21 Reasons Why Tiki Barber Is a Hall of Famer

[Mr. P]

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

 

Reason #1: In 2005, Barber rushed for 1,860 yards, second-most in the NFL to Shaun

Alexander, who finished with 1,880 yards. Barber’s 1,860 yards rank 12th on the NFL's

single-season rushing list and would have led the league in 64 of the previous 72

seasons. Barber also finished in the top-5 in rushing yards in 2004 (5th) and 2006

(4th), and he finished in the top-10 in 2002 (7th).

 

Reason #2:

 

Barber's 1,860 rushing yards in 2005 are more than Hall of Fame running backs

Emmitt Smith (best season was 1,773 yards in 1995), Walter Payton (1,852 yards in

1977), and Marcus Allen (1,759 yards in 1985) ever amassed in a single season.

 

Barber's 1,662 rushing yards in 2006 are more than Hall of Fame running back Tony

Dorsett (best season was 1,646 yards in 1981) ever amassed in a single season.

 

Barber's 1,518 rushing yards in 2004 are more than Hall of Fame running backs

Thurman Thomas (best season was 1,487 yards in 1992) and Jim Taylor (1,474 yards

in 1962) ever amassed in a single season.

 

Barber's 1,387 rushing yards in 2002 are more than Hall of Fame running backs

Franco Harris (best season was 1,246 yards in 1975), John Riggins (1,347 yards in

1983), Gale Sayers (1,231 yards in 1966), Joe Perry (1,049 yards in 1954), and Leroy

Kelly (1,239 yards in 1968) ever amassed in a single season.

 

Reason #3: Only four players have rushed for 1,600+ yards after turning 30. Barber is

the only player in NFL history to accomplish this feat twice.

 

Reason #4: Barber led the NFL in yards from scrimmage (rushing yards + receiving

yards) in 2004 and 2005. He also finished in the top-5 in yards from scrimmage in 2002

(4th) and 2006 (5th), and he finished in the top-10 in 2000 (8th).

 

Reason #5: Barber's 2,390 yards from scrimmage in 2005 are the third-most in NFL

history. There is not a single running back currently in the Hall of Fame who ever

amassed that many yards from scrimmage in a single season.

 

Reason #6: Barber has four of the top-60 seasons on the NFL's single season yards

from scrimmage list. Only four players have put together four seasons that rank in the

top-60: Hall of Famers Walter Payton and Eric Dickerson, future Hall of Famer Marshall

Faulk, and Barber.

 

Reason #7: Barber led the NFL in all-purpose yards (rushing yards + receiving yards +

return yards) in 2005. He also finished in the top-5 in all-purpose yards in 2000 (5th)

and 2004 (2nd), and he finished in the top-10 in 2001 (9th), 2002 (6th), and 2006 (7th).

 

 

MULTI-SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

 

Reason #8: During the ten-year period from 1997, his rookie year, through his final

season in 2006, Barber:

 

1. Led the NFL in yards from scrimmage;

2. Led the NFL in all-purpose yards;

3. Had the third-most rushing yards in the NFL; and

4. Had the second-most receptions and second-most receiving yards of any running

back in the NFL, trailing only future Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk.

 

 

Reason #10: During his last three seasons (2004-2006), Barber rushed for an

NFL-best 5,040 yards, over 400 yards more than the NFL's second-leading ground

gainer during this period, LaDainian Tomlinson.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

 

Reason #11: Barber finished his career with 10,449 rushing yards, good for 22nd on the

NFL's all-time rushing list. Of the 21 players ahead of Barber, 12 have been retired for

5+ years and are therefore eligible for the Hall of Fame - Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton,

Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson, Tony Dorsett, Jim Brown, Marcus Allen, Franco Harris,

Thurman Thomas, John Riggins, O.J. Simpson and Ricky Watters. All but one of these

players (Watters) is in the Hall of Fame.

 

Reason #12: Barber finished his career with an average of 4.7 yards per carry. Among

the NFL's top 25 all-time rushers, only three players averaged more yards per carry than

Barber – Jim Brown (5.2 ypc), Barry Sanders (5.0 ypc), and Joe Perry (5.0 ypc). Brown,

Sanders, and Perry are all in the Hall of Fame.

 

Reason #13: Barber rushed for 1,200 or more yards five times, the same number as

Earl Campbell, Thurman Thomas and Marshall Faulk, and more than Hall of Fame

running backs Tony Dorsett (4), O.J. Simpson (4), John Riggins (2), Jim Taylor (2),

Marcus Allen (1), Franco Harris (1), and Gale Sayers (1).

