JAbe is a marginal Hall of Famer. 4 time Pro Bowl, 2 time All-Pro. He has never lead the NFL in sacks and he has never won a Super Bowl. Both of those things are going to weigh against what would otherwise be an average Hall of Fame candidacy. My best guess is that he doesn't make it through the normal process and then has to wait for the veterans committee for a real look-see. He's been an excellent pass rusher over the course of his career but what has he done that makes him worthy of the Hall of Fame?
Do you even know what it takes to get to the HoF without the rings? Bruce Smith got there in 2009 - and JAbe is not even half the pass rusher that Bruce Smith was. Ok? [Just for your info - Bruce Smith was a 3-4 DE, and had to hold the line and stop the rush AND rush the passer.]
2009 was Bruce Smith's first year of eligibility. It may seem like it took longer than that because the Bills were great in the early 90's but Smith did not retire until after the 2003 season.
To me he's not even arguably in the HOF. That said the football HOF has inducted players who didn't deserve it before so there is always hope for JAbe.
First year of eligibility was not the focal point. The focal point was his performance, which includes: 11x pro bowl selection 9x all pro first team selection multiple defensive player of the year selection [through multiple sources] Frankly, I can't find any DE that can compare with John Abraham. All the DE/DTs in the hall had a sustained dominance at their respective positions, and they all played at the bowl game. Did John Abraham even play in one? I know for a fact, that JAbe would skip the playoff for his injury. [Youngblood played through even worse injury than whatever JAbe was going through - that much is true.]
I tend to agree with you on this. I don't think JAbe has done anything that warrants Hall of Fame inclusion. He's a lot like the WR's stacking up now because catching a lot of passes doesn't mean much in an era where all the good WR's catch a lot of passes. It's possible that he'll do something in the next year or two to distinguish himself and make him HoF worthy but short of being the key player on back to back Super Bowl winners it's hard to see what that is.
Don't think Abe is a HOFer. What's his signature moment? What records does he own?He was an elite pass rusher.Nothing more.
Abe did not have a HOF career. He was an outstanding player, but that does not equate to a HOF career. It could have been though and for that he was a bit of a disappointment.
F Abraham...HOF'er?...Puh-leeeeze...He sat is sorry a$$ on the bench in a playoff game against Oakland, with the flu!...Never won a big game, he is as much a HOF'er as Johnny Mitchell...:lol:
