Big Turk Posted March 14, 2015 Posted March 14, 2015 I hear the discussion about wether Patrick Willis deserves HOF consideration and honestly I don't want to hear about that until Sterling Sharpe gets serious consideration...he might have been the best WR in the league when he was forced to retire due to injury, and if not was a 1B to Jerry Rice's 1A... The man averaged 90 catches, 1223 yards and 10.6 TDs in the 6 years following his rookie season and was literally uncoverable. Double coverage, triple coverage...didn't matter, dude always got open. Before people talk about Patrick Willis and if he played long enough to be in the HOF, they need to talk about Sterling Sharpe because I guarantee most people who watched him and played against him would say he should be in it...
4merper4mer Posted March 14, 2015 Posted March 14, 2015 Not unless Steve Busby gets in before both of them.
NoSaint Posted March 14, 2015 Posted March 14, 2015 id say they are in similar boats and both warrant discussion about whether or not they deserve final consideration. neither likely get there though, honestly.
Big Turk Posted March 14, 2015 Author Posted March 14, 2015 Different sport, and was only a 2 time all star with decent stats... Sharpe was a 5 time probowler and 3 time 1st team all pro, led the NFL in receptions 4 times, and in TDs twice... Shannon Sharpe said he can honestly say he's the only person in the pro football HOF that is the second best player in his own family
K D Posted March 14, 2015 Posted March 14, 2015 Not a HOF IMO. No championships, only played until age 30. What records does he have? He was a really good player but not HOF
Big Turk Posted March 14, 2015 Author Posted March 14, 2015 (edited) Not a HOF IMO. No championships, only played until age 30. What records does he have? He was a really good player but not HOF7 consecutive pro bowls, 5 1st team all pro, 1 2nd team all pro, led NFL in tackles twice, defensive rookie of the year, 3 time NFL Alumni LB of the year... Championships should have Zero bearing on HOF discussion. One player cannot control how good an entire team is unless its a QB Other than that, not much I guess Edited March 14, 2015 by matter2003
K D Posted March 14, 2015 Posted March 14, 2015 7 consecutive pro bowls, 5 1st team all pro, 1 2nd team all pro, led NFL in tackles twice, defensive rookie of the year, 3 time NFL Alumni LB of the year... Championships should have Zero bearing on HOF discussion. One player cannot control how good an entire team is unless its a QB Other than that, not much I guess Sounds like a really good player to me. Does he have the records for tackles or sacks? How many super bowls has he won?
Big Turk Posted March 14, 2015 Author Posted March 14, 2015 Sounds like a really good player to me. Does he have the records for tackles or sacks? How many super bowls has he won? Again, super bowls or playoff appearances should have zero bearing on HOF discussion
Ontario51 Posted March 14, 2015 Posted March 14, 2015 Must be a very slow news day? Good player that is all, did he do something really special? IMHO
Buffwagonscircled Posted March 14, 2015 Posted March 14, 2015 How long do retired players contracts take to expire when they retire? Just wondering in case we wanted to coax him back out of retirement to play for us. Would SF be able to put a stop to it or no?
Big Turk Posted March 14, 2015 Author Posted March 14, 2015 Must be a very slow news day? Good player that is all, did he do something really special? IMHO I'm pretty sure people who watched him play extensively would disagree
Mickey Posted March 14, 2015 Posted March 14, 2015 I hear the discussion about wether Patrick Willis deserves HOF consideration and honestly I don't want to hear about that until Sterling Sharpe gets serious consideration...he might have been the best WR in the league when he was forced to retire due to injury, and if not was a 1B to Jerry Rice's 1A... The man averaged 90 catches, 1223 yards and 10.6 TDs in the 6 years following his rookie season and was literally uncoverable. Double coverage, triple coverage...didn't matter, dude always got open. Before people talk about Patrick Willis and if he played long enough to be in the HOF, they need to talk about Sterling Sharpe because I guarantee most people who watched him and played against him would say he should be in it... I totally agree that Sharpe deserves to be in the HOF. However, your concern about Sharpe doesn't really impact the questions being asked as to whether Willis deserves consideration for the HOF. It is a valid issue as to when Willis deserves consideration but not as to whether he deserves consideration at all. The only relevant question about the HOF as between Willis and Sharpe is which one deserves to get in the HOF first? As for the specific question regarding Willis and his "short" career, I think that he deserves to make it at some point. I may be a bit biased though as he was my hope for our first round pick in 2007. I still remember pacing around my living room as our pick came closer and closer and he was still on the board. The 'Niners had the last pick before the Bills and sure enough, they took him. We took Lynch and then traded up in the second round to take Poz. I have always believed that we would have taken Willis instead of Lynch if he had been available given that we traded up for much less talented LB in the very next round. It was one of those near misses with long term consequences that you look back on and just shake your head. Both Lynch and Poz were soon playing for someone else while Willis has been a beast for 8 years.
Deranged Rhino Posted March 14, 2015 Posted March 14, 2015 7 consecutive pro bowls, 5 1st team all pro, 1 2nd team all pro, led NFL in tackles twice, defensive rookie of the year, 3 time NFL Alumni LB of the year... Championships should have Zero bearing on HOF discussion. One player cannot control how good an entire team is unless its a QB Other than that, not much I guess Willis was a probowler every year he started, something only accomplished by Ogden, Brown, Sanders, Doak Walker and two other guys I'm forgetting. All of them are HOFers. He probably won't be a first ballot, but I wouldn't at all be surprised to see him make it.
HurlyBurly51 Posted March 14, 2015 Posted March 14, 2015 I never think Willis and HOF in the same sentence. Frankly I'm surprised people are considering him Hall worthy. How many players in the history of the NFL are enshrined, and Willis should be considered one of them?
Nanker Posted March 14, 2015 Posted March 14, 2015 Willis, what 'choo talkin' 'bout? Brian Urlacher deserves it a ton more than Willis.
BillsPride12 Posted March 14, 2015 Posted March 14, 2015 Willis was an amazing football player no doubt about it. Its tough in his case though because his career was cut short by his own choice versus suffering a career ending injury like Sharpe or Terrell Davis. I think not having the longevity does hurt his case, it becomes a debate when great players careers are cut short by circumstances they can't control, but that card can't be played in Willis' case.
flomoe Posted March 14, 2015 Posted March 14, 2015 Willis, what 'choo talkin' 'bout? Brian Urlacher deserves it a ton more than Willis. THIS Willis was a very good, if not great player BUT he was not a game changer. He wasn't the type of player to change the course of a game week in and week out. I am sure teams gameplanned for him but not around him like they did for Urlacher and those like him. The Hall of Fame should be reserved for special people that set themselves above the rest, that had a long lasting impact on the game and were the very best at their position for their career. (See Tasker) I liked Willis but the HOF standards should be set a little higher than what he did.
Deranged Rhino Posted March 14, 2015 Posted March 14, 2015 THIS Willis was a very good, if not great player BUT he was not a game changer. He wasn't the type of player to change the course of a game week in and week out. I am sure teams gameplanned for him but not around him like they did for Urlacher and those like him. The Hall of Fame should be reserved for special people that set themselves above the rest, that had a long lasting impact on the game and were the very best at their position for their career. (See Tasker) I liked Willis but the HOF standards should be set a little higher than what he did. This isn't true.
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