Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Numbers or not, there is no way I would put this guy into the HOF ... just to disrespectful to the teams, fans and game.

I really hold to the fact that he was knocked silly by that Vontaze Burfict hit a few years back. He wasn't a Chad Johnson, Terrell Owens type prior and it's been a downhill mess since, with all we know about CTE I think it's a reasonable possibility. He literally had his screws knocked loose.

On your general statement, I get the sentiment, but I've said the same about TO, for one, as well as others who will certainly be enshrined.

Everything you said could be true Nick, though some of these players are so obsessed with social media that any antics or publicity is good publicity. Its a shame though because his numbers should have been so much better. At least Tom Brady was smart enough to convince the Bucs to bring him in and contribute for a championship win. Anything else was gravy ...

They have no choice without damaging the HOF. He is clearly a HOF WR and he played just long enough for longevity to not be a valid excuse. Baseball really shows how one moral stance here and another moral stance there really adds up over the decades to the point where the institution becomes a laughingstock. It's the Hall of Fame not santas naughty or nice list.

OJ is in the HOF and despite his trangressions if the HOF is truly about football he should be(as should Sharper). I think since the HOF has put a focus on rewarding players for a job well done people are more inclined to see it as a reward for players to be stripped of for conduct rather than one to chronicle the history of the game when the players and their fans are gone. In this regard I'm fine with the HOF ostracising people from the celebratory aspect of the HOF for off the field conduct like OJ but this should be seperate from induction the same way most of the benefits are seperate. When they bar deserving candidates from the hall of fame they're also damaging the institutions credibility and this would be a negative precedent that can't be unset.

There is also the mental health and possible CTE angle of AB's conduct. Some people make the connection between AB's downfall and a certain hit from Burfuct and while we can't know this AB's conduct suggests something is off. Like Brady said after the game the focus should be compassion. AB was cut not just from the Buccaneers but most likely the NFL and he's lost tens of millions dollars over the last few years. He's been punished severley for his conduct outside of a legal sense, assuming he doesn't do anything else the focus should be on hoping he gets better.

I think for borderline cases it's unrealisitic for off the field conduct to not have an impact. But for clear cut cases off the field conduct shouldn't matter(this last incident was on the field but I don't think this incident alone would be a big deal if not for the history).

I see what youre saying Zero26 but Jim Tyrer and Darren Sharper were great on the field and with their teams but are barred from the HOF because of later, off the field incidents.
Brown is doing alot of his antics during seasons with teammates jobs and playoff appearances, bonus money on the line. Yes, he will get elected but so should Sharper and Tyrer as well. The HOF has to be bold and consistent on this basis.

I figure he's either bipolar or it's CTE, or possibly both. Obviously, the dude needs help.

I don’t think Sharper’s play even warrants induction to the Hall, so it doesn’t bother me that his criminal actions seem to be disqualifying him up to this point. His interception numbers vastly overrated his play. He was consistently terrible in coverage, took bad angles at tackling, and was at the center of two of the biggest defensive failures in Packers history: The Catch II and 4th & 26th.

But let’s say his play IS deserving of enshrinement. Right or wrong, I think it’s impossible to celebrate the man and his accomplishments considering where he is in his life right now. You can easily tell the story of the NFL without mentioning Darren Sharper, so why should the Hall invite the criticism it would surely receive by inducting Sharper?

With defenses being handcuffed and offenses getting more special treatment from officials and rule changes since what, 2013, how much weight goes into Brown's numbers anyway ? Is he really that much more skilled than the Stallworths or Wards of the past or just lucky enough to stay healthy long enough for his numbers to accumulate ? The current wide receiver finalists are going through this srutiny themselves but Johnson, Holt and Wayne played in eras where defense still made an impact and they couldnt inflate their numbers like Brown has done with the game resorting to basketball on plastic. With numbers alot easier to accumulate now, team winning, postseason success and playing within team concepts have to be more emphasized than ever IMO ...

"Antonio Brown shirtless in the end zone" is probably going to be my weirdest text regarding a sports incident in 2022.

Brian wolf wrote:With defenses being handcuffed and offenses getting more special treatment from officials and rule changes since what, 2013, how much weight goes into Brown's numbers anyway ? Is he really that much more skilled than the Stallworths or Wards of the past or just lucky enough to stay healthy long enough for his numbers to accumulate ? The current wide receiver finalists are going through this srutiny themselves but Johnson, Holt and Wayne played in eras where defense still made an impact and they couldnt inflate their numbers like Brown has done with the game resorting to basketball on plastic. With numbers alot easier to accumulate now, team winning, postseason success and playing within team concepts have to be more emphasized than ever IMO ...

His numbers are still fantastic even in the lens of his era. 4 first team all pros and it was really hard to consistantly win that honor with so many receivers putting up monster numbers. Fourth in receiving yards per game behind Julio Jones and players with smaller sample sizes. I have Megatron ahead of him but he's the most talented receiver ever. Before the Tampa run I guess you could say career stats were lacking a little bit but the 8 touchdowns, 1k yards in Tampa really shored that up(not to mention the SB). 80 TD's+, 12k yards is about the fence for a HOF WR of at least the 2000s. Everything other than the career numbers is among the best ever though.

I strongly disagree with AB being the fourth best Steelers receiver. I think Ward is right on the fence for the HOF and Stallworth and Swann(especially Swann)wouldn't have made it if not for the 4 superbowls. Steelers fan might be loathe to hear this but I think Brown is the Steeler GOAT WR by a lot.


I'm almost the opposite on stats v team success(more because of how the media has treated talented players who don't win and I strongly disagree with that) but at the end of the day AB was an integral part of winning a Super Bowl while many of the great wide receivers didn't. While his effect on the Steelers locker room was clearly destructive that doesn't seem like it was the case with the Bucs even if they had to let him go. If you watch them talking about the incident it's more of a situation where they want him to get help and less of him creating drama and destroying the locker room.