Cyphon25
02-02-2020, 10:03 AM
Title says it all. Give your thoughts, complaints, and sales pitches.
Edgerrin James
Isaac Bruce
Steve Atwater
Steve Hutchinson
Troy Polamalu
My thoughts:
Troy Polamalu was the most obvious choice on the list and doesn't even merit discussion. He was so good he arguably should have been put in before he was even eligible.
Steve Hutchinson is deserving but not over Alan Faneca. Just as a quick reference point to why Faneca had 9 Pro Bowls to Hutchinsons 7 and 6 All Pros to Hutchinsons 5. On top of that I think you could make a very real argument Faneca would have 1 more AP on his resume but there was a season the Steelers had him move from G to T and that was in one of his prime, AP type seasons. Oh yeah, and Faneca has an SB ring from beating Hutchinsons team. Both deserving but it is clear to me they just didn't want to put 2 Steelers in with the same class, especially with 2 other Steelers in the Centennial class.
Edgerrin James is the toughest evaluation for me because he certainly has a solid resume but when I think back to those days he just doesn't "feel" for me like a HoF guy. Take 1999 for example when he was rushing leader. 2 other backs at that time were Marshall Faulk and Emmitt Smith who are both very much deserving of the HoF. Is Edgerring James really in a class with those guys? Not in my opinion. Maybe I am pickier than most but I already think there are too many people in the HoF and James is just another really good player that doesn't quite meet what I would consider a transcendant player.
Isaac Bruce is an easy no for me, even when comparing him to the 2 other guys he was up against in this class. Let's take a look:
IB - 223 games / Rec - 1024 / Yds - 15,208 / TD - 91 / 4X Pro Bowl / 1X 2nd team AP / 1X NFL Receiving yards Leader
TH - 173 games / Rec - 920 / Yds - 13,382 / TD - 74 / 7X Pro Bowl / 1X 1st team AP / 1X 2nd team AP / 1X NFL Receptions leader / 2X NFL receiving yards leader / 2000’s All Decade team
RW - 211 games / Rec - 1070 / Yds - 14,345 / TD - 82 / 6X Pro Bowl / 1X 1st team AP / 2X 2nd team AP / 1X NFL Receiving yards leader
Isaac Bruce put up some nice stats but was never really recognized as a top receiver of his era. No 1st team AP's and only 4 Pro Bowls is pretty telling. I am not sure how I feel about the other 2 getting in or not but I think you could argue very easily that both are more deserving than Bruce.
Steve Atwater was before my time so I don't have a very good feel for him. I mostly just know him for the hit on Christian Okoye which admittedly was awesome. Again, my criteria for a guy getting in sort of revolves around needing to be a top 2 or 3 guy at your position for a good portion of your era of play. Was he one of those guys? I have no idea.
And just to be clear I don't really get up in arms over this stuff. Whoever gets in it is a really nice honor and I am not going to begrudge good players some extra joy in their lives. That being said, I am in the Deion camp of too many people being in and this year is definitely a good sticking point for me on that opinion.
Edgerrin James
Isaac Bruce
Steve Atwater
Steve Hutchinson
Troy Polamalu
My thoughts:
Troy Polamalu was the most obvious choice on the list and doesn't even merit discussion. He was so good he arguably should have been put in before he was even eligible.
Steve Hutchinson is deserving but not over Alan Faneca. Just as a quick reference point to why Faneca had 9 Pro Bowls to Hutchinsons 7 and 6 All Pros to Hutchinsons 5. On top of that I think you could make a very real argument Faneca would have 1 more AP on his resume but there was a season the Steelers had him move from G to T and that was in one of his prime, AP type seasons. Oh yeah, and Faneca has an SB ring from beating Hutchinsons team. Both deserving but it is clear to me they just didn't want to put 2 Steelers in with the same class, especially with 2 other Steelers in the Centennial class.
Edgerrin James is the toughest evaluation for me because he certainly has a solid resume but when I think back to those days he just doesn't "feel" for me like a HoF guy. Take 1999 for example when he was rushing leader. 2 other backs at that time were Marshall Faulk and Emmitt Smith who are both very much deserving of the HoF. Is Edgerring James really in a class with those guys? Not in my opinion. Maybe I am pickier than most but I already think there are too many people in the HoF and James is just another really good player that doesn't quite meet what I would consider a transcendant player.
Isaac Bruce is an easy no for me, even when comparing him to the 2 other guys he was up against in this class. Let's take a look:
IB - 223 games / Rec - 1024 / Yds - 15,208 / TD - 91 / 4X Pro Bowl / 1X 2nd team AP / 1X NFL Receiving yards Leader
TH - 173 games / Rec - 920 / Yds - 13,382 / TD - 74 / 7X Pro Bowl / 1X 1st team AP / 1X 2nd team AP / 1X NFL Receptions leader / 2X NFL receiving yards leader / 2000’s All Decade team
RW - 211 games / Rec - 1070 / Yds - 14,345 / TD - 82 / 6X Pro Bowl / 1X 1st team AP / 2X 2nd team AP / 1X NFL Receiving yards leader
Isaac Bruce put up some nice stats but was never really recognized as a top receiver of his era. No 1st team AP's and only 4 Pro Bowls is pretty telling. I am not sure how I feel about the other 2 getting in or not but I think you could argue very easily that both are more deserving than Bruce.
Steve Atwater was before my time so I don't have a very good feel for him. I mostly just know him for the hit on Christian Okoye which admittedly was awesome. Again, my criteria for a guy getting in sort of revolves around needing to be a top 2 or 3 guy at your position for a good portion of your era of play. Was he one of those guys? I have no idea.
And just to be clear I don't really get up in arms over this stuff. Whoever gets in it is a really nice honor and I am not going to begrudge good players some extra joy in their lives. That being said, I am in the Deion camp of too many people being in and this year is definitely a good sticking point for me on that opinion.