The Case Against Russell Wilson’s HOF Candidacy: A Forensic Analysis

[49erRCCollector]

The case FOR:
- Super Bowl Champion
- 10X Pro Bowl
- 12th all time in TD passes
- 15th all time in QB wins

The case AGAINST:
- No All Pros
- No MVP, never a single MVP vote
- Goal line Int in 2nd SB appearance
- Was never the best QB in any season.
- Carried to first SB by Legion of Boom (check the game logs that year)
- Benched by two different teams in his post-Hawks career.

Ahead of him, from his era, are several QBs: Brady, Brees, Big Ben, Rodgers.

Then the ones that on first glance might be in the same level as him – but aren’t:
- Matt Ryan (2016 APOY, 2016League MVP, has an All-Pro)
- Eli Manning (2x SB MVP, beat Brady 2x)

Check the last 10 years of HOF inductions Including the super-sized 2020 class). I think it’s only 3 QBs? And something like 26, total?

If I missed anything, I will update this top page with relevant/notable updates, I want this balanced.

Clearly, I’m impartial (insert rimshot).

[PuddleMonkey]

[49erRCCollector]

Originally Posted by PuddleMonkey

(Broken heart emoji)

[Jeter1020]

In all honesty I think he eventually gets in. Maybe 15 years from now but eventually yes. The end of his career has been disappointing and I think it’ll take an extended period of time removed from that to be able to look at the career in Seattle to appreciate what he was able to do there


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Siberian13]

So he’s the Mike Evans of QBs? Hall of very good?

[msink28]

I think his Seattle career will ultimately put him over the top, probably not first ballot but I think most guys like him will get in. A few more +/- points to consider:

+ 121-80-1 record (over 60% winning percentage), very high, particularly among guys who started a bunch of games.
+ won more than Philip Rivers and Matt Ryan, way better in playoffs than Rivers
- comes off as a dweeb, HOF is popularity contest

[majestik101]

Originally Posted by Siberian13

So he’s the Mike Evans of QBs? Hall of very good?

[Siberian13]

Originally Posted by majestik101

[Seahawks fan]

Some other pros

4th all time in QB rushing yards (needs 76 more to become 3rd)
11th all time in playoff passing yards (EVeryone infront of him on that list is a Hofer and the 4 players behind him are Kelly, Aikman, Bradshaw,and Warner.)
5th all time in NFL history in Passer rating
1st QB to start with 9 consecutive winning seasons

Cons -
The Subway commercials
Those Broncos Lets Ride promos

[fabiani12333]

Wilson's per-season averages (regular season) with the Hawks (first 10 seasons):

10-5 rec; 3705.9 pass-yds; 489.9 rush-yds; 29.2 pass-TD; 2.3 rush-TD; 8.7 Int; 65.0 Cmp%; 2.4 4QC; 3.2 GWD


His 2019 season is perhaps his most noteworthy in terms of individual performance:

11-5 rec; 4,110 pass-yds; 342 rush-yds; 31 pass-TD; 3 rush-TD; 5 Int; 4 4QC; 5 GWD (led the league)

No other player on offense was a Pro Bowl selection or received an award. The defense was ranked 22nd in points against. Wilson beat the eventual division and conference champions, the 49ers, in a mid-season overtime game on the road.

[Tea10]

From what I remember from actually watching football and ranking QBs across that era, Wilson was always considered right outside the elite group or fringe-elite I'd call it. He was always 4th-6th best in the league, usually 4th-5th.

And then how much of that, like any ranking for a QB, is tied to how good his overall team is and winning games - going to SBs - winning rings.

I think the HoF doesn't know what it wants to be. There are only 26 QBs in the HoF Only 6 of those QBs don't have rings/titles.

Namath, Griese, Stabler, and Moon are all in the HoF despite not being elite or even top 5 of their era arguably. Or barely 4th-5th at best.

Moon for example I don't think anyone could argue was higher than 6th at best, or 7th more reasonably for his era (Marino, Elway, Young, Aikman, Favre, Kelly).

