My response would be that for three years, he wasn't just "really, really,, really, good," he was historically dominant. I agree, the zone blocking scheme that Denver employed was a huge factor. The league wasn't ready for it. But, Davis was just so hard to stop.
Better? Yes. But was he that much better to warrant a good three years getting into the Hall? I'm not so sure. It's a good discussion to have and I can see why people believe he's a Hall of Famer. I just think if he is, then so are Jamal Lewis, Tiki Barber, Shaun Alexander and Corey Dillon. I can go either way with Portis and Fred Taylor. Especially Jamal Lewis and Shaun Alexander whom were both the centerpieces of teams that went to the Super Bowl. Alexander also briefly held the single season touchdown record. Lewis do 7 1,000 yard seasons including a 2,000 yard year. Here's Tiki Barber's final three year total. Tiki Barber - 1x All-Pro, 3x Pro-Bowler 2004: 1,518 rushing yards on 322 carries (4.7 ypc) with 13 touchdowns, 52 catches for 578 yards (11.2 ypc) and 2 touchdowns 2005: 1,860 rushing yards on 357 carries (5.2 ypc) with 9 touchdowns, 54 catches for 530 yards (9.8 ypc) and 2 touchdowns 2006: 1,662 rushing yards on 327 carries (5.1 ypc) with 5 touchdowns, 58 catches for 465 yards (8.0 ypc) and 0 touchdowns Totals: 5,040 yards, 31 total touchdowns It should also be noted he lead the NFL in yards from scrimmage in 2004 & 2005, something Davis never did. I will also add that I am so happy Tiki never got a ring.
Fair enough. As I said a post earlier, my bigger argument isn't that Terrell Davis ISN'T a Hall of Famer, but that if he is, some of these other guys are as well. Especially considering they all have much more longevity outside of Ricky Williams and his whole fucked up situation. Williams may have ended up being a better person for what happened to him. But man, he could've been one of the GOATs if his mind didn't break down because of all the hits he took.
See, I think Tiki is a hall of famer. At his peak, he was a truly dominant player. I think Davis was a bit better, but I agree with you on Tiki. And, honestly, you can make very good arguments for a lot of the guys that you mentioned. I wouldn't mind if several of those guys hot in, but I'm just pointing out that, to me, Davis was better than all of them.
Yeah, I have no problem putting several of those guys in the hall of fame. Personally, both Davis and Barber are virtual automatics in my book.
I hear ya. I think guys like Dillon and Fred Taylor can be excluded because they were never truly considered to be one of the most dominant or top 3-5 at their position at their peak. Alexander definitely was. Tiki definitely was. Portis is borderline, and Jamal Lewis has two marquee seasons where he was, which is comparable to Davis' production.
I agree about Dillon and Taylor. I don't think either of those guys were truly dominant enough during their respective primes. Also, yeah, even tho I never thought he was as dynamic or unstoppable as someone like Davis, you have to include Alexander for the dominant seasons that he had. The interesting guy to me is Portis because his numbers are WAY better than I would have guessed. I don't ever remember truly thinking of him as a great running back, but some of his seasons would suggest otherwise. I think it goes to show you how much being on a mediocre team can hurt the perception of you around the league (and, of course, we all know how much being on a successful team helps your cause) The other really interesting thing to note is that the best two years Portis had were his first two seasons in the league (his only two in Denver, before he was traded to Washington for Champ Bailey). This only further drives home the point that Denver's zone blocking scheme in the late 90s/early 2000s was a huge factor. Then again, it also drives home the point that Portis was a poor man's TD.
Definitely. Portis was a lot more durable than 5'11" 205 pound runningbacks usually are. He was a lot faster and more elusive in the open field than he's given credit for, and had good field vision which is why he worked perfectly in that zone scheme. Get the entire defense moving one way then make your cut and go. His yards per carry went down when he went to Washington but he kept up very good stamina and durability which is why he was a good player for as long as he was. That runningback wall really kills players. Once they start to hit age 27-30 they're going to break down if they have as many carries on their body as Portis did. He had 340+ carries 4/5 seasons in Washington and only didn't have that many carries in that middle season because he got hurt.
Stats & accomplishments aside..Terrell Davis was the best outside runner I've ever seen.Could turn the corner on a dime w 3 defenders in his direct path.
What do you guys think about Edgerrin James and Frank Gore? Gore isn't eligible yet as he's still playing and I'm not sure if James is eligible yet. But they are both the only players in the top 15 in rushing that are not in the Hall of Fame. Gore has been a bit of a compiler, but has been the most consistent 1,000 yard rusher of the past decade or so. He has 9 1,000 yard years out of his 13 years in the league. He has a much worse peak than other players, but consistency and longevity should count for something, right? He's only passed 1,200 yards rushing 3 times in his career, and 1,300 yards rushing once. Part of that could be a lower usage rate as he does average 4.4 yards per carry for his career, but only had more than 300 carries in his career once. Gore also played on some realllllly bad teams. The first team he was on that was above .500 was in 2011, his seventh year in the league. Edgerrin James rushed for 1,000+ yards in 7 of his 11 seasons, but has much better top season numbers, passing 1,500 yards rushing 4 times in his career. He surpassed 1,200 yards rushing in 6 of those 7 years he rushed for 1,000+ yards. He also has the benefit of playing on elite offenses with Peyton Manning, but I don't think that really works against him.
+1 He was a bad mf. I'll always remember when he hurt his knee against us. You knew it was bad when you saw it, but there was Davis on the field trying to shake it off. Then later it turns out it was a catastrophic knee injury. Whoa. Beast Not comparing styles but I think of Gale Sayers when I consider Davis. Davis was great and his career was cut short
