Comments on: Harrison Thinks Reporters Shouldn't Vote On HOF

By: faith53

faith53 — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:59:23 +0000

I don’t know whether Mr. Harrison should be in the Hall of Fame or not.
However, I absolutely agree with him regarding reporters. Most reporters are frustated non athletes who are reduced to writing about real athletes.
Because they (reporters) are human, you better believe they hold grudges.

By: texasPHINSfan

texasPHINSfan — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:45:22 +0000

i’m with ButchD
1) Harrison is not a HOF player IMO
2) he is somewhat correct about writers. i wouldn’t say NO writers should be on the board, i just don’t think it should be ALL writers. some legacy football members who have been in the game 30-40 years might be a good idea too. writers can have biases just like everyone else
3) Harrison is an idiot for discussing this now, and an even bigger idiot for slamming the group that would vote him in anyway. way to ingratiate yourself genius. i guess HGH isn’t good for the brain.

By: ButchD

ButchD — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:59:20 +0000

1- Harrison is not a HOF player
2- He is however right about writers. They are as bias as fans if not more. And, they pretend they are not. At least with fans their bias is obvious, most even admit it. this falls into the ‘report the news’ not ‘make the news’ category as well.

By: Ralphie

Ralphie — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:25:35 +0000

Tatum lead with his forearm and cracked his head back and followed through with his shoulder and body. That would be illegal today revisionist meat wallet.
The definition of karma would be your hero paralyzing a player with a cheap shot in a preseason game, and then ending up with both legs amputated from diabetes several decades later.

By: swervinmervin

swervinmervin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:20:47 +0000

If Lynn Swann is in the HOF, than Harrison definitely should have a shot. Swann being in the HOF proves that the whole thing is a joke.

By: JSpicoli

JSpicoli — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:53:22 +0000

Whoever the Ftard is that wants to make up history……Tatum did not hit stingley w ith a forearm . It was his head and shoulder and it would not be called dirty by todays standards. Just a hard hit . Rip DS

By: CaptainFantastik

CaptainFantastik — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:50:59 +0000

Harrison’s right. Sports writers don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground. And i’ll bet that 99.9% of HOF voters have never even snapped on a helmet in their lives. Glorified armchair QB’s is all sports writers are.

By: Darth Ringo

Darth Ringo — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:49:41 +0000

I don’t think Harrison belongs in the HOF either but not because he didn’t go to enough Pro Bowls. That’s a stupid standard.
Every year washed-up players make the Pro Bowl on reputation alone, and players that deserve to go don’t make it because there’s no room.

By: JimmySmith

JimmySmith — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:17:18 +0000

Give me a break, a HOF? What a joke.
Ask this, how many Superbowls did you win after your team was caught cheating? (zero)
Is the Giant’s TE, Boss, a speed demon, you know, the guy you chased for 30 yards in the Superbowl you did lose despite being the heavy favorites? How many other HOF safeties were that slow of foot.
Harrison is a blowhard, much like many of the NE fans.

By: Backinthesaddle

Backinthesaddle — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:58:47 +0000

I’m a Pats fan and think Rodney was a key ingredient of the back-to-back Superbowl teams. I loved having him on the team because of his passion and leadership.
With that said, I don’t think he’s a Hall of Famer….just don’t think his achievment was enough to get in.
I do think, however, that all of the people out there that don’t know Rodney like we Pats fans do will soon see what kind of guy Rodney is when he’s commentating in his new TV gig. He’s extremely well spoken and don’t be surprised if you find him to be open, direct, honest, principled and unpretentious. I’m a huge fan of Rodney Harrison the player and person.

