Compelling cases for Canton, Part I

Cold, Hard Football Facts for Aug 02, 2005

By Cold, Hard Football Facts senior writer John Dudley

(Also see "Compelling cases for Canton, Part II")

Like opposing lawyers in a contentious courtroom, sports fans often engage in fervent debate over whether or not a particular player should make his sport's Hall of Fame. Some borderline candidates, perhaps benefiting from perception and persuasion, always manage to slip their way in, while others who might be just as deserving receive an unfair verdict. Without defined criteria for induction, the selection process is a highly subjective one, and there will invariably be victims of the system.

As the Pro Football Hall of Fame prepares to enshrine its Class of 2005 in Canton, Ohio, this Sunday, we present the individual cases of three men who have been overlooked. A jury of their peers – the 39 media members who constitute the Board of Selectors – has not yet deemed them worthy of inclusion. But we must make an impassioned plea on their behalf. Armed with a dossier of Cold, Hard Football Facts, we confidently march into the courtroom of public opinion in pursuit of pigskin justice. All rise and come to order.

Ken Anderson played quarterback in the NFL for 16 seasons, all with Cincinnati. He holds that franchise's career records for passing attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns, both in the regular season and the playoffs. He won four passing titles, led the league in passing yards twice and was selected to four Pro Bowls.

After his stellar performance throughout the 1981 season, during which he both threw and ran for several career highs, Anderson was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player. He guided the Bengals to a 12-4 regular-season record and two playoff victories that year. In Cincy's first title-game appearance, a narrow 26-21 loss to San Francisco in Super Bowl XVI, Anderson rallied the team from a 20-0 halftime deficit by passing for two touchdowns and running for a third.

Including the postseason, Anderson endured the punishment of 198 games and over twice as many sacks (419). Ever the gamer, he may have left more blood behind than O.J. Simpson, but there is also compelling evidence of his tremendous proficiency. When Anderson retired after the 1986 season, he trailed only Fran Tarkenton, Dan Fouts and Johnny Unitas in career completions. He also stood in sixth place for career passing yards. Because of the many pass-happy offenses that have followed, however, Anderson now ranks 18th in completions and 21st in passing yards on the all-time lists.

For some perspective, consider the numbers of former Bucs and 49ers QB Steve Young, who was elected to the Hall in his first year of eligibility and will be one of four enshrinees on Sunday. Young occupies the 17th position for completions, having had just 13 more of his passes caught than Anderson did. Young also is 19th on the yardage list, two spots higher and only 286 yards better than Anderson.

Such is the inequity of the voting system. Two players are essentially separated by the passing stats of a single game, yet one man is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and the other has been denied the honor for the last 14 years.

True, Young was a better running quarterback, but Anderson was a threat in that area as well. He averaged 5.6 yards on 397 carries and ran for 20 touchdowns. His 2,220 career rushing yards ranked eighth-best among quarterbacks at the time of his retirement.

But Anderson and Young are from different eras. Their playing days only briefly intersected in the mid 80s. An even better comparison is found by juxtaposing Anderson with former Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese, a member of Canton's Class of 1990. Take a look at their career numbers:

	Games	Att.	Comp.	Pct.	Yards	Y/A	TDs	INTs	Rating
Ken Anderson	192	4,475	2,654	59.3	32,838	7.3	197	160	81.9
Bob Griese	161	3,429	1,926	56.2	25,092	7.3	192	172	77.1

Although Anderson benefits from playing a little longer, he dominates Griese in nearly every category, including those that are not predicated on volume. He has a better completion percentage, a superior touchdown-to-interception ratio and a quarterback rating that is nearly five points higher.

A logical counterargument is that Griese was inducted into the Hall of Fame partly due to his postseason résumé. After all, he did win back-to-back Super Bowls with Miami. Yet a closer inspection of his contributions reveals that he had less than 100 yards passing in both of those championship games. (He had 88 in Super Bowl VII and 73 in Super Bowl VIII.)

Griese's combined passing total from his three Super Bowls (295) is actually lower than what Anderson put up in his only one (300). In fact, over his entire career, which encompasses 173 regular-season and playoff games, Griese reached the 300-yard plateau just three times! During a dozen postseason appearances, he essentially served as a caretaker quarterback, averaging a mere 122 passing yards per game. Here's how his cumulative playoff stats compare to Anderson's:

	Games	Att.	Comp.	Pct.	Yards	Y/A	TDs	INTs	Rating
Ken Anderson	6	166	110	66.3	1,321	8.0	9	6	93.5
Bob Griese	12	208	112	53.8	1,467	7.1	10	12	68.4

When the games mattered most, Anderson stepped up in every measurable way. He completed a higher percentage of his passes for more yards per attempt and per game. His touchdown-to-interception ratio was better and his passer rating was higher. Griese, on the other hand, was much worse across the board.

Anderson's postseason numbers also dwarf those of Boomer Esiason, the other man to lead Cincinnati to the Super Bowl. Whereas Esiason never completed more than 14 passes for 150 yards in any of his five playoff games, Anderson averaged 18 completions for 220 yards in six appearances. Unlike Griese and Esiason, who could hand the ball off to punishing runners like Larry Csonka and Ickey Woods, Anderson didn't have the luxury of a back gaining more than 80 yards in a playoff game. He was often forced to carry the offense, and he twice completed at least 25 passes for 300 yards.

For further proof of Anderson's greatness, one need only consult the NFL record book:

Anderson's postseason completion percentage of 66.3 is the highest of any quarterback with at least 150 attempts.
Anderson holds the NFL record for completion percentage in a season with 70.6 in 1982.
Anderson's completion percentage of 90.9 versus Pittsburgh in 1984 is the second-highest ever for a single game.
Anderson led the AFC in passing efficiency five times.
In a 1983 game against Houston, Anderson completed a then-record 20 consecutive passes.
Anderson posted the league's lowest interception percentage three times.
Anderson routinely finished in the NFL's top 10 for completions (eight times), yards (seven times) and touchdowns (six times).
With a postseason passer rating of 93.5, Anderson ranks third behind Bart Starr and Joe Montana.
Anderson's career passer rating of 81.9 is higher than 15 current Hall of Famers.
Anderson has the second-highest career passer rating among retired quarterbacks not already in the Hall of Fame.

As the Cold, Hard Football Facts demonstrate, Ken Anderson was unquestionably one of the best quarterbacks of his time, and many of his passing marks endure to this day. Continuing to keep him out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame would be a travesty of justice. If the stats fit, you must admit. Case closed.

By Kerry Byrne

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