Looking at James Harrison's Stats: Is He Worthy of the HOF?

[polamalubeast]

If Terrell Davis is in the HOF,why not for Harrison

[86WARD]

If Terrell Davis is in the HOF,why not for Harrison

[DesertSteel]

If Sam Mills is a hall of famer, than deebo surely is one too.

[Hawkman]

If Sam Mills is a hall of famer, than deebo surely is one too.

Not going to happen, Deebo was fined way too much money.

[tube517]

I thought borderline but looking at Bryant Young's credentials, why not??

[DesertSteel]

Some of these recent classes are rather weak. Based on who’s getting in, I see no reason why Deebo won’t after a few years.

[86WARD]

Some of these recent classes are rather weak. Based on who’s getting in, I see no reason why Deebo won’t after a few years.

I agree. There’s a lot of “good talent” getting in. Harrison has “good talent” AND he has a critical play in NFL history which should count for a lot when compared with similar talents.

[polamalubeast]

I agree. There’s a lot of “good talent” getting in. Harrison has “good talent” AND he has a critical play in NFL history which should count for a lot when compared with similar talents.

And he won the DPOY

[Mojouw]

Is Cameron Wake a HOFer? 20 more sacks in a shorter career.
Is Elvis Dumervil a HOFer? 25 more sacks in a shorter career.

I don't think those two are HOF guys.

Harrison as the DPOY and the 2 SBs with a signature play....but I don't think he gets in.

[DesertSteel]

Is Cameron Wake a HOFer? 20 more sacks in a shorter career.
Is Elvis Dumervil a HOFer? 25 more sacks in a shorter career.

I don't think those two are HOF guys.

Harrison as the DPOY and the 2 SBs with a signature play....but I don't think he gets in.

I don't think that sacks are the most important factor anymore. I think Harrison will be viewed for his entire body of work. He was the most feared man in football for 3-4 years. That works in his favor.

[Steelerette]

I don't care if he gets in. Perhaps the greatest play in super bowl history, but fuck him for the way he went out.

[hawaiiansteeler]

I don't care if he gets in. Perhaps the greatest play in super bowl history, but fuck him for the way he went out.

pretty much sums up the way I feel about him too.

[Mojouw]

I don't think that sacks are the most important factor anymore. I think Harrison will be viewed for his entire body of work. He was the most feared man in football for 3-4 years. That works in his favor.

Entirely possible. But the HOF is super-duper into comparative gatekeeping stuff. You are going to get a bunch of HOF voters very worried that if you let JH in you have to let in anyone on the all-time sack list with more then he has - especially if they had shorter or comparable length careers.

Then we can turn to the "can you tell the story of the era without that player" question. And that is where it gets tricky. At first glance...no. JH was a dominant player on a dominant defense with a DPOY, a few SB trophies, a signature play(s), and rule changes exemplified by his play.

But I wonder, if a few years, how much of that fades and how much Polamalu becomes the avatar of that era of the Steelers?

[DesertSteel]

Entirely possible. But the HOF is super-duper into comparative gatekeeping stuff. You are going to get a bunch of HOF voters very worried that if you let JH in you have to let in anyone on the all-time sack list with more then he has - especially if they had shorter or comparable length careers.

Then we can turn to the "can you tell the story of the era without that player" question. And that is where it gets tricky. At first glance...no. JH was a dominant player on a dominant defense with a DPOY, a few SB trophies, a signature play(s), and rule changes exemplified by his play.

But I wonder, if a few years, how much of that fades and how much Polamalu becomes the avatar of that era of the Steelers?

He definitely won't be a first ballot guy. But I think the legend around him helps immensely. There have been many recent inductees that had shorter careers or special circumstances (Boselli and Mills this year, as examples). I think the conversation in the room will be that JH was one bad MF'er and then the stats will come second to that. But in reality, it's probably 50/50.

