Four elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 under new rules - smallest number since 2005

[Chicken Boo]

14 hours ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

As for the WRs, I am ok with not voting in any of them.  If I had to choose one it probably would have been Reggie Wayne. He's 10th all time in receiving yards and 7 of those years he had to share the ball with Marvin Harrison.

 

Torry Holt > Reggie Wayne

 

Torry didn't have the pleasure of having Peyton Manning for the bulk of his career.

[Utah John]

12 hours ago, agilen said:

Big deal? Dude was Super Bowl MVP twice. Only 5 other players have ever done that. IMO he just didn’t get it this year to protect the “first ballot” status for people like Brady and Mahomes. A 2x Super Bowl MVP is a lock for the HOF.

There's the rub.  A guy can have a pretty unimpressive career, win two games, and get into the HOF?  There's a lot of people who think so, but I think that's just BS.  Teams win SBs, not QBs.

Edited February 8 by Utah John

[GoBills808]

On 2/7/2025 at 4:00 AM, BearNorth said:

Kuechly played 118 games.  For reference Jim Brown played 119 and Dick Butkus played 118.

 

Patrick Willis got in last year - 10 years after he retired.  He and Kuechly have almost identical stats.

Kuechly was so much better than Patrick Willis lol

[BRH]

On 2/7/2025 at 7:20 AM, RobbRiddick said:

it's right that Eli didn't get in but I won't begrudge him if he ever does. The fact that he beat Brady twice in super bowls, probably the last ones I genuinely cheered and enjoyed, makes me think he sort of deserves it. 

 

100% agree.  In fact, those and the Nick Foles win may be the only Super Bowls I've ever truly felt good about at the end, except for maybe the two Dolphins' losses in the early '80s.  The Bucs' win over the Chiefs would be in there too if it wasn't for Brady.

1 hour ago, Chicken Boo said:

 

Torry Holt > Reggie Wayne

 

Torry didn't have the pleasure of having Peyton Manning for the bulk of his career.

 

Torry Holt and his Lamar-kissing ass can go ***** themselves.

[TheFunPolice]

Could the greatest backup QB of all time be deserving of the HOF?

 

Sounds dumb at first but it is a position in the sport and an important one 

[Matt_In_NH]

2 hours ago, SinceThe70s said:

 

I totally understand your sentiment, I don't consider Lynn Swann and Jerry Rice to be equals -  but I don't think they segregate the lower tier guys from the upper crust in any way. When you're in, you're in. It's what makes the debate about who belongs and who doesn't interesting to me. 

I often hear the phrase “first ballot hall of famer”.  It does distinguish the person otheise no one would use that phrase.  

[agilen]

2 hours ago, Utah John said:

There's the rub.  A guy can have a pretty unimpressive career, win two games, and get into the HOF?  There's a lot of people who think so, but I think that's just BS.  Teams win SBs, not QBs.

….yes? He was Super Bowl MVP in 12.5% of his NFL seasons. That’s not “unimpressive”, it’s elite. I’m not an Eli Manning fan, but the dude showed up in the absolute biggest moments.

[djp14150]

18 hours ago, Utah John said:

 

Completely agree with your conclusions.  Eli Manning was a mediocre QB over the duration of a highly inconsistent career.  Absolutely does not belong in the company of the great ones.  The Giants won two SBs with him as QB, big deal. Their defense was what made them successful.

 

Sterling Sharpe and Luke Kuechly both deserve to get in.  They were great for sustained periods of time and had annual awards backing up that consensus.

 

interesting stat…team passing 

 

in 1990….only 4 teams threw for 3500+ yards. 2 were just under.   In 2024 only 2 teams were under 3500 yards 

 

the game today is different than in the past. You can’t use stat lines

[Doc Brown]

3 hours ago, Utah John said:

There's the rub.  A guy can have a pretty unimpressive career, win two games, and get into the HOF?  There's a lot of people who think so, but I think that's just BS.  Teams win SBs, not QBs.

He did lead those teams to the Super Bowl though both as Wild Cards.  Going 4-0 twice in the postseason with a passer rating of 95.7 in 2007 playoffs and 103.3 in the 2011 playoffs (15 TD's, 2 INT's in those games).  He also has two iconic plays in the final drive of two Super Bowls with two clutch throws against the best team this century and trailed in the 4th quarter in both of those games.  We've seen lesser QB's go on one post season heater but never two like Eli.  Brady might have nine rings right now if it wasn't for him making those two iconic throws for the game winning drive.  He's a really interesting candidate to say the least.

Edited February 8 by Doc Brown

[GoBills808]

10 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:

He did lead those teams to the Super Bowl though both as Wild Cards.  Going 4-0 twice in the postseason with a passer rating of 95.7 in 2007 playoffs and 103.3 in the 2011 playoffs (15 TD's, 2 INT's in those games).  He also has two iconic plays in the final drive of two Super Bowls with two clutch throws against the best team this century and trailed in the 4th quarter in both of those games.  We've seen lesser QB's go on one post season heater but never two like Eli.  Brady might have nine rings right now if it wasn't for him making those two iconic throws for the game winning drive.  He's a really interesting candidate to say the least.

2011 was significantly more impressive than 2007 for Manning 

 

He had a Flacco type run in 2011, 07 was more about their dline

 

I know the 2 SBs count for a lot but if I was voting I wouldn't put Eli Manning in the HoF

[Doc Brown]

50 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

2011 was significantly more impressive than 2007 for Manning 

 

He had a Flacco type run in 2011, 07 was more about their dline

 

I know the 2 SBs count for a lot but if I was voting I wouldn't put Eli Manning in the HoF

I wouldn't either but saying his whole HOF case came down to him playing well in just those two SB's is inaccurate imo.  He won five playoff road games and one home game to even get to those two SB's.  That's the case I'd make if I was presenting.  It pry wouldn't hold water though.