Post by TheShadow on Mar 31, 2009 15:28:26 GMT -5
sportsillustrated.cnn.com
by Peter King
If it's the offseason, it must be time for a good old Hall of Fame debate.
"There is no way Cliff Branch should not be in the Hall of Fame,'' Al Davis said at the league meetings last week, stopping to talk with a few reporters just before the gathering adjourned. And while he was at it, Davis put in a plug for Jim Plunkett. "Plunkett won two Super Bowls. What other quarterback won two Super Bowls and isn't in the Hall of Fame? Jim Plunkett had greatness his whole career.''
Well, let's examine their two cases.
Branch might well be one of the overlooked receivers who continues to fall behind the 8-ball because of the tremendous numbers pass-catchers are accumulating today. He caught 501 balls in a 13-year career, which puts him way behind the receivers of the next generation. If Cris Carter can't get in with 1,104 catches (and he's fallen short in his first years of eligibility), how will a man with 603 fewer receptions get in?
But I could easily make the argument that Branch, with three Super Bowl victories, was every bit the impact player (and maybe more so) as Lynn Swann, who was on four Steeler Super Bowl winners. Now I never voted for Swann, but he's in, and he has some eloquent and strong backers.
Swann averaged 2.9 catches and 47.5 receiving yards per game; Branch 2.7 and the identical 47.5. Swann: three Pro Bowls, one All-Pro team made. Branch: four Pro Bowls, three All-Pro teams. Branch averaged a gaudy 17.3 yards per catch, a yard more than Swann, and had 67 touchdowns to Swann's 51. The difference came in Super Bowl impact, with Swann and Branch both catch three touchdown passes in title games but Swann notching 161- and 124-yard games as a crucial element to the Steelers' success.
As Davis points out, Branch did it with three different receivers as his bookend -- Fred Biletnikoff, Bob Chandler and Malcolm Barnwell -- in winning three titles. "He's the force who dictated the coverages on all those great teams,'' Davis said. "Ask those defenses who was the catalyst for our offense, who was the player who pressured the defenses most? They'll say Cliff Branch.''
I will ask. He's been a forgotten name in our discussions, but he's worth a good look.
As for Plunkett, I don't see it. He had a good run with the Raiders for nine years after eight woeful years with the Patriots and Niners. And he was terrific in leading the Raiders to Super Bowl wins in 1980 and 1983. But a career must be viewed in its totality, and not just to simply say, "He's the only retired quarterback with two Super Bowls wins not to be in Canton, and that's wrong.''
I know the game has changed, and I know it's tough to try to win when you're on bad teams. But Plunkett had a minus-34 touchdown-to-interception differential, a mediocre .525 completion percentage, a 72-72 won-loss record, and finished in the NFL's top five just once in passing yards and twice in touchdown passing. But he was in the top five a total of five times in interceptions.
It's hard to judge Plunkett because his career has a major line of demarcation between the Pats/Niners and the Raiders, but even his career in Oakland and Los Angeles was checkered; only three times did he play full seasons in his nine Raider years.
These are the kinds of discussions we need to have about the Hall, with icons like Davis. My verdict: I'll look further into Branch, who's an interesting case worthy of a strong second look. But Plunkett, to me, belongs in the Hall of Good.