MoveToSkypager
Footballguy
Update?
If this fatbody makes it in the HOF, those writers should be euthanized.
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Bettis = Hall Of Famer? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter SaosiN
- Start date
If this fatbody makes it in the HOF, those writers should be euthanized.
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
Get the needle ready. 
AhrnCityPahnder
Yinz-o-riffic
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
A lock would have made it his first year. 
Steelers4Life
Footballguy
How about that... a post of mine from 8 years ago???
The final Bus stop will be in Canton, baby!
Tau837
Footballguy
Football Jones
Footballguy
Wow. I have absolutely nothing against Bettis & he seems like a good dude, but this is crazy, lol.
The HOF inductees should be the best of the best (great players). Bettis was a good RB, but he was a long way from great. I really hate to see this. It cheapens the achievement for the truly great players.
EDIT: I want to stress he's not the only questionable inductee in recent years. Seems like it's getting easier & easier to get in.
The HOF inductees should be the best of the best (great players). Bettis was a good RB, but he was a long way from great. I really hate to see this. It cheapens the achievement for the truly great players.
EDIT: I want to stress he's not the only questionable inductee in recent years. Seems like it's getting easier & easier to get in.
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ShamrockPride
Footballguy
Only 9 people have ever ran for more touchdowns than him. Sounds like a safe HoF bet to me.
Tau837
Footballguy
IvanKaramazov
Footballguy
Ugh. Horrible.
If Bettis had never won a SB he wouldn't have gotten in. Good player not great but like many have said the threshold to get in has dropped. Congrats to him as he seems like a nice enough guy even though he trashes the Pats out of jealousy along with the other haters at BSPN. Being from UND probably didn't hurt either.
It's funny how we think of the Bus as a plodder with the Steelers who just got into the Hall based on attrition. And yes, maybe Terrell Davis and a few other guys played the position more dynamically for a period of time. But it is easy to forget that Bettis was a phenom in his rookie year, trailing only Emmitt Smith for the rushing title and was consensus Offensive ROY. I'll concede that the burst he displayed in 1993 faded quickly but he never lost his shiftiness and his quick feet. And he did indeed compile a lot of yards--seeing him go in with Tim Brown makes sense. They both put up big fat numbers that voters could not ignore forever. He is worthy.
Franknbeans
Footballguy
1. Emmitt Smith+ 18,355 1990-2004 2. Walter Payton+ 16,726 1975-1987 3. Barry Sanders+ 15,269 1989-1998 4. Curtis Martin+ 14,101 1995-2005 5. LaDainian Tomlinson 13,684 2001-2011 6. Jerome Bettis 13,662 1993-2005 7. Eric Dickerson+ 13,259 1983-1993 8. Tony Dorsett+ 12,739 1977-1988 9. Jim Brown+ 12,312 1957-1965 10. Marshall Faulk+ 12,279 1994-2005
He belongs
He belongs
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
Are we also putting Drew Bledsoe and Vinny Testaverde in cause they are top 10 in passing yards all-time?
At some times during his career, the Steelers had an offensive line that may not have been statistically the best but were completely totally respected as if they were. You put a big battering Ram of a beast running behind that and...good luck stopping him.
You can sit here and type on some board that holding a RB to less than 4 is an accomplishment but that wasn't how they played. They were going to smash that ball down the Ds throat over and over and over and this would take up just enough time so their excellent D could rest. The Bus was exactly what the Steelers wanted.
You possibly can't see the greatness of 5 carries for 1 yard and 3 TDs but what that is, is an old RB that still has a nose for the endzone, driving the other team nuts because they can't stop him even though they know it's coming.
This is the same team that had a WR that would knock your CB on his butt if he didn't prepare himself for the block that was coming.
That single game their yuck QB threw for 147 yards and they went against an All Pro QB throwing to the best WR ever and beat them.
There's no stat for toughness, grit, or determination but some of them Steelers...you gotta respect
Insomniac
Footballguy
Yeah but the more valid comparison is Bettis compared to guys like Earl Campbell, Eric Dickerson, Tony Dorsett, Curtis Martin, OJ Simpson, John Riggins and Thurman Thomas. IMO all of them were also better than Bettis but the stats are somewhat comparable.