By: Ralphie

Ralphie — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:52:28 +0000

Jack Tatum and Atwater only in my eyes for retired safeties would be considered “better”, and what those two had that Charlie Waters, Woodson and Harris did not have is that they were absolute game changers for the position. The others (Polamalu, Sanders, Reed, Dawkins) careers aren’t over yet. If Polamalu and, Sanders retired today they wouldn’t be close. No on Dawkins (good, but you must just be hunting for names on that call). If this was Reed’s last year he would be the only “close to a lock” as you can get of the current bunch. Easley was great but was banged up and didn’t have the longevity.
That “NFL record fines” comment is bullshit btw. If Tatum came into the league in 1996 and played the same way he did during his Oakland NFL years he would have been banned from the league 5 years ago. Back in the 70′s everything was legal. Tatum hit Daryl Stingley with a forearm to the head and paralyzed him (that was legal then–it aint now). If Harrison played in the 70′s time period there would be no whining about “NFL record fines”. The reason that Atwater, Tatum and Harrison had those big hits is because whenever a receiver comes over the top nobody had a better chance to get a running start to light them up than the safety. They were fast Linebackers with some cover skills. If HGH is the reason you don’t think Harrison should be considered just say it.
It may be a moot point anyway for all of them; pure Safeties have the least representation of any position in the HoF (only 6 are in) and the position has been devalued in the eyes of many voters the past two decades. With the evolution of the NFL offensive sets Safety has been evolving more into a CB position. The demands of the position have changed, the best safeties in the next 10 years will be the top CB’s who’ve lost a cover step and are moved back there for 5 years (think Lott and Woodson).

By: TheDPR

TheDPR — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:21:46 +0000

The Pro Bowl is meaningless and should have absolutely no bearing on a player’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The AP All Pro is somewhat more legit but it, too is a bit of a popularity contest.
I kind of like Harrison’s idea of including some former coaches, players, GMs, etc. but not to the exclusion of all media.

By: EdReed4prez

EdReed4prez — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:03:55 +0000

In unrelated “other Harrison” news… James Harrison doesn’t want to go to the HOF because they wouldn’t invite him if he wasn’t really good at playing football.

By: VoxVeritas

VoxVeritas — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:56:53 +0000

“That’s debatable”
Of course it’s debatable. Everything’s debatable. I don’t have to look away from the Cowboys to find three right off the bat. Cliff Harris, Charlie Waters and Darren Woodson. I’d add in no particular order Ed Reed, Jack Tatum, Steve Atwater, Kenny Easley, Donnie Shell, Leroy Butler and I think that Polamalu and Bob Sanders will merit serious consideration before their careers are over if they don’t already. Oh, and Brian Dawkins.
Why? Because they’re better. You get more with any of those guys. Everything you want out of a safety, minus the NFL-record fines. And HGH.

By: hay1111

hay1111 — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:39:25 +0000

The only way Rodney Harrison makes it to the HOF is as Kurt Warner’s 2nd guest…Trent Green’s blown out knee is 1st.

By: Shamrock

Shamrock — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:33:48 +0000

Druggie. Dirty. Dumb.
Football archeology …. lol …..

By: SirSuperSouthern

SirSuperSouthern — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:11:09 +0000

Quit pointing to that 30/30 stat, it doesn’t give Harrison a free pass into the HoF.
The three members of the baseball 40/40 club have all been outed as steroid users (Canseco, Bonds and Alex Rodriguez).
Nobody but Harrison is in the 30/30 club in football, and he was caught using performance enhancers. Seems to me like that stat should just get thrown out the window, its not like Canseco is in the baseball HoF.
That said, I’m not a Harrison hater by any means – if he makes it he makes it. I enjoy his strong opinions as an annalist, and think he was a great pick-up for NBC. I just don’t think that 30/30 club stuff is worth its weight…

By: spyboots

spyboots — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:10:55 +0000

I guess it’s a good thing Michael Jackson was never in the NFL.

By: empty13

empty13 — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:59:26 +0000

players dont hold grudges?

By: Brownwood26

Brownwood26 — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:57:29 +0000

Whether Harrison deserves the Hall of Fame or not, he’s right. Sportswriters determining Hall entry is the biggest travesty in sports. Set up a Hall of Fame committee that consists of Hall of Fame coaches and players and select pro football historians (i.e.- Joe Horrigan) and let them make these decisions. Sportswriters with biases and agendas (like that a-hole Dr. Z) who have NO idea what they’re looking at when they watch a football game are a huge mistake.

