Pat Kirwin lists Larry Allen as #4 to enter HOF in 2012 (should be 2013?)

[sago1]

NFL.com has an article by Pat Kirwin ranking the chances of players to enter the HOF in 2012 or should it be 2013. He based his ranking on number of calls etc he got for each player so not the most scientific but certainly interesting. He listed Larry Allen behind Favre, Ogden & Strahan & ahead of Seau & Sapp. I'm only posting his para on Allen. See below website for all article.

http://www.nfl.com/halloffame/story;jsessionid=45AFA92CDF48B459EA54E449A721A480?id=09000d5d808ce63a&template=with-video&confirm=true

4. OG Larry Allen
Years: 1994-2007 (Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers)
Career stats: 203 games played, 197 games started
Super Bowl appearances: 1
Super Bowl championships: 1
Pro Bowl appearances: 11
Records, awards and accomplishments: NFL 1990s all-decade team.
Notes and quotes: Considered by many to be the strongest man to have ever played in the NFL. His strength and aggressiveness have made him one of the best offensive linemen in history. He is one of only three NFL players to have played three different O-line positions in the Pro Bowl (RG, LG, LT) and was a key blocker for the NFL's career rushing leader, Emmitt Smith, during his time in Dallas.

 

[Doomsday]

No way should Ogden be ahead of Larry Allen, Ogden was a great player but come on Larry Dominated like no other.

 

[dbair1967]

pretty lame...Allen was the most dominant OL ever, and was easily a much better player than Ogden was...in fact it was noted several times by people that Larry Allen was the most dominant PLAYER, regardless of position while he was in his prime

he was a far better player than Ogden or Strahan, and was a more dominant player than Brett Favre...Allen is very arguably the best OL ever to play the game, Favre is not the best QB to ever play the game, even if some in the media would like for it to be so

David

 

[AbeBeta]

Ogden is going to get extra recognition for playing LT -- but he wasn't the OL player that Allen was by any stretch of imagination.

I wouldn't go so far as to say Allen was the best OL ever to play -- simply because he wasn't dominant for the last 5 or so years of his career. The "best" would be dominant from start to finish.

 

[HoleInTheRoof]

No way should Ogden be ahead of Larry Allen, Ogden was a great player but come on Larry Dominated like no other.

A great LT is more valuable than a great LG.

 

[dbair1967]

A great LT is more valuable than a great LG.

thats fine, except Allen was also a great LT when he played there...and he made the probowl at 3 different position

Ogden was a very good player, but he was not the overwhelming, physically dominant player than Allen was

David

 

[TNCowboy]

Ogden was a very good player, but he was not the overwhelming, physically dominant player than Allen was

Allen's shortcoming was that he wasn't an overwhelming, physically dominant player for the 2nd half of his career either.

 

[Skinsmaniac]

thats fine, except Allen was also a great LT when he played there...and he made the probowl at 3 different position

Ogden was a very good player, but he was not the overwhelming, physically dominant player than Allen was

David

I think that guards need to be more physically dominant than tackles because brute strength is more important, while tackles need the agility to be able to work in space. So saying that Allen was more physically dominant than Ogden doesn't mean that he was a better player.

 

[dbair1967]

I think that guards need to be more physically dominant than tackles because brute strength is more important, while tackles need the agility to be able to work in space. So saying that Allen was more physically dominant than Ogden doesn't mean that he was a better player.

but he was a better player, being physically dominant to the point of scaring the opposition is part of the equation (there are stories of players faking injuries the week they had to line up vs Allen)...

and people forget how technically sound he was though...he was never out of position and had tremendous feet, which allowed him to play LT at a level almost as high as the level he played guard at

David

 

[Woods]

LA was perhaps the BEST OL to EVER play the game.

I definitely can't say that about Ogden, though he was a great player.

In fact, in LA's prime, there is no other OL I'd rather have - heck, the man played at an All-Pro level on 3 different OL positions. That's insane!

 

[wick]

In his prime, Larry Allen was arguably the most dominant offensive lineman to ever step on a field. Unfortunately, his prime was fairly short by offensive linemen standards; he was past it before he turned 30. We remember how great he was in the mid- and late-'90s, but that's been 10 years now, so how fresh is it in the minds of your average columnist? They are more likely to remember the Pro Bowls he got on reputation only.

 

[big dog cowboy]

LA developed into a dominant player and I just can't say that about Ogden.

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

Larry Allen was the best lineman ever to suit up for the Cowboys and they had a few great ones... I think he's a sure 1st Ballot Hall of Famer.

 

[Doomsdayblitz]

The point is that both Allen & Ogden were dominating in their prime. Allen had a great RB & a great QB behing him in his prime, which helps a lot. He also played beside many Pro-Bowlers in his time w/the Cowboys. I'm not saying he was not the player Ogden was, but Ogden had to work with QBs like Trent Dilfer, etc. He protected an over-the-hill Steve McNair, and blocked for Jamaal Lewis, but neither one was a Troy Aikman or Emmitt Smith, respectively, even in their prime.

Having said that, the fact that Allen went to the Pro-Bowl playing three different Oline positions, including LT, shows what a great athlete he was. None of us will ever forget the time he ran down a LB from behind on MNF.

I would love to know which players faked injury to avoid playing Allen.....lol. That is hilarious.

 

[dbair1967]

In his prime, Larry Allen was arguably the most dominant offensive lineman to ever step on a field. Unfortunately, his prime was fairly short by offensive linemen standards; he was past it before he turned 30. We remember how great he was in the mid- and late-'90s, but that's been 10 years now, so how fresh is it in the minds of your average columnist? They are more likely to remember the Pro Bowls he got on reputation only.

I dont know why people forget how good he was in 2000 and 2001, just because the team was bad doesnt mean he was...

ho absolutely ripped Warren Sapp a new one in that 2001 season opener, and Sapp was on top of his game at that time...it was one of the alltime arse whippings an OL ever put on a DL that I saw...had anybody other that totally unready and unprepared Quincy Carter played QB for us that day, we'd have beaten that team soundly...instead we lost because we had no passing game whatsoever

he made the probowl 11 times, 10 times with us...the only yr he didnt make it with us after his rookie yr was 2002, and he missed most of that yr with an injury...he was a 1st team all pro every yr from 1996-2001, and should have been allpro in 1995 as well

he's by far the best OL I've ever seen play

David

 

[bootsy]

Where is all this Ogden love coming from. I never heard this guy get this much praise while he was playing now all of sudden he is the greatest OL of his time and set the standard and all this crap. If anybody fits those statements it is Allen. He played tackle and guard and excelled at both positions for a number of years. I think Ogden was good but was he that much better than everyone else? I don't think so. Especially not enough to be ranked 2nd behind Favre in this class.

 

[Cajuncowboy]

I was listening to the show (I love Sirius NFL radio) and Tim Ryan said that Larry Allen was the only player that he knew of that Defensive players feared. Feared, as in afraid to play the guy.

That speaks volumes and since he went to the Pro Bowl at two different positions, I don't know how he isn't a first ballot HOFer.

Of course Bob Hayes still isn't in there either so to me the hall is a bit of a sham anyway.

 

[HoleInTheRoof]

I'd say Larry Allen was the most dominant football player to ever exist. The only person remotely close would be Amendola.

 

[HoleInTheRoof]

I bet if we sent Amendola and Allen to the Middle East, the war would be over.

 

[burmafrd]

LA just owned everyone he played against. I have not heard of any player that handled LA in his prime. Ogden got beat by great players. there is no comparison.