Ground Control To HoF Voters
Warren Moon better get into the NFL Hall of fame today, or I will consider it a white-on-black crime. Just saying.
posted by andy grabia @ 9:08 AM
3 long time listeners, first time callers
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Contributors
Previous Posts
3 Comments:
Thurman Thomas and (especially) Derrick Thomas were much more deserving than Moon. It's too bad they didn't make it in.
Are you kidding me? I guess being the number one passing quarterback of all-time doesn't count for anything. And at least Moon won a championship.
He's only the 4th leading passer in NFL history, and never won a championship in the NFL - in fact he never even got his team to the Conference Championship game. Sorry moneyball, but there's more to the game than simple statistics. There's a place to honor his Canadian Football accolades, but if you feel they also merit consideration for Canton then I expect you to begin championing Doug Flutie and Jeff Garcia for the Hall once they become eligible. And hey, why not consider Kurt Warner's credentials from NFL Europe as part of his Hall of Fame bid? I think he was pretty impressive in the Arena League too, sounds like a lock to me.
I'm not saying Moon is undeserving, but he was no more impressive than Thurman Thomas. In fact, I see a lot of similarities. They both put up impressive statistics, but did so in part because they led the league in pass attempts or touches. For much of his career, Moon played in the very pass heavy run and shoot offense, which is why he consistently led the league in attempts, and certainly contributed to his other numbers as well.
As for the Thurmanator, he was consistently in the top 5 for rushes, but also had 4 consecutive years atop the yards from scrimmage category, followed by a year at #2. For the first half of the '90s, he might not have been in the class of Barry Sanders or Emmitt Smith, but he was definitely an elite back. He was also a pivotal part of a team that made 4 consecutive Super Bowl appearance, though he had a terrible day in the Bills' record-comeback game against Moon's Houston Oilers.
I concede that Moon played in an era where All-Star Quarterbacks seemed to grow on trees, but when you compare him to his peers, was he ever better than any of the following:
Joe Montana
John Elway
Jim Kelly
Steve Young
Randall Cunningham
Brett Favre
Dan Marino
Troy Aikman
Phil Simms
Jim Harbaugh
Ok, maybe you'd take him over the last two, but I doubt very many GMs would have taken him over the majority of this list. And if they had, they either would have been out of work shortly, or named Matt Millen.
Derrick Thomas was a freak of nature who's career, and life, was tragically cut short due to a fatal car accident. In his 11 seasons, he had close to 130 sacks and was a perennial Pro Bowler. More importantly, he was feared by his opponents, and clearly one of the elites at his position. It will be a tragedy if he is kept out another year.
To summarize, Moon was a really good player, but not one of the elites of his period. I'm not saying he's not Hall of Fame quality, but if he deserves to get in on the first ballot, then it shouldn't have even been a question about the two Thomases. Ditto for Michael Irvin.
Post a Comment
<< Home