JohnH19 wrote:I'm thrilled for Jerry Kramer and I'm glad that Moss and/or Owens didn't get screwed by a bogus quota on how many players at the same position can be elected in the same year.
Not a bogus quota, it was something that sometimes happens to avoid screwing worthy players by giving preference to skill positions. With Moss getting in on the first ballot the bar is lowered yet again. He was the most talented receiver ever, in my opinion, and was a highlight reel player. But he dogged it too much to be a first ballot HOFer. Even he admits he didn't always give full effort and that is not the stuff of the best of the best. In a 15-year career, he makes All-Pro just four times and there were no seasons that you could say he got screwed. Just 6 Pro Bowls. For a guy with all that talent, those are just so-so honors.
While he had some great things, like TO did some great things, on balance, it's my view that he does not meet the Jerry Rice, Don Hutson, Lance Alworth, etc first-ballot standards.
This bogus "he got Mossed" segment, his work in the media to soften his image paid off. If he had not worked in television he doesn't get the benefit of the doubt like he did.
So, as with Jackie Slater, Jason Taylor, even Steve Young to a degree, Urlacher and TO have all lowered the 1st ballot standard to the point now, where there is no reason to even consider it anymore. It used to be a "something extra" to denote special careers like Jim Brown, Jerry Rice, Dick Butkus, Reggie White, Bruce Smith.
Now, it is ordinary, even common, at least more common than it used to be. And that old trope of "either a guy is a HOFer or he isn't" is coming true. And to think Alan Page had to wait a year for losing a Super Bowls. At least he got there...and yes I am aware he didn't play well in all of them. But Urlacher and his defense gave up how many rushing yards?
I agree with some of the comments in the HOF portion of the forum. When you have Ray Lewis and Urlacher the same year and the same honor is bestowed on both of them when there is such a gulf in their resumes is just wrong. One guy wins 2 Def MVPs, another guy wins one. One guy wins 2 Super Bowls another loses one. One guy is 8-time All-Pro, another is 4. One guy is 13 time Pro Bowler, the other is 8. The stats, Lewis may be the last LBer ever to pick 30 passes yet it is Urlacher that gets the ink for his coverages.
So while my opinion is not at all the final say, and I respect yours, Moss as a first-ballot HOFer, under the old rules when it meant something, is really misguided. Now we will have to hear this kind of thing, "But now, Moss will always be able to back up his claim of "I'm the best wide receiver in NFL history" NFL.com, Jan. 29, 2013 and "I call myself the greatest" Minneapolis Star Tribune, Feb 2, 2018.
Yeah, he was the best, when he actually gave it some effort. And add to that his complaint that he didn't have "Steve Young and Joe Montana" throwing to him like Jerry Rice did.
From 1998-2004 the passer rating for the Vikings was 92.4, or something like it, #1 in the NFL. From 2007-2009 with Patriots, it was well over 100, the best in the NFL. So, for 10 years he had top-notch QBing. Certainly, he was a part of both, just as Rice was part of making Montana and Young so good, a true symbiotic relationship, it's not like he didn't have good support. He had Cris Carter and Welker opposite him, the Vikings had a good line and running game and Pats had a good line.
So Moss gets a gift and is a first-balloter, but it's a joke.
Said Vito Stellino, "Moss and Owens are perfect for era of divas who have flash and dash and style over substance. Both caught a lot of passes in era when rules were changed to make it easy to catch lot of passes. Neither ever caught a pass to win a ring and tended to wear out their welcome."