By: silence

silence — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:56:01 +0000

Humerously, the last paragraph of this article flat out proves Harrison’s point. Journalists need stories. They need to create sensation. Thus, Mr. Florio ends his piece with, “AND HE USED DRUGS!!!” Yet, throughout this article, he doesn’t list one player statistic. They’re not really important for sensationalist journalism.
NOW do you think reporters should vote on the HOF? This is why they never should. They’re glitz, they’re glam, but they’re not experts.
HOF should be decided by retired NFL head coaches. They won’t end their votes with, “and his four-game suspension in 2007 for HGH use.”
And I couldn’t care less if Harrison makes it into the hall.

By: AlanSaysYo

AlanSaysYo — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:55:32 +0000

My bet coming into this story wa that the Harrison in the headline was either Marvin or James. I should have known better.

By: mvlonergan

mvlonergan — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:53:59 +0000

Let’s be clear: Harrison is the ONLY member of the 30/30 club. That being said, Dick freakin’ LeBeau still hasn’t made it to the Hall of Fame, and he’s still seventh all time for INTs despite being retired since 1972. Heck, no other DB should get in until LeBeau is inducted as an old-timer, and no assistant coach should get in until LeBeau is inducted as the architect of the Blitzburgh defense. However, therein lies Harrison’s point. It’s one he’s previously made about probowls and is now making about the Hall of Fame. It’s a popularity contest, folks. Fan votes typically outweight the player and coach votes, and 15 years later an excellent player is saddled with the “he didn’t make enough probowls” label. It’s the same reason Steve McNair won’t make the hall of fame despite being essentially statistically equivalent to Troy Aikman — but with a better TD:INT ratio. Seriously. Look it up. The fact is, most football fans, sports writers included, are too dang lazy to do the research. They just let the relative popularity of a player determine their perception of his greatness.

By: tj.52

tj.52 — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:50:15 +0000

I have to admit that once I learned some years back that it was the media that voted on HOF entry, it lost a whole lot of carrying weight in my eyes. Then when I learned of the individuals who were doing the voting, it lost the rest. (Borges, PTI, etc.)
Until football reporters stop wishing for base defenses and offensive superstars to report on so that they don’t have to learn the game, the HOF system will be flawed. How the hell can someone who doesn’t understand cover 4 determine Rodney Harrisons HOF eligibility?

By: pats suck, blow and cheat

pats suck, blow and cheat — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:39:54 +0000

HGHarrison in the Hall? Only if Victor Conti presents him.

By: Ralphie

Ralphie — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:31:51 +0000

“Yeah I can only think of about a dozen safeties that deserve it before Harrison is even considered.”
That’s debatable. I could possibly see a couple, but not 12.
Who are those dozen Safeties and why did they have better / more notable careers?

By: RedskinPete

RedskinPete — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:27:59 +0000

he doesn’t get in, no way HAIL

By: weathersusa

weathersusa — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:20:39 +0000

I think that Harrison would do himself well to actually do some research on the topic before he goes off on the voting process. We only have to look at how the NFLPA is treating the former players to see how the voting would go for the greats of the past. Do you think that they would have given a flip about someone like Bob Hayes? Do you even think they would know who he was?
Rodney Harrison was a very good player. He would much less known if he had not have been a bit dirty. Was he a real dirty player? No. He couldn’t hold Conrad Dobler’s jock in that department. Now please stop saying stupid thinks, and do your prep work for the upcoming season, Rodney. We have high expectations for you.

By: pfitz

pfitz — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:20:13 +0000

I dont care what the Patriot haters like Gameday say.Rodney is a HOFer..The guy was a great player who was got better as the games got bigger..The guy is a throwback to tough players like Ronnie Lott and Mel Blount who didnt have the touch football rules we have today..

By: Football Archeologist

Football Archeologist — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:11:41 +0000

Very nice dig at the end Flo!