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Posted

With all due respect to Derrick Thomas, he was a one-trick pony. He was one of the 10 best pass-rushers ever and second only to LT at it from the LB position. Biscuit was not in the top 10 ever at anything, but overall he was the better LB in my opinion. If he was allowed to rush the passer on every play like Thomas was, he would have had a lot more sacks. And as I said in another thread comparing Talley and Bennett, never in a million years could Thomas have moved inside to help the team fill a hole because of injury and made the Pro Bowl like Bennett did.

All that said, if Bruce Smith never existed, those Bills would have needed someone like Derrick Thomas. But the guy was basically a DE listed as a LB ... it's not fair to him or Bennett to compare them really.

Posted

JMO, but I never thought DT was HOF material because he was a LB who could only rush the passer. I'll never forget the playoff game between the Bills & Chiefs when Thurman was eating up the Chiefs on the ground. Marty Schottenheimer benched him! If you are a LB and cannot play the run - you're just a pass rushing specialist - a 3rd down DE - those guys shouldn't make the Hall. Just like Tasker was a specialist on special teams - many say he won't make the HOF because of that. Now that they've admitted DT - maybe ST has a chance - but I doubt it.

 

I cannot argue he was a HOF-calibre pass rusher - just not an all-around player. Buscuit was an all-around player who wasn't asked to rush the passer like DT - because we had Bruuuce.

 

DT is one of those fence players who got in. Many consider Andre Reed the same - hopefully he gets in . . . I'll never forget at one point in around 90-93, Jerry Rice said Andre was the best receiver in the game. The Reed-advocates for the HOF should be playing that up every year at the Super Bowl HOF meetings. 2010 looks like a tough one. Rice is up for the Hall, so is Emmit Smith. Some are even saying Tim Brown could get in. If TB gets in . . . (other than numbers) what has he done for his team - Did the Raiders win a SB with him? I don't think they did. It is so critical to look at the period of time when a player plays and choose or deny him based on that alone. TB's numbers are better than Reeds because he played in a pass-happier time for a few more years after Reed retired. Tommy MacDonald is in the HOF - would you rather have him of Andre on youir team? Reed - hands down - but that's my point - you cannot compare two guys from different eras. If Art Monk gets in - so should Reed & Chris Carter & Jerry Rice, maybe Tim Brown - but not if Reed doesn't make it.

Posted

By the way, I liked Buscuit, but I thought he was an under-achiever. If he worked out and dedicated himself, he would have been the LB'ing-equilivent of Bruce Smith. But Buscuit was almost great without trying real hard, so he never did apply himself and that is why you will never hear HOF whispers about him.

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