Who Gets In?

I sent Nort an email on Friday, bitching about how Michael Irvin went on ESPN and was defending T.O., after McNabb gave an interview about the subject. What an ass. I lamented that I hope he stays out of the Hall.

Nort then brought this to my attention, about how Irvin shouldn't even be up for consideration. He was 'snubbed' ( at least that's what the media thinks ) last year in his first year of eligibility, and was again denied this year.

Irvin's stats:
750 rec. - 11904 yds. - 65 TD

Pretty good numbers. But I'm going to give you the stats of a few other receivers that aren't even in the vicinity of the discussion if they should be in the Hall or not.

Player A:
699 rec. - 10856 yds. - 65 TD
Player B:
579 rec. - 10372 yds. - 76 TD
Player C:
940 rec. - 12721 yds. - 68 TD
Player D:
743 rec. - 10205 yds. - 84 TD
Player E:
557 rec. - 10716 yds. - 72 TD
Apparently, 65 TDs seem to be a popular number. But anyway, here's my point. All of the the other players (with the exception of one), are not considered Hall of Fame material, and their names are left off the short list every year. So why does Irvin and the media think he should be an automatic bid when he has stats comparable to those other guys??

Player A= Gary Clark
Player B= Harold Jackson (who?)
Player C= Art Monk ( I was shocked to learn he wasn't already in )
Player D= Andre Rison ( those numbers surprised me )
Player E= Morgan Stanley
Art Monk gets his name on the short list every year, but keeps being snubbed by the committee. But the other guys are no where near Hall consideration.

There's a couple of other examples we can use here. James Lofton was inducted in 2003, a full five years after his eligibility began. The Hall limits six new members each year, and the year that Lofton got in was a 'weak' year for first time eligible players.
Lofton's stats: 764 rec. - 14004 yds - 75 TDs

Here's a guy with only 14 more catches, but exactly 2,100 more yards than Irvin, as well as ten more TDs. And he had to wait FIVE years to get in. And there was even some debate as to whether he should get in or not.

And then there's Rod Smith. Smith currently plays for the Denver Broncos. I was surprised to see his stat line:
797 rec. - 10877 yds. - 65 TD (again with the 65TD)

I've never considered Smith to be a Hall of Famer. He's a damn good player, and has had a lengthy career. But I always looked at him as one of those guys that was just a notch below Hall quality. Not to take anything away from Smith - but if he retired today, I don't think he'd get in. If he plays another 5 years, then yeah.

His numbers are almost identical to Irvin's. The ONLY thing Irvin has going for him, is the 3 rings he won. But football is SUCH a team sport, that I think that's over-rated when discussing HOF status. Irvin got to play with a QB that just went in the Hall this year, and with the all-time leading rusher in NFL history. You don't think he was the benefactor of single coverage alot in games when teams geared up to stop Emmitt? I'm not saying Irvin isn't a good player, but he was in the right place at the right time. You think we'd be having this discussion if he had been drafted by Arizona instead of Dallas coming out of college?

And I think that character should also factor in Hall selection - but I know that's going to be debated forever. When you've put yourself in the CrackPipe Hall of Fame, and have a bust alongside Courtney Love - I don't blame the NFL Hall selection committee for not putting you in with the legends of Football.

Until they put Rison ( 84 tds... how could he NOT be up for consideration?? ), and Harold Jackson in, Irvin needs to stay the hell out of Canton.