And Now, A Very Special Guest Post

We have for you today, Sherman Ave Block Party readers, a very special guest post, by none other than Teaneck's own Andrew Zoltan.

Andrew was inspired to write this after our discussion of Kurt Warner's HOF credentials in the last post.  It is a case for Terrell Davis.

Take it away, Andrew:

Between 1995 and 1998, Terrell Davis won two Super Bowls, a Super Bowl MVP, a League MVP, and two AP Offensive Player of the Year awards.   He appeared in 3 Pro Bowls and was First Team All-Pro 3 times.  So he has plenty of hardware.

He rushed for 6413 yards on 1343 carries over that span, averaging 4.8 yards per carry, and he scored 56 rushing TD.  He also had 1181 receiving yards on 152 receptions, for a 7.8 yard average, with 5 receiving TD.  He totaled 7594 yards from scrimmage on 1492 touches, for 5.1 yards per touch.  In 1998 he rushed for 2008 yards, the fourth-highest single-season total in NFL history.   Those are his regular-season stats for those four years.  So he has plenty of numbers.

But Davis’ post-season exploits are even more eye-popping.  He only played in three post-seasons, for a total of 8 games.  In those 8 games, he rushed for 1140 yards on 204 carries, a 5.6 yard average.  Those are not typos.  1140 yards, 204 carries, in just 8 games, in the playoffs against the best teams in the league.  He also chipped in 131 yards on 19 receptions and scored 12 total TD.  If you project his playoff numbers out for a 16 game season, Davis would have had 2280 yards on 408 carries, 38 receptions for 232 yards, and 24 total TD. 

Maybe you don’t buy into the idea of projecting 8 playoff games out for 16 games.  If so, then think about this: for some guys, 1140 yards rushing, 131 receiving, and 12 total TD in a 16 game regular season would be a career year, or a near-best year.  Guys like Franco Harris, Earnest Byner, Garrison Hearst, Larry Csonka, Freeman McNeill, Warrick Dunn, James Brooks, Rodney Hampton, Antowain Smith.  Davis did it in 8 playoff games. 

The running backs in that list aren’t all Hall of Famers, but they all went to multiple Pro Bowls except for Antowain Smith, and he was the featured back on two Super Bowl championship teams.  In 8 playoff games, Terrell Davis bested some of their 16 game regular season stats when they were in their primes.

Davis rushed for over 100 yards in all but one playoff game, his first one in which the Broncos lost to the Jaguars.  He carried only 14 times for 91 yards (a 6.5 yard average) because the Broncos fell behind and had to throw the ball.  I remember watching that game at a bed and breakfast in Mystic CT with the woman who would one day become my ex-wife.  I was stunned that the Jags were winning.  I was also stunned that she wasn’t stunned, and that she couldn’t understand why I was stunned.  I should have known it was trouble right then.  But I digress.

After the 1998 season, Davis blew out his knee.  He only played in 17 games over the next 3 years, totaling 1194 yards rushing (at a 3.8 yard per carry clip), 99 receiving, and 4 total TD.  Those are still pretty decent numbers for a guy with one-and-a-half knees (like pairs of pants, with one-and-a-half knees you ain’t cool), and 17 games is basically one season.  In fact, 1194 yards is more than Curtis Enis rushed for in any single season, and more rushing yards than Ki-Jana Carter had in his entire career. 

TD ended his career with 7607 yards rushing, 1280 receiving, and 65 total TD.  I freely admit that these are not, on their face, Hall of Fame career stats.  But it’s not Davis’ fault that he wasn’t able to play for another 2-4 years and rack up another 3,000 yards to lock up the yellow jacket.

For four years, Terrell Davis was a beast in the regular season, undoubtedly the best player at his position.  More importantly, he was a force of nature in the post-season, consistently putting up impossible numbers against the toughest competition the league had to offer in the most important games of the year.  I don’t recall ever reading stories about him driving drunk, beating his wife, spreading his seed around like Jethro Tull, shooting steroids, shooting heroin, shooting himself or anyone else, causing paralysis-inducing riots at strip clubs, or even causing drama in the locker room.  He is a class act who played hard, was the focal point of two championship teams, and always came up big when it counted.

In my mind, the Hall of Fame is a place you bring your kids so you can point to a bronze bust and say “I saw that guy play.  He was amazing.  Remember his name, look up his numbers, and if you ever see him on ESPN Classic then don’t change the channel.  Sit there and watch him work.”

Terrell Lamar Davis belongs in the Hall of Fame.