As is tradition, the day before the Super Bowl brings the announcement of the latest Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees.
All-time greats Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith led a class of seven into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
The NFL's career receiving and rushing leaders were joined in the Hall by John Randle, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Floyd Little and Dick LeBeau. Little and LeBeau were elected as senior committee nominees.
Conspicuously absent from the list was Cris Carter, one of the most prolific wide receivers in NFL history. From a numbers standpoint, it's hard to argue Carter's place amongst the all-time greats. He is third in NFL history with 1,101 receptions (behind only Rice and Marvin Harrison), fourth in touchdown catches (trailing Rice, Randy Moss and Terrell Owens) and eighth in career receiving yardage.
From what I understand, the voting process is somewhat convoluted. Essentially you have 44 media members debating which players belong in the Hall. Before these members fill out their respective ballots, there is a great deal of politicking taking place, a veritable "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours." And quite often the mentality is no more than one player per position is enshrined in a given year. Well since no rational human being would deny that Rice should be selected to the Hall of Fame on his first year of eligibility, this silly unwritten rule the writers enact denies Carter's induction in this his third year of eligibility.
Further speculation suggests that Carter's somewhat tumultuous relationship with the media during his playing days may have also contributed to his enshrinement being denied. Hence, this is the writer's opportunity to exact some measure of retribution. I don't know if I buy that. But I do believe the selection process causes many bones of contention amongst the voters themselves. That is, certain writers will campaign vigorously on behalf of a player they've covered. And if that player is, say, denigrated by another writer, this sets off a firestorm of tensions where other worthy players are left off ballots (players must be named on at least 80% of ballots to be inducted).
Whatever the case, Carter must continue to wait. But I'm sure he will be the first to say that all the waiting will be worth it when his day of enshrinement finally occurs.
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I think he's got the John Stallworth problem, Brad. He was a great player, but it always seemed like there was an equally talented and more flashy teammate on the team with him (e.g. Anthony Carter, Randy Moss).
ReplyDeleteHe'll get there eventually. But it may take a while.
And as a Packer fan and longtime observer of the Purple, I think the right Viking got in this time. Randle was a menace.
He was a great player, but it always seemed like there was an equally talented and more flashy teammate on the team with him (e.g. Anthony Carter, Randy Moss).
ReplyDeleteThe problem with your theory is Anthony Carter was on the downturn when Cris arrived in Minnesota in 1990. As a result, CC was almost immediately the #1 WR upon his arrival. And prior to Moss's rookie season in 1998, CC had five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons with Jake Reed as the only other legitimate receiving threat. That tells me that CC could be a #1 WR without a flashier teammate playing the same position.
He'll get there eventually. But it may take a while.
I have a feeling he'll get in within the next year or two because there aren't any high-profile WRs like Rice who are eligible.
To me, Carter's denial is only the second highest injustice of NFL players who are HOF eligible. I think you'd agree that Jerry Kramer is #1.
The problem with your theory is Anthony Carter was on the downturn when Cris arrived in Minnesota in 1990. As a result, CC was almost immediately the #1 WR upon his arrival. And prior to Moss's rookie season in 1998, CC had five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons with Jake Reed as the only other legitimate receiving threat. That tells me that CC could be a #1 WR without a flashier teammate playing the same position.
ReplyDeleteI don't dispute any of that, but I suspect the guys who vote on these things might.
The other factor I thought of after I wrote my initial comment --Carter was a possession receiver, not a game breaker. Having said that, he's probably the best possession receiver in the history of the game, but the game breakers tend to get in first. Art Monk, who was a very similar receiver to Cris Carter, had to wait a long time before he was inducted.
Kramer should be in, but because there are so many Packers of that era already in, he's been left out. I just hope they fix it before he dies. As for the veterans' committe picks, I remember Floyd Little and he wasn't as good or important a player as Jerry Kramer. Dick LeBeau was a great defensive back and has been a hugely successful coach in the league for a long time now, so his selection was richly deserved.
I also thought Roger Craig should have been inducted yesterday, but he probably lost out because of Rice as well.
So does that mean Marvin Harrison was a "possession receiver?" His career yards per reception was 13.2, as compared to Carter's 12.6. And their TD receptions are virtually identical (Carter 130, Harrison 128). I guess it will be interesting to see if Harrison gets in on his first try.
ReplyDeleteSo does that mean Marvin Harrison was a "possession receiver?"
ReplyDeleteYes. Then again, Peyton Manning makes everyone a possession receiver. Unfortunately, that included Saints defensive backs last night.