I don't think he is even the best safety in Broncos history, an honor I bestow on Goose Gonsoulin then Dennis Smith and Billy Thompson, so Atwater will never get my vote.

 

 

 

 

 

Jerome Bettis

Running Back

Pittsburgh Steelers

13 Seasons

6 Pro Bowls

2 First Team All-Pro Teams

13,662 Yards Rushing

94 Total Touchdowns

 

 

 

Bettis was involved in one of the biggest steals ever, when the Steelers got him from the Saint Louis Rams in a trade. He ran for over 1,000 yards in eight of his first nine seasons, showing remarkable durability because his game was running between the tackles.

 

Not much of a receiver, he could be depended on once handed the ball. He fumbled 41 times, but he usually rewarded his teams with a pounding style that wore out opponents while chewing up the clock.

 

There is no question that Bettis is worthy of Canton, so I would vote him onto the finalist's list without hesitation.



 

 

 

 

Jack Butler

Safety
Pittsburgh Steelers
9 Seasons
5 Pro Bowls

3 First Team All-Pro Teams

52 Interceptions
10 Fumble Recoveries
9 Touchdowns

I profiled Butler back in 2008.

Coryell played college football at the before getting into coaching. He succeeded George Allen, who later became a Pro Football Hall Of Fame coach.

He also showed his innate ability to develop players, especially on offense. He had 54 players go to the NFL from his college teams, including five players drafted in the first round. Nine of his players were First Team All-Americans. In 1967, he had eight players drafted, and five went in the first two rounds.

The Coryell coaching tree from his collegiate era is very impressive as well.

Joe Gibbs was a player on Coryell's team at first and won the team's Most Inspirational Player Award once. Gibbs later became a graduate assistant, then assistant coach at San Diego State.

He also was an assistant under Coryell with both the Cardinals and Chargers before becoming head coach of the Washington Redskins. Gibbs is a member of the Pro Football Hall Of Fame.

Another Pro Football Hall Of Fame coach who coached under Coryell at San Diego State was John Madden. Madden would join the Oakland Raiders and then become the youngest head coach of the league the next season at 32 years old.

Legendary men like Jim Hanifan, Ernie Zampese, and Rod Dowhower also coached under Coryell at San Diego State. Coryell's 104 victories and .840 winning percentage are the best in Aztec history, and he is a member of the College Football Hall Of Fame.

 

He then moved to the NFL to lead the Saint Louis Cardinals. His 42 wins are the most by any coach in the Cardinals franchise's history, and his five years as head coach with the team is the second most ever.

The San Diego Chargers would later hire Coryell. This was when "Air Coryell" was born as a common term, even though Coryell's years in Saint Louis also featured high-powered offenses running under much of the same schemes used in San Diego.

When Coryell  retired from the NFL with 111 wins in 195 games overall, he is the first head coach with 100 victories in both professional and collegiate football.

 

He then moved to the NFL to lead the Saint Louis Cardinals. His 42 wins are the most by any coach in the Cardinals franchise's history, and his five years as head coach with the team is the second most ever.

The San Diego Chargers would later hire Coryell. This was when "Air Coryell" was born as a common term, even though Coryell's years in Saint Louis also featured high-powered offenses running under much of the same schemes used in San Diego.

 

To try and sum up this man's career or impact on football is nearly impossible. Virtually every offense today on all levels is a variation of his system. In his 14 seasons as a coach, his offenses led the NFL in net yards gained per passing attempt five times. They finished in the top five of the NFL six more times.

His teams led the NFL in passing yards seven times, and none of his teams finished lower than seventh. They led the NFL in passing touchdowns three times, and finished in the top ten nine other times.

When Coryell  retired from the NFL with 111 wins in 195 games, becoming the only coach to have 100 wins in both the professional and collegiate levels.

Many Hall Of Fame players and Pro Bowlers were coached by Coryell in the NFL. The list of players inducted into Canton includes Dan Fouts, Kellen Winslow, Charlie Joiner, Dan Dierdorf, Jackie Smith, Fred Dean and Roger Wehrli.

Coryell changed the way football was played. It is still being played the way Coryell invented to this very day. The now all-to-common sight on multiple receiver sets was first started by Coryell, as are many versions of offenses being run these days.

They are all spawns of his genius.

