Best modern era RB eligible for Hall of Fame?

[Old Dude]

Article here:

http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com...-jacket/19885/

Some pretty compelling arguments by the stat guys. Pass 'em around.

[gunns]

Take that argument to the HOF. I've always said if they are going to use TD's lack of longevity against him they should us Bettis longevity against him. Majorily OVERRATED. And although the longevity thing is against TD I hate that they put he played for 7 years because it was really only 4 and looked what he accomplished. Amazing.

[McDman]

Knowshon.

[Bacchus]

Who Should Get a Gold Jacket?

I don't currently have a seat on the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection board, but after looking at the complete picture the above data provides, it is clear that the next running back to don a gold jacket should be Terrell Davis.
Davis' career was cut short thanks to a blown-out knee he suffered when making a tackle after a Brian Griese interception just four games into his first season post-Elway. He attempted two comebacks but only played in 13 more games after 1999.
The biggest knock on Davis is his the longevity of his career, but taking a look at how dominant he was over his best three years shows he was truly an elite running back during an era that had more than a few of them. Not having 10,000 career yards and less than 100 career games leaves Davis with a far smaller body of work than any of his contemporaries.

Offsetting the low career numbers are Davis' extraordinary post-season statistics, where he blows away every current and prospective member on our list when it comes to game averages and scoring. Once again, the only member of our "modern era" running back panel besides Davis to win a regular season MVP and Super Bowl MVP is Emmitt Smith.

There is NO WAY Roger Craig should go in ahead of Davis. That would be a travesty.

[BroncoMan4ever]

Originally Posted by gunns

Take that argument to the HOF. I've always said if they are going to use TD's lack of longevity against him they should us Bettis longevity against him. Majorily OVERRATED. And although the longevity thing is against TD I hate that they put he played for 7 years because it was really only 4 and looked what he accomplished. Amazing.

Exactly. TD had the most dominant 3 year period of any back in NFL history. Add in postseason work and you get a level of greatness that will never be seen again. Had his accomplishments occured in a Dallas,SF, or Pittsburgh uniform he'd already be in Canton

[broncosteven]

Originally Posted by BroncoMan4ever

Exactly. TD had the most dominant 3 year period of any back in NFL history. Add in postseason work and you get a level of greatness that will never be seen again. Had his accomplishments occured in a Dallas,SF, or Pittsburgh uniform he'd already be in Canton

I agree, anyone who wins the league MVP and SB MVP as well as hits a mark like 2k, should be a 1st ballot HOF'er.

Without the freak injury who knows what he could have done or how long he would have played.

[Houshyamama]

Great article, thanks for the link dude

[NUB]

Look at those postseason stats by TD. That's just nuts. And those were very good teams Denver was playing against, particularly in '97.

[Orange4Life]

Don't forget that in 98 TD rarely played a full game. Most games he was done by the time the 4th quarter started

[Cito Pelon]

Sheesh, I don't have a clue. The three Craig, TD, Bettis - well, there's 12 "modern era" RB's in the HOF, so I don't know. Craig no, TD maybe, Bettis probably.

Can those three match those already in?

[Old Dude]

Originally Posted by Cito Pelon

...

Can those three match those already in?

Check out the article I linked. It makes a pretty strong statistical case that TD does, the other two, not so much.

[Cito Pelon]

Originally Posted by Old Dude

Check out the article I linked. It makes a pretty strong statistical case that TD does, the other two, not so much.

Yeah, I checked it out. TD had 60 TD's, the lowest on those modern era guys was Thurman Thomas with 65.

The only backs that were in the 3 consecutive year TD total that Terrell Davis had were Earl Campbell and Marshall Faulk. Some other backs were close, but not in three consecutive years like Davis, Campbell and Faulk.

It's a tough call, taking off my orange glasses, it's a tough call.

[Bronco Rob]

3× Pro Bowl selection (1996, 1997, 1998)
3× All-Pro selection (1996, 1997, 1998)
2× Super Bowl champion (XXXII, XXXIII)
2× AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1997, 1998)
1998 NFL MVP
1998 PFWA NFL MVP
1996 UPI AFL-AFC Player of the Year
1998 Super Bowl MVP
NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
Single Season 2,000 Rushing Yards Club
Denver Broncos 50th Anniversary Team

[Cito Pelon]

Originally Posted by Bronco Rob

3× Pro Bowl selection (1996, 1997, 1998)
3× All-Pro selection (1996, 1997, 1998)
2× Super Bowl champion (XXXII, XXXIII)
2× AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1997, 1998)
1998 NFL MVP
1998 PFWA NFL MVP
1996 UPI AFL-AFC Player of the Year
1998 Super Bowl MVP
NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
Single Season 2,000 Rushing Yards Club
Denver Broncos 50th Anniversary Team

It always comes down to the "longevity" thing, Rob and Old Dude. We had this argument about Curtis Martin, and he got the gold jacket because of longevity. 11 years of steady play, eight playoff TD's, 1100 playoff yards.

Terrell Davis had the better playoff statistics, 12 TD's, 1271 yds. But Denver also had John Elway and Shannon Sharpe, and so on and so on.

[Old Dude]

I hear what you're saying. Still, it seems like there's always some reason that individual Broncos don't make it into the HoF - or have to wait forever. Gradishar and Mecklenberg had long careers and great stats but didn't win super bowls. Shanon Sharpe, who owned all the TE records and who won multiple super bowls had to wait a year because he wasn't really a TE - or was he? Floyd Little had to wait decades. Tombstone Jackson still isn't in the Hall.

