Cris Carter and Shannon Sharpe, not in the Hall of Fame?

Several great players were inducted into the Hall of Fame recently, but with two notable exceptions. Somehow two of the most iconic and dominant receivers of my football-watching life, still in the public eye working NFL studio shows, got the snub. I'm not the only one upset by this.

Shannon Sharpe (first ballot)

Why is this even a discussion? Until Tony Gonzalez, another sure-fire hall-of-famer, broke his record this season, Sharpe was the all-time leader in receiving yards from the tight-end position, with over 10,000yds to his name, on top of 62 TDs.

Sharpe had three seasons of 1,000yds receiving or more, the same as HOF TE Kellen Winslow, one more than Ozzie Newsome. At 49.3yds per game receiving, Sharpe is notably above the 37.7yds per game of John Mackey, who was declared the best TE of all time by the NFL Network this summer.

Sharpe reached eight pro-bowls in his career, and was named first-team all-pro four times, both of which are more than the three HOF TE's mentioned above. He has three Super Bowl rings, and was especially important in the third, with two receiving TDs that postseason.

To top it off, when NFL.com posted its announcement of the HOF nominees a few months back, the lead image was of Sharpe. The editor of the site apparently thought he was as obvious a choice as I do.

Cris Carter (second ballot)

Out of the two, I suppose this is the slightly harder argument to make, but it's still barely debatable. In the minds of most football viewers of my generation, Cris Carter is always the second receiver mentioned after Jerry Rice, and for good reason.

Carter sits in third all-time in pass receptions, after being passed this season by Marvin Harrison, with 1,101. There are no hall-eligible players head of him that aren't in the hall.

After being pass this year by Terrell Owens and last year again by Marvin Harrison, Carter places 7th in career receiving yards, with 13,899. There are no hall-eligible players head of him that aren't in the hall.

Cris Carter is behind only Rice, Moss and Owens in career TD receptions, with 130, although once again Marvin Harrison is about to pass him. There are, once again, no hall-eligible players head of him that aren't in the hall.

Notice a pattern here? Career-wise, Carters numbers are more than enough. Eight consecutive 1,000yd seasons, eight pro-bowls and two first-team all-pro appearances don't hurt either.

In addition to the staggering numbers, Carter is also often credited as being a mentor to both Randy Moss and Larry Fitzgerald, two of the most dominant receivers in the game today.

The knock against Carter is that he never won a ring, which is, as in all sports, a terrible argument. Carter wasn't an Alex Rodriguez disappearing act in the playoffs or anything, catching 8 postseason TDs from SIX different QBs, but the teams just weren't good enough.

Between 1988 and 2001 (I'm not counting the half-years that bookend his career) only nine teams won a championship, and with Carter's Vikings playing in an NFC with the Niners and Cowboys dynasties and the rise of Brett Favre, it's not much of a knock to, as a receiver, not guide a team to the title.

Now, both of these men will likely make the HOF eventually, but the fact still remains that these are hardly debatable choices. The politics need to end, and these men given the honors they've definitely earned.

Forget the stats: AFC Championship Game

The Game

It was the hard-nosed battle we had hyped it up to be. The picture to the right sums it up quite well.

In a game with five fumbles (two lost) and three interceptions, both teams combined to average only 3.85 yards per play, barely more than half the 6.53 yards per play of the earlier game.

The rookie QB finally showed his youth, untimely turnovers, big overthrows, and a QB rating less than his young age.

A superstar safety scored a defensive touchdown that defined the game. The problem was it wasn't who the hype expected. And so the team with the most super bowl wins and second most appearances is to take on the team that barely knows what a super bowl is.

The Rant

Contained within this old-school defensive game is a troubling trend in this league, one that will make me sound like an old woman as I rant about it.

Clearly both the Steelers and Ravens make their name being imposing defenses, with players scared for their skins should they leave themselves unprotected. This doesn't justify, however, the amount of wreckless head-first tackling in this game and throughout this season by defensive backs and others.

Tonight featured a direct helmet-to-helmet hit from a frustrated Limas Sweed, on what was a meaningless block, along with a similar hit by Ryan Clark, of Wes Welker destroying fame, causing Willis McGahee to be carried off the field on the cart. In related super bowl conversation, Anquan Boldin knows just what I'm talking about.

