Longevity And The Terrell Davis HOF Injury Argument

[rewing84]

not sure if you know this brian but i am a huge fan of tom sestak and you already know im a supporter of Dick Anderson for the hall of fame

[Brian wolf]

Tom Sestak is a great example of an impact player felled by injuries. Will he ever get momentum though for consideration? Maybe down the line ...

[Brian wolf]

Forgot about Chuck Foreman, who deserves the injury argument and will edit him into the list.
Dan Towler was great despite a short career as well ...

[Gary Najman]

Lydell Mitchell

[sluggermatt15]

Who knows where Bert Jones may have been had injuries not killed his career? He had three solid seasons, including a first-team all-pro choice and NFL MVP award. The talent he had, Jones could be in the HOF. Bill Belichick swears he is the most talented QB he ever watched.

[Brian wolf]

I cant believe I forgot about Larry Brown but there are other backs that wore down, got injured or retired with short careers like Robert Smith as well, who started slowly but finished strong before retiring ...

[JohnTurney]

I cant believe I forgot about Larry Brown but there are other backs that wore down

Brown is interesting, MVP, played in a Super Bowl, but was shut down. When Allen was in LA
he didn't push Marchibroda to establish running game---or maybe he did but they never
had "the guy" but Rams backs were not special, Josephson, Smith, even Ellison.

Never really a consistent 1,000-yard guy...

When he got to Was he had one and used him and that made a difference to success. He was also good receiver.
Paul Zimmerman said he "ran too hard for his body" and he hit a wall, fast.

You may see his name soon. Whether or not he has a chance is another question. If there is a long list
maybe 30 or more names that tells me there were plenty of guys with one vote...so maybe
some of the guys we may see are listed but didn't have a lot of support. If that turns out to be
the case then it could be their high-water mark ... that make semis but never move to finalists

As far as Brown, IMO his peak was higher than Floyd Little but Little's "fade out" was better
and he had a couple of build-up years ... si Little may have had better career and Brown
had a slightly better peak ...

Brown, from 1969 - 74, 2nd in rushing yards, 2nd in receptions among RBs, 1st in TD catches
among RBs ... by a lot, 1st in rec yards...6th in rushing TDs, had an MVP and 4 Pro Bowls
call it 2 years above the first line (all pro 1st or second), 4 years above the second line (Pro Bowl, All-NFC (1st and 2nd)

Then flatlined...heart willing, body weak

[Bryan]

I cant believe I forgot about Larry Brown but there are other backs that wore down

Brown is interesting, MVP, played in a Super Bowl, but was shut down. When Allen was in LA
he didn't push Marchibroda to establish running game---or maybe he did but they never
had "the guy" but Rams backs were not special, Josephson, Smith, even Ellison.

Never really a consistent 1,000-yard guy...

When he got to Was he had one and used him and that made a difference to success. He was also good receiver.
Paul Zimmerman said he "ran too hard for his body" and he hit a wall, fast.

You may see his name soon. Whether or not he has a chance is another question. If there is a long list
maybe 30 or more names that tells me there were plenty of guys with one vote...so maybe
some of the guys we may see are listed but didn't have a lot of support. If that turns out to be
the case then it could be their high-water mark ... that make semis but never move to finalists

As far as Brown, IMO his peak was higher than Floyd Little but Little's "fade out" was better
and he had a couple of build-up years ... si Little may have had better career and Brown
had a slightly better peak ...

Brown, from 1969 - 74, 2nd in rushing yards, 2nd in receptions among RBs, 1st in TD catches
among RBs ... by a lot, 1st in rec yards...6th in rushing TDs, had an MVP and 4 Pro Bowls
call it 2 years above the first line (all pro 1st or second), 4 years above the second line (Pro Bowl, All-NFC (1st and 2nd)

Then flatlined...heart willing, body weak

One oddity about Larry Brown...he made the pro bowl 3 consecutive years while having 3 different head coaches. Not sure how many other RBs can make that claim.

[JohnTurney]

One oddity about Larry Brown...he made the pro bowl 3 consecutive years while having 3 different head coaches. Not sure how many other RBs can make that claim.

Hadn't thought of that.. . had to be the only one...not many people have even PLAYED for three coaches in three years on same team---muchless be a pro bowler all three ... three straught Pro Bowls isn't easy either...

[Bob Gill]

If Brown had come out of college one year earlier, he could've made it FOUR straight years with a different coach. What a missed opportunity!