plasticman
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I've seen, many times where a poster will question the induction of certain HOFers. Often, they will cite an assortment of their stats that are impressive but not outstanding. Then they will compare an eligible player not considered elite. This is the basis of their argument against the HOF indsuctee.
However, there is only one problem. They are looking at all the wrong stats.
History is recorded in the playoffs. This is where the good teams, great teams, and elite teams battle and earn their designation as good, great, or elite.....or champion.
It is what transpires in the playoffs that we will remember above all else. The playoffs is the road that must be traveled in order to get to the final destination.
Every great play that we remember, every play with a title, "The Immaculate Reception, the Hail Mary. the Drive, the Catch, they were all plays produced in the playoffs and not the regular season. Fans forget this when the playoffs are seldom a relevant topic concerning their team.
We don't discuss playoff stats very much. They are almost treated like 2-point plays. We know they happened, but we won't include them in our basic profile of a player's statistics. That means we don't often contemplate the intensity of that competition and how those stats are going to be more difficult to achieve. There are no 4-12 teams in the playoffs.
It also means that we sometimes forget the playoff warriors. These are the players that are considered good players during the regular season but they find a new level in the playoffs and contribute just as much as a 1st team All Pro. I don't know how they do it or why their productivity explodes in the postseason. I only know that they exist. You may not even recognize their names but their play changed the course of NFL history.
For example, John Stallworth, WR for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 70's. His regular season stats appear rather pedestrian for their times. However, he scored the 2nd most receiving TD's for all WR's in the playoffs. Jerry Rice is the only WR with more. This is why John Stallworth is in the Hall of Fame.
So, let me ask this question, do you know which NFL player has the most playoff sacks in NFL history?
That would be DE Harvey Banks Martin of the Dallas Cowboys with 17.5,
There are 22 players in NFL history with 10 or more playoff sacks and four of them are Dallas Cowboys, three are in the top ten, pretty much the D-line of the Doomsday II defense.
1. Harvey Martin
7. Too Tall Jones
9. Randy White
22. Tony Tolbert
Okay Charles Haley is at #11. However, only 3.5 of his 11 sacks were for the Cowboys, a reason I objected to him being in the ROH.
Who is the playoff leader in NFL history for INT's?
Actually it is a four way tie with 9 INT's that includes Safety Charlie Waters of the Dallas Cowboys. The other three are Bill Simpson and HOFers Ronnie Lott and Ed Reed.
Among the next tier with 7 playoff INT's you will find four more players, one of which is CB Dennis Thurman of the Dallas Cowboys. Among the eight players with 6 playoff INT's, you will find Safety Cliff Harris of the Dallas Cowboys.
There are 65 players with three or more playoff INT's and 11 of them are Dallas Cowboys.
There are 377 receivers in NFL history with 200 or more yards in playoff receptions. I think it's obvious that Jerry Rice would be the leader in yards which he is....by far. Michael Irvin is at #5 while Drew Pearson is at #13.
However, of these 377 players, do you know which one has the highest yards per playoff reception.......by far?
That would be WR Alvin Harper of the Dallas Cowboys with 24 receptions for 655 yards, an average of 27.3 yards per reception in the playoffs.
We know that Emmitt Smith is the all-time leader in yards rushing but what about the playoffs?
Emmitt is #1 in playoff rushing yardage as well as playoff rushing TD's. Tony Dorsett is #4 in rushing yardage. You probably wouldn't expect to see Robert Newhouse at #24. By the way, Emmitt averaged 4.2 YPC during the regular season. Against tougher playoff opponents, he averaged 4.5 YPC.
No player in NFL history has returned a fumble for a TD more than once in the playoffs. It has been done 33 times by 33 players and six of the are Cowboys: Jimmy Jones, James Washington, Ken Norton, George Andre, Mike Hegman and Chuck Howley. Five of them were in a Super Bowl. It should have been six, right Leon?
