Is Troy Aikman a Hall of Famer?

For the first time since 2001, a full complement of six players was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I am 45 years old and I was able to see and remember each one during their career. Four picks are solid in my opinion (Reggie White, Warren Moon, John Madden, Rayfield Wright), one leaves me ambivalent (Harry Carson), and then there’s Troy Aikman.

Reggie White was the most dominant defensive lineman of his era, retiring with the most sacks (198) in NFL history at the time. The “Minister of Defense” started out in the USFL but in his 15-year NFL career he made 13 Pro Bowls. Easy peasy.

Madden and Wright were selected by the senior committee and both have merit. Madden has the highest winning percentage (.759) of ANY coach with 100 wins and he won a Super Bowl, probably a long time ago. Rayfield Wright was considered the “pillar” of the offensive line of the great cowboy teams of the ’70s, no problem.

Warren Moon’s NFL numbers are staggering. His CFL/NFL numbers on him are mind boggling! In 23 years of organized football, Warren Moon has thrown for 72,184 yards and 457 touchdowns, 51,061 and 313 in the NFL. By comparison, Dan Marino finished with 61,361 and 420. The hall didn’t hold Moon’s hobo years and lack of a Super Bowl ring against it.

Harry Carson in my eyes was one of the sum parties in that great Parcell’s Giant-era “Wrecking Crew” defense. Lawrence Taylor deservedly earned the entire pub, but let’s not forget that Brian Kelly and Brad van Pelt were terrific linebackers and Jim Burt and Leonard Marshall grossly underestimated defensive linemen. Nitschke, Butkus, Lambert, Carson???

Troy Aikman career stats: 61.5%, 32,942 yards, 165 TD, 145 Ints, 81.6 QB rating

There have been six other quarterbacks inducted into the Hall of Fame since 2000 (Montana, Kelly, Elway, Marino, Young and Moon), and the number of all but Steve Young’s dwarf Troy Aikman. So, let’s start with Steve Young.

Steve Young is another one I would consider good but still not great compared to Aikman, Young is the first ballot. Despite spending half of his USFL career in Tampa Bay either injured or sitting behind Montana, Young still threw for slightly more yards and 67 more touchdowns than Aikman. Young could also hurt you with his legs rushing for 4,238 yards on 5.9 yards per carry with an additional 33 touchdowns.

Of the seven, Aikman’s completion percentage is lower than all but Kelly (60.1%) and Moon (NFL number 58.4%). Aikman’s 165 touchdowns pale in comparison to everyone else’s 237+. Everyone else threw for more than 40,000 yards and only Moon (80.1) and Elway (79.9) had lower quarterback ratings.

Call me old school, but I think the Hall of Fame should be reserved for the true greats of the game. I realize the HOF criteria are not strictly numbers based and involve many intangibles, including leadership and winning, but Troy Aikman was clearly not great. This is an argument usually reserved for baseball but applicable here.

Let’s take a look at some players who are joining soon, have just retired, or will be retiring soon. Most consider it good but not great. Perhaps the closest analogy to Aikman is Scotty Pippin, decent numbers, 6 championships, does he deserve to get in??? In my eyes – No/Maybe. Regardless of the situation WHERE, Scotty Pippin was a good 17/9 player who played excellent defense. It’s a perfect shot to go, but if he’s on the sidelines, the defense would send him through.

Jerome Bettis. The bus. He’s in the top 10 running backs of all time, but if Steeler hadn’t won, where’s Jerome? Does he deserve to go? A marginal yes, will he go in? Maybe in the future for a slim year. Could anyone in good conscience mention his name at the same time as Earl Campbell? I do not think.

Baseball is the most fun. In an era of Roids and Juiced Balls, how about these guys, Juan Gonzalez (420+ HR), Jeff Bagwell (430+ HR), Tom Glavine (260 wins), Frank Thomas (420+ HR). Cobb, Ruth, DiMaggio, Aaron, Bagwell. It comes right off your tongue, right?

Many great players are haunted for their careers for not winning a championship, Ted Williams, Dan Marino, Maravich, Barkley and Karl Malone. Some are persecuted for not earning enough, Wilt Chamberlain. There are a lot of good players who are considered great because they won, and in this case, Troy Aikman can move to the head of the class.