Not sure why it is even a debate. Bo was lucky Herschel gave up baseball in the womb.
TD
Showing posts with label You can take Herschel's Record but you'll never take his foreskin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label You can take Herschel's Record but you'll never take his foreskin. Show all posts
August 26, 2014
August 28, 2013
August 26, 2013
Herschel belongs in the Hall of Fame
I know all of us know this. Now, Jason Lisk at The Big Lead is hot on the case. His point (and one I was thinking when ESPN was going all New York Yankee the other day) is that if Ichiro Suzuki has 4000 professional hits, then Herschel Walker's time in the USFL shouldn't be relegated to that of a big ass asterisk when Hall of Fame discussions start.
He also puts together a nice statistical comparison with other backs that played in the USFL and then the NFL: Kelvin Bryant, Joe Cribbs, and Gary Anderson.
Basically, he found that a USFL yard is roughly equal to .86 NFL yard (which is basically due to the extra two games per season). I could argue with that particular methodology and sample size, but taking the premise on it's face, he finds that Herschel would have gained enough yards to be 5th on the all time list. However, my main concern is it ignores one of the biggest problems with Herschel's jump to the USFL in the first place: Who would have drafted Herschel?
The Bills held the first draft pick and ended up with HOF'er Bruce Smith. Considering they had Joe Cribbs, who the year before had 1600+ yards from scrimmage and had just drafted Greg Bell in the first round the year before out of Notre Dame, it would be an interesting pick to grab another top tier running back, although it wouldn't be a stretch. However, the more likely place would be to the number 2 team, the Houston Oilers. The Oilers had Warren Moon behind center and nothing else on offense.
You think that combo would be a pretty potent one? You think Herschel would have been limited to under 1500 yards total offense, which is his per season average his first three years in the NFL? Even if he'd gone to the Bills, I think he gets 1500 (because Vince Ferragamo).
I personally think he's being punished for opening up the Junior rule and being the highest profile player to sign with the USFL. You combine that with The Herschel Walker Trade, and folks significantly down play his actual production.
Then again, maybe it is the pepsi at his restaurant in Athens.
Whatever it is, it is time for Herschel Walker to be enshrined in Canton.
TD
One thing I am sure of is that Ichiro would have had more (MLB) hits had he come up in the American system, likely reaching the majors well before age 27. He gets some credit for this. When the Hall of Fame selections are being debated, you can be sure that the 4,000+ number and his accomplishments before he broke down the door to MLB will be considered in some fashion.
That brings me to Herschel Walker. By the same accounting method applied to Ichiro, Walker has 20,120 yards rushing and receiving as a professional, which would place him 4th on this list, behind only Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, and Walter Payton. That’s pretty rare company, though Herschel Walker is not in the Hall of Fame. Herschel Walker, of course, played for three years in the USFL before moving to the NFL. If we consider only his 13,084 yards in the NFL, he comes in at 38th overall, and 25th in yards among running backs.
Other Hall of Famers have had their time in another league, the CFL, cited as part of their case (Warren Moon comes to mind). With Walker, the question is how much credit do we give for his time in the USFL. We cannot give full credit, as the USFL played an 18 game schedule and Walker accumulated those numbers over more games from age 21 to 23 than a similar player in the NFL. We also are doing a disservice to ignore that he chose a different path.Lisk notes the problems with the 'diminished competition' argument (it was also diminished in the NFL due to splitting talent). He also notes that USFL teams scored fewer points per game during the same time period than NFL teams.
He also puts together a nice statistical comparison with other backs that played in the USFL and then the NFL: Kelvin Bryant, Joe Cribbs, and Gary Anderson.
Basically, he found that a USFL yard is roughly equal to .86 NFL yard (which is basically due to the extra two games per season). I could argue with that particular methodology and sample size, but taking the premise on it's face, he finds that Herschel would have gained enough yards to be 5th on the all time list. However, my main concern is it ignores one of the biggest problems with Herschel's jump to the USFL in the first place: Who would have drafted Herschel?
