kearly
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- Mar 6, 2007
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Does he belong? Definitely.
Will he get in? He won't be a first ballot guy, but he'll get in eventually I think. His stats are low end, but it's called the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of stats. There's too much NFL mythology and lore wrapped around him to not be in the HoF, IMO. Bevell calling that slant on the 1 yard line might have cost us a SB, but I think it cemented Lynch as an NFL legend.
And as mentioned by others above, Earl Campbell's career numbers are very similar to Lynch's, which is no doubt a case that will be made when Lynch's candidacy is debated.
Comparing Lynch to Shaun misses the point. Alexander was the beneficiary of the best offensive line in the NFL and a top ranked offense. Alexander was never really respected all that much during his time because of his rep for avoiding hits and being a finesse player. The opposite is true for Lynch. He had to produce behind mostly terrible OL play and fought hard for every inch, earning the reverence of NFL players across the league. When young RBs were asked who they wanted to be when they grew up, they said Lynch, not AP. Shaun never had anything close to that level of respect.
And I'm not really sure the press hated him all that much either, outside of a small handful of vocal popoffs. If the press hated him, then why did his podium dominate press traffic like we'd never seen before? Some press members may have been frustrated in the moment, but articles on Lynch have mostly been very kind.
Will he get in? He won't be a first ballot guy, but he'll get in eventually I think. His stats are low end, but it's called the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of stats. There's too much NFL mythology and lore wrapped around him to not be in the HoF, IMO. Bevell calling that slant on the 1 yard line might have cost us a SB, but I think it cemented Lynch as an NFL legend.
And as mentioned by others above, Earl Campbell's career numbers are very similar to Lynch's, which is no doubt a case that will be made when Lynch's candidacy is debated.
Comparing Lynch to Shaun misses the point. Alexander was the beneficiary of the best offensive line in the NFL and a top ranked offense. Alexander was never really respected all that much during his time because of his rep for avoiding hits and being a finesse player. The opposite is true for Lynch. He had to produce behind mostly terrible OL play and fought hard for every inch, earning the reverence of NFL players across the league. When young RBs were asked who they wanted to be when they grew up, they said Lynch, not AP. Shaun never had anything close to that level of respect.
And I'm not really sure the press hated him all that much either, outside of a small handful of vocal popoffs. If the press hated him, then why did his podium dominate press traffic like we'd never seen before? Some press members may have been frustrated in the moment, but articles on Lynch have mostly been very kind.