Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Stablers' W-L percentage hasn't changed since he retired . . . NOW that's what voters care about???

I'm a bit at a loss for words given no love for Anderson, Howley, a bunch of wideouts and Safety's.

Rupert Patrick wrote:Stabler dropped out of the public eye pretty quickly after he left the NFL, although he did broadcasting on some NFL games for a couple years, and he did Alabama football games for a long time, and unless you lived in that part of the country, you rarely saw much of him.

Random, but he also did the radio for Birmingham Fire games.

I don't know why they select Stanfel since the same voters turned him down just four years ago. One thing the voters may have missed it is that he was the OL Coach of the 1985 Chicago Bears, and people tend to forget that Jim Covert, Keith Van Horne, Mark Bortz, Tom Thayer and Jay Hilgenberg played exceptionally well during the season to help Walter Payton win the MVP Award.

It's sad that you have to die to get considered. That happened also with Marshall Goldberg and Les Richter, they would have not been nominated to the HOF (and in the case of Richter, ellected) had they been alive prior of the choosing of the candidates. I guess Todd Christensen had a bad timing to die, or else he would've been nominated.

As for Stabler, i will put a quote I've heard in this forum: "It's not the Hall of Stats, it's the Hall of Fame", and in his case it fits his description. Personally I liked very much to see him when he was with the Saints, but he makes me sad that he could not get them unto the playoffs in 1983, and the way he finished his career at Dallas the following year. As most people in the forum, however, I prefer the other contemporary QB named Ken for the HOF.

I don't know if either of them will make the Hall, but I can predict what Peter King and co. will say in the day of ellection: "There is only one left-handed quarterback in the Hall (Steve Young)..."

Teo wrote:
It's sad that you have to die to get considered. That happened also with Marshall Goldberg and Les Richter, they would have not been nominated to the HOF (and in the case of Richter, ellected) had they been alive prior of the choosing of the candidates. I guess Todd Christensen had a bad timing to die, or else he would've been nominated.

I completely agree with you, Teo. I think it is a slap in the face to these senior candidates waiting years to get into the HOF that they have to be inducted after their death, when they clearly should be inducted while they are alive. Stabler is no exception.

I am pretty sure Stabler will go in. Not sure about Stanfel. Maybe Stanfel will go in finally.

Did anyone get the list of finalists?

Dr. Z noted among his many rejections of Stabler as a HOF candidate the fact that there were gambling suspicions about him.

How would you compare the careers of Stabler and Lamonica? It seems to me that Lamonica's career is similar to Stabler's had Stabler retired after the 1979 season.

Bryan wrote:How would you compare the careers of Stabler and Lamonica? It seems to me that Lamonica's career is similar to Stabler's had Stabler retired after the 1979 season.

Glad someone brought up Lamonica because he's regularly overlooked. His regular season W-L percentage is higher than Tom Brady's. Sure, Brady has played more games and has a better playoff record but few QBs boast Lamonica's W-L record of 78 percent, and Lamonica played almost 90 regular season games, nothing to sneeze at in terms of sample size. One of the greatest winners ever.

Of course, Stabler took his starting job away. So there's that.

mwald wrote:

Bryan wrote:How would you compare the careers of Stabler and Lamonica? It seems to me that Lamonica's career is similar to Stabler's had Stabler retired after the 1979 season.

Glad someone brought up Lamonica because he's regularly overlooked. His regular season W-L percentage is higher than Tom Brady's. Sure, Brady has played more games and has a better playoff record but few QBs boast Lamonica's W-L record of 78 percent, and Lamonica played almost 90 regular season games, nothing to sneeze at in terms of sample size. One of the greatest winners ever.

Of course, Stabler took his starting job away. So there's that.

I'll repeat part of a post I made a week ago. Former Raider defensive tackle Tom Keating said in 1973 or 1974: "The Raiders put out for Stabler in a way they never quite did for Lamonica."

It's been a long time since I read it but I recall Jack Tatum in his book, "They Call Me Assassin," said the Raider veterans questioned Daryl Lamonica's courage. And Tatum lavishly praised Ken Stabler in the book.

SixtiesFan wrote:I'll repeat part of a post I made a week ago. Former Raider defensive tackle Tom Keating said in 1973 or 1974: "The Raiders put out for Stabler in a way they never quite did for Lamonica."

It's been a long time since I read it but I recall Jack Tatum in his book, "They Call Me Assassin," said the Raider veterans questioned Daryl Lamonica's courage. And Tatum lavishly praised Ken Stabler in the book.

Completely agree. From Keating to Tatum to Shell to Saints players in the early 80s--they all said the same thing about Stabler. In terms of getting results, the cult of personality is more important than physical or mental chops, in any profession. If a Hall of Fame has to exist, always felt Stabler is a slam-dunk. I was shocked at the scant attention his death received. To me, he's a Pro Football giant.

The point about Lamonica, though, is that nobody has ever won at the clip he did, and many pundits have amazingly written him out of AFL history, particularly those pundits who have attempted to disprove the common perception that the AFL played a more exciting brand of football than the NFL. Lamonica presents a problem in that regard, so they conveniently ignore him.