Edgerrin James made the HOF?

[RobbRiddick]

27 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

My argument for Kurt is you cannot tell the story of the NFL without the greatest show on turf. It was an offense ahead of its time in many ways Quarterbacked by a nobody who became the MVP. I think Eli Manning (who will make it) gets in for the same reason. I think Kurt was a better Quarterback at his best than Eli at his. But to me they both belong in the hall. 

 

Philip Rivers will be the most intriguing. I think he is pretty much a lock to get in but I don't think he should be.

 

EDIT: on Edg James I did think Hall of Very Good but he isn't a player whose making it offends me.

Yeah, Manning is an interesting one and when he does make it I think the decision will be polarising with fans. On the one hand I don't think he should, but to beat Brady twice and to do it with game winning drives the way he did, that in itself will be enough to push him in. I have no problem with Manning getting in because to see the Giants leave Brady and Belichick crying on the sidelines not once but twice were truly wonderful moments in my NFL life. The first one especially, when Plax caught that TD I jumped in the air as though the Bills had won a SB.

[Mister Defense]

2 hours ago, Stank_Nasty said:

Ya. You certainly need to go look at his stats. 
 

over 15,000 scrimmage yards. He ran for 1500 yds or more 4 times and 1200 yds or more 6 times. He led the league in rushing twice and was easily regarded as a top 5 back for the first 6 to 7 years of his career. He also accumulated 430 receptions over his 11 years. 
 

James was considered Elite for a good stretch of his career. “Very good” doesn’t sum up most of his career. The guy was truly elite for a long stretch. 

 

yes, those stats are well beyond very good, 8 times over 1,200 yards!  I was going to look them up then saw your post; surprised, and definitely very deserving of the Hall of Fame.  And from what I recall, a good character guy too.  Nice take!

[Orlando Buffalo]

1 hour ago, Canadian Bills Fan said:

 

 

Thats a great point. 

 

Does longevity count towards getting in the HOF? I mean sure stats do but it took Gore almost 20 seasons to get them

Longevity is one of the biggest aspects of Hall of Fame. If not Bryce Paup and Mario Williams are probably in the Hall 

[Mister Defense]

1 hour ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

The interesting one will be Frank Gore. Was Gore ever elite? Maybe one year? But he has like 17,000 scrimmage yards. HOF worthy IMO. But never a guy who was really elite. 

 

 

With 9  1,000 yard rushing seasons and THIRD all time in the NFL, I think Gore will roller skate into the Hall of Fame.

 

 

[klos63]

Just for the record, there is no Hall of Very Good. 

[Stank_Nasty]

48 minutes ago, Mister Defense said:

 

yes, those stats are well beyond very good, 8 times over 1,200 yards!  I was going to look them up then saw your post; surprised, and definitely very deserving of the Hall of Fame.  And from what I recall, a good character guy too.  Nice take!

Easily one of the most underrated backs of all time. He’s easy to forget about and I’m not sure why. I’m guilty of it. He was truly elite for a good 6 to 7 year stretch. 

[RiotAct]

2 hours ago, HOUSE said:

1st time ballet for sure

is he en pointe yet?

 

Edited August 8, 2021 by RiotAct

[NoSaint]

2 hours ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

The interesting one will be Frank Gore. Was Gore ever elite? Maybe one year? But he has like 17,000 scrimmage yards. HOF worthy IMO. But never a guy who was really elite. 

He had the Curtis martin route and will likewise get in. It won’t be particularly interesting, as it will be well deserved.

14 minutes ago, Stank_Nasty said:

Easily one of the most underrated backs of all time. He’s easy to forget about and I’m not sure why. I’m guilty of it. He was truly elite for a good 6 to 7 year stretch. 

Indianapolis isn’t a sexy market. Manning and the passing game got all the headlines. no one thought of the colts as a team with a consequential running back when talking about the team over a beer. 

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

My argument for Kurt is you cannot tell the story of the NFL without the greatest show on turf. It was an offense ahead of its time in many ways Quarterbacked by a nobody who became the MVP. I think Eli Manning (who will make it) gets in for the same reason. I think Kurt was a better Quarterback at his best than Eli at his. But to me they both belong in the hall. 

 

Philip Rivers will be the most intriguing. I think he is pretty much a lock to get in but I don't think he should be.

 

EDIT: on Edg James I did think Hall of Very Good but he isn't a player whose making it offends me.

rivers is an interesting one if we are looking for an interesting debate here 

[Buffalo03]

1 hour ago, Mister Defense said:

 

yes, those stats are well beyond very good, 8 times over 1,200 yards!  I was going to look them up then saw your post; surprised, and definitely very deserving of the Hall of Fame.  And from what I recall, a good character guy too.  Nice take!

I didn't realize those were his stats. I know he was a great player. Now that I have looked them up myself, he is worthy. I never realized he had four 1500 yard or more seasons. That's amazing 

Edited August 8, 2021 by Buffalo03

[Utah John]

James was a very good back, who produced yards consistently, but he was never a guy defenses feared, or who could take over a game.  He played on a great team and made it better than it would have been.  I'm not upset that he's in, but I would have been just as fine if he hadn't made it. 

 

For me, there's stats and then there's the eyeball test.  Gore and James make it on stats but I've seen a lot of backs that were better.

