2012 Pro Football Hall of Fame Semifinalists

Harrison is a lock to get in, though given the landscape and how receivers tend to be treated, it might take awhile.

I cannot imagine Harrison not getting in eventually.

 

A guy with 1,101 catches for 13,899 and 130 yards is now on his fifth year of waiting.

So Harrison (1,102, 14,508 and 128) can probably expect to be indcuted somewhere around 2022 if he's lucky.

 

Their careers intersected from 1996 to 2002. Carter's career began in 1987, but he didn't even have a 1,000-yard season until 1993. I don't think the spans of their careers aren't so far apart that it makes as much of a difference as you make it out to be.

 

Just for the hell of it, I looked up Ray Guy and Jerrel Wilson, who punted for the Chiefs.

Wilson had a career average of 43 yards per punt from 1963-78. Guy was at 42.4 from 1973-86.

Wilson gave up five TDs over 23 more career punts. Guy gave up four.

The one category in which Guy dominated Wilson was blocks. Wilson had 12 punts blocked and Guy had three.

I do think Guy unquestionably benefits from the TV theory. If you think about the prominent teams of the time, the Raiders were the only one who had a really good punter.

The only other punter I can think of from the other elite teams (Vikings, Cowboys, Rams, Steelers, Dolphins) was Danny White ... and only because he was also a quarterback.

 

As a wideout, Brown did nothing noteworthy until 1993, his sixth year in. Like Carter, he had a great rest of the decade, though it's worth noting that he never had a worthy partner at the position until Jerry Rice in 2001. The carcass of Andre Rison in 2000 doesn't count. Brown also played on some bad, bad teams in that span, with bad coaches. But he managed to have a 1,000-yard season with Donald Hollas throwing to him.

Carter had better teammates, but it's worth arguing whether Jake Reed was only effective because of Carter opening up the Field. Randy Moss was more dangerous from his first game in Minny.

 

only one man in the history of the nfl lost yards on his punting average because he hit the speakers on the roof of the kingdome. the raiders also punted every chance they had when they stalled on the other side of the side of the 50 instead of going for it or wasting a failed field goal, cause they knew guy's ability to kick for the corner was unmarveled. that cost guy a shit-ton of yards per punt.

 

I definitely thought Andre Reed and Cris Carter were locks. They're hard on receivers.

 

I have a few different theories...

1. Reed and Carter are canceling each other out. They don't want to put in two during the same year and they can't agree on who goes in first.

2. Carter had a rep as being a bad locker room guy, even later in his career. That, combined with his drug past is being held against him. Reed, as great as he was, doesn't have gaudy stats, and that's being used against him. Brown, fairly or unfairly, is seen as a compiler.

 

True statement on career averages. But Wilson led the AFL/NFL five times in punting averages and seven times was over 44 yards per punt for a season. Guy led the NFL three times, but only once went over 44 yards for a season. Again, though, Guy was not asked to boom it.

 

When Reed retired all of 12 years ago, he was second in career receptions, fourth in career receiving yards and sixth in career touchdown receptions. Now he's 10th, 12th and 12th in those categories. But given his stature upon retirement, I do think he deserves to be in. I think he was at least as good as Michael Irvin.

 

Reed is getting the Art Monk treatment. Was viewed as one of the game's top receivers when he retired but when it game time to vote, his numbers didn't look as good because of the generations following and it was held against him.

I do think Brown is the third wheel, so I wish the voters would get together and say -- we're putting in either Reed or Carter. whoever gets majority vote is the choice. And then put the other one in the next year. Otherwise this logjam will never end because they will always be semifinalists and they will always make the final 15.

And I give the committee credit for adding more offensive linemen and defensive players lately but the WR issue has been around for about five years now and they have not made one move to address it.