Winslow stated it best when he said, "For Don Coryell to not be in the Hall of Fame is a lack of knowledge of the voters. That's the nicest way that I can put that. A lack of understanding of the legacy of the game."

An ignorance that has wrongly kept Don Coryell from taking his rightful place.




 

 

 

 

Roger Craig

Running Back

San Francisco 49ers

11 Seasons

4 Pro Bowls

1 First Team All-Pro Team

8,189 Rushing Yards

566 Receptions

83 Touchdowns

 

 

 

A lot will point to Floyd Little as reason why Craig belongs in Canton. Like Floyd, Craig had a couple of great seasons and a couple of good ones. Unlike Little, he did not play on lousy teams nor save a city from losing their franchise.

 

Many will point to his three Super Bowl rings, which could get him in but my opinion is that a championship is a team accomplishment. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is an individual accomplishment.

 

A versatile back, Craig also had the luxury of being surrounded by a ton of talent that included two Hall of Fame quarterbacks and a Hall of Fame wide receiver. He certainly was a reason the 49ers won three titles, but he was part of an offensive onslaught opponents could not stop.

 

I consider him a guy on the cusp, but equal to many other deserving running backs like Larry Brown, Spec Sanders and more. It wouldn't bother me to see him a finalist, but I do not consider him more worthy of induction than many other players.




 

 

 

 

Terrell Davis

Running Back

Denver Broncos

Seven Seasons

3 Pro Bowls

3 First Team All-Pro Teams

7,607 Rushing Yards

65 Touchdowns

 

 

 

Davis had four consecutive years of over 1,000 yards rushing before a knee injury basically ended his career. Two seasons were monstrous, where Davis led the league in rushing scores. He led the NFL with 2,008 rushing yards once as well.

 

Gale Sayers is an argument for Davis, in a way. Sayers had a career also cut short by an injury, but he still got into Canton. Unlike Davis, Sayers was a terror as a punt and kickoff return specialist as well.

 

Davis was like a comet that burned brightly and flamed out fast. It shouldn't be enough to get him into Canton.





 

 

 

Dermontti Dawson

Center

Pittsburgh Steelers

13 Seasons

7 Pro Bowls

6 First Team All-Pro Teams

 

 

 

Dawson first started out as a guard before switching the center and becoming one of the very best in the business. He has been a semi-finalist three times and and finalist twice. It is time he gets inducted.



 

 

 

 

 

Eddie Debartolo Jr.

Owner

San Francisco 49ers

23 Seasons

 

 

Ummm....No. Really? This guy is a semi-finalist with a ton of worthy players not? I hope he never reaches these heights again.

 

Reed was a precise route runner who was more good than great. He never led the league in any category and exceeded 1,000 yards receiving just four times despite playing in a era that caters to offensive production.

What gets him this far is the fact he played on four teams that reached the Super Bowl. He had a Hall of Fame quarterback and running back helping him as well. I classify Reed as a very good player, but I'd put a ton of wide receivers into Canton ahead of him.




 

 

Shell is the fourth Steeler on this list. A key member of the famous "Steel Curtain" defense, hre is a lot like L.C. Greenwood in that he has been overlooked because that defensive unit already has three members in Canton. Yet there should be three more, even if the voters appear to have a quota per team

The 70 turnovers and four scores in his career may show that Shell was incredible, but he was mainly known for his bone-jarring tackles. There were few safeties more feared in his era.

While I feel Johnny Robinson may be the most deserving strong safety not yet in Canton, I'd put Shell in as well.

Stanfel lasted only seven years, but he was amazing in his time. His rookie year was the only season he did not earn an accolade. After four seasons with the Lions, he joined the Washington Redskins and suddenly retired at just 31 years old.

He played in an era where the pay scale was so minimal, players usually made more money working other jobs. Stanfel left the game so he could feed his family at a higher-paying job. There were just three starting offensive lineman in the NFL older than Stanfel when he left the game.

Yet many historians agree there were few guards better. Despite his limited years, Stanfel is a member of the 1950s All-Decade Team. I'd put him in Canton, so hopefully he gets to the list of finalists.




 

 

 

Young belongs in Canton, but I believe coaches, owners, contributors and executives should be in a separate category so they do not steal a slot from players.

Welcome to another session of Deep Thoughts. Thanks to Time Warner, I was without internet for a few hours tonight and as I have to take my wife to the airport at 5:30 am...this will be a rapid version of deep thinking.

