best first five years at safety....

[coachtj]

.....best overall performance by a safety in his first five years in the league, and has not yet been enshrined in the hall of fame. watching film(do that once in a while)has cemented rick volk as the guy for me that best fits the above criteria. from '59 through '66 the colts tried six different men at right or free safety, and though they were adequate at times; none could keep the job. then comes wolverine rick to instantly perform at an elite level. the colts record his first five years was 53-13-4....but in the games he intercepted the colts record was 21-0-1. superb range, ball hawking skills, and a far superior tackler over the previous six free safeties. in an era where willie w., eddie m., and rosey t. played outstanding football, and earned pro bowls, and all-pro awards......volk earned three pro bowl berths. tomorrow will be wolverine rick's 70th b-day.

[Reaser]

Kenny Easley

[oldecapecod11]

Hey, tj, don't forget Jimmy P.
In his first 3 years, the Giants had trouble scoring against a strong wind but Patton was solid. Plus, in those three years, 1955, 56, and 57, he also returned Punts and Kick-offs.
The seasons were still shorter and NY was a lousy .689 to the Colts .803 in Volk's first five.
In 1958 and 1959, Jimmy had 11 and 7 INTs respectively and we all know what happened in 1958.
In a 12 year career, he had 52 INTs which ain't too shabby - 21 of those in his first five years.
While Volk was a fine S, he was not the tackler Patton was, neither with accuracy nor hard-hitting.
Some might say his first five were every bit as good as Volk's and I'd be among that some.
Sadly, Jim Patton died in a car crash not too many years after retiring.
He set the standards for the Giants' DBs and was one of the leaders on and off the field.

[Reaser]

Kenny Easley

First five years:
Four years as 1st-Team All-NFL
Four years as 1st-Team All-AFC
Four Pro Bowl selections (Three as a Starter)
AP & PFW NFL Defensive Player of the Year (not many S have been DPOY and even less have been selected by multiple 'major' selectors)
Two years as AFC Defensive Player of the Year
AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year
All-Rookie Team selection
NFL Defensive Back of the Year
Two years voted team MVP by his teammates (by his second year his teammates voted him as their MVP)
His 2nd season Seattle was 3rd in Def Passer Rating.
His 3rd season the Seahawks made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
His 3rd season the Seahawks got their first and second playoff wins in franchise history.
His 3rd season the Seahawks made it to the conference championship for the first time in franchise history.
His 4th season the Seahawks had their first ever double-digit win season.
His 4th season Seattle was 1st in Def Passer Rating.
His 4th season he tied the team record for ints in a season.
His 4th season he set the team record for ints in a game.
His 4th season he tied the team record for consecutive games with an interception.

[oldecapecod11]

If he had played in New York, he would have been on the Mayor's Council to Keep Peace in Harlem
and been voted into the HoF in his first year of eligibility. And, if he had gone to Notre Dame...

[Saban1]

Hey, tj, don't forget Jimmy P.
In his first 3 years, the Giants had trouble scoring against a strong wind but Patton was solid. Plus, in those three years, 1955, 56, and 57, he also returned Punts and Kick-offs.
The seasons were still shorter and NY was a lousy .689 to the Colts .803 in Volk's first five.
In 1958 and 1959, Jimmy had 11 and 7 INTs respectively and we all know what happened in 1958.
In a 12 year career, he had 52 INTs which ain't too shabby - 21 of those in his first five years.
While Volk was a fine S, he was not the tackler Patton was, neither with accuracy nor hard-hitting.
Some might say his first five were every bit as good as Volk's and I'd be among that some.
Sadly, Jim Patton died in a car crash not too many years after retiring.
He set the standards for the Giants' DBs and was one of the leaders on and off the field.

I thought Jimmy Patton was in the HOF. Another good one was teammate Dick Lynch.

[conace21]

Jake Scott had 2 near consensus All Pro nominations and 4 Pro Bowls in his first five years. He also had five playoff appearances, three Super Bowls, two championships, and 1 MVP award. He had 29 interceptions for 365 yards in those years.

Teammate Dick Anderson only had 1 Pro Bowl and 1 All Pro nomination in his first five years. However, in that time he had 24 interceptions for 594 return yards. He twice led the league in interception return yards, and also led it in fumble recoveries.
His 6th year may have been his best, but the first five stack up awfully well.

[paulksandiego]

Ken Houston had a pretty darn good 'first five years' resume as well. So did Mel Renfro. I'd rank their first five years record above anyone 'cept maybe, Kenny Easley, who should be in the HOF.

[coachtj]

.....ken houston & mel renfro are in the hall of fame. they are not part of this discussion. best first five years and not in the hall of fame, and must be a safety. jake scott for some folks might rank ahead of volk....and he sure was a damn good player, as was his running mate dick anderson; though scott played better his first five than andy. patton though the best safety in football from 58-62 is not in the running as he played very little at safety(played some corner)his first 18 games, before winning the job from herb rich in '56. my focus of this subject is to see how many; so far, very few mentioned, though kenny easley is the better player over volk. that might be debated by some, yet the kenny easley case is rock solid for the hall, why volk will never be considered. keep in mind they played different positions, and the responsibilities for those men with their teams was very, VERY different. c'mon folks....other than scott, or possibly anderson ....no one else to be mentioned?

[Rupert Patrick]

Teammate Dick Anderson only had 1 Pro Bowl and 1 All Pro nomination in his first five years. However, in that time he had 24 interceptions for 594 return yards. He twice led the league in interception return yards, and also led it in fumble recoveries.
His 6th year may have been his best, but the first five stack up awfully well.

Anderson's 6th season included the Monday Night game against Pittsburgh, which was surely one of the three or four greatest defensive games in pro football history. Four interceptions, two for TD's and on a third occasion he was tackled inside the Pittsburgh five-yard line.