The Bills held the first draft pick and ended up with HOF'er Bruce Smith. Considering they had Joe Cribbs, who the year before had 1600+ yards from scrimmage and had just drafted Greg Bell in the first round the year before out of Notre Dame, it would be an interesting pick to grab another top tier running back, although it wouldn't be a stretch. However, the more likely place would be to the number 2 team, the Houston Oilers. The Oilers had Warren Moon behind center and nothing else on offense.
You think that combo would be a pretty potent one? You think Herschel would have been limited to under 1500 yards total offense, which is his per season average his first three years in the NFL? Even if he'd gone to the Bills, I think he gets 1500 (because Vince Ferragamo).
I personally think he's being punished for opening up the Junior rule and being the highest profile player to sign with the USFL. You combine that with The Herschel Walker Trade, and folks significantly down play his actual production.
Then again, maybe it is the pepsi at his restaurant in Athens.
Whatever it is, it is time for Herschel Walker to be enshrined in Canton.
TD
November 28, 2012
Herschel to open real sports bar in Downtown Athens
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| (Image: ABH) |
Walker's Famous 34 Pub and Grill will open at 320 E. Clayton, which is the building that has Mellow Mushroom. They will feature Doritos crusted chicken wings. Giggity.
They hope to open in mid-January.
TD
November 6, 2012
Why the Internets win
SI's 100 Greatest Sports Photos have been making the rounds today. There are only really two complaints I have on their selections. One is that it is heavy in non-action shots. That is a nit-picky thing, but in the whole world, you could tell a million stories with one crowd shot. Too many of the non-action photos are more about the stories behind the person in the picture, not the action or story in the picture. Second, it doesn't have a Herschel leaping over the pile picture, many of which showed up in Sports Illustrated (hint: Google Getty Images Herschel Walker leap). I know that is a very Georgia fan perspective, but he jumped over grown ass men standing upright as if he were flying.
Still a cool way to spend a couple of hours.
TD
Still a cool way to spend a couple of hours.
TD
September 14, 2012
March 3, 2012
Happy Birthday, Herschel Walker
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| WARNING: This picture alone could impregnate unprotected people. |
Recently someone made the comment that Bo Jackson>Herschel Walker. I simply state that Bo was a great athlete, but until he competes in the Winter Olympics, wins an MMA fight and a Nobel Prize, he simply won't be as good as Herschel.
The Auburn fan was quick to point out that Herschel has not won a Nobel Prize, to which I replied, "Only because he hasn't tried."
Happy 50th Birthday, #34.
TD
See also:
--My God! A Fifty Year Old!-Bernie's Dawg Blog
October 24, 2011
Jortastic
Warning: The following video isn't safe for those with any sense of decency due to the wide use white rap beats, bad fade haircuts, over-sized muffintops, men in body socks, flip flops with socks and the use of the color orange. Viewer discretion is demanded.
TD
TD
August 25, 2011
So, Denver is Finally Seeing What Nearly Everyone Else Knew
Tim Tebow is, at best, a gifted athlete that got as far as he did at QB due to the system he was in. He is likely to be the third string QB in Denver this season...if they don't trade him. An undrafted free agent from the University of Minnesota is drawing the praise Tebow normally gets, but as an undrafted free agent vs. 1st round pick, the former Gopher will be on the practice squad.
As much as I don't like Tebow, I hate the media's obsessive deification of him even more. Tebow is by all accounts a strong Christian man, just like many, many strong Christian men that have played football before him. He accomplished some very impressive things at Florida. He wasn't the first football player to go on missions. He wasn't the first to win the Heisman. He was the first college player to perform medical procedures on the privates of 14 year old boys, so he has that going for him.
I'm just shocked the media is still scratching their heads over the 'fall' of Tebow in the NFL. Keep the sharp stuff away from Thom Brenneman.
As much as I don't like Tebow, I hate the media's obsessive deification of him even more. Tebow is by all accounts a strong Christian man, just like many, many strong Christian men that have played football before him. He accomplished some very impressive things at Florida. He wasn't the first football player to go on missions. He wasn't the first to win the Heisman. He was the first college player to perform medical procedures on the privates of 14 year old boys, so he has that going for him.
