NFL.com Current NFL first ballot HOFers

[cursona pirate]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000374265/article/who-are-nfls-future-firstballot-hall-of-famers?campaign=Facebook_atl_hanzus

 

 

What do you think? I think Eli is a HOFer maybe not first ballot. I compare him to Joe Flacco or vice versa. Not the best stats in the regular season ever but clutch for the most part.

[dhstandard]

Almost there should all be first ballot.  Really no argument against them unless they all retire in the same year or something.

[berad]

Eli needs to stack some more good years OR a SB title would put him in, no doubt.

Champ Bailey I think is pretty close to first ballot HOF, I'd put him in. His resume is awesome, 12 Pro Bowls, 7 All-Pros, 2000s All-Decade. He was the premier corner in the league for most of his career.

If you're going to include Witten you have to include Antonio Gates, as well. Gates has 35 more TDs than Witten with the same amount of years (although Gates missed more time with injury).

Surprised that Welker nor Suggs were mentioned. They'd definitely be 'on the path', Sizzle in particular needs to close his career strong to make that case.

[rmw10]

Charlie Whitehurst.  Nice touch.

[T3hRaven]

A few more seasons of his average level of production and Watt will go down as the GOAT at his position.

[berad]

Wes Welker, a (potential) Hall of Famer? I'm sorry; but, there's absolutely no way Welker makes the Hall of Fame. Not a chance! Why? Well, the guy spent the majority of his career playing in an offensive system that relied on the short passing game. And, the problem with that is when someone like Julian Edelman, a 5-year veteran who hadn't done much (previously), is able to equal the efficiency and work Welker did in New England.

 

Heck, one way of looking at it is the type of contract he had all that time with the Patriots, their refusal to not re-sign him and how little the Broncos ended-up signing him for, last year. All of that screams "replaceable".

 

Sure, Wes Welker may have been disrespected/mistreated by New England, especially after doing all that dirty work for their offense. But, he's a hard-working talent, at best. And, honestly, "stats" are becoming a less-and-less measurement for determining whether-or-not a player is Hall of Fame worthy, thanks in large part to the sport of football becoming more-and-more offensive friendly.

 

Welker is not someone who changed the game of football (which plays a big part in deciding if a player is a Hall of Famer or not), nor did he single-handily takeover games and win them for his team(s). Plus, while he may have the reception and receiving yards stats, he lacks the touchdown numbers to make him standout from the rest of the WRs in today's passing league.

 

I mean, Cris Carter and Tim Brown aren't even in the Hall of Fame, yet! That, more than anything else, is why I fail to see Welker at least being "on the path" to the Hall of Fame.

 

As for Terrell Suggs... yeah; he could be "on the path". But, I think T-Sizzle has had one too many down years (i.e. '07, '09, '12 and '13) to even be considered for Canton. Also, he is a little too inconsistent if we're talking Hall of Fame consideration. What I mean is that Suggs he can have one dominant game and then do little-to-nothing for the next 3 contests. I just don't see him as a Hall of Famer, to be quite honest; but, that's just me...

 

Agreed that stats are inflated but the reason Welker will probably not go into the HOF is that he's had an abbreviated career because he only began starting when he was 26 years old. He's 33 right now so has some years to add to his resume'.

 

As to him being equalled by Edelman, he was not. Welker produced more and more efficiently. That plus if you want to look at a macro level, you can look at the falls of the Patriots and Bradys' passing statistics and the rise of the Broncos and Mannings' passing statistics as they correlate to Welker. Now causation / correlation? Who knows but Tom Brady had a significantly worse 2013 than 2012 while Manning had a significantly better 2013 than 2012.

 

I'll disagree with you on his impact of the game of football. No one was even talking about slot receivers until Welker was being utilized in that fashion by the Patriots. Not earth-changing like the advent of the forward pass but GMs, coaches, and players around the league took notice and tried to replicate.

 

Don't think contracts come into play when it comes to HOF discussions but I don't think 2 years $12M is a poor deal.

 

Also agree that it's ridiculous that Brown isn't in the HOF yet but Carter was inducted last year. Welker will have a long line in front of him: Brown, Moss, Harrison, Owens, Holt, Bruce, etc.

 

BUT I did not make the argument that Wes Welker is a definite HOF player, just that if he puts in a few more seasons he will have to be considered. Same for Suggs. Both of those players still have some tread of the tire, 33 and 31 respectively, and can still produce.

[Mt. Crushmore]

I lol'd at Whitehurst.