Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Or were those '81 and '83 campaigns needed for "extra measure"? This although his yards-per-carry was significantly less in those two seasons.

wow. Great question. In other words, did he pass the bus test after 1980? I am on the fence and leaning towards no. The volume of work isn't there but it comes pretty darn close considering how dominant he was. I think if the Oilers get past the Steelers in either the 1978 or 79 AFCCG and win a Super Bowl, I think my leaning towards no becomes a leaning towards yes. But I still wouldn't be completely convinced. That's a tough one! '81-'83 were still respectable but certainly not as otherworldly as his first 3 years. That would probably be in a 4 way tie for the best 3 year stretch by a running back in history. (with Brown '63-'65, Davis '96-'98 & Tomlinson '05-'07)

RBs have a notoriously short shelf life, especially ones who gave and took as much punishment as Campbell. He was the pre-eminent player at his position for those three years, which to me is enough.

I can't think of another player in pro football history who came closer to putting himself into the HOF over the course of his first three seasons in the league than Campbell did. In addition, he carried what was basically a sub-par team on his back those three years; without him, they might have been a 7-9 team, and the 1978 team was still not a great team even with him. In the one big game they won without him, Vernon Perry had one of the half dozen greatest defensive performances in playoff history to hold off the Chargers. If Campbell would have had an average to above average QB to take the pressure off him, say, a Tommy Kramer or Steve Grogan, he would have lasted a few more years and been even more effective. I don't think Campbell passed the Bus Test after three seasons, but I think after the 1981 season, when he rushed for nearly 1,400 yards, if a Billy Sims injury would have ended his career, it would have been difficult to build an argument for keeping him out of Canton.

Rupert Patrick wrote:I can't think of another player in pro football history who came closer to putting himself into the HOF over the course of his first three seasons in the league than Campbell did.

John Jefferson? Just kidding.

To me the cutoff is 4 absolutely unquestionable dominant years for Hall of Fame. If you've had an injury shortened career, but have had 4 absolutely insane years where you dominated pro football, good enough for me. if he retired after the 1900 yard season I don't put him in. The additional 1300 yard campaigns (one in 14 games) get him in for me

Rupert Patrick wrote:I can't think of another player in pro football history who came closer to putting himself into the HOF over the course of his first three seasons in the league than Campbell did. In addition, he carried what was basically a sub-par team on his back those three years; without him, they might have been a 7-9 team, and the 1978 team was still not a great team even with him. In the one big game they won without him, Vernon Perry had one of the half dozen greatest defensive performances in playoff history to hold off the Chargers. If Campbell would have had an average to above average QB to take the pressure off him, say, a Tommy Kramer or Steve Grogan, he would have lasted a few more years and been even more effective. I don't think Campbell passed the Bus Test after three seasons, but I think after the 1981 season, when he rushed for nearly 1,400 yards, if a Billy Sims injury would have ended his career, it would have been difficult to build an argument for keeping him out of Canton.

Maybe Marino. But he absolutely took this league by storm 1983-1985. Thing is 1983 he only started like 9 games

Marino's first three full seasons he led the league in completions, yards, touchdowns every one of those years

sheajets wrote:To me the cutoff is 4 absolutely unquestionable dominant years for Hall of Fame. If you've had an injury shortened career, but have had 4 absolutely insane years where you dominated pro football, good enough for me. if he retired after the 1900 yard season I don't put him in. The additional 1300 yard campaigns (one in 14 games) get him in for me

And I think that's where Terrell Davis was, with the 2,000-yard season, and the two Super Bowl rings, a Super Bowl MVP, league MVP and all-rookie team. I do believe Davis was the main reason the Broncos won those two Super Bowls; Elway needed a franchise running back who could take the pressure off him so he didn't have to win every game by himself, and Davis was that man. In the 80's and early 90's, the Broncos had good teams, but Elway never had a strong running game or had a running game by committee, and when he got into big games, all the opposing teams had to do was to key on Elway, and Elway would be forced into making mistakes. With Davis, if you keyed on Elway, he would have Davis take over the game, and if you keyed on Davis, Elway and the passing game would blow you away.

If you look at 1,500-yard rushing seasons, there have been 87 in pro football history. Barry Sanders has the most of any rusher with five, right behind him is Payton, Dickerson and Edgerrin James with four. There have been seven with three - Emmitt, Jim Brown, OJ, LaDamian Tomlinson, Tiki Barber, Clinton Portis and Terrell Davis. There were five with two 1,500-yard rushing seasons - Campbell, Curtis Martin, Adrian Peterson, Larry Johnson and Priest Holmes.

If you move the bar up to a slightly higher standard, 1,700-yard rushing seasons, there have been 30 of them in pro football history. Dickerson is the only person who has done it three times. Six men have done it twice - Peterson, Sanders, Emmitt, OJ, Terrell Davis and Larry Johnson.

This is why Terrell Davis deserved to be in the Hall of Fame with four stellar seasons. I don't think three truly great seasons will put you into the HOF, but four will.

Rupert Patrick wrote:

sheajets wrote:To me the cutoff is 4 absolutely unquestionable dominant years for Hall of Fame. If you've had an injury shortened career, but have had 4 absolutely insane years where you dominated pro football, good enough for me. if he retired after the 1900 yard season I don't put him in. The additional 1300 yard campaigns (one in 14 games) get him in for me

And I think that's where Terrell Davis was, with the 2,000-yard season, and the two Super Bowl rings, a Super Bowl MVP, league MVP and all-rookie team. I do believe Davis was the main reason the Broncos won those two Super Bowls; Elway needed a franchise running back who could take the pressure off him so he didn't have to win every game by himself, and Davis was that man. In the 80's and early 90's, the Broncos had good teams, but Elway never had a strong running game or had a running game by committee, and when he got into big games, all the opposing teams had to do was to key on Elway, and Elway would be forced into making mistakes. With Davis, if you keyed on Elway, he would have Davis take over the game, and if you keyed on Davis, Elway and the passing game would blow you away.

If you look at 1,500-yard rushing seasons, there have been 87 in pro football history. Barry Sanders has the most of any rusher with five, right behind him is Payton, Dickerson and Edgerrin James with four. There have been seven with three - Emmitt, Jim Brown, OJ, LaDamian Tomlinson, Tiki Barber, Clinton Portis and Terrell Davis. There were five with two 1,500-yard rushing seasons - Campbell, Curtis Martin, Adrian Peterson, Larry Johnson and Priest Holmes.

If you move the bar up to a slightly higher standard, 1,700-yard rushing seasons, there have been 30 of them in pro football history. Dickerson is the only person who has done it three times. Six men have done it twice - Peterson, Sanders, Emmitt, OJ, Terrell Davis and Larry Johnson.

This is why Terrell Davis deserved to be in the Hall of Fame with four stellar seasons. I don't think three truly great seasons will put you into the HOF, but four will.

Yea that's fair, though I suppose if there is a bit of a chink in the Davis HOF armor it's that every subsequent Broncos back seemed to waltz to 1,000+ yards behind that dominant line. So was Davis just the first beneficiary of it?

sheajets wrote:To me the cutoff is 4 absolutely unquestionable dominant years for Hall of Fame. If you've had an injury shortened career, but have had 4 absolutely insane years where you dominated pro football, good enough for me. if he retired after the 1900 yard season I don't put him in. The additional 1300 yard campaigns (one in 14 games) get him in for me

Gale Sayers had less than five years of great play, so he's become the poster child for this gauge. When he ripped up his knee in '68, he was averaging a league-leading 6.2 yards per carry that season and was on target for a 1,300-yard season/