So is the HoF? People in these threads seem to think only the top 1-2 guys of their generation should get in, or they have to have multiple MVPs and all-pros. Some, like myself, heavily weight SB rings. But Moon is an example of a guy with zero rings, clearly not top 5 of his era (7th-8th probably), zero MVPs, and 1x 2nd team all-pro. We could get into Stabler, Namath, Griese, etc, but let's save the time.

So of his generation what was Wilson? 1 ring. No MVPs. 1x 2nd team all-pro in 2019, 10x pro bowls and Walter Payton man of the year fwiw. He's 4th all-time in QB rushing yards and 15th all-time in passing yards. If he simply plays another game or two he'll pass Newton in rushing and Tarkenton in passing.

He seems like a fake, weirdo of a person. But as a QB? He's HoF material 100%. Football and MMA are my favorite sports. Not sure anyone is familiar, but there are a lot of all-time great fighters, GOAT for their weight class, that often spiral and have terrible ends of their careers. I think it's a bad look, but it shouldn't be overly penalized.

TLDR: If Namath, Moon, Griese, and Stabler are in --- then Wilson, Eli, and Stafford all should get in.

QB play has only increased in talent and importance. NFL has been around for 100 years, we've had SB era since 1966. We should have more than 26 QBs in the HoF, and the ones that are in now aren't better than many who aren't in. There shouldn't be some weird cap on the number. Can anyone credibly argue that Moon/Stabler/Namath really deserve to be in over Wilson? I don't think so.

[BostonNut]

Con: Doing high knees down the aisle of the airplane.

[rats60]

Namath and Stabler yes. Both have MVPs. Namath made 5 All Pro teams between the AFL and NFL. Stabler made 2 first team All Pro teams. They both played before the rules changes so you can't compare their stats. However, Namath was the only QB to ever throw for 4000 yards under the old rules. Wilson has never had the passing record. His best season was 100th best at that time and is currently 155th best.

Moon would be the best comp. Wilson's SB win is what eventually puts him over the top. Look how long it took Stabler to get elected. Wilson is going to have a similar long wait.

[asujbl]

Originally Posted by BostonNut

Con: Doing high knees down the aisle of the airplane.

If there was a goober HOF he’d be first ballot

[ThatGuyPal]

It’s funny how easily people forget the Legion Of Boom and even Marshawn, used to see Sherman trash talk on almost every sports center. Then people are shocked when these guys don’t perform elsewhere. Look how good Goff looks due to the amount of weapons he has around him

[49erRCCollector]

Originally Posted by Tea10

From what I remember from actually watching football and ranking QBs across that era, Wilson was always considered right outside the elite group or fringe-elite I'd call it. He was always 4th-6th best in the league, usually 4th-5th.

And then how much of that, like any ranking for a QB, is tied to how good his overall team is and winning games - going to SBs - winning rings.

I think the HoF doesn't know what it wants to be. There are only 26 QBs in the HoF Only 6 of those QBs don't have rings/titles.

Namath, Griese, Stabler, and Moon are all in the HoF despite not being elite or even top 5 of their era arguably. Or barely 4th-5th at best.

Moon for example I don't think anyone could argue was higher than 6th at best, or 7th more reasonably for his era (Marino, Elway, Young, Aikman, Favre, Kelly).

So is the HoF? People in these threads seem to think only the top 1-2 guys of their generation should get in, or they have to have multiple MVPs and all-pros. Some, like myself, heavily weight SB rings. But Moon is an example of a guy with zero rings, clearly not top 5 of his era (7th-8th probably), zero MVPs, and 1x 2nd team all-pro. We could get into Stabler, Namath, Griese, etc, but let's save the time.

So of his generation what was Wilson? 1 ring. No MVPs. 1x 2nd team all-pro in 2019, 10x pro bowls and Walter Payton man of the year fwiw. He's 4th all-time in QB rushing yards and 15th all-time in passing yards. If he simply plays another game or two he'll pass Newton in rushing and Tarkenton in passing.

He seems like a fake, weirdo of a person. But as a QB? He's HoF material 100%. Football and MMA are my favorite sports. Not sure anyone is familiar, but there are a lot of all-time great fighters, GOAT for their weight class, that often spiral and have terrible ends of their careers. I think it's a bad look, but it shouldn't be overly penalized.

TLDR: If Namath, Moon, Griese, and Stabler are in --- then Wilson, Eli, and Stafford all should get in.

QB play has only increased in talent and importance. NFL has been around for 100 years, we've had SB era since 1966. We should have more than 26 QBs in the HoF, and the ones that are in now aren't better than many who aren't in. There shouldn't be some weird cap on the number. Can anyone credibly argue that Moon/Stabler/Namath really deserve to be in over Wilson? I don't think so.

Originally Posted by rats60

Namath and Stabler yes. Both have MVPs. Namath made 5 All Pro teams between the AFL and NFL. Stabler made 2 first team All Pro teams. They both played before the rules changes so you can't compare their stats. However, Namath was the only QB to ever throw for 4000 yards under the old rules. Wilson has never had the passing record. His best season was 100th best at that time and is currently 155th best.

Moon would be the best comp. Wilson's SB win is what eventually puts him over the top. Look how long it took Stabler to get elected. Wilson is going to have a similar long wait.

I feel like this is a case AGAINST Wilson. If the best we can do is point to one outlier, Warren Moon, as justification for Wilson's entry, does he have a compelling case?

And Moon was a AP POTY once, led the league in attempts/completions/yards twice and TDs once.

And he's the outlier. The outlier.

And he has more notable achievements than Wilson. And I refuse to believe that the fact that he was a 5x Grey Cup Champ and 2x Grey Cup MVP didn't influence voters.

Doesn't this put Russ outside the conversation?

[49erRCCollector]

Case closed:

https://www.facebook.com/speakeasy/v...id=wwXIfr&fs=e

[asujbl]

Originally Posted by ThatGuyPal

It’s funny how easily people forget the Legion Of Boom and even Marshawn, used to see Sherman trash talk on almost every sports center. Then people are shocked when these guys don’t perform elsewhere. Look how good Goff looks due to the amount of weapons he has around him

Not me. That’s what I said on the other thread

You can write the history of the NFL and Wilson would be a footnote. The LOB wouldn’t

Now the history would include the interception. People will remember that

[asujbl]

Originally Posted by 49erRCCollector

Case closed:

https://www.facebook.com/speakeasy/v...id=wwXIfr&fs=e

Don’t even need to watch it. He’s right

No HOF’er should be this garbage when leaving a team unless you’re 35 years old when you do it (yes I’m generalizing before someone finds someone. Relax)

Wilson is only 36 and been garbage for years

[Siberian13]

Similar case to Eli?

[49erRCCollector]

Originally Posted by Siberian13

Similar case to Eli?

How so?

Eli never failed away from NYG. Eli was a 2x SB MVP. Beat the GOAT TWICE and legit made big throws in each SB game.

And I am not an Eli fan. But the resumes are very different.

Russ did none of that.

[daveyc1]

I think russ gets in eventually, but it will be a long wait for him. my recollections are him being just outside of elite.

as for Moon, keep in mind, he got a very late start in the NFL. I think he was 29 his first season. I do recall him being elite, at least for a time. was it 1991 that he nearly broke marinos single season yards record but missed 1 game that could have put him over the top?

he would have all time great stats if he would have had those extra 7-8 seasons missed in his 20's

[Grid]

He will get in wayyy down the road on a slow year, via the Vet committee. Just like Kenny Stabler.

Stabler had a bit better resume. Russ had the better stats being a modern QB. And almost triple the Pro Bowls.

Stabler crapped the bed at the end like Russ. He wasnt much once he was off those John Madden lead Raiders. 2 bad years with the Oilers and 3 even worse ones with the Saints. But eventually got in.

[mjekase]

Modern Pro Bowls don't mean as much by comparison. Half of Russ's Pro Bowls, he was a replacement selection, which I don't think they did when Stabler played.

[Rabs]

All Pros matter a heck of a lot more than Pro Bowls. As they should.