[NewEra]

4 hours ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

The interesting one will be Frank Gore. Was Gore ever elite? Maybe one year? But he has like 17,000 scrimmage yards. HOF worthy IMO. But never a guy who was really elite. 

 I never saw him as a HoF caliber back.  I’d vote no.  His durability after those injuries as a kid was incredible though.  Very good back.  Not HoF 

[klos63]

1 hour ago, Utah John said:

James was a very good back, who produced yards consistently, but he was never a guy defenses feared, or who could take over a game.  He played on a great team and made it better than it would have been.  I'm not upset that he's in, but I would have been just as fine if he hadn't made it. 

 

For me, there's stats and then there's the eyeball test.  Gore and James make it on stats but I've seen a lot of backs that were better.

link please

[chongli]

5 hours ago, HOUSE said:

Steve Tasker would be a better choice

 

 

Yep, and this is Tasker's final year of regular eligibility before having to go to the Senior's Committee.

[BigDingus]

I think the HOF is filled with players from all eras that were standout performers for their time, though not all-time legends. Hell, many people could argue many of our own Bills legends are borderline HOF worthy, but we see them as all-timers for our franchise.

 

Do I think he was an all-time legend? Not really, but he has more rushing yards than a lot of HOF RB's, was great for his era, and definitely helped make the Colts more than just the Peyton Manning show. He also had a couple 1,000+ yard seasons in Arizona, and was pretty much a reliable workhorse RB until injuries shut him down.

 

I dunno, I can see both sides, but I'm in favor of giving them the nod. There are people that think a special team's player like Tasker should never be in, but we Bills fans know otherwise. I think in that Colts era, people like Harrison & James were pretty key to the Colts' success (outside of Manning).

[GETTOTHE50]

6 hours ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

The interesting one will be Frank Gore. Was Gore ever elite? Maybe one year? But he has like 17,000 scrimmage yards. HOF worthy IMO. But never a guy who was really elite. 

Frank Gore is much more worthy than Edgerrin. I don’t see Edgerrin as a HoF player. The NFL story can be told with out him. 

[Big Turk]

5 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

My argument for Kurt is you cannot tell the story of the NFL without the greatest show on turf. It was an offense ahead of its time in many ways Quarterbacked by a nobody who became the MVP. I think Eli Manning (who will make it) gets in for the same reason. I think Kurt was a better Quarterback at his best than Eli at his. But to me they both belong in the hall. 

 

Philip Rivers will be the most intriguing. I think he is pretty much a lock to get in but I don't think he should be.

 

EDIT: on Edg James I did think Hall of Very Good but he isn't a player whose making it offends me.

 

Eli is very Meh to me...I never thought he was anything great.

 

Highest QB rating for a season was 93.6, career 84.1...most TDs in a season were 35 which he did once.

 

The only thing he ever led the league in a season was INTs thrown which he did 3 times.

 

That's just not good enough for a HOF worthy QB.

Edited August 8, 2021 by Big Turk

[TheBrownBear]

He belongs.  I think he's underrated because Peyton and Harrison/Wayne sort of overshadowed him.

[947]

I also just saw something about him making the HOF & was surprised, I don't think he belongs. Yes, he put up great numbers for 4-5 years with Manning, but he was just pretty good after he left the Colts. While the guys who replaced him in Indy put up similar numbers in that offense to what James had done. He's 13th in career rushing yards, but I think that's more a product of being a 300+ carry workhorse than being great.

[GunnerBill]

2 hours ago, Big Turk said:

 

Eli is very Meh to me...I never thought he was anything great.

 

Highest QB rating for a season was 93.6, career 84.1...most TDs in a season were 35 which he did once.

 

The only thing he ever led the league in a season was INTs thrown which he did 3 times.

 

That's just not good enough for a HOF worthy QB.

 

I agree but again I ask can you write the story of the NFL without those two comebacks in the Superbowl? My answer is no and so I'd put him in. 

[Mikie2times]

10 hours ago, Stank_Nasty said:

Ya. You certainly need to go look at his stats. 
 

over 15,000 scrimmage yards. He ran for 1500 yds or more 4 times and 1200 yds or more 6 times. He led the league in rushing twice and was easily regarded as a top 5 back for the first 6 to 7 years of his career. He also accumulated 430 receptions over his 11 years. 
 

James was considered Elite for a good stretch of his career. “Very good” doesn’t sum up most of his career. The guy was truly elite for a long stretch. 

But how does it look without Peyton?

 

Thurman was a trend setter. He redefined what a RB can do giving people like James a new path. The rest that followed, specifically if they had an elite QB, I don't trust the numbers. It starts to become who were you drafted by? James was an excellent player, but I still think the Peyton led Colts don't skip a beat without him and if he was drafted by the Bengals we aren't talking about this.

 

HOF players have to be capable of taking over a game or be responsible for a shift in play. I said Thurman earlier because like Thurman, James was applauded for his dual skill set. That said, Thurman allowed James to be James. So you can speak in similar terms with both but only one of them was a trend setter. James was never a guy that could simply take over and dominate and that should be the HOF standard. Stats are meaningless in this conversation. Could James take over a game without Peyton? I don't see it.