HoF: Who is In?

Saints Rest

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I also think that Gilmore could be at the start of one of those Pro Bowl/All-Pro runs where a player gets a few nods on reputation alone. Add a couple Super Bowls to that (he stands at 1-1 in the Super Bowl) and he may be a guy we are talking about in a few more years as being HOF-worthy.
 

Ralphwiggum

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I think Seymour eventually gets in but assuming for a minute Jones and his 100 sacks or whatever got in and Seymour was not in, that’s a HOF that is fundamentally broken. Jones is good and an elite pass rusher but there’s a reason Bill shipped him away before he finished playing out his rookie contract and Seymour was a Patriot for the better part of a decade and anchored championship caliber defenses for most of that time.

Seymour’s is criminally underrated because he doesn’t have the sacks, but that wasn’t what he was supposed to be doing in those schemes.
 

dynomite

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I also think that Gilmore could be at the start of one of those Pro Bowl/All-Pro runs where a player gets a few nods on reputation alone. Add a couple Super Bowls to that (he stands at 1-1 in the Super Bowl) and he may be a guy we are talking about in a few more years as being HOF-worthy.
Hmm. I hadn’t thought about that.

Let’s compare him to our newest Hall of Famer DB: Ty Law.

Law played for 15 seasons, made 5 Pro Bowls, 2 All Pro teams, and won 3 Super Bowls (although he didn’t play much of the ‘04 season). He had that signature Pick 6 in his first Super Bowl.

Gilmore has played 7 seasons, made 2 Pro Bowls, 1 All Pro team, and won 1 Super Bowl. He had a signature basically game sealing INT in his second Super Bowl. In his first year with the Pats, he made a game sealing pass breakup in the AFC Championship and was basically the only member of the secondary to play well in the Super Bowl.

I think it’s tough for guys who have a low profile (Jalen Ramsey and Richard Sherman are their own best advocates), but my guess is that Gilmore will need to do it again for the next two/three years, and it would help if the Pats win another Super Bowl or two. If he maintains his elite performance in 2019 and has another signature playoff moment, then it’s a possibility.
 

loshjott

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Current run- Brady, Gronk, and that’s it. They’ve had two non-ST all pro players (Revis, Gilmore). Gost has been AP twice, but kickers rarely make the hall and he’s not even the best of his generation.

Older Pats - I think Seymour eventually makes it. 3 first team AP and one of the two best players on a defense that carried them to multiple titles.

More generally, I think the Pats get a lose number of guys in than other dynasties in large part because this run has been driven by Brady and BB and the constant ability to adapt vs. consistently having transcendent talents on the roster.
And AV for older Pats. He's a shoo-in. And IMO that also makes Ghost less likely.
 

Average Game James

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And AV for older Pats. He's a shoo-in. And IMO that also makes Ghost less likely.
Yes, complete oversight on my part. Hard to imagine him not making it. Maybe he’s just so damn old now that subconsciously I assume he’s retired and already in and not still playing.
 

Super Nomario

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Spurred by a comment by @BaseballJones about Pro Bowl appearances, I decided to look at Patriots appearances on the NFL Network Top 100, which is voted by peers. It's only happened since 2011, but here are the Pats who've appeared. Keep in mind the years reflect basically the prior season's performance (so Edelman wasn't on the 2018 list as he missed the 2017 season):

In order of how well they ranked by their peers:
Brady, obviously: 2011 #1, 2012 #4, 2013 #4, 2014 #3, 2015 #3, 2016 #2, 2017 #1, 2018 #1 - I'll go out on a limb and predict he makes the HOF
Revis: (2011 #8, 2012 #5, 2013 #67, 2014 #37,) 2015 #17, (2016 #24) - only one year, but what a year it was. Not a super-long career but four-time All-Pro, best CB of his generation
Gronk: 2012 #21, 2013 #25, 2014 #41, 2015 #10, 2016 #9, 2017 #23, 2018 #15 - another great
Welker: 2011 #50, 2012 #23, 2013 #44, (2014 #73) - ranked as the #4 WR in 2012 (2011 All-Pro). Certainly would have ranked in '07-'10 as well.
Wilfork: 2011 #35, 2012 #81, 2013 #30 - very interesting HOF case. Only one All-Pro and conventional numbers just aren't there (16 sacks for his career), but these rankings show how well he was respected by his peers. Certainly would have ranked in earlier seasons as well.
Mankins: 2011 #39, 2012 #64, 2013 #82 - those rank 2nd, 2nd, and 1st among G. Like Wilfork, only one All-Pro, but greatly respected by his peers. Certainly would have ranked in earlier seasons as well.
Edelman: 2015 #91, 2016 #87, 2017 #71 - does he make the top 50 this year?
Jerod Mayo: 2011 #62 - 2010 All-Pro. Might have ranked in earlier seasons.
Aaron Hernandez: 2013 #77 - RIP
LeGarrette Blount: 2017 #80 - he had like 18 rush TDs that year
Hightower: 2017 #94
Malcolm Butler: 2017 #99 - remember him?
 

Saints Rest

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SN's list above kind of makes my earlier point about Gilmore. There is a lot of reputational bias that goes into a lot of these awards, which start on the annual level and then become the basis of a lot of the HOF talk.

If Gilmore can continue his current level of play for another couple years, he may move into that phase where his reputation buys him a couple extra Pro Bowls.

I think this effect is especially notable for those positions where stats play less of a role (IOW, every position other than offensive skill positions). Was Mankins still the 82nd best player in the entire NFL in the 2012 season??? Gronk played 7 games in 2013, was he still the 41st best player?
 

PedroKsBambino

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Seymour’s is criminally underrated because he doesn’t have the sacks, but that wasn’t what he was supposed to be doing in those schemes.
Well, he's no David Terrell or Koren Robinson or even Kenyatta Walker that's for sure...
 

j-man

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right now the only pats who will get in is brady bill gronk and seamore

Brady class of 28
Bill class of 33
gronk class of 24 or 25
seamore class of 20 or 22 the 2021 class is loaded