Let me begin this exploration of a hypothetical situation by noting that I in no way condone what I am about to discuss; this is merely conjecture for the sake of conjecture.  I don't expect this to become reality, nor do i expect it to be seriously discussed in national circles by people that matter; i am simply playing a devil's advocate role in the name of contingencies.  That being said:

Continue reading this post »

We, as Bengals fans, all know his name.  For 25 years he has been the picture of consistency that fans have longed for in every other area of this team; James Brooks, Ickey Woods, Harold Green, Corey Dillon, Lorenzo Neal, and Rudi Johnson all know his name because he coached them to Pro Bowls.  Garrison Hearst and Cedric Benson know his name because he revived their careers.

While there has been much talk of Dick Lebeau and his worthiness of the Hall of Fame as a coach/player, Jim Anderson's unparalleled accomplishments throughout his career continuously go unnoticed by people lacking zip codes that start with "4".  He's never been offered a promotion, but he's also survived five coaching tenures with the same team, which is a testament to his coaching ability that no coach ever saw him as replaceable.

Some could argue that coaching that many players into the Pro Bowl is enough to warrant consideration for the Hall.  More important, I think, is the career resurrection pattern that Anderson has established.  Garrison Hearst was considered to be finished, his knees no longer good enough to carry him, when he had a cup of coffee and 1000 yards with the Bengals; he would then go on to have several very good seasons in San Francisco.  Cedric Benson was the textbook definition of a draft bust when he came in off the street last season, and we've all seen how that's gone.  To a lesser extent, Larry Johnson can be considered in that group, as it took but two weeks within the offense for him to produce a 100-yard game (against the Browns, but still kind of impressive).

There's often a reason that a position coach remains a position coach throughout his coaching career, and it might be the case that Jim Anderson simply lacks the capacity or desire to be a coordinator or head coach; that doesn't mean that he should be overlooked for the unique job he has done for two-and-a-half decades of making sure at least one area of the team will be consistently productive.  Jim Anderson is a Hall of Famer as far as I'm concerned, and he should be as far as anyone with a vote is concerned, as well.

I know the headline seems a bit sensationalist, but this is really concerning the Hall of Fame, and the fact that participation on Super Bowl-winning teams seems to increase the likelihood that a player will be considered worthy for induction into Canton.  There are those who will think I'm just biased as a Bengals fan, and I'll admit that if we were all Patriots fans we probably wouldn't be having this sort of conversation anyway.  The way it seems to me, though, is that the fact that football is the "ultimate team sport" has overshadowed the idea that the Hall of Fame is supposed to be about individual achievement, and not how that achievement relates to team success (otherwise Barry Sanders wouldn't be considered, either).  Since Dr. Z got hit by strokes, there remains no sports writer that will take up the mantle of the forgotten Bengals greats, so here's my stab at it.

Let's look at the facts.  First, there's the case for Ken Riley and Lemar Parrish, two great corners who played before my time, so all I can really judge from are their stats.  Here's a quick quiz, though:  Do you know the only player with more career interceptions than Dick LeBeau who isn't in the Hall of Fame?  It's Ken Riley, with his 65 career picks making him fifth all-time, but apparently not good enough to be considered one of the best corners.  Last week Geoff Hobson pointed out that Champ Bailey is one of only three corners to make eight Pro Bowls; Deion Sanders was one, Lemar Parrish the other.  Care to guess which of those three players won't be in the Hall of Fame?

The cases for Ken Anderson and Isaac Curtis are equally obvious.  If not for a heartbreaking loss in the Super Bowl, Kenny might already be in there; as it stands, everyone's forgotten about him.  Isaac Curtis put up better numbers than Lynn Swann, but which do you hear about, Curtis's speed or Swann's ballet moves?  And on that note, why shouldn't Sam Wyche be considered as a Hall of Fame coach, since the world wouldn't have the no-huddle offense without him.

Coming up, we'll watch as Jonathan Ogden and Walter Jones are lauded as the best tackles of their generation, while Willie Anderson will be left to wonder what would've happened if he'd been part of a team that didn't lose all the time.

Maybe I'm just finding new reasons to cause myself malaise, and I'm sure it's a losing battle, but I feel like keeping up the good fight for the guys who made this team fun to watch, at least at times.