 

Reason #14: Barber rushed for 1,500 or more yards three times. Only four players in

the history of the NFL have had more 1,500-yard seasons – Barry Sanders, who had five,

and Eric Dickerson, Walter Payton, and Edgerrin James, each of whom surpassed

1,500 yards four times.

 

Reason #15: Barber has the 5th most receptions of any running back in NFL history. Of

the four running backs ahead of Barber, only two were their team's primary running back

- Hall of Famer Marcus Allen and future Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk.

 

Reason #16: Barber had eight seasons with 50 or more receptions. Only two running

backs in the history of the NFL have had more seasons with 50+ catches.

 

Reason #17: Barber ranks 11th on the NFL's all-time yards from scrimmage list. Of the

ten players ahead of Barber, seven are in the Hall of Fame (Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith,

Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, Marcus Allen, Thurman Thomas, and Tony Dorsett), two

are first-ballot Hall of Famers (Marshall Faulk and LaDainian Tomlinson), and one is

likely to be voted into the Hall of Fame at some point (Curtis Martin).

 

Reason #18: Barber had four seasons with 1,900 or more yards from scrimmage. In

the history of the NFL, only one player has had more such seasons.

 

Reason #19: In the history of the NFL, only three players have amassed 10,000+

rushing yards, 500+ receptions, and 5,000+ receiving yards – Hall of Famer Marcus

Allen, future Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk, and Barber.

 

Reason #20: Barber finished his career with 68 touchdowns (55 rushing, 12 receiving, 1

punt return). His touchdown totals compare favorably to several running backs who are

currently in the Hall of Fame, including O.J. Simpson (75 total touchdowns), Earl

Campbell (74), Larry Csonka (68), Gale Sayers (56), John Henry Johnson (55), and

Floyd Little (54).

 

Reason #21: The perception that Barber had a severe fumbling problem is pretty much

bullshit. During his career, Barber fumbled 53 times on 2,803 touches (2,217 rushes,

586 receptions), an average one fumble every 52.9 touches. Barber's average is roughly

in line with that of Marcus Allen (one fumble every 55.5 touches), John Riggins (54.6),

and Earl Campbell (53.7), and he fumbled less often than NFL luminaries Walter Payton

(one fumble every 50.3 touches), Jim Brown (46.0), OJ Simpson (42.4), Eric Dickerson

(42.0), Tony Dorsett (37.0), and Franco Harris (36.2).

 

http://www.hoosfootball.com/Random_Musings/Canton_Calling_Tiki_Barber.html

 

 

Now I know hes borderline and most likely won't make it in, but the arguments are interesting.

[NeMesiS]

Two words:

 

Harry Carson...

 

if it took Harry Carson over 20 years to get selected to the HoF. A sure in HoFer... What makes you think Tiki is going to get in.

[CrazedDogs]

I was going to call him out on the fumbling...I had no idea some of these elite players, with the exception of Tony Dorsett, had such fumbling problems. He won't be first ballot, but he seems like he'd be in fair company in the hall.

[JMFP]

The guy was an offensive machine, and deserves strong consideration.

 

When you compare him to the guys in the Hall, the numbers don't lie....especially #17.

 

There were some better "pure" running backs (Emmitt, Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton), but as a running and receiving threat, Barber was among the best all time....he's right there with Marshall Faulk in terms of his offensive versatility.

[Gman329]

Tiki was on his way to compiling numbers that would have made it impossible to keep him out of the HOF......but he walked away. Another 2 years at the production level of his final year and he would have been a cinch. Now he's a toss up, at best.

[Herc]

low td number will hurt but as time goes on and teams continue to divide up rushes among 3 running backs his single season total yardage numbers will look more and more impressive so he might have a shot

[JMFP]

Tiki was on his way to compiling numbers that would have made it impossible to keep him out of the HOF......but he walked away. Another 2 years at the production level of his final year and he would have been a cinch. Now he's a toss up, at best.

 

Good point.....if he had stuck around another year, he'd have the ring and would be a shoe-in.

 

Either way, he deserves consideration....the stats speak pretty loudly.

[RandolphScott]

Ernie Accorsi said in his "farewell to the troops and toupee" speech when he retired that: "I've worked with many hall of famers..2 are in this room..Michael Strahan and Tiki Barber."

 

BERT JONES BE DAMNED.

[Bigblue25]

if Joe Namath and Lynn Swann are in the Hall, Tiki should be too goddammit

[NYG Hampton 27]

Reason #8: During the ten-year period from 1997, his rookie year, through his final

season in 2006, Barber:

 

1. Led the NFL in yards from scrimmage;

2. Led the NFL in all-purpose yards;

3. Had the third-most rushing yards in the NFL; and

4. Had the second-most receptions and second-most receiving yards of any running

back in the NFL, trailing only future Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk.

 

I think this is the most compelling argument.

