I didn't say it was the beginning and end of his, just something I think should be noted more. It wasn't just Elway. Davis had a virtual all-star team around him on O during his prime. While I don't want to take away much from the yards he put up during those seasons and things like fighting through a migraine to be MVP of SB XXXII, I see Davis as being more a highly productive but not indispensible part of the Shannahan/Kubiak/Gibbs O. There's certainly evidence to back that up. I don't think the four games with Bubby are enough of a sample size to give a real indication of how well he would've done without Elway nor, to be fair, are the just over three games he played with Brian Griese (in which he averaged 3.1 ypa) the following season.Reaser wrote:Someone's HOF case being "he played a long time and played with worse QB's than another finalist did" seems a little light?26554 wrote:The idea that Terrell Davis is more deserving of the HoF than Bettis gives me a headache.
For one, how come so few bring up the fact that Bettis spent his prime with the likes of (past his prime) Jim Everett, TJ Rubley, Mike Tomczak, Jim Miller and Kordell Stewart? None of them were close to even late career John Elway.
Outside of games played (which if that's a HOF stat then Trey Junkin needs to go in before any of these guys) what did Bettis accomplish that Davis didn't? Or what was Bettis better at than Davis? In other words, what makes Bettis more "deserving"?
Keeping in mind that Bettis had 6 more seasons and over twice as many games to accomplish something, which is all "longevity" really is, more chances to accomplish something. With all those extra seasons and games he should at least be equal on accomplishments, yes? Same or more times; MVP, OPOY, best back in the sport, 1st-team All-Pro's, top of the list for greatest rushing seasons, 2,000 yards, multiple seasons over 2,000 yards from scrimmage, multiple seasons over 1,800 yards from scrimmage, when watching them play who was the better player, seasons averaging over 5.0 yards a carry, seasons averaging over 4.0 yards a carry, 200 yard games, 170 yard games, etc ...
Where in there is Bettis better than Davis or what did he do that makes him more deserving? I honestly don't get it? Essentially played twice as long and didn't accomplish half of what Davis did.
As for QB's, that is part of every players career, who they played with, what system, etc ... Regardless, I've always felt the year Bettis' was the best player he could be was actually his rookie season, and having Everett and Rubley at QB didn't derail that. Similar to how during Davis' best season Bubby Brister was the QB for a quarter of it, so not sure how valid that argument is?
Putting that aside, it seems like Davis getting in opens a can of worms. If he goes in, what's the real argument against Priest Holmes or maybe even a Jamal Lewis? Or how about 'Seniors pool' rbs like Larry Brown, Chuck Foreman or William Andrews? I think a couple of those actually have a little bit better arguments than Davis. I understand that a player that has a "shooting star" type career like Davis did can be very intriguing. There's cases where I'd vote for "shooting stars", namely Sterling Sharpe and Ken Easley. However, I also think that sometimes a player like Bettis who wasn't cut down by injury during his prime gets shortchanged.