Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

What does his HOF case look like to you? He really didn't build a case until late in his career, but one could argue he built a strong one, on top of what was looking like a HOVG/all-time great for an undrafted D3 guy kind of resume. He certainly scores high marks for consistency and always being available. A longtime favorite of mine as a fantasy IDP player. How does he stack up against the likes of Willis and Kuechly, who were more dominant but less durable?

JameisSaintston wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 2:24 amA longtime favorite of mine as a fantasy IDP player.

Tackling machine. fantasy football played a big part in why there were so many years of people saying he was underrated" & especially all the "Pro Bowl snub" comments that came from a lot of people who recognized him more than anything as a top LB in fantasy football. (side note: In that era I always found fantasy football was also why people knew/then remembered the "London Fletcher-Baker" name change since that's how it was listed in FF for one year.)

Was a bit of a disconnect there. Good player in real life, great in fantasy football.

Then he started making pro bowl's and 2nd-team all-pro.

Didn't get much more dependable than him. That he'd be in the lineup and you knew what you were going to get from him production wise. Both real life & fantasy.

I remember one quote from him when he was with the Redskins that I liked. The topic was how difficult it was for him, being the shortest guy on the field most of the time, and he said something like this: "A linebacker's job is plugging holes, and in all my years in football I've noticed that the holes are always horizontal, never vertical."

His career was similar to Jessie Tuggle with Atlanta. Both undersized tackling machines who were underrated. He has a case but both also played on bad defenses as well, where they had to do alot of chasing. Did Fletcher get enough accolades?

The Bills run defense with Fletcher was very good when he had two big, talented DT's in front of him: Sam Adams and Pat Williams. When Buffalo only had one or the other, the run defense was extremely bad. Fletcher still made a lot of tackles, but they were mostly 5-6 yards downfield

Possible HOVG candidate, but he's not eligible for another 15 years.

Speaking of Tuggle, I thought PFR was going to get rid of the sussy "coaches' numbers" before 1995 and replace them with gamebook stats. Whatever happened with that?

JameisSaintston wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 4:39 pm Speaking of Tuggle, I thought PFR was going to get rid of the sussy "coaches' numbers" before 1995 and replace them with gamebook stats. Whatever happened with that?

They have them...not sure when they will post them ... along with other coaches numbers---"Tackling Machine" Lockhart and so on.

My thinking is when they get everyone from that era...even backup players, etc ... not just starters ... it's odd because it is spotty now, they could piecemeal it if they wanted...but ...anyway... very good question...

Willis and Kuechly were always around the ball like Fletcher but they simply had more accolades, though Fletcher won a championship. Had writers taken more stock of Fletchers' abilities earlier, he might have gotten more recognition but consistency and longevity finally brought him attention.

Fletcher is a great example of why players have to take team movement and free agency more seriously than chasing the big contract. Unless you play well, no one will keep track of the teams youre on because most fans are devoted to a local or favorite team. Fletcher has to be applauded for being a true professional who played as hard as he could for different teams, playing in different systems and getting respect from fans and opposing fans alike while having a consistently productive career that was mostly, injury free.

Though he played a long time, he still was involved in a good number of turnovers and tackles for losses, while getting more experienced in pass coverage and the nuances of the game.
Some people claim he was a poor mans version of Mike Singletary, though both were involved in a number of big postseason games. Had Fletcher gotten that second ring in 2001/02, he might have gotten more year-end accolades but he moved onto another team by then ...

Hm, Fletcher's numbers are much higher than Tuggle's. He appears to be the far stronger candidate of the two. I guess that's why he has a HOF case while Tuggle may have to wait a bit to even get HOVG.

JohnTurney wrote: ↑Thu Aug 31, 2023 1:25 am They have them...not sure when they will post them ... along with other coaches numbers---"Tackling Machine" Lockhart and so on.

My thinking is when they get everyone from that era...even backup players, etc ... not just starters ... it's odd because it is spotty now, they could piecemeal it if they wanted...but ...anyway... very good question...

John, where can I find more of your accurate tackle tables like this? Are they on your website?