I love March Madness, unless my bracket sucks (like this year). What seemed so easy just a week ago, now has my bracket looking like a poorly written school paper. But...after seeing the bracket of Charles Barkley...I don't feel so bad. Check it out for yourself: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/blog/the_dagger/post/Charles-Barkley-blames-Rick-Pitino-for-his-error?urn=ncaab-wp935
 

Yeah, Chuck...Louisville got me too.

Recently, my daughter gave me a book about Willie Mays. Since I am a baseball fan, I have always had great respect for Mays. But, as a kid I grew up with Mantle as my favorite player. It has been said that chicks dig the long ball, but so do youngsters. I must admit that the prodigious blasts of Mantle caught my eye and blinded me to many of the other stars of the 60's. Take a close look at the picture above. Do you see where the pitch is? Up and in...Mays saw this all of the time. Until 1971, helmets were not required in MLB. Jackie Robinson justifiably receives credit for breaking the color barrier in baseball, but Mays was only a few years behind him. The term five tool player is thrown around frequently today, but if you want to see the first player that fit this description...it was Mays. As a kid, I had no recollection of Mays playing in New York. In my mind, Mays was always a SF Giant. As I read about his early years in New York, I was astounded to read the dimensions of the Polo Grounds. 505 to dead center field with very short porches to left and right field. I also did not realize that Willie Mays was on deck when Bobby Thompson hit the shot heard round the world. He said he was shaking he was so scared. He was praying that he did not have to hit in such a crucial spot. Of course, Thompson delivered and Mays did not have to hit. He was terribly ashamed that he was afraid to hit in that situation and swore that he would not feel that way again. Mays hit a HR in his first major league at bat, then promptly went 0 for 23. He told Leo Durocher that he wanted to go back to AAA. To Durocher's credit, he praised Mays and built him up so that he gained the confidence to relax and play his game. This was how Durocher managed Mays, as he figured out early on that praise was what motivated Mays, not criticism.

Did you know that during high school, Mays was playing professional baseball with the Birmingham Barrons? Mays played in the Negro league for several years before he made his way to the Giants system. Professional baseball before integration was a plodding game that relied on the long ball. As players like Robinson and Mays pried their way into the league, daring base running suddenly changed the game. I have to admit that reading about Mays reminded me just how far we have come in not that many years. The south is generally blamed for much of the bigotry of that time, but did you realize that in 1958 that Mays was initially denied the ability to buy a home? Mays and his first wife found a new home that they liked, but when they put in a purchase contract to the builder, he told them that the neighbors did not want them to live there. The builder was threatened with not being able to sell any of his other homes if he sold to Mays. 1958 was the year that I was born...thankfully, a resolution was reached and the Mays's were allowed to move into their home.  Do you see the picture above? This is Willie with Durocher and his wife from an early Sports Illustrated, There was a tremendous uproar because Durocher's wife had her arm around Willie Mays. Amazing...

Willie Mays was the finest center fielder of all time. He had tremendous range and an incredibly strong arm. But he was also a very gentle man that refused to drink or smoke. But on the field he was as aggressive as any player that ever played. One of May's base running tricks was to slide for the plate with one foot and use the other to dislodge the ball from the catcher's glove.

You probably have seen old tape of Juan Marichal attacking the Dodgers catcher (John Roseboro) with a bat. Mays was able to defuse this terrible incident by guiding Roseboro off the field and preventing him from leaving the dugout. Mays ended a 16 inning game by hitting a home run. While that may not seem like a big deal...check this...that home run allowed him to have hit  home runs over his career in 16 different innings. Think about that for a bit to realize just how crazy that is.

Here are a few stats for Mays:

Lifetime average of .302 with 523 doubles, 140 triples and 660 HR's. Willie also stole 338 bases in his career. He was the ROY in 1951 and captured 12 gold gloves. Of course this award did not begin until 1957 or he would surely had several more. Willie was respected by fans and players alike as he was selected to the all star team 21 times. Wow...

 Try holding four baseballs in one hand. May's had very large hands, one of the gifts he had that helped him be such a great baseball player.

