Monday, August 9, 2004

Who's Next??

Now that we have Barry Sanders and John Elway locked into the Hall Of Fame….WHO’S NEXT!?!?

Well…there are two guys that seem to be the Class of 2005’s…..uh…..class.

Dan Marino, who pretty much owns every passing record, will be red-carpeted in. He threw for 10,000 more yards than Elway [who’s 2nd all-time], 78 more TD than Tarkenton [who’s 2nd all-time] and is 6th all-time in passing efficiency.

The all-time efficient passer will also be on that ballot. Steve Young. Not all of Young’s numbers zing out at you….but some do. Despite riding the pine behind Joe Montana for a few years, he still has more TD passes than Bradshaw. But he has less than Vinny Testeverde and Dave Krieg….and just a few more than Randall Cunningham and Jim Everett. But, those 232 touchdowns along with the 33,124 yards and 64.3% completion rate should make him a solid lock for the Hall Of Fame.

After those two….it gets iffy. Michael Irvin has a good shot. He is 12th all time in receptions [with half as many as Rice] and almost 12,000 yards and 65 touchdowns. All that plus his 3 Super Bowl rings will get him in sometime….if not in 2005. Remember Lynn Swann. You also have three defensive players that will be on the ballot. Charles Haley, who has 5 Super Bowl rings, has a better than average shot. So does Kevin Greene and the late Derrick Thomas if the Hall looks at their sack numbers.

Beyond 2005, you will have Reggie White, Troy Aikman, Deion Sanders, Warren Moon, Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed out there for 2006. ALL deserve to be in the Hall….but possibly only Moon, White and Sanders get in on the first ballot. But all of them deserve to be there…..possibly in a light class on 2007, where Bruce Matthews looks to be the only first year lock.

In 2008, Darrell Green and Chris Carter will go in. Carter may have some difficulty due to his early career problems….but the way he battled thru that may be the feather in his cap after the Hall took some heat over Lawrence Taylor. Randall Cunningham could have a case….and some people are on the Terrell Davis bandwagon [I’m not]. In 2009, it will be Bruce Smith’s coronation…with Gary Anderson coming close.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Irvin makes the Hall in the "held a pistol on a woman" category

Anonymous said...

I gotta believe Art Monk will make it someday. At various points he held the single-season receptions record, the career receptions record and the consecutive games w/ a catch record. If Largent's in, Monk should be in. Of course, ol' 81 is my fave player ever.

Anonymous said...

I'm a big Redskin fan and a big "Art Monk in the Hall Of Fame" guy.  But the more the years drag along....the less likely he will be enshrined.

You are right.  If Largent is in the Hall....so should Monk.  

Realize this....Monk caught 106 passes in 1984.  The previous record was 93 by the Bears Johnnie Morris in 1964.  So he broke the mark by 13 receptions.  His mark stood until 1992 when Sterling Sharpe caught 108 passes.  Now, you have running back catching 100 passes in a season.  He is 5th all-time in receptions with 940.  Only Hall Of Fame locks Rice, Carter, Brown and Reed are ahead of him.