NFL Hall of Fame Class of 2011 was announced on Saturday and Tim Brown was not on the list. As David pointed out earlier, he was not even close. Brown was cut in the initial cut-down as the 15 finalist were cut-down to 10. Five contemporary people make it each year.
Joining Tim Brown in the first five to be cut, was wide receiver Chris Carter. Rubbing salt in both of their wounds is the fact that former Bills receiver Andre Reed made the final ten. Both Brown and Carter finished ahead of Reed catches, yards and touchdowns.
The Hall of Fame certainly isn’t an easy club to get into. There are only 21 wide receivers from the modern era of football in the Hall of Fame. Even in light of that, the disrespect shown to Tim Brown is absurd.
He is fourth all-time in both catches and yards; he is sixth in touchdowns; he holds the record for most consecutive games with two or more receptions. On top of all of this, Tim Brown was an outstanding kick and punt returner.
When you factor in his return yardage, Brown is fifth all-time in all-purpose yards! How is this guy not in the Hall?
The committee is obviously is taking into account the increase in passing offenses over the years. If anything, this should be another argument for Brown.
The Raiders have had very few years of a passing game that resembled others of the efficient and pass heavy era, and those only came in the late stages of his career. Consider what was maybe his best receiving season, 1997.
Brown had 104 catchers for 1408 yards. The Raiders next closest receiver was James Jett with 46 catches and 804 yards. The next receiver was Kenny Shedd. He had 10 catches for 115 yards. Does that sound like a modern passing offense?
Tim Brown spent the majority of his receiving career as the Raiders passing offense. The opposition’s defensive game plan began and ended with him and he still managed to produce at his elite rate.
The fact that Brown has now been eligible to make the Hall of Fame twice and been denied is an utter joke. It shows a complete lack of effort by the committee to make educated decisions.
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