Least Deserving Hall of Famers: The Championship

[Rain Man]

Okay, this is it. The medal round of overratedness.

We have three players left in the tournament, and one of them will be crowned as the least deserving player in 100 years of Hall of Fame history. Who will it be?

PICK ONE (as if you could pick more even if you tried).

The argument for Terrell Davis to be in the Hall of Fame
Had a 2,008 yard season, which is the third-best season between 1990 and 2006, and 5th best all time. Had 1,140 yards rushing in the postseason, averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Two seasons with 1,700+ yards rushing. 4.6 ypc in career, which is 8th highest among rushers from 1990 through 2006 with 5,000+ yards.

The argument against Terrell Davis to be in the Hall of Fame.
Played in more than eight games in only four seasons. Ranks 23rd in rushing yards among players in the 1990 to 2006 time frame, slotted between Chris Warren and Charlie Garner. Known as a system back as Gaston Green and Bobby Humphrey had similar production before he arrived (averaging over 1,100 yards) and Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson, and Clinton Portis averaged nearly 1,400 yards in the four seasons after he broke down, with a higher ypc than Terrell. Yards were gained behind an offensive line known for dirty play, and an offensive tackle who was acquired by cheating on the salary cap.


The argument for Jerome Bettis to be in the Hall of Fame
1,665 yards rushing in 1997 is the 25th best rushing total in the 1988 to 2010 time frame. Recorded 8 different 1,000 yard seasons, of which 4 were more than 1,300 yards. 13,662 yards rushing is the 7th highest total of all time. Ranks 6th in rushing touchdowns in the 1988 through 2010 time frame. Ranks 11th all time in rushing touchdowns.

The argument against Jerome Bettis to be in the Hall of Fame.
Between 1988 and 2010, 40 running backs gained more than 6,000 yards rushing. Of those, Bettis ranks 36th in yards per carry, at 3.93. Had only 4 seasons with a ypc above 4.0, out of 13 seasons in the league. Saved his worst performances for the playoffs, averaging 3.4 yards per carry in 199 postseason carries. Missed 4 or more games in a majority of his seasons (7 of 13).


The argument for Lynn Swann to be in the Hall of Fame
MVP of Super Bowl X, with 161 yards receiving. Finished in the top ten in receiving yards twice in a 9-year career. Twice had 11 receiving touchdowns in a season. Ranks 21st in receiving touchdowns between 1965 and 1985. Saved his best performances for the postseason, with 907 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns in the postseason, averaging 18.9 yards per reception. Known for acrobatic catches.

The argument against Lynn Swann to be in the Hall of Fame.
Ranks 49th in receiving yards in the 1965 through 1985 time frame, and only 13 of the players above him are in the Hall of Fame. Only had two pro bowls. 336 receptions ranks 59th in the 1965 through 1985 time frame, placing him alongside players like David Hill, Don McCauley, and Jack Snow. Career high of 880 receiving yards in a season, which is the 208th highest yardage total in the 1965-1985 time frame.

[Rain Man]

This is a tough one between my final two.

First off, Bettis gets a pass. Does he deserve to be in the Hall of Fame? No. But compared to these other two jokers, he's by far the class of this list. So he gets to sit out the championship, comfortable in the fact that he's the third-least deserving player in the Hall of Fame.

Now...what's next?

I have to say that I despise the Broncos. They lied, they cheated, they defrauded the salary cap, they took cheap shots, and for some weird reason the NFL kept trying to make a star out of their journeyman quarterback, so they got preferential treatment. Terrell Davis was a replaceable system back who got yards because defensive linemen were trying to keep the cheapshot Broncos offensive line from breaking their legs. Terrell Davis is a fraud and an imposter who never should have even been considered for the Hall of Fame. Fie on thee!

