lambeaulambo
Cheesehead
Who do you list as some good candidates?
There's Jerry Kramer...
Sterling Sharpe and LeRoy Butler should both be in the HOF.
Personally, I prefer judging players at their peak rather than rewarding above average stat padders who play for a long time (I would also argue Terrell Davis should be inducted).
-Sharpe was a 3 Time 1st Team All Pro and 5 Time Pro Bowl player in 7 years.
-Butler was quite possibly the Best Safety of his Generation and was a FOUR TIME 1st Team All Pro
Which "above average stat padders" are in the hall of fame?
Art Monk comes to mind. He played 14 seasons but only made the Pro Bowl in two of those seasons. Overall a very good player, but not a dominant player.
As far as the Hall of Fame, all numbers are not created equal. What got Lynn Swan in wont get Rod Smith in. What got Gale Sayers in wont get Terrell Davis in.
Sterling was the better player in the family, even shannon will tell you that.
Deion told the Packers not to draft him.
Art Monk comes to mind. He played 14 seasons but only made the Pro Bowl in two of those seasons. Overall a very good player, but not a dominant player.
(Off the top of my head and just looking at recent players people talk about rther than going through decades worth of inductees) There are many stat padders who either are in or are expected to be in:
-Curtis Martin-Stat Padder
-Jerome Bettis-Stat Padder
-Art Monk-Stat Padder
-Chris Carter-Stat Padder
(For example, Sterling Sharpe in 7 Years made made more 1st Team All Pro than Carter did in 16 Years)
(Off the top of my head and just looking at recent players people talk about rther than going through decades worth of inductees) There are many stat padders who either are in or are expected to be in:
-Curtis Martin-Stat Padder
-Jerome Bettis-Stat Padder
-Art Monk-Stat Padder
-Chris Carter-Stat Padder
(For example, Sterling Sharpe in 7 Years made made more 1st Team All Pro than Carter did in 16 Years)
I'll give you Art Monk. Still, only one example out of 267.
sterling sharpe? seriously? I agree he was tremendous but his career was cut too short. You can't put someone in the hall of fame for that. Hell Tim Brown and Cris Carter aren't even in the Hall of Fame. I agree with Leroy Butler though.
Sterling Sharpe was much, much more talented than both of them. He was, along with Rice, THE dominant WR when he played. Truth, career too short, but he dominated.
What keeps him and other guys like him out of the hall is the stupid notion of "can you tell football's history without them?".
The Hall of Fame is more about the press and public notion than it is about football.
This whole idea of "stat-padders" is basically saying that the guy was at least pretty good for a very long time. Martin, Carter and Bettis are HOFs. Part of what made them great was their durability. Durability is a big part of what makes Manning and Favre great. A WR who puts up five straight 1,000 yard seasons is just as good, if not better than a guy who puts up 1300, then 600, then 1100 and so forth. Javon Walker had the best year for a Packer WR in the past decade, does that make him better than Donald Driver?
peak value? Wow.Yes Javon Walker was better than Donald Driver. His peak value was far better than Driver's.
To me, the question when it comes to the HOF to determine if someone should make it is:
"If my Life Depended on the Outcome of 1 Game and I am choosing my team, would this player be deserving of a spot on my team?"
Over the Last 15 or so years, I would take an in his Prime Priest Holmes or Terrell Davis any day over Bettis or Martin and it is not even close.
In sports, where the goal is to win a championship a Transcendent Talent that is short lived gives a team a better chance at winning than does a long term slightly above average player.