Have you had something really bad happen to you, but realized later just how lucky you were? Do you remember David Newhan? Baseball player that used to play for Baltimore? What ever happened to him? If you are like me, I remember Newhan, but he just fell off the radar. Well, as so often happens, he did more than just fall off the radar...he literally broke his neck. I read the story this week of the comeback attempt by Newhan and immediately decided that I had to mention in my blog. Here is the story:

He sneaked out to catch a few late waves that afternoon, two blocks from his home in Oceanside, Calif. Newhan grew up in Southern California and attended college at Pepperdine in Malibu, so surfing was as much a rite of passage as baseball. He was no novice.

“It wasn’t like I wiped out,” he says. “I made a bad decision by jumping off my board. I was far enough offshore and didn’t think it was shallow. I thought I’d skim the top of the water.”

Instead, his head struck full force into a sandbar. He went completely numb, barely aware of the salt water coursing through his nostrils.

“I had a stinger throughout my whole body,” he says. “I was trying to move knowing I couldn’t. I was floating up. I thought, ‘If I can get my head above water, I’ll try to call for help.'”

His next thought was more of a prayer: “Jesus, let me move.” His arms and legs responded, and he grabbed his board and slid his belly onto it. He slowly paddled to shore, gingerly walked home and called his wife, Karen, who was visiting her parents 10 miles away.

“I think I should get an X-Ray,” he told her. “Something happened, and something is wrong. My neck is locking up.”

The hospital emergency room was packed and Newhan sat for several hours before receiving care, unaware that if shards from the vertebrae shifted even a millimeter, he would die. Finally it was his turn, and a CT scan revealed a spiral, compound fracture in three places. The doctor gasped, the nurse called it a “hangman’s break,” and they fitted Newhan with a neck brace.

Picture the neck vertebrae as ceramic donuts stacked on each other and held in place by sticks attached to their exterior. The sticks are ligaments, and the spinal cord is like a rope running through the middle of the donuts. Newhan’s diving accident caused the vertebrae to fracture in three places, but the ligaments weren’t disrupted and vertebrae fragments weren’t displaced. The spinal cord was spared damage.

“In its worst form, a hangman’s fracture is a true avulsion -- you literally separate the second and third vertebrae,” says Dr. Frank Gillingham, a longtime emergency room physician and medical director for a major insurance company. “It’s catastrophic and it causes instant death.”

In Christopher Reeve’s case, falling six feet from a horse was the equivalent of dropping a hammer on the donuts, and fragments went flying, impinging on the spinal cord. Newhan’s dive into the sandbar wasn’t as severe and his neck ligaments -- well-protected by muscle because of his extraordinary physical condition -- held the fractured vertebrae in place long enough for him to seek medical care. If he had turned his head quickly or bent his neck the wrong way, fragments could have loosened and damaged his spinal cord. 

Newhan wore a halo brace for two months, then a smaller one for another month. He slept on his back. He couldn’t lift anything heavier than 10 pounds. He was allowed 45-minute walks in the morning and evening with Karen. Sometimes they’d bring along their son, Nico, and daughter, Gianna, who now are ages six and three.

“Karen has been unbelievably strong,” Newhan says. “And for her to support me giving baseball another shot, I can’t say enough how much that means.”

Recovery accelerated when he began an alternative physical therapy regimen called the Egoscue method with trainers Jordan Feramisco and Liba Placek. Within a few months, Newhan built a batting cage in the trainers’ Sorrento Valley, Calif., facility and began giving hitting lessons to youngsters in addition to taking swings himself. The baseball bug had bitten him again.

He put out feelers to major league teams last summer but couldn’t find a taker. He kept working out, and a few months ago made a call to longtime friend Jason McLeod, the Padres assistant general manager. “All I want is a shot,” Newhan told him. Nobody expects Newhan to return to the peak form he displayed when he hit .311 for the Orioles in 2004, but eventually contributing in a utility role would be enough.

And if it doesn’t work out, Newhan won’t be down. He’s played for nine organizations in 14 pro seasons. He’s been demoted. He’s been released. He's been through a lot. And as everybody knows by now, he’s a tough out. 

That's all I have for this week. I will leave you with a bit of Jack Handey to ponder...

"If I was being executed by injection, I'd clean up my cell real neat.
then, when they came to get me, I'd say, "Injection? I thought you said 'inspection.'"
They'd probably feel real bad, and maybe I could get out of it."

"I was sad, because I had no shoes.

Until I met a man that had no feet.

So, I took his shoes, cuz hey, he wan't using them!"

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to comment...

The other day, we were arguing who was the Greatest Baseball Player of All-Times.