 

When people compare one player from one generation to another player in another generation, they usually disregard stats (number of games, different styles of play etc), and talk about dominance of the sport when he played. Flat out, for Tiki's 10 years in the league, statistically he was dominant. And for the last 7 or 8 years, he was just plain dominant.

[fringe]

Two words:

 

Harry Carson...

 

if it took Harry Carson over 20 years to get selected to the HoF. A sure in HoFer... What makes you think Tiki is going to get in.

 

i'll challenge that. carson was looked upon by many as the best of a bad team. and that made him look better than he was. tiki was a star of the league. consistently one of the top 10 players. your argument is, as you say, mooted.

[Gman329]

if Joe Namath and Lynn Swann are in the Hall, Tiki should be too goddammit

 

 

If Namath is in, then every QB with more ints than TDs should also be in! He's the most overrated, over-hyped QB is history!

[fringe]

If Namath is in, then every QB with more ints than TDs should also be in! He's the most overrated, over-hyped QB is history!

 

namath was enshrined as much for his impact on the league (which is unquestioned) as his career (which you can question i guess).

thing about namath is , he looked cool even while throwing 7 interceptions in 1 game. never a cooler player in the NFL.

[Magna]

I think he had an outside shot until he became Douche Bag Tiki the past couple years. I know...LT...be judged by what you did on the field. However, Tiki was an outside shot to begin with and now with the whole throwing Eli under the bus and cheating on your pregnant wife thing...he blew any chance he had. If he had a bit of class he could of parlayed a successful NFL related media career on top of a great NFL career into the HOF.

[JMFP]

I think he had an outside shot until he became Douche Bag Tiki the past couple years. I know...LT...be judged by what you did on the field. However, Tiki was an outside shot to begin with and now with the whole throwing Eli under the bus and cheating on your pregnant wife thing...he blew any chance he had. If he had a bit of class he could of parlayed a successful NFL related media career on top of a great NFL career into the HOF.

 

Yeah, he really screwed the pooch on that one.

[Storm]

One thing is for certain, if he does get in, he ought to purchase plane tickets for good ole Tom Coughlin to come...along with paying for a nice meal at some upscale restaurant.....and probably a blow job...because TC is a pretty big reason why we're even talking about this topic right now. His career resurrection was pretty much due to Coughlin fixing his fumbling and making him even more the focal point of the offense.

[Chuck Wagon]

He and his brother will both be in the Hall. The writers won't be able to walk past that whole twins angle.

 

C. Wagon

[fishgutmartyr]

A lot of the running backs that he compares to so favorably were also playing 14 game seasons. Not to mention how much more run-heavy the style of play was back then, or how much the rules changed to the offense's favor.

 

You would have to be insane to take Tiki over Dorsett, let alone a guy like Campbell, wno was the Oilers offense.

[Treehugger]

Ernie Accorsi said in his "farewell to the troops and toupee" speech when he retired that: "I've worked with many hall of famers..2 are in this room..Michael Strahan and Tiki Barber."

 

BERT JONES BE DAMNED.

"This hairpiece looks awesome!" - Ernie Accorsi

[fringe]

A lot of the running backs that he compares to so favorably were also playing 14 game seasons. Not to mention how much more run-heavy the style of play was back then, or how much the rules changed to the offense's favor.

 

You would have to be insane to take Tiki over Dorsett, let alone a guy like Campbell, wno was the Oilers offense.

 

they're both hall of famers.

[fishgutmartyr]

they're both hall of famers.

They are both mentioned unfavorably in this article.

[fringe]

They are both mentioned unfavorably in this article.

 

i just look at the pictures.

[JMFP]

A lot of the running backs that he compares to so favorably were also playing 14 game seasons. Not to mention how much more run-heavy the style of play was back then, or how much the rules changed to the offense's favor.

 

You would have to be insane to take Tiki over Dorsett, let alone a guy like Campbell, wno was the Oilers offense.

 

Good points.

 

Another fact to consider is that Tiki ran behind a very good line line during his peak years.

[Tempest]

eh, won't get in. Only one Giant per generation.

[RandolphScott]

namath was enshrined as much for his impact on the league (which is unquestioned) as his career (which you can question i guess).

thing about namath is , he looked cool even while throwing 7 interceptions in 1 game. never a cooler player in the NFL.

 

 

Which I'm sure the writers took into account. Fact is, if Joe doesn't win Superbowl 3 (Shula should have started Johnny U, but anyways) the only thing he's remembered for is trying to hook up with Suzy Kolber shit faced on national T.V.

 

"Play like a Jet, Joe!"

 

I think Y.A. Tittle and Johnny U have had a much bigger impact on the NFL, and rightfully so.