as long as Joe Klecko lives to see himself inducted, justice will have been served. but, not by any means do i think he was "snuffed" this yr. theres just way too many good players. theres still plenty of legit players who should be in there even now who arent. but he definitely deserves to be in some of the final cuts every yr, until it does happen. i say he makes it in within the next 10 yrs.
The bottom line is there are 24 starting positions on each NFL team and with 30+ teams in the league, there are dozens of good candidates at each position. It really takes a clustering of credentials (Pro Bowls, Records, Playoff appearances, Championships) to catch the eye of voters and separate yourself from the pack. In my mind, Gerry Philbin and Winston Hill should go in ahead of Klecko, though I think Klecko also deserves admission.
I agree with you on Hill. Philbin probably had the greatest year of any Defensive player in Jets history in 68.
One of my favorite players to watch on film is Billy Sims. (I only caught him live at the very end of his too-short career.) He had one of the greatest NFL debuts. Dropped 153 yards and 3 TDs on L.A. in 1980. The Rams were the defending NFC champs. He was a flamboyant player. He'd high-kick on his way into the end zone, much like Walter Payton. His career was cut short due to a knee injury midway through the 1984 season when he was on his way to a 1400 yard season. Luckily, he had signed a 5-year guaranteed contract prior to the season. The only real knock on him was the fumbling. He had a 3.04% fumble probability. First team All Pro, 1981. His scrimmage numbers compare favorably to Gale Sayers. Sayers- 7 years, 68 games 4956 rushing yards, 5.0 average, 39 touchdowns 1307 receiving yards, 11.7 average, 9 touchdowns 2.74% fumble probability Sims- 5 years, 60 games 5106 rushing yards, 4.5 average, 42 touchdowns 2072 receiving yards, 11.1 average, 5 touchdowns 3.04% fumble probability My point with this Sims stuff is the guy would be a Hall of Famer right now if he had played even two more years. His number 20 is now retired in Detroit, along with Barry Sanders' and Lem Barney's 20s.
Art Monk is the Don Sutton of football. Two quietly terrific players over extremely long periods, models of consistency. Sutton won 300 games, while Monk set records. No, they aren't neon legends, but as a Mets fan I remember when there was talk about Sutton being traded for Seaver straight up, and it turned out to be less bad than the deal they did make. Monk was a terrific possession receiver, not Jerry Rice but a defining exploiter of coverage holes. I think both belong in their respective Halls of Fame.
We could see how Monk and Klecko stand up to the Keltner test. The Keltner test is a series of questions that Bill James used to help him determine whether a player belongs in the Hall of Fame or not (the list was originally designed to help determine if a baseball player named Ken Keltner belonged in the Hall of Fame). It is a great way to measure Klecko and Monk. The questions follow. (Perhaps later today I'll attempt to answer them.) 1. Was he ever regarded as the best player in football? 2. Was he the best player on his team? 3. Was he the best player in his conference at his position? 4. Was he the best player in football at his position? 5. Did he have an impact in any playoff or playoff caliber games? 6. If he retired today, would he be the best player in football not in the Hall of Fame? 7. Are most players at his position with comparable stats in the Hall of Fame? 8. If he retired today, would he be the best player at his position not in the Hall of Fame? 9. How many All-Pro type seasons did he have? How many Pro Bowls did he play in? Did most other players at his position who made the Hall of Fame play in a comparable amount of games or have a comparable amount of All-Pro or Pro Bowl seasons? 10. Did the player possess any other qualities which would not be measured by his statistics?