[Mojouw]

He definitely won't be a first ballot guy. But I think the legend around him helps immensely. There have been many recent inductees that had shorter careers or special circumstances (Boselli and Mills this year, as examples). I think the conversation in the room will be that JH was one bad MF'er and then the stats will come second to that. But in reality, it's probably 50/50.

True. It likely comes down to how the voters think non-Steelers fans feel about JH's legend.

Like you said, 50/50 is about the best that JH can hope for. Honestly, I will be surprised if he gets in.

[polamalubeast]

True. It likely comes down to how the voters think non-Steelers fans feel about JH's legend.

Like you said, 50/50 is about the best that JH can hope for. Honestly, I will be surprised if he gets in.

It took a very long time but Terrell Davis has been in the HOF.If he is in the HOF,Harrison has a chance too.The number of career sack don't tell the whole story

[polamalubeast]

But of course, it's possible that Harrison is not in the HOF....Sterling Sharpe was the 2nd best WR of his era behind Jerry Rice(3 time all-pro,5 time pro bowl in 7 seasons) but his career was cut short because of a injury

https://www.pro-football-reference.c...S/SharSt00.htm

Maybe it was his regular season MVP and super bowl MVP and being a great postseason performer that made the difference for Davis, but I think Sharpe deserved to be an HOF, especially considering Calvin Johnson was a first ballot HOF, despite only 9 seasons(3 time all-pro and 6 time in the pro bowl)

[Steelerette]

True. It likely comes down to how the voters think non-Steelers fans feel about JH's legend.

Like you said, 50/50 is about the best that JH can hope for. Honestly, I will be surprised if he gets in.

He's still a relatively recent player - outside of the super bowl INT, I don't think his legend of being feared is going to stand the test of time, regardless of how true it is.

The numbers are different because one was a DT and one an OLB but I think a good analog is Chester McGlockton. He was one bad mofo, but in 2022 does the name inspire fear in you? Or if you want the same position... Pat Swilling. Are you shaking in your boots?

What if I said... Willie McGinest, Robert Porcher, Ron McDole, Hugh Douglas, Trevor Pryce, Neil Smith, Joe Klecko...

Did you pee your pants yet?

There were a few years where nobody wanted to face James Harrison. Those guys too. This fanbase tends to be a little biased - both for him because he played here, and against him because of how he went out. To us he's polarizing. To other teams, he's fading into afterthought status.

[Mojouw]

He's still a relatively recent player - outside of the super bowl INT, I don't think his legend of being feared is going to stand the test of time, regardless of how true it is.

The numbers are different because one was a DT and one an OLB but I think a good analog is Chester McGlockton. He was one bad mofo, but in 2022 does the name inspire fear in you? Or if you want the same position... Pat Swilling. Are you shaking in your boots?

What if I said... Willie McGinest, Robert Porcher, Ron McDole, Hugh Douglas, Trevor Pryce, Neil Smith, Joe Klecko...

Did you pee your pants yet?

There were a few years where nobody wanted to face James Harrison. Those guys too. This fanbase tends to be a little biased - both for him because he played here, and against him because of how he went out. To us he's polarizing. To other teams, he's fading into afterthought status.

Couldn't Agee more. Well said.

[DesertSteel]

He's still a relatively recent player - outside of the super bowl INT, I don't think his legend of being feared is going to stand the test of time, regardless of how true it is.

The numbers are different because one was a DT and one an OLB but I think a good analog is Chester McGlockton. He was one bad mofo, but in 2022 does the name inspire fear in you? Or if you want the same position... Pat Swilling. Are you shaking in your boots?

What if I said... Willie McGinest, Robert Porcher, Ron McDole, Hugh Douglas, Trevor Pryce, Neil Smith, Joe Klecko...

Did you pee your pants yet?

There were a few years where nobody wanted to face James Harrison. Those guys too. This fanbase tends to be a little biased - both for him because he played here, and against him because of how he went out. To us he's polarizing. To other teams, he's fading into afterthought status.

Those things stand the test of time because voters who remember pound the table for the guy in the meetings and remind them.