I said Ruth, or Barry on steroids.  The other argument was Cobb.  And of course Boston guy always argues Teddy Ballgame.

So, took at look at the great and wonderful baseball-reference.com to see what some of the advanced metric SABR formula arithmatic numbers had to say.

And since they don't come up with same number, and who is to say which number is best, I decided to add them together for an average, MVP style voting (10 points for 1st, 1 point for 10th).

And also used some traditional baseball numbers that are actual numbers, like home runs.

I know that this isn't the most scientific or accurate method, just wondering how the numbers would turn out.

so...

Batting Average[/b]
1. Ty Cobb
2. Rogers Hornsby
3. Joe Jackson
4. Lefty O'Doul
5. Ed Delahanty
6. Tris Speaker
7. Ted Williams
7. Billy Hamilton
9. Babe Ruth
9. Dan Brouthers

Home Runs[/b]
1. Barry Bonds
2. Hank Aaron
3. Babe Ruth
4. Willie Mays
5. Ken Griffey Jr.
6. Alex Rodriguez
7. Sammy Sosa
8. Jim Thome
9. Frank Robinson
10. Mark McGwire

Runs Batted In[/b]
1. Hank Aaron
2. Babe Ruth
3. Cap Anson
4. Barry Bonds
5. Lou Gehrig
6. Stan Musial
7. Ty Cobb
8. Jimmie Foxx
9. Eddie Murray
10. Willie Mays

Runs Scored[/b]
1. Rickey Henderson
2. Ty Cobb
3. Barry Bonds
4. Babe Ruth
4. Hank Aaron
6. Pete Rose
7. Willie Mays
8. Cap Anson
9. Stan Musial
10. Lou Gehrig

Bases on Balls[/b]
1. Barry Bonds
2. Rickey Henderson
3. Babe Ruth
4. Ted Williams
5. Joe Morgan
6. Carl Yastrzemski
7. Mickey Mantle
8. Mel Ott
9. Jim Thome
10. Frank Thomas

~~~~~

Adjusted OPS+[/b]
1. Babe Ruth
2. Ted Williams
3. Barry Bonds
4. Lou Gehrig
5. Rogers Hornsby
6. Mickey Mantle
6. Albert Pujols
8. Joe Jackson
8. Dan Brouthers
10. Ty Cobb

Wins Above Replacement[/b]
1. Babe Ruth
2. Barry Bonds
3. Ty Cobb
4. Willie Mays
5. Hank Aaron
6. Honus Wagner
7. Tris Speaker
8. Rogers Hornsby
8. Stan Musial
10. Eddie Collins

Runs Created[/b]
1. Barry Bonds
2. Babe Ruth
3. Stan Musial
4. Hank Aaron
5. Ty Cobb
6. Ted Williams
7. Willie Mays
8. Lou Gehrig
9. Pete Rose
10. Rickey Henderson

Adjusted Batting Runs[/b]
1. Babe Ruth
2. Barry Bonds
3. Ted Williams
4. Ty Cobb
5. Lou Gehrig
6. Stan Musial
7. Hank Aaron
8. Rogers Hornsby
9. Mickey Mantle
10. Tris Speaker

Adjusted Batting Wins[/b]
1. Babe Ruth
2. Barry Bonds
3. Ty Cobb
4. Ted Williams
5. Stan Musial
6. Hank Aaron
7. Lou Gehrig
8. Tris Speaker
9. Rogers Hornsby
10. Mickey Mantle

Offensive Win Percentage[/b]
1. Babe Ruth
2. Ted Williams
3. Barry Bonds
4. Rogers Hornsby
5. Joe Jackson
6. Ty Cobb
7. Lou Gehrig
7. Mickey Mantle
9. Dan Brouthers
10. Stan Musial

~~~~

Average Forumla Stats[/b]
1. Babe Ruth
2. Barry Bonds
3. Ted Williams
4. Ty Cobb
5. Lou Gehrig
6. Stan Musial
7. Hank Aaron
8. Rogers Hornsby
9. Mickey Mantle
10. Willie Mays

Total Points[/b]
1. Babe Ruth, 93
2. Barry Bonds, 88
3. Ty Cobb, 58
4. Ted Williams, 49
5. Hank Aaron, 48
6. Lou Gehrig, 31
7. Rogers Hornsby, 30
7. Stan Musial, 30
9. Willie Mays, 23
10. Rickey Henderson, 20