The Hall of Very Good

Hall of Fame weekend means we made it through another offseason. Free agency, the draft and the weekly DUI arrest are all well and good, but it’s nothing compared to real football. Now we haven’t made it to real football just yet, but Hall of Fame weekend kicks off the live action with the very first preseason game. From this point forward, we have football every week until the Super Bowl on February 9^th, 2025

All the attention is on the Hall of Fame “game”, even though it is no more than a glorified scrimmage. The majority of players you will see in the game tonight will not even make a final NFL roster, but that doesn’t keep the hardcore football fanatics from watching. In 2023, the Hall of Fame game pulled more viewers than the average NBA playoff game. That means more people watched the most meaningless NFL game than the best teams in the NBA contend for a championship. What gets lost in the excitement for the first live action is the Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremony. On a weekend where the absolute greatest players in the history of the sport are to be celebrated, all the attention is on a game that doesn’t count, with players who you may never see again.

Perhaps any kind of competitive football is more exciting to watch than former players talking about their life and career, but perhaps the ceremony does not have a large draw because the Hall of Fame has been watered-down. Instead of inducting the absolute greatest players, the Hall of Fame Selection Committee has been selecting good players who had a very long career or players who had just a few outstanding seasons.   

In 2020 Isaac Bruce was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Now, he has amassed very impressive career statistics with over 1,000 catches, 15,000 yards and 91 TDs but when was he ever considered one of the best wide receivers in the game? In a 16-year career he only made 4 Pro Bowls and was selected as a 2^nd team All-Pro once. That means he was considered a top 4 player at his position one single time during his 16 years in the NFL. Being part of the “Greatest Show on Turf” certainly helped his cause and rightfully so because he was a big part of their success, but being on a great team does not necessarily mean you are a great player.

A few examples of players with a short-lived prime would be Kurt Warner and Terrell Davis, who were both elected in the class of 2017. Warner, another benefactor of being on the “Greatest Show on Turf” did win league MVP twice plus took home the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl 34 but does not have much else to show in his career. Those are impressive accomplishments, but he also retired with a record of 67-49 as a starter and did not make a single All-Pro team in his final eight seasons. Terrell Davis had a similar run early in his career as a dominant starter on a dominant team. Taking handoffs from the legendary John Elway helped him gain 6,413 yards and 56 TDs in just 4 years along with an MVP award and 2 Super Bowl victories. Elway retired, the running backs body broke down and after only 1,194 yards gained in his last 3 years, Terrell Davis was out of the league. Since their retirements, they have managed to stay relevant through sports media, so much so that Kurt Warner had a movie made about his impressive life story. Terrell Davis though, would we even remember him if he didn’t spend time as an analyst on NFL Network? When I hear his name, I think of the clip of him and Mike Shanahan on the sideline in the Super Bowl where Davis had a migraine and couldn’t see, just for Shanahan to tell him he didn’t need to see because he wasn’t getting the ball anyways. What a standout moment to be remembered by for the “Hall of Famer”.

The last several years are just the beginning of the decline of the HoF. Looking ahead, the players that will inevitably be enshrined in years to come are even less qualified than those who have gone in recently. Terrell Suggs, Maurkice Pouncey and Marshawn Lynch are all players who should be first ballot entries into the Hall of Very Good. However, they will all end up in Canton due to being good players who got a lot of exposure from the teams they were on, being featured in countless primetime games.

The final straw for me will be Eli Manning. He has all the qualities the watered-down Hall of Fame covets. He’s remained in the public eye via media (and his last name) since retirement, threw for a ton of yards, touchdowns and even won two Super Bowls, despite having a career record of 117-117 as a starter. But does anyone remember watching Eli Manning play? Week to week you had no idea what to expect. I mostly remember the head scratching interceptions, sack fumbles and countless derpy confused faces. His career highlight was the David Tyree helmet catch which happens to be the only lucky play that didn’t go the New England Patriots way. His induction to the HoF will solidify it as the Hall of Very Good.

Deion Sanders is on record stating that the Hall of Fame should be recognizing some players differently than others. Suggesting different color jackets or a second level in Canton for the greatest of the greats. Whatever the solution may be, I know Eli Manning and Terrell Davis do not belong in the same category as Joe Montana and Barry Sanders. What are your thoughts? Anyone get inducted that you do not think was deserving? Or are there players who you feel should be in and are not? Please let me know any thoughts you have about the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the comments. This is the first of many football related topics I would like to write about and discuss. I hope you will continue to read my content and contribute by commenting on posts and sharing the site with others. Thank you.