Now, I'm all in favor of big hits and hard play, but this helmet-to-helmet viciousness has to stop. The more kids at home see this on the pro field, the more they'll think it's an appropriate and desirable way to make tackles, when in fact it's dangerous to both parties and unnecesary. Concussions and neck injuries are far more likely, while it'd be a better football play to hit the ball, not the helmet.

Then why do it? To make the opponent fear for his spine while your coach fears for your own? To beat your chest and bark into the camera? For the pride of standing over your victim?

You're better than that, NFL. Think of the children.

Notable Stats, NFC Championship Game

At random intervals of my choosing, I'll pick a few random chunks of box score that I find interesting. Enjoy.

Comparison
Arizona Cardinals passing attack, Weeks 12-16 (1-4 record) vs Week 17 and the playoffs (4-0 record)

Larry Fitzgerald
Week 12-16: 4.8 receptions, 72.4yds, 0.8 TDs/gm, average long of 36yds
Since Wk 17: 7 receptions, 137.3yds, 1.75 TDs/gm, average long of 49yds
Impact: Cemented himself as the best wide receiver in the league, showed he should not, under any circumstances, be single-covered. Also is looking forward to potentially tearing apart the hearts of his early fans.

Kurt Warner
Week 12-16: 59.9% passing, 233yds/gm, 73.5 QB rating, 1.2 TD/gm, 1.2 INT/gm, 0.6 fumbles/gm
Since Wk 17: 65.6% passing, 258yds/gm, 114.9 QB rating, 3 TD/gm, 0.75 INT/gm, 0.25 fumbles/gm
Impact: Renewed debate about his 5th place in the MVP voting, while reminding us he's already got two MVP's in the bag. Also instilled an increased fear of the influence of higher powers, and brought two more weeks of face time for one of football's favorite spouses.

Notable Stats, January 13th

At random intervals of my choosing, I'll pick a few random chunks of box score that I find interesting. Enjoy.

Tony Dungy - NFL Coach 1996-2008

Lifetime: 139-69, 70gm over .500, 66.8W%

Tampa Bay: 6 seasons, 12gm over .500, 53.6W%
Median Team Defensive Rank: 6th in pts, 4.5th in yds.

Indianapolis: 7 seasons, 75.9W%, at least 10 wins per season, 12 wins per season last six years.
Median Team Offensive Rank: 2nd in pts, 3rd in yds.

All-time win% rank: 11th place, 6th in the Super Bowl Era.
Playoff appearances: 11, T-8th all time.

Questions about his character: Zero
Debate of HOF status: Zero

Finally, the real Brett Favre

Those who know me know I've never been a fan of Brett Favre. It wasn't so much that I thought he was a prick or anything, or particularly cared about the Packers, or had some weird jealousy complex. I guess the issue I've always taken with the man is his idol status in the media.

The Good

Brett had a good run with the Packers about a decade ago. He won three consecutive MVP awards in the 1995-1997 seasons, including a Superbowl following the 1996 season. He possessed one of the strongest throwing arms we'd ever seen in the NFL, and had that golden Louisiana smile and charm. He was a bona fide superstar. This was the apex.

In the time since, Favre has been a solid starting quarterback in the league. He's been the epitome of durable, has only led one team with a losing record, and has thrown for 3000yds or more for seventeen straight years. As a result of his longevity, Favre owns nearly every career passing record, including total yards and touchdowns.

The Bad

However, Favre also owns the record for career interceptions. He currently sits tied for 20th in career QB Rating, behind such studs as Jeff Garcia and Trent Green.

Many explain away Favre holding the interception record the same way one explains away Cy Young having the pitching loss record: "He played for so long!". While yes, Favre has started the most games at QB ever, he still throws a disproportionate amount of interceptions. See the chart below:
I used most of the quarterbacks that have been active at some point since 2004 with ~2000+ pass attempts. Favre sits in the company of lifetime mediocre but consistent starters Brian Griese, Jon Kitna, Kerry Collins, and Vinny Testaverde, along with the perpetually poor-decision making Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger.

Conclusion

All things considered, this man should not even be in the discussion for greatest QB of all time, the same way Pete Rose isn't the best contact hitter of all time simply because he has the most hits.

The Jets have learned this the hard way, having put all their faith in Favre, costing Eric Mangini his job, missing the playoffs despite six Pro Bowlers, tearing apart a locker room, and watching bloggers everywhere revel in the schedenfraude.