One thing that excites me about the playoffs if the Cowboys are successful will be the playoff warriors that emerge. Which player or players will raise the level of their game and have their name go down in NFL history?
However, there is only one problem. They are looking at all the wrong stats.
History is recorded in the playoffs. This is where the good teams, great teams, and elite teams battle and earn their designation as good, great, or elite.....or champion.
It is what transpires in the playoffs that we will remember above all else. The playoffs is the road that must be traveled in order to get to the final destination.
Every great play that we remember, every play with a title, "The Immaculate Reception, the Hail Mary. the Drive, the Catch, they were all plays produced in the playoffs and not the regular season. Fans forget this when the playoffs are seldom a relevant topic concerning their team.
We don't discuss playoff stats very much. They are almost treated like 2-point plays. We know they happened, but we won't include them in our basic profile of a player's statistics. That means we don't often contemplate the intensity of that competition and how those stats are going to be more difficult to achieve. There are no 4-12 teams in the playoffs.
It also means that we sometimes forget the playoff warriors. These are the players that are considered good players during the regular season but they find a new level in the playoffs and contribute just as much as a 1st team All Pro. I don't know how they do it or why their productivity explodes in the postseason. I only know that they exist. You may not even recognize their names but their play changed the course of NFL history.
For example, John Stallworth, WR for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 70's. His regular season stats appear rather pedestrian for their times. However, he scored the 2nd most receiving TD's for all WR's in the playoffs. Jerry Rice is the only WR with more. This is why John Stallworth is in the Hall of Fame.
So, let me ask this question, do you know which NFL player has the most playoff sacks in NFL history?
That would be DE Harvey Banks Martin of the Dallas Cowboys with 17.5,
There are 22 players in NFL history with 10 or more playoff sacks and four of them are Dallas Cowboys, three are in the top ten, pretty much the D-line of the Doomsday II defense.
1. Harvey Martin
7. Too Tall Jones
9. Randy White
22. Tony Tolbert
Okay Charles Haley is at #11. However, only 3.5 of his 11 sacks were for the Cowboys, a reason I objected to him being in the ROH.
Who is the playoff leader in NFL history for INT's?
Actually it is a four way tie with 9 INT's that includes Safety Charlie Waters of the Dallas Cowboys. The other three are Bill Simpson and HOFers Ronnie Lott and Ed Reed.
Among the next tier with 7 playoff INT's you will find four more players, one of which is CB Dennis Thurman of the Dallas Cowboys. Among the eight players with 6 playoff INT's, you will find Safety Cliff Harris of the Dallas Cowboys.
There are 65 players with three or more playoff INT's and 11 of them are Dallas Cowboys.
There are 377 receivers in NFL history with 200 or more yards in playoff receptions. I think it's obvious that Jerry Rice would be the leader in yards which he is....by far. Michael Irvin is at #5 while Drew Pearson is at #13.
However, of these 377 players, do you know which one has the highest yards per playoff reception.......by far?
That would be WR Alvin Harper of the Dallas Cowboys with 24 receptions for 655 yards, an average of 27.3 yards per reception in the playoffs.
We know that Emmitt Smith is the all-time leader in yards rushing but what about the playoffs?
Emmitt is #1 in playoff rushing yardage as well as playoff rushing TD's. Tony Dorsett is #4 in rushing yardage. You probably wouldn't expect to see Robert Newhouse at #24. By the way, Emmitt averaged 4.2 YPC during the regular season. Against tougher playoff opponents, he averaged 4.5 YPC.
No player in NFL history has returned a fumble for a TD more than once in the playoffs. It has been done 33 times by 33 players and six of the are Cowboys: Jimmy Jones, James Washington, Ken Norton, George Andre, Mike Hegman and Chuck Howley. Five of them were in a Super Bowl. It should have been six, right Leon?
One thing that excites me about the playoffs if the Cowboys are successful will be the playoff warriors that emerge. Which player or players will raise the level of their game and have their name go down in NFL history?