But ... he's still not as bad a pick as Lynn Swann. Seriously, there is no valid argument for Lynn Swann to be in the Hall of Fame. Did he make some good big-game catches? Yeah. So did David Tyree. Swann never had a dominant season and he didn't have a long career. I could make a better argument for Dwayne Bowe or Stephone Paige than I could for Lynn Swann.

So was Terrell Davis the beneficiary of rampant cheating? Of course. Does he deserve a Hall of Fame slot? Absolutely not. He's a joke. But I have to vote against Lynn Swann here.

[notorious]

[Mile High Mania]

Took a whole lotta work to get to the place you ultimately wanted to be... :-)

I find it interesting that you have Davis and Bettis as the two lone RBs. Many have said the one thing that Davis lacks is 'longevity' and I've heard that had he played another 5-6 years, racking up 5-6k yards more yards... he would then be a legitimate contender and a lock for the HOF.

That's essentially Jerome Bettis and yet, here he is in this poll. Everyone knows what the stats are for these guys, so I won't rattle them off. I just find it curious that the argument being made against Davis (longevity) is what helped Bettis, but he too is a least deserving candidate.

The argument that Denver rolled out guys just like Davis after the injury isn't exactly true, only Portis had similar production and he was a different RB than Gary, Droughns or Anderson. Those guys were very serviceable, but they were not nearly as dynamic or game changing as Davis or Portis.

I will say that you had some creative stats slicing with how you presented the following "Known as a system back as Gaston Green and Bobby Humphrey had similar production before he arrived (averaging over 1,100 yards) and Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson, and Clinton Portis averaged nearly 1,400 yards in the four seasons after he broke down, with a higher ypc than Terrell."

Green and Humphrey... that was a funny comparison that I'm sure few researched for relevance. Including Portis with the other 2 definitely helped your stats post Davis.

Interesting process though... it was a good read the last few weeks.

[smithandrew051]

Lynn Swann. Never was a great WR even when you compare him to his era.

[New World Order]

Terrell Davis is the most overrated **** in NFL history.

Look what Shanahan did with shitty former RB Mike Anderson in 2000:

1500 yards and 15 tds.

He then proceeded to trade or release running backs who were productive for him in the early-to-mid 2000s. Had Davis been around then he would have been traded or replaced just like Droughns or Portis

[Eleazar]

Terrell Davis and Jerome Bettis are equally undeserving, but I hate the fact that Bettis is in the HOF more, because most of the arguments for him try to rationalize it by saying he was a "colorful" character who (the media decided that) people found likable.

Basically it's an admission that he doesn't deserve to be in the HOF and that he only got in because he played for a media darling franchise, and because he played well to their cameras and microphones.

[oldman]

I'm going to agree with you about Bettis. Not really HoF worthy, but not the worst of the bunch. So now it comes down to Swann and Davis. A coin toss says Davis.

[wazu]

When Davis was in his prime the whole defensive game plan was about stopping him and that plan almost always failed. He’s far more deserving than Bettis.

[Bwana]

You could pretty much draw a straw on the group and not be wrong.

[DJJasonp]

Went with Bettis - outside of some hard-to-bring-down highlights......a bunch of meh.

Davis was dangerous. Swann was dangerous (and played on a LOADED steelers team.....so maybe that's why the stats arent as great as you would expect from a HOF).

[MarkDavis'Haircut]

Tough selection.

Went with Swann. It is a joke that he is in over Branch. Bettis and Davis are borderline but an argument can be made. Swann has nothing but a Super Bowl catch and Rooney support.

[Rain Man]

Hear ye, hear ye! Let the record show that the least deserving player in the Hall of Fame is Terrell "Four yards and a cloud of knee cartilege" Davis.

I think this is a reasonable pick. He had no longevity, and while he had a very high peak season it was marred by proof of cheating and dirty play both on and off the field. History will view him as an embarrassment in the selection process.

[Halfcan]

No Donks deserve to be in the HOF- Raiders either.

[patteeu]

Bettis seems like the winner to me. Not spectacular.