Congratulations to Chad Owens, S.J Green, Vince Goldsmith & Ray Jauch

[AngeloV]

Here is my annual rant about the Hall, which is trending strongly towards rewarding longevity over actual dominance on the field.

SJ Green and Weston Dressler were both excellent receivers for more than a decade, and both surpassed 10,000 yards receiving, which I suppose makes it impossible to keep them out of the Hall. But on a per-game and per-season basis, their statistics are overshadowed by those of Darrell K. Smith, who remains outside the Hall, as well as three receivers whose careers were of similar (shortish) length to Smith's but managed to get in after long waits: Terry Greer, Merv Fernandez and David Williams.

Receptions per game: Greer 4.9, Fernandez 4.8, Dressler 4.4, Williams 4.3, Smith 4.3, Green 4.2

Receiving yards per game: Greer 83.1, Fernandez 80.6, Smith 73.6, Williams 71.3, Dressler 62.3, Green 60.1

TDs per game: Williams 0.77, Fernandez 0.69, Greer 0.57, Smith 0.46, Dressler 0.38, Green 0.35

Yards per season: Smith 1,177, Greer 1,136, Fernandez 1,115, Dressler 911, Williams 900, Green 786 (NOTE: if we excluded Green's four worst seasons, when he played only 15 games in total, his average would be 1,086)

Maximum yards in a season: Greer 2,003, Smith 1,826, Fernandez 1,727, Williams 1,468, Green 1,462, Dressler 1,206

Average gain per reception: Smith 17.3, Greer 16.9, Fernandez 16.8, Williams 16.4, Green 14.3, Dressler 14.0

DK Smith ranks ahead of both Dressler and Green in five of these six categories. He is in the same ballpark as the legendary Greer and Fernandez in four of the six categories. He is equal to or better than Williams in five of the six categories. Yet he remains outside the Hall.

Grrr. End of rant.

DK must have pissed off some voters in his day that still carry a grudge.

Regarding yards per season, Greer and Fernandez would rank 1-2 if you factor in they played 16 game seasons. SJ Green is very deserving. As you point out, his per season totals are much higher if you take away the seasons he wasn't playing. And longevity and consistency also do mean something. Ask Mike Gartner. He's in the hockey hall of fame, and never really was dominating in his career. Just extremely consistent.