Davis had a 1000 yard season called 8 playoff games. (1140)
158.9 yards from scrimmage per playoff game
142.5 yards rushing per game in those playoffs
2000 yard rusher and Super Bowl MVP on merit
5.59 yards per carry in the playoffs
Guys like Barry Sanders and LaDanian got shut down in the playoffs.
(both obvious first ballot HoF guys)
TD carried his teams to a pair of Super Bowls.
I'm not sure about all that. That #7 guy they had at QB was pretty damned good. So was that #80 at WR.
I get the raw numbers argument, but I am far on the other side.
I think he earned his bust the same way Aikman did.
I don't think Aikman should have been a 1st-ballot shoo-in either, but he did have three rings, and did play for 12 seasons or whatever it was.
Davis played 7, technically, but his last 3 years he had ~ 300 carries and 1100 yards and 4 TD.
I can seriously come up with a dozen RBs who had awesome 4 year runs, and probably shouldn't be in the hall of fame.
How about the aforementioned Jamal Lewis for example? 10000+ yards in 9 seasons, and a Super Bowl ring.
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/L/LewiJa00.htm
The aforementioned Chris Johnson, 6 straight 1000-yd seasons:
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/J/JohnCh04.htm
Ahman Green, Shaun Alexander, Tiki Barber, Clinton Portis, Maurice Jones-Drew, Ray Rice, the list goes on and on with RBs who have had at least
as good short-term runs at the position, and almost all of them had longer, more sustained success.
I mean, I understand why you place so much emphasis on playoffs - but two things there. 1) A player can't get their team to the playoffs alone, and 2) If the HoF actually cared about playoff production, Willie McGinest would already be in the Hall of Fame (most career playoff sacks).
I think Kelly is an obvious HoF QB, but he was no Montana, Marino, Young, Brady, Manning etc. He was elite in 90 and 91 and very good the rest of the way. He gets in on volume (35k yards, 237 TDs, 101 wins) and some outstanding play.
If you give him credit for making 4 Super Bowls, I have to ask why with 4 TDs and 8 picks in those AFCCGs. He then was legendary bad in Super Bowls with 2 TDs and 7 picks.
Kelly was an absolute favorite of sportswriters, so he got in easy. While guys like Art Monk, Andre Reed, and Chris Carter waited.
1) Quarterback
2) They all eventually got in (Art Monk waiting as long as he did was ridiculous, I would have kept Cris Carter out another year, and put in a WR w/o a fall guy, and WITH playoff success, unlike Carter. I bet Stanley Morgan won more playoff games than Cris Carter. If he didn't, it's close).
3) It is Pro Football HoF, not just NFL HoF. Kelly's USFL career was disgusting. He and Reggie White were head and shoulders the two best players in the league.
I feel like you're discounting regular season performance, which is really all the NFL ever seems to care about. The voters are not the fans.
I think Cunningham had more passing yards than Kelly from like 87 through 90.
And then you didn't hear from Cunningham again until like 1998.
I'm with you on that bandwagon. Talk about a guy who put numbers up, who had NOTHING on offense with him. Mike Quick was...ok. Cris Carter was a cokehead when he was there.
If you are counting USFL then Hershel Walker should be in the hall.
I just so happen to think Herschel Walker should be in the Hall thanks to running for 5500+ yards and 50+ TDs in 3 seasons. And another like 1500 yds receiving. He made Doug Flutie a lot of money from Donald Trump.
I enjoy a debate on the finer points of HoF nominees. I am not doing this just to make you angry about Kelly.
I'm hardly angry about Kelly. That guy beat us twice a year for ten years, so **** that guy.
But the Terrell Davis thing annoys the shit out of me. Why should Davis get the Gale Sayers treatment? He never returned a kick or a punt. He only led the league in rushing once. :shrug:
