We’ve had a lot of good Pro Football Hall of Fame debates here, and I’m sure these names have come up in the comments before, but I thought I’d give them their own thread…

So, for some reason, I’ve got a Google Alert set up to notify me whenever they find pages related to Hall of Fame stuff.  I get a lot of junk, but every once in a while, there are some interesting nuggets.

Case in point…

While looking at the latest batch of articles, this Pittsburgh Steelers site’s post about Hines Ward being a lock for the Hall of Fame jumped out at me.  I admit, I’m in the group that doesn’t think he’s a lock yet, although he’s at least in the discussion (unlike some of the guys being mentioned in the comments on that story–Aaron Smith?  Really?).

I’ll also admit that Ward’s career stats are a lot better than I ever would have given him credit for.  I still don’t think he’s a lock right now–zero All-Pro awards, and only five 1,000+ yard seasons (two of which were less than five yards over the mark) in today’s game doesn’t scream lock–especially when Cris Carter doesn’t get in on his first couple tries.

But if he can keep up his current level of play for a couple more seasons, he’s definitely got a good claim to a spot–maybe not a first ballot guy, but a legit claim.  Of course, I’ve also seen a lot of WR suddenly hit a wall later in their career, so maintaining his current level of play isn’t a given.

Of course, Steeler Nation and Steller Hall of Fame alumni will undoubtedly call for his induction from the day he retires.

—————————————————————-

Cliff Branch is a name I know has been debated some, and his name came up recently on a Raiders Forum as a guy that should be in the Hall.  If my math is right (about a 50/50 shot), I think he’s got 1-2 years left of eligibility before going on to the Seniors committee.  According to one commenter in the forum, Peter King is now backing him for Canton–not that that really carries a lot of weight.

Given that he didn’t even make the initial semifinalist cut to 25 in 2009, I’d be hard pressed to say Branch makes it before going to the senior committee–but clearly when he gets there, all bets are off.

His career–at least the highly productive part of it–was over before I was old enough to comprehend football–but looking at his stats, like Ward, they don’t jump out as sure thing Hall numbers.  He had 501 catches, less than 10,000 yards (8,685), only two 1,000 yard seasons, and 67 touchdowns.

One thing that does jump out at me, though, is the 4-time Pro Bowl and 3-time All-Pro numbers–not huge posteseason profile numbers, but comparable to some contemporaries that are in the Hall, such as teammate Fred Biletnikoff (6/2), Charlie Joiner (3/1, but with better career numbers) and Bob Hayes (3/2, with numbers that don’t stack up to Branch’s).

And, of course, let’s not forget John Stallworth, who’s career numbers are amazingly similar (537-8,723-74) and had a 4/1 postseason honor profile, yet was elected in 2002–and Lynn Swann, who’s numbers pale in comparison to Branch (and frankly even Bob Hayes), had a 3/1 profile, and was elected to the Hall in 2001–presumably thanks to those Super Bowl rings.

So what is everyone’s thoughts on Ward and Branch–Hall of Fame worthy, or not?