Patrick Willis: Hall of Famer?

This defining an era shit is laughable.

Did Derrick Brooks define his era? No, but he's a first ballot Hall of Famer...

Rickey Jackson didn't "define an era" but he's still a HOF linebacker.

 

Take it up with, Dooley. He's the one who said it.

That said, I think Willis needed more than eight seasons with his production to make the Hall of Fame, particularly considering the way middle linebacker has been de-emphasized in the game during the past decade.

 

He would be the first inductee I have never heard of.

Of course, that's my fault for not following the sport for years.

 

Since the 49ers' defense turned great in 2011, Willis hasn't typically been the best player on it. Justin Smith, Aldon Smith and Bowman have all gotten more support in DPOY voting.

He kept them in the playoff hunt longer than they should have been during a lot of the lean years, but he has not been quite the dominating presence on the dominating defenses.

 

Big time 49er fan but got to say no. A really good player on bad teams but not someone who was dominant.

Saw something on Butkus this weekend, really surprised he only played 9 years. Now he looked like a HOFer to me.

 

Butkus only played 9 years and was inury-hobbled one of those.

Sayers only played 7 years and missed significant PT in three.

 

Davis definitely is a lock for the Hall of Incredible Three-Year Runs.

 

The more I think about it, the more I think the comparison to Dwight Stephenson is a pretty good one.

Yes, they played drastically different positions, but Stephenson is in despite really only playing six seasons at center, and one as a special-teamer. Willis played seven seasons, all as a starter, and made All-Pro the same amount of times.

Both were considered the best in the game at their positions for at least three years each.

 

It's not a bad one... Willis had one more All-Pro than Stephenson. Centers typically don't get a ton of HOF love, so it says a lot that Stephenson got in.

 

To clarify, I think Terrell Davis should be in the HOF, and the voters are wrong on his candidacy. But I think that the reason that he's not in is because other running backs performed well for Denver after he retired, including running backs never heard from before or since.

 

I had a conversation with a couple HOF voters several years ago who said they would never vote for Davis or Zimmerman because of the cut blocking that the Broncos utilized during the Super Bowl runs that now is illegal.

I thought the reasoning was idiotic. Obviously, it wasn't enough to keep Zimmerman out.

 

From Peter King:

"Willis is going to have an interesting case for Canton when his case comes up in 2020. At first blush, his candidacy reminds me of center Dwight Stevenson, who played for Miami from 1980 to 1987 before injuries derailed his career. Each played eight years. Stevenson played 114 games, Willis 112. Stevenson made first-team all-pro four times, Willis five. (There are two inside/middle linebackers on the all-pro team, and one center.) It’s an interesting comparison, because I believe for much of his career Willis and Ray Lewis were the two best inside linebackers playing. So that’s going to be an interesting discussion down the line—particular with a strong short-career candidate like Terrell Davis sitting out there on the fringe of Canton."