Is Thomas Hall of Fame bound?

[Pappy13]

A friend sent me this link:

http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2010/05/21/zach-thomas-hall-of-famer/?ncid=txtlnkusspor00000002

Here was my response:

He might be right, but I think Zach has a shot.

Just looking at career stats and comparing Zach to other linebackers in the Hall of fame is a little tough for a lot of reasons.  First of all many of the members were from a much different era and it's hard to compare today's LB's with those of 30 or 40 years ago.  Second of all, the main bread and butter of linebackers is tackles and the NFL didn't keep track of them consistently for many years.  NFL.COM doesn't keep track of them prior to 2001 because tackles prior to that time were kept track of by the teams and could be wildly inconsistent from team to team.  Only since 2001 were tackles accumulated by an outside source and fairly reliable.  On top of that there are really 2 types of LB's in the hall of fame, outside linebackers who tend to be pass rushers and inside linebackers who tend to be pass defenders.  Zach was an inside linebacker and pass defender not a pass rushing outside linebacker.  Many of the most recent Hall of Fame LB's have been pass rushing specialists; Andre Tippet with 100 career sacks, Derrick Thomas with 126, Lawrence Taylor with 132 and Ricky Jackson with 128.

There have been 2 recent Hall of fame inside LB's like Zach; Harry Carson and Mike Singletary.  Comparing stats Harry Carson had 8 sacks, 11 INT's and 0 TD's; Mike Singletary had 19 Sacks, 7 INT's and 0 TD's and Zach had 20.5 Sacks, 17 INT's and 4 TD's.  Zach's stats are better than both Singletary's and Carson's.  Singletary was credited with 1488 tackles, Zach has been credited with over 1700.  I couldn't find any stats for tackles for Harry Carson.

I agree that pro-bowl selections can be a popularity contest and because players are chosen from both the AFC and NFC, it can lead to to dubious players being selected because so many are chosen.  All-pro on the other hand is voted on regardless of NFC/AFC and only 8 LB's (4 inside and 4 outside) make it every year and I think's it's a pretty good measuring stick.  Harry Carson was voted to 7 All-pro teams twice as first-team and 5 times as second team.  Singletary was voted to 9 All-pro teams, 8 as first team.  Zach was voted to 7 All-pro teams, 5 as first team and twice as second team.  That's better than Carson, not as good as Singletary.

I would vote for him, but that's just me.  There are tons of players that probably should be in the NFL hall of fame that aren't, so if he doesn't make it, I won't be upset.  The Dolphins SHOULD put him in the ring of honor however which is the same as what Dallas does with their great players, put their name up around the stadium.  I think that will happen over the next couple of years along with Jason Taylor's.

[Phishfan]

Zach is one of these guys that are difficult to call. He is going to have to wait and the longer a player has to wait the less their chances become each year.

[Doc-phin]

Unfortunately, I think all of the coaching changes (re-building modes) and the concussion issues at the end are going to keep him from having what it takes to get in.  He really should have had a hall of fame worthy career but I think he comes up a little short.  Damn shame!

If we had done more in the post season with him at the helm, then we would be talking a much different story.

[Tepop84]

He isn't going to be in the HOF. He wasn't even the best mlb in his era.

[Pappy13]

He isn't going to be in the HOF. He wasn't even the best mlb in his era.

That's debateable.  Who do you think was?  If you say Seau, I would agree he's Hall bound, but that doesn't necessarily keep Zach out.  There's no rule saying you can't have 2 players from the same era in the Hall even if they are from the same position.

[Sunstroke]

That's debateable.  Who do you think was?  If you say Seau, I would agree he's Hall bound, but that doesn't necessarily keep Zach out.  There's no rule saying you can't have 2 players from the same era in the Hall even if they are from the same position.

I agree completely, though there were probably a few MLBs better than Zach during his era of play, with Junior Seau and Ray Lewis popping up off the top of my head. I might even throw Urlacher up there, but the Dolphins fan in me wants to think that Zach was the better player.

[bsmooth]

He isn't going to be in the HOF. He wasn't even the best mlb in his era.

Jesus why do you even support this team, I mean really just end your angst with a bullet or something already.
During his prime Thomas, Seau, and the felon from Baltimore were all three mentioned as the top three in the AFC and among the tops in the whole league.
So yes angsty Jtex on steriods, Thomas was considered one of the best LB's in his time, year after year.
Now go cheer for another team.

[bsmooth]

I agree completely, though there were probably a few MLBs better than Zach during his era of play, with Junior Seau and Ray Lewis popping up off the top of my head. I might even throw Urlacher up there, but the Dolphins fan in me wants to think that Zach was the better player.

Stroke,
Thomas's numbers were about the same as Lewis and Seau during their prime. Seau and Lewis got a lot more coverage, especially Lewis with that defense he was part of. It could be said that Lewis's stats were better because he was surrounded by a far superior group of players than Thomas or Seau was.

[Pappy13]

Urlacher has a ways to go to compete with Zach in my opinion.  Ray Lewis has the lead on Zach in stats, but Zach is a true class act whereas Ray Lewis might lose a few votes for his off-field troubles and how he's received by the voters.

[Tepop84]

Jesus why do you even support this team, I mean really just end your angst with a bullet or something already.
During his prime Thomas, Seau, and the felon from Baltimore were all three mentioned as the top three in the AFC and among the tops in the whole league.
So yes angsty Jtex on steriods, Thomas was considered one of the best LB's in his time, year after year.
Now go cheer for another team.

So he was the third best in AFC during his time.  Definitely not HOF worthy. Not to mention in 13 years he missed 10% of the games due to injury.

[Phishfan]

He isn't going to be in the HOF. He wasn't even the best mlb in his era.

That damn Henne holds everyone down. 

[StL FinFan]

I think he will get in, eventually.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

That's debateable.  Who do you think was?  If you say Seau, I would agree he's Hall bound, but that doesn't necessarily keep Zach out.  There's no rule saying you can't have 2 players from the same era in the Hall even if they are from the same position.

While there is no rule that says you can't have two people from the same era at the same position...there a limit to the total number of inductees.  So it doesn't just come down to where ranks as a linebacker but was he a better linebacker than someone else was a safety, cornerback, etc.

Its possible he gets in but he is far from a sure thing.  One thing that will hurt him is played in a total of one playoff game.  While that says more about the Dolphins than it does about him. Fact is success of the team is a factor is close cases, and Zach is a close case.  

[Pappy13]

Not to mention in 13 years he missed 10% of the games due to injury.

That's not fair since almost half those games were missed in 1 year and because of concussions.  The rest of the years he was extremely durable.  If he had played 10 years earlier when they patted you on the butt and told you to get back out on the field after a concussion he probably would have played in about 14 games in 2007 instead of only 5.

[Dave Gray]

I have a feeling that he won't get in.

Had he played his days out in Miami and built up more of a media legacy, maybe.   ...but he just isn't "sexy" enough to get the votes.