Ken Anderson: Canton or Nay?

[Shrevedude]

I thought I might start asking about certain players and your opinions on whether or not you feel they should be inducted in Canton.

Do you think Ken Anderson should be inducted as a Senior Candidate? He was an MVP, 4-time Pro Bowler, 4-Time Passing Leader, and he was a very consistent Quarterback. He also completed 60% of his passes when the NFL average was 52%, and was the first QB to run the West Coast Offense before Joe Montana.

I think the reason he isn't in is because he couldn't beat the 49ers in Super Bowl XVI, and didn't have much postseason success. The HOF tends to discriminate against players who didn't have much postseason success, unless they post incredible, incredible passing stats like Dan Marino.

[bachslunch]

There was a thread here on this a few months ago or so. My position has always been a HoF yes for Anderson.

[Saban1]

Another yes here.

[L.C. Greenwood]

I thought I might start asking about certain players and your opinions on whether or not you feel they should be inducted in Canton.

Do you think Ken Anderson should be inducted as a Senior Candidate? He was an MVP, 4-time Pro Bowler, 4-Time Passing Leader, and he was a very consistent Quarterback. He also completed 60% of his passes when the NFL average was 52%, and was the first QB to run the West Coast Offense before Joe Montana.

I think the reason he isn't in is because he couldn't beat the 49ers in Super Bowl XVI, and didn't have much postseason success. The HOF tends to discriminate against players who didn't have much postseason success, unless they post incredible, incredible passing stats like Dan Marino.

He's close, but Anderson's last two postseason games were disappointing, and the playoffs can help a borderline candidate. It's a classic case of why you just can't look at the box score to get a feel of how the game went. Are consistent quarterbacks what you want in the HOF, or should HOF QBs have great moments and be feared? Anderson was a very surgical passer when hot, but unlike Tom Brady and other current HOF QBs, was a horrible comeback player. When you took the lead on those Bengals in the fourth quarter, Anderson was in trouble, and Cincinnati usually lost. When a talented player retires,the freshest impressions are usually accurate. Anderson was regarded as a terrific QB, but shy of HOF quality. In terms of the Marino comparison, he was just a second year player with a mediocre defense going up against a team with just one loss the whole season. By contrast, Anderson was a seasoned veteran who had already seen a young 49ers team in the regular season, and had a bad first half, as the Bengals fell behind 20-0.

With so many strong candidates in the Senior category, it's going to be difficult.

[Saban1]

Actually, I think that Ken Anderson and the Cincinnati Bengals were a little unlucky during the 70's. Pittsburgh played in their division and got good about the same time that Cincinnati did. The 70's Steelers were one of the most talented teams in football history.

There was a lot of competition in the AFC during the 70's. Oakland was very tough. There was Miami, Baltimore was good for awhile, Houston with Bum Phillips were in the Bengals division, New England could be tough at times, and San Diego with Dan Fouts near the end of the decade.

The Bengals picked a bad time to get good.

[ChrisBabcock]

With so many strong candidates in the Senior category, it's going to be difficult.

Absolutely yes. But... ^^^

[Shrevedude]

He's close, but Anderson's last two postseason games were disappointing, and the playoffs can help a borderline candidate. It's a classic case of why you just can't look at the box score to get a feel of how the game went. Are consistent quarterbacks what you want in the HOF, or should HOF QBs have great moments and be feared? Anderson was a very surgical passer when hot, but unlike Tom Brady and other current HOF QBs, was a horrible comeback player. When you took the lead on those Bengals in the fourth quarter, Anderson was in trouble, and Cincinnati usually lost. When a talented player retires,the freshest impressions are usually accurate. Anderson was regarded as a terrific QB, but shy of HOF quality. In terms of the Marino comparison, he was just a second year player with a mediocre defense going up against a team with just one loss the whole season. By contrast, Anderson was a seasoned veteran who had already seen a young 49ers team in the regular season, and had a bad first half, as the Bengals fell behind 20-0.

With so many strong candidates in the Senior category, it's going to be difficult.

Thank you for taking the time to explain that, LC Greenwood. Being a person who hasn't followed NFL all his life, I tend to not really know much about the lesser known facts of these HOF Snubs, and I enjoy in-depth explanations like this.

[JohnTurney]

I was on the fence, leaned yes, but with Stabler...not it is a firmer yes.

[JuggernautJ]

With so many strong candidates in the Senior category, it's going to be difficult.

Absolutely yes. But... ^^^

I concur.
Although perhaps not "absolutely."

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/p ... deKe00.htm

[Rupert Patrick]

Actually, I think that Ken Anderson and the Cincinnati Bengals were a little unlucky during the 70's. Pittsburgh played in their division and got good about the same time that Cincinnati did. The 70's Steelers were one of the most talented teams in football history.

There was a lot of competition in the AFC during the 70's. Oakland was very tough. There was Miami, Baltimore was good for awhile, Houston with Bum Phillips were in the Bengals division, New England could be tough at times, and San Diego with Dan Fouts near the end of the decade.

The Bengals picked a bad time to get good.

The Bengals were certainly unlucky, and were arguably the one team most hurt by the lack of a second wild card team in each conference from 1970-77. They came up on the short end of division tiebreaker in 1976 and would have been second wild card, and would have been at 8-6 the second wild card in 1972 (they defeated 8-6 Kansas City during the regular season). In 1977 they lost a week 14 game to Houston they should have won, giving the division to the Steelers.

I always put Anderson ahead of Stabler among senior QB's waiting to get into Canton, and I think Stabler's induction helps Anderson. It may take 5-10 years, but Anderson will eventually get in.