The only Super Bowl era RB in the HOF I think had a lesser career than Bettis is Larry Csonka.
Hang 10
Footballguy
You string together enough average seasons and you'll accumulate impressive career stats. but it's not the hall of longevity.
dschuler
Footballguy
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
And the thing is, Bledsoe and Testaverde used to higher up in the top 10 of that list. Truthfully, Bettis benefited, voting wise, by the fact that the NFL has become more of a passing league and a RBBC league. If it hadn't, he could have easily dropped a few spots on the all-time rushing list, instead of just one since retiring. Even now, because of the de-emphasis on featured backs, the only back with a realistic chance of passing Bettis in the next 2-3 years is AP, and that is assuming he returns and plays.
Also, because RBs catch a lot of balls now, a RB is more likely to have, say, 65 rushing yards and 25 receiving yards in a game rather than just 90 rushing yards. When looking at yards from scrimmage all-time, Bettis is only 14th among RBs.
Also, because RBs catch a lot of balls now, a RB is more likely to have, say, 65 rushing yards and 25 receiving yards in a game rather than just 90 rushing yards. When looking at yards from scrimmage all-time, Bettis is only 14th among RBs.
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Proust Loves Cake
Footballguy
Absurd Bettis got in. This is how the NBA HoF became such a joke, letting in such diluted talents, like Bettis, who really was a very good player in his own right. But, certainly not a great player, let alone in the pantheon of great players.
It's also not the hall of advanced metrics, two-year peaks, titles, awards, or what-may-have-been-if-he-were-healthy.It's the Hall of Fame.Hang 10 said:Ghost Rider said:
And when you combine his excellent long-term statistic contributions, his team and individual successes, his public perception, and his media savvy, he pretty obviously cleared that bar for the voters.
He's not the best pure RB in the Hall by any means, but based on the way these guys have always done "total package" voting, he doesn't seem an outlier either. He got his "not quite dominant" comeuppance from the voters who said, "Not on the first ballot." But he was always a lock, because even a lot of those voters were always in his corner.
Same thing with Warner, coming up.
You want a different Hall of Fame, or a Hall of Statistical Dominance Relative to Peers, save up your millions and start one. In the HoF as it's always existed, Bettis, Brown, Czonka, et al fit in with their peers just fine.
moleculo
Footballguy
In other words, having a long career as a popular player on a popular team makes you HoF worthy.It's also not the hall of advanced metrics, two-year peaks, titles, awards, or what-may-have-been-if-he-were-healthy.It's the Hall of Fame.Hang 10 said:Ghost Rider said:
And when you combine his excellent long-term statistic contributions, his team and individual successes, his public perception, and his media savvy, he pretty obviously cleared that bar for the voters.
He's not the best pure RB in the Hall by any means, but based on the way these guys have always done "total package" voting, he doesn't seem an outlier either. He got his "not quite dominant" comeuppance from the voters who said, "Not on the first ballot." But he was always a lock, because even a lot of those voters were always in his corner.
Same thing with Warner, coming up.
You want a different Hall of Fame, or a Hall of Statistical Dominance Relative to Peers, save up your millions and start one. In the HoF as it's always existed, Bettis, Brown, Czonka, et al fit in with their peers just fine.
jetpack
Footballguy
Why people continue to get their panties in a wad over who gets in the HOF is totally beyond me. You're talking about <1% of the best players at their position ever who are up for it. That's freaking incredible. Average RB last what 2.5 or 3 years and are OUT? I don't think anyone is comparing Bettis to Barry Sanders but geeze, you'd have the HOF being a tiny little football shaped hut in the middle of a cornfield if it were filled with just the purest 1 or 2 greatest players at their position from each era. Not my type of Hall at all. I want more careers celebrated - not dithering over .1 ypc. YAWN. Still surprised people haven't caught on that that's what the NFL and the fans and the writers want as well. Love the class of extremely accomplished players that got in this year. Rooting for Warner and Pace and Harrison next year.