I'm just shocked the media is still scratching their heads over the 'fall' of Tebow in the NFL. Keep the sharp stuff away from Thom Brenneman.
November 1, 2009
So...about that game on Saturday
Yes. Joe played badly. Yes. Logan played badly. Yes. The turnovers were a contributing factor to the game getting out of hand and our ultimate defeat. However, the defense never really stopped Florida. So what did the turnovers do except accelerate our demise?
The Gators had 11 offensive drives. Two ended in end of half/game. And one ended because they dropped too many wide open passes. That leaves two drives where we held them scoreless, plus one commendable performance where we held them to only a field goal following a turnover.
Therefore my question is simply this....
If the entire defensive coaching staff had gone to Bermuda for two weeks and simply met the team at the stadium, what would have been different about our game plan or execution? Seriously.
If that question is too inflammatory for someone to ask Coach Richt, then my question would be...why did Arkansas and Mississippi State have a better game plan defensively than we did? They have far less defensive talent on their respective teams than Georgia does, and they each had half as much time to prepare.
That's where I come down on this performance.
After the game listening to the 750am call-in show with Jeff Danztler, Mike Cavan and I think David Greene, they kept saying that someone needs to grab this program by the ears and drive it forward. They made it sound like a player needed to do it. Like there's a player leadership void.
Maybe it is player leadership at the root cause. Two of those guys know more about lockerroom dynamics than I'll ever know. But from where I'm sitting, the person that needs to grab the program by the ears is Mark Richt.
PWD
The Gators had 11 offensive drives. Two ended in end of half/game. And one ended because they dropped too many wide open passes. That leaves two drives where we held them scoreless, plus one commendable performance where we held them to only a field goal following a turnover.
Therefore my question is simply this....
If the entire defensive coaching staff had gone to Bermuda for two weeks and simply met the team at the stadium, what would have been different about our game plan or execution? Seriously.
If that question is too inflammatory for someone to ask Coach Richt, then my question would be...why did Arkansas and Mississippi State have a better game plan defensively than we did? They have far less defensive talent on their respective teams than Georgia does, and they each had half as much time to prepare.
That's where I come down on this performance.
After the game listening to the 750am call-in show with Jeff Danztler, Mike Cavan and I think David Greene, they kept saying that someone needs to grab this program by the ears and drive it forward. They made it sound like a player needed to do it. Like there's a player leadership void.
Maybe it is player leadership at the root cause. Two of those guys know more about lockerroom dynamics than I'll ever know. But from where I'm sitting, the person that needs to grab the program by the ears is Mark Richt.
PWD
October 25, 2009
Tebow Still Chasing Herschel's Rushing Record
The TV guys last night said that Tebow tied Herschel's record for career rushing touchdowns in the SEC last night. That's technically true, but it's pretty misleading.
Herschel actually scored 5 more rushing TDs that aren't counted in the record books because bowl stats didn't start counting until about 10 years ago. He scored twice vs. Notre Dame, twice vs. Pitt and once vs. Penn State in the '81-'83 Sugar Bowls.
In other words, Tebow still has six more rushing TDs to go to break Walker's REAL record. Also, Walker played in 36 total games including bowls. With the longer seasons today, Tebow has already started 34 games in two and a half seasons. Additionally, he has played in 48 total games so far. So it's not an apples to apples comparison.
Nor did Herschel have any of the elite surrounding players that Tebow has played with.
That aside, Douche 3:16's stats really are amazing, and I do think he's one of the Top 3 SEC players in my lifetime alongside Herschel and Bo. I just have a problem with him getting that record under fairly uneven terms.
See Also:
-- Tickets: Georgia vs. Florida
-- Tebow very frustrated right now - Orlando Sentinel
-- Tebow speechless after throwing 2 TDs to MSU players - ESPN
-- Tebow is human - ESPN
-- Tebow works for tips - Orlando Sentinel
PWD
