Hall of Fame question (1 Viewer)

[Weapon of Mass Instruction]

Let's say that Fred Taylor plays 2-3 more years and ends up with 12,000 yards.

Could he make the Hall of Fame without ever making the Pro Bowl?

Has that ever happened?

 

[Challenge Everything]

There are many former players in the Hall of Fame that have never been in a Pro-Bowl.

 

[stevegamer]

Probably not anyone since the Pro Bowl has existed, who was in their prime at that time or later.

A better question is if anyone ever made it without being an All-Pro, which is leaguewide, not conference-wide, and has been around longer; during the time the All-Pro deisngation existed.

Once again, pro-football-reference is our freind:

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/hof/

Sorting by All-Pro designations, there are 3 guys who played in the NFL in there who never were All-Pro's:

Chuck Noll, Jim Finks, & Don Shula. Finks made a Pro Bowl.

None are in as players. However some years there were multiple All-Pro teams from different sources.

 

[candy bar]

John Riggins is a good comparison. He made only one Pro Bowl, in a pretty pedestrian season, but his success at the end of his career got him in. Of course, he had some incredible playoff performances, including a Super Bowl. But Taylor could match that.

 

[SSOG]

If the question is could a player make it to the HoF without a pro bowl appearance, the answer is yes. If the question is could FRED TAYLOR make the HoF without a pro bowl appearance, the answer is no. Taylor is one of the best pure runners I've seen, but he's not a HoFer in my mind, regardless of what he does at this point (barring something ridiculous like a 2,000 yard season next year and 3 straight SB rings).

 

[by_the_sea_wannabe]

If the question is could a player make it to the HoF without a pro bowl appearance, the answer is yes. If the question is could FRED TAYLOR make the HoF without a pro bowl appearance, the answer is no. Taylor is one of the best pure runners I've seen, but he's not a HoFer in my mind, regardless of what he does at this point (barring something ridiculous like a 2,000 yard season next year and 3 straight SB rings).

 

[redman]

John Riggins is a good comparison. He made only one Pro Bowl, in a pretty pedestrian season, but his success at the end of his career got him in. Of course, he had some incredible playoff performances, including a Super Bowl. But Taylor could match that.

Obviously this is not literally true, but Riggins is in the HoF for one play; in other words, if he doesn't turn that 4th and 1 into a 40-yard TD scamper in the 4th quarter to give them a lead that they never lost in that game, he's not in IMHO.Taylor doesn't have a signature play, and he certainly hasn't carried a team on his back through the playoffs like Riggins did that year (4 straight 100 yard games, for like 600 yards total).

 

[Wadsworth]

If the question is could a player make it to the HoF without a pro bowl appearance, the answer is yes. If the question is could FRED TAYLOR make the HoF without a pro bowl appearance, the answer is no. Taylor is one of the best pure runners I've seen, but he's not a HoFer in my mind, regardless of what he does at this point (barring something ridiculous like a 2,000 yard season next year and 3 straight SB rings).

So unless Fred Taylor does something that's never been done before he's not a HoF'r? -Could someone get in the Hall with no Pro Bowls? It's possible, but would have to be a special situation.

-Is Fred Taylor a Hall of Famer now? No chance.

-Could Taylor get in the Hall with no Pro Bowl? It's possible. Say he closes out the season with two more 100 yard games and then blows up in the post season including running all over the Pats giving them their first loss. That type of signature effort would be a huge help. Then he comes back and adds another couple thousand yards over the next two season but his effort falls short of Pro Bowl level. He ends up with around 13k career yards at a very high per carry average and that signature post season win. But at this point it would take that kind of special scenerio. Too many people veiw him as a talented compiler, and not a truly special RB.