an impressive kick off/punt return specialist except for a fluky play against the Raiders in the playoffs. I hardly remember him returning kicks or punts at all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob in STL Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 (edited) 16 hours ago, SMAKCruiser said: I don't ever recall Tasker being an impressive kick off/punt return specialist except for a fluky play against the Raiders in the playoffs. I hardly remember him returning kicks or punts at all... Mostly known for kick coverage. He returned 44 kickoffs, mostly in his early career, and he returned 32 punts in the last few years of his career. My point is that on special teams he did whatever was needed. Edited June 26, 2020 by Bob in STL 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerJ Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 Yeah, he was a world class gunner. Unblockable as a gunner. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComradeKayAdams Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 Of the 346 Hall of Fame members, only 4 have made it in primarily for their special teams play: Lou Groza, Jan Stenerud, Morten Anderson, and Ray Guy. 3 kickers and 1 punter. No returners and no gunners. There are 26 head coaches and 26 contributors who were elected not for their play on the field. Is it then reasonable to so willfully exclude special teamers from Hall of Fame conversations? Excluding all of those players who regularly made significant impacts on the outcomes of every game played? Steve Tasker was the greatest gunner in NFL history. He singlehandedly decided multiple important games and heavily influenced many more on one of the best dynasties the AFC/AFL had ever seen. It doesn’t even matter if the NFL were to completely ban special teams beginning today. You can’t tell the full story of the professional game without including the absolute greatest of the great talents on what was at least once considered a full third of the game. I assume the HOF Seniors Committee will rectify this sorry mistake soon enough. By the way, I don’t understand all the passionate hate here for broadcasters like Tasker (or Beth Mowins for that matter, whose uniquely husky voice I find quite appropriate for the medium)?? Focus on the game, people! 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frez Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 On 6/24/2020 at 12:38 AM, JetsFan20 said: What are your thoughts? You can certainly make an argument for him, but I think it’s hard to include him. That era in Bills football already has a ton of HOF representation. Yes, the guy was amazing. It’s a shame Marv Levy didn’t play him at WR in his younger years. Steve was a fearless amazing athlete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsPride12 Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 Yes for me. I've always called Tasker the Michael Jordan of special teams Bill Parcells once said back in the Super Bowl days they had to spend more time game planning for Tasker than Andre, Thurman or Jim whenever they played the Bills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevWarRifleman Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 Yes, he belongs in the HOF. He made a big difference in a lot of games. Some of which were playoff games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaCrispy Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Coot Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 Tasker was uncoverable as a receiver. I don't know why he wasn't used as a slot receiver more often. Edelman reminds me of the kind of receiver Tasker was. Tasker could also be an effective ball carrier. I recall a game in which the Bills used the old single wing formation and ran the pants off of whomever they were playing. Tasker had almost 200 yards rushing. This guy could do it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo716 Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 2 hours ago, Old Coot said: Tasker was uncoverable as a receiver. I don't know why he wasn't used as a slot receiver more often. Edelman reminds me of the kind of receiver Tasker was. Tasker could also be an effective ball carrier. I recall a game in which the Bills used the old single wing formation and ran the pants off of whomever they were playing. Tasker had almost 200 yards rushing. This guy could do it all. Tasker has 130 rushing yards in his career with a career high of around 70 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Coot Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 The Old Coot's memory isn't what it used to be. I think that I was thinking of the Bill's last playoff victory -- 30 Dec 1995 against the Dolphins. The Bills rushed for 341 yards. Tasker only for 7 but he did have 108 yards receiving on 5 receptions. Plus they may have run the Wing-T not the single wing. That game was also Shula's last game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFanForever19 Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 Right now, no. But I could see him getting in much later in life for all of his contributions. He'll be one of those "I wasn't around to see him, but I hear he was the best Special Teamer of all time and I remember seeing him as an analyst" type inductions far into the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nextmanup Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 13 hours ago, Old Coot said: Tasker was uncoverable as a receiver. I don't know why he wasn't used as a slot receiver more often. Edelman reminds me of the kind of receiver Tasker was. Tasker could also be an effective ball carrier. I recall a game in which the Bills used the old single wing formation and ran the pants off of whomever they were playing. Tasker had almost 200 yards rushing. This guy could do it all. The game was a LOT simpler back in our Super Bowl years. Tasker would have been heavily used as a slot guy if he played now. He would have been just as good as Welker and Edelman in New England too, if a guy like Brady was throwing him the ball. I have always said he should be in the HOF not because he was a really good special teams player or even a great one, but because he was the best single guy all time in that third of the game. But yeah, he was a hell of a receiver too. Just a hell of an athlete, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewEra Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 9 hours ago, Nextmanup said: The game was a LOT simpler back in our Super Bowl years. Tasker would have been heavily used as a slot guy if he played now. He would have been just as good as Welker and Edelman in New England too, if a guy like Brady was throwing him the ball. I have always said he should be in the HOF not because he was a really good special teams player or even a great one, but because he was the best single guy all time in that third of the game. But yeah, he was a hell of a receiver too. Just a hell of an athlete, really. I disagree. He wasn’t nearly as good as those guys. Just because he’s a little white guy doesn’t mean he was as good as them. He wouldn’t have been “heavily used”. We spread the ball around just fine and he was an afterthought. He didn’t play for a reason. He belongs in the HoF if the voters think being a special teams standout is worthy of such. Seems to me that they don’t think much of it after all these years. Personally, I’d love to see him make it because I’m a Bills fan but I don’t think he’ll ever get in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KGun12TD Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 Question should be “should you have asked such a silly question?” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 It’s such a tough call. He’s probably never getting in but if STs is a 1/3 of the game, he should. Dude was dominant at what he did. And I met him a few times and it’s absolutely mind blowing that he is a former nfl player and did what he did. Definitely deserves to be on the wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fr. Jerk Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 Yes, was dope as soap, ya heard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 12 minutes ago, The Jerk said: Yes, was dope as soap, ya heard? Proper! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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