sn0mm1s
Footballguy
I have posted this before - but both Bettis and Martin were below league average when it came to YPC for their careers. To me that makes it a no brainer. YPC isn't the end-all be-all of stats - but when you are below league average, effectively every time you touch the ball, you make the hall of durability - not the hall of fame. Bettis never lead the league in any meaningful statistic, for being a "power back" he only scored double digit rushing TDs twice, he was a poor receiver, doesn't have a single notable or historic season on his resume, his "fame" is that he was a popular guy playing on a popular team for a long time. With Bettis getting in these guys should be "locks":
Edge,
Tiki,
Watters,
Steven Jackson
Edge,
Tiki,
Watters,
Steven Jackson
Buffaloes
Footballguy
Terrell Davis in 8 career playoff games posted better numbers than 8 full seasons of Bettis. These were games against the best competition and against teams that were primed to stop Davis and the running game.
Terrell Davis - 8 playoff games - 1,140 yards, 12 TDS
Jerome Bettis
1994 - 1,025 yards, 3 TDs
1995 - 637 yards, 3 TDs
1999 - 1,091 yards, 7 TDs
2001 - 1,072 yards, 4 TDs
2002 - 666 yards, 9 TDs
2003 - 811 yards, 7 TDs
2004 - 941 yards, 13 TDs
2005 - 368 yards, 9 TDs
Bettis' best rushing season (1997) would have been TD's third best. There is no logical explanation for why Jerome Bettis is in the HOF over a far better player who played the same position in the same era. Bettis was rewarded for being a decent player who happened to be playing in Pittsburgh for a long time.
Terrell Davis - 8 playoff games - 1,140 yards, 12 TDS
Jerome Bettis
1994 - 1,025 yards, 3 TDs
1995 - 637 yards, 3 TDs
1999 - 1,091 yards, 7 TDs
2001 - 1,072 yards, 4 TDs
2002 - 666 yards, 9 TDs
2003 - 811 yards, 7 TDs
2004 - 941 yards, 13 TDs
2005 - 368 yards, 9 TDs
Bettis' best rushing season (1997) would have been TD's third best. There is no logical explanation for why Jerome Bettis is in the HOF over a far better player who played the same position in the same era. Bettis was rewarded for being a decent player who happened to be playing in Pittsburgh for a long time.
sn0mm1s
Footballguy
sn0mm1s
Footballguy
Evilgrin 72
Distributor of Pain
Breaking the old 36 Jersey out for tonight. Congrats Bus... Well deserved.
IvanKaramazov
Footballguy
Of course he cleared the bar with the voters. He got in.
Kind of sad that public perception and media savvy are now considered qualifications for the HOF though.
Edit: I say that as somebody who's always liked Bettis. He seems like a good guy and I appreciate the way he played the game with joy. He just wasn't HOF-worthy.
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Steelers4Life
Footballguy
There are a lot of people who claim he shouldn't get in based on numbers, and they don't know the first thing about him OTHER than the numbers. Stats aren't the only reason people get in.
People who vote look at the bigger picture. They see a guy who had an awesome career and spent almost all of it leading offenses led by Tomczak and Kordell. He ran for 800 yards and 5 TDs in half of a season as a 33 year old power back.... if he had been on a more dynamic offense, his numbers would've been through the roof. As it was, he was still one of the most productive backs in NFL history.
The guy was a durable workhorse back, and longevity is a skill no matter how much people get blown away by sheer numbers.
He's in for what he brought to the game, what he brought to the Steelers, and the way he did all of it.
Extremely deserving.
People who vote look at the bigger picture. They see a guy who had an awesome career and spent almost all of it leading offenses led by Tomczak and Kordell. He ran for 800 yards and 5 TDs in half of a season as a 33 year old power back.... if he had been on a more dynamic offense, his numbers would've been through the roof. As it was, he was still one of the most productive backs in NFL history.
The guy was a durable workhorse back, and longevity is a skill no matter how much people get blown away by sheer numbers.
He's in for what he brought to the game, what he brought to the Steelers, and the way he did all of it.
Extremely deserving.
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