Terrell Davis will be placed on Injured Reserve after Monday's game against the San Francisco 49ers, ending one of the greatest careers for a RB in NFL history. Was it short? Yes, but he compares with all of the greats. Not to mention the fact that he was a class act all the time. You'll be missed TD.
I agree...it sucks. Loved when they beat the Pack in the SB. The question now remains....Olandis Gary or Clinton Portis?
Injuries can be so devastating...TD could have had one of the most illustrious RB careers ever. Maybe they'll make him an exception and let him into the Hall still, because of what he could have done without the injuries (ala Gale Sayers).
I think longevity should be thrown out in this case. TD is a hall-of-famer. The football Hall has a bunch of solid good players. Davis was not a solid, good player. He was a great, dominant one. Elway titles without Davis? Nope.
I agree that he could have been one of the greats, and his SB performance was amazing. Still not a hall of famer in my opinion.
I am a huge Bronco fan, as many of you know, and I had a feeling that this would happen soon. When TD struggled to get back to form after the knee injury and then continued to have problems with his leg, I knew his career was about over. I am glad to see that he has decided to call it quits instead of hanging on. I think Portis will eventually replace him in the starting line-up, but it may be Olandis Gary at first (although he has not been very healthy himself of late). I don't have a problem with people saying that TD doesn't belong in the HoF. Yes, he ran behind a great line, and that line would have made many of a back look good. However, I will say that without him and that line, Elway would have definitely retired without a Super Bowl ring.
There are probably guys who are deserving of the HOF (good careers), yet have not made it in for some reason. Once those guys get in, I'll have no problem with TD.
Davis has Hall credentials By Dan Patrick While Terrell Davis is mulling his NFL future, we can ponder what he has meant to the game. He is trying to put his career in perspective -- and so are we. Hence the question: Is Davis a Hall of Famer? To answer the question, maybe he should be judged in the same way as Gale Sayers, another player whose career was cut short by injury. Sayers only played five great seasons. He rushed for only 4,956 career yards, numbers that at the time were dwarfed by Jim Brown. He never earned a championship ring, or even played in a league championship game. But I believe the Hall of Fame voters factored in what Sayers could have been, what the injuries prevented him from doing. People romanticize about Sayers more now because of the movie "Brian's Song," but he was the greatest runner I've ever seen on a football field, even better than Barry Sanders. He was a one-man offense for the Bears, running and catching the ball, taking back punts and kicks, and even throwing the ball at times. Sayers was a complete football player and became the youngest player ever elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. What is different about Davis, who played four great seasons? He had a better career than Sayers did, but he is not held in the same regard. Is that fair to Davis? The 6,413 yards he gained during his first four seasons were the second highest four-year total in league history. Davis won two Super Bowl rings, was named both league and Super Bowl MVP and is one of only four players to gain 2,000 yards in a season. The other three -- Eric Dickerson, Sanders and O.J. Simpson -- are either in the Hall of Fame or will be. Like Sayers, Davis must be evaluated based on potential as well as production. And if he is, Davis will someday be enshrined with Sayers in Canton. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is different from baseball's Hall in that being elected is less predicated on longevity and numbers. But the NFL is starting to become more numbers conscious, now that Emmitt Smith is approaching Walter Payton's all-time rushing record of 16,726 yards and both Jerome Bettis and Ricky Watters have rushed for more than 10,000 yards. But does passing the 10,000-yard mark make them Hall of Famers? I don't think it's automatic, much like 500 home runs may no longer guarantee induction to Cooperstown. Sandy Koufax's career was brief, compared to other Hall of Fame pitchers. But he dominated baseball for six years and was considered the game's best pitcher. He was not a borderline Hall of Fame choice. Meanwhile, although people say it's all about longevity and durability, Don Sutton almost had to beg to get into the Hall of Fame. It was the same for Phil Niekro. And both of them were 300-game winners. Decisions will have to be made on Harold Baines, Fred McGriff and Rafael Palmeiro, players who will finish with great numbers. But are they Hall of Famers? While some players make a splash, like Koufax did, others just stay in the water for a long time. Davis' case is more like Koufax. He was the best running back in football for at least two years. Remember that the Broncos -- and future Hall of Famer John Elway -- never won a Super Bowl until Davis arrived. He was the missing ingredient, and his presence impacted both the team and the NFL. How important was winning two Super Bowls? Payton and Brown won one NFL championship each. Sanders, Dickerson and Simpson won none. Only six Hall of Fame running backs have ever won two or more NFL titles -- Larry Csonka, Franco Harris, Paul Hornung, Lenny Moore, Jim Taylor and Doak Walker. Davis would be the seventh. Had Davis not sustained any serious injuries, he would have ended up with more than 10,000 yards, as Bettis and Watters have. He could have gained more than 12,000. But when the career span of a running back is less than four years, the least among all positions, how can anyone expect more from Davis than four great years? How many years does a running back need? All it takes is one play to end a career. Look at Bo Jackson, whose hip was injured -- and career was ended -- on one tackle. Elway recently told me we would never see the old Davis again. And he is right. Davis, with hobbled knees at only 29, is coming to grips with his career and whether or not he should continue. If he doesn't, the debate will rage over Davis' place among the NFL's immortals. If one invokes what we can call "the Gale Sayers exception" -- a brilliant career cut short by injury -- then Davis has already run enough. Given the fact that the avg. span of an NFL RB's career is 4 years, should they not be judged on the quality of that 4 years??? During his first four years, TD rushed for 6,000 yards, won 2 rings, had a 2000 yd season, and won an MVP... HOF numbers if I ever saw them.
One of the guys here in Austin did a comparison of Gayle Sayers' and TD's stats...they were very similar. He should be in the Hall.
While I can't say I will miss him running through my beloved Raiders D, he was a great player and a class act. He most likely wont get there but he probably deserves the hall. Without him Elway would have retired ringless.
I was half asleep listening to Jack Arute last night and he said Sayers was an exception. He said something like sympathy for Sayers and Brian's Song helped his cause. He said the voters are different and so TD may not get in just because Sayers got in.
In Football you have short careers. Its the nature of the game. He probably deserves to get in if his peers think so. I think those that played the game are the best judge, but even more so, those that played against you.
Didn't Anderson and Gary both put up big numbers behind the Denver line? I think the odds are a lot better that Denver just had great blocking than that they had three HoF backs at the same time. I think Smith is also the beneficiary of good blocking. It certainly made Troy Aikman look fantastic.
