Kevin Mawae endorses Zach Thomas for HOF

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

As is often the case spider was able to articulate what I was trying to say better than I was able to.

[Dave Gray]

I think Hoodie is wrong here.

I'm OK with the argument that Zach shouldn't be in the hall.  But it's for none of the reasons you list.

That Dolphins Defense was among the league's best for many years.  We were winning with defense and only defense.  During those Wanny years, we were always winning those games 15-9.  It's not a team award and it shouldn't matter, but we had Thomas, Taylor, Surtain and Madison....we were incredible.

Urlacher, I believe, is in the Hall for, among other things, how marketable he was.  He was the face of the Bears and was on video game covers and stuff like that.  I just think he was a more known quantity outside of his local market.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

He was the face of the Bears ....... I just think he was a more known quantity outside of his local market.

He was more of a known quanity outside his local market because (1) the bears accomphished more and (2) was the best player on the team. 

I bet you can name the best player on the Patriots quicker than you can name the second best player on the Bills. Both are outside your market but are in your division.   

Or best defensive player on Rams vs the second best defensive player on the 49rs.  (other than sunstroke, who is very familiar with the 9s)

He wasn't known outside of his local market because the second best player on a team/unit that doesn't accomphish  anything is rarely noticed outside his home market.

[Phishfan]

Anyone voting on the HOF absolutely knows ZT. Hoodie's posts are laughable at this point. You really think he is an unknown to the people who vote. What point do you have other than trolling? They are not ignorant voters.

[Spider-Dan]

Urlacher, I believe, is in the Hall for, among other things, how marketable he was.  He was the face of the Bears and was on video game covers and stuff like that.  I just think he was a more known quantity outside of his local market.

That position on the Dolphins was occupied by Jason Taylor.  He's the one who had a 30-foot animatronic statue in London.  And he's in the HOF.

Who was the second-best player on Urlacher's Bears... Lance Briggs?  He probably stands a similar chance of getting in as Zach does.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Anyone voting on the HOF absolutely knows ZT. Hoodie's posts are laughable at this point. You really think he is an unknown to the people who vote. What point do you have other than trolling? They are not ignorant voters.

Yes they know who he is.  But the decided while he was playing that he wasn’t all that significant.  How do we know this?  Each of them is a reporter who every week needs to fill many column inches discussing not only the team they follow but also the team they are playing against and tidbits from around the league.  How much did they say about Zach?  Was he the lead each time their team went against the Dolphins?  When they needed to fill space from around the league how compelling of a story was the might Dolphin defense? 

The hall of fame is designed to honor the legends of the game.  Zach is not and never was a legend of the game.  To compare there are QB’s far more talented than Joe Namath that will never be inducted in the HoF, but there aren’t any QBs more legendary than Joe who have been left out.

[Dave Gray]

That position on the Dolphins was occupied by Jason Taylor.  He's the one who had a 30-foot animatronic statue in London.  And he's in the HOF.

Probably an unpopular opinion, but I think our best player those years was actually Patrick Surtain.  But point taken.  It's just a weird stat to look at in the hall of fame.  I just think you look at how good a guy is, compared to how good another guy is, and take it from there.

My big beef with all of this is claiming that the defense wasn't perceived as good.  Yes, it's been a while, but in the those years, we were among the league's elite.

[Spider-Dan]

Defenses are ultimately judged by their accomplishments.  I think historically, that Dolphins defense will be regarded about the same as the "Lob City" Clippers: a contender at the time, but historically irrelevant.  Their high-profile failures in the playoffs  (and repeated late season collapses) basically erased any legacy they might have.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

My big beef with all of this is claiming that the defense wasn't perceived as good.  Yes, it's been a while, but in the those years, we were among the league's elite.

The defenses were good.  Nobody is claiming they were bad or even average. They were good.  But outside of a couple of years they didn’t rise to a level anyone would consider elite. 

And absent being elite and accomplishing something the SECOND best defensive player isn’t getting in.