So here we have Terrell Davis, the NFL's dominant RB for three years; the guy without whom Denver probably would not have won a super bowl to this day, MVP this and that, third highest ypc of all time (even when watered down by his post-injury efforts), and he's a "close case."

[Cito Pelon]

Originally Posted by Old Dude

I hear what you're saying. Still, it seems like there's always some reason that individual Broncos don't make it into the HoF - or have to wait forever. Gradishar and Mecklenberg had long careers and great stats but didn't win super bowls. Shanon Sharpe, who owned all the TE records and who won multiple super bowls had to wait a year because he wasn't really a TE - or was he? Floyd Little had to wait decades. Tombstone Jackson still isn't in the Hall.

So here we have Terrell Davis, the NFL's dominant RB for three years; the guy without whom Denver probably would not have won a super bowl to this day, MVP this and that, third highest ypc of all time (even when watered down by his post-injury efforts), and he's a "close case."

I don't know, Dude. Gradishar should certainly be in, but like you say he's a Bronco and doesn't get the recognition despite consecutive 180+ tackle seasons, and probably the last 200 tackle season. Lambert got the recognition, he was a Steeler, he got the press and he was pretty good. Gradishar should be right there with Lambert since they were neck and neck for many years.

Joe Collier should get some recogniton also. We're a small market and writers make the votes.

[Pseudofool]

Convincing argument. I think even Bronco fans forget just how dominate Davis was during his prime, especially in the playoffs where his performance singularly outclassed his peers.

[Atwater His Ass]

Curtis Martin. lol.

[Hamrob]

T.D.
Gradishar
Toombstone Jackson
Atwater
Dennis Smith
Meck
Rod Smith

All guys deserving of the HOF!

Was Curtis Martin better than any of these guys? Come on man!!!

[errand]

Originally Posted by Hamrob

T.D.
Gradishar
Toombstone Jackson
Atwater
Dennis Smith
Meck
Rod Smith

All guys deserving of the HOF!

Was Curtis Martin better than any of these guys? Come on man!!!

Was Curtis Martin worse than them? He is the NFL's 4th leading rusher all time.....and deserves to be in the Hall.

Why get angry at Curtis...he doesn't have a vote. Just because several Broncos are deserving doesn't mean he isn't. As for Martin..... he averaged 4.2 per carry for 11 years in a profession where the average RB lasts 3-4....by contrast Davis averaged 4.6 over 7 seasons.

He averaged 1282 yards rushing per year for 11 years....he averaged 9 total TD's per season for 11 years. By comparison Davis averaged 1087 yards for 7 seasons with 9 total TD's

He fumbled only 29 times in those 11 seasons.....by contrast Davis fumbled 20 times in 4 fewer seasons or 99 fewer games.

He was the oldest player to win an NFL rushing title in 2004 with 1697 yards.....at 31 years old

He has 100 total TD's...something only 15 other players in NFL history have accomplished.

Contrary to popular belief, he was not selected in his first year of eligibility...he was denied the HoF induction in 2011.....just saying

not that it matters but he also has a perfect Qb rating of 158.3...having gone 2-2 for 2 TD's averaging 18 yards per completion

He started 119 consecutive games at one pointwhich means he was very durable....as a RB where the average guy is lucky to play 48-64 games in a career.

[gunns]

Originally Posted by Cito Pelon

It always comes down to the "longevity" thing, Rob and Old Dude. We had this argument about Curtis Martin, and he got the gold jacket because of longevity. 11 years of steady play, eight playoff TD's, 1100 playoff yards.

Terrell Davis had the better playoff statistics, 12 TD's, 1271 yds. But Denver also had John Elway and Shannon Sharpe, and so on and so on.

You could say that about a lot of the players in the HOF, look who they played with. The HOF is about individual accomplishment, or should be, and TD's are spelled out very well in that article in comparison to other RB's.

[Agamemnon]

The greatest playoff running back of all time belongs in the Hall. Anyone who says otherwise is an idiot.

[Punisher]

Originally Posted by McDman

Knowshon.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Armchair Bronco]

Originally Posted by Old Dude

Article here:

http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com...-jacket/19885/

Some pretty compelling arguments by the stat guys. Pass 'em around.

Great article. I concur. TD belongs in the HOF. No back was more dominant in the late 1990's than Davis.

But I predict that The Bus will probably get the nod first because of the Pittsburgh bias.

[broncosteven]

Originally Posted by Cito Pelon

It always comes down to the "longevity" thing, Rob and Old Dude. We had this argument about Curtis Martin, and he got the gold jacket because of longevity. 11 years of steady play, eight playoff TD's, 1100 playoff yards.

Terrell Davis had the better playoff statistics, 12 TD's, 1271 yds. But Denver also had John Elway and Shannon Sharpe, and so on and so on.

I think longevity should play a part for guys that didn't get SB's or break off 2k or win league MVP's. If you play well for a long time and rack up stats you deserve your shot to get in. Martin played well on multiple teams.

I also think if a guy goes down because of injury the HOF voters need to look at what he accomplished in his shorter career. If you are a part of 2 historic SB teams that went back to back, broke of 2k in one year, had receiving yardage, won league MVP, SB MVP, and lead the league in rushing multiple times you should have a bust in Canton. Now if TD ended up having a bad 1999 and didn't make a squad in 2000 because of his on field play then I could see a case for keeping him out but it was a freak injury that shortend his career not poor performance.