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FBF All Star Running Back!
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Ontario, Canada
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ESPN: Nalen Should Be Center of Attention
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Nalen should be center of attention posted: Tuesday, August 7, 2007 | Feedback | Print Entry
filed under: NFL
OK, so you visit ESPN.com. You make your way to the NFL page. You see Hall of Fame coverage, and you click on Mike Sando's column detailing the lack of Broncos in the Hall of Fame. Then, you click on the 50 active players ESPN.com sees fit for the Hall and there are six offensive linemen, picked by none other than former Broncos guard Mark Schlereth. Something's gotta give, right? Wrong.
Not one of them is Tom Nalen.
Sure, he didn't go completely unnoticed. He was cited as an "on the bubble" candidate, behind, er, um, Steven Jackson? A.J. Hawk? Adrian Peterson? Vince Young? Do I have to continue?
Yes. Lofa Tatupu? Reggie Bush? Hines Freaking Ward?
My colleagues wrote of Nalen: "With two Super Bowl rings and five Pro Bowl appearances, it will be difficult for Hall of Fame voters to ignore Nalen. What hurts him is the position he plays. Only six centers have been enshrined, and one of them is Chuck Bednarik, who's much more famous for his feats as a linebacker. Nalen's name recognition isn't significant outside Colorado, and it's possible the Denver offensive line's pledge of silence toward the media has hurt his Hall of Fame chances in that regard."
I can't believe it -- and I'm responsible for 74 percent of the Most Numbskulled Opinions on this site, according to a recent ESPN/Gallop poll. Nalen should be a first-ballot guy and for kicks should pass by the podium in his hideous yellow jacket without saying a word. If Nalen is on the bubble, it's because we've let him down. Talking to the media isn't a prereq to Canton. Isn't All Pro mute Marvin Harrison on that Hall of Fame list?
What's this about name recognition? Those who vote are paid to know the players. Those who vote should have been paying attention during the late 1990s, when Denver won two championships. Those who vote should have been paying attention since, when Denver's running scheme has been broken down and hailed by every media outlet around.
Steve Hutchinson made this list. Had anyone outside of Washington heard of him before he signed his Vikings contract? If they had, it was because they'd seen his name quoted in a glowing Walter Jones profile.
Bill Walsh's West Coast Offense has been on people's minds a lot after his passing last week. Denver's Stretch running scheme, polished by Mike Shanahan and Alex Gibbs, has been the most prevalent offensive innovation since Walsh's passing-game theories. Its success leaguewide is unquestioned.
Not every quarterback who called out "Black 59 Razor" was a 66 percent passer. But when was the last time a runningback failed in the Stretch?
They certainly don't in Denver. Terrell Davis, Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson, Clinton Portis, Reuben Droughns, Tatum Bell -- this was a Google Yellow Pages group before playing for the Broncos. Portis is the only one who's done anything since leaving, and he hasn't done as much. He averaged 5.5 yards per carry both years in Denver. In the District, he's dropped to 3.8, 4.3 and 4.1.
Forget about 1,000-yard rushers. Even Mike Shanahan says that getting a grand isn't that special. How about Gary getting 1,159 in only 12 games? Or Andersonšs 1,487 in 12 starts? Or Davis rushing for 1,538; 1,750; and 2,008 over a three-year span?
Fortunately, for guys like Priest Holmes, Warrick Dunn, Shaun Alexander and Cadillac Williams, you don't have to be a sixth-rounder drafted by the Broncos to enjoy the scheme.
Now, TD's name has been raised as a possible Hall of Famer. He's got some numbers, in a Gale Sayers way: league MVP, Super Bowl MVP, two grand in '98. But was he truly a great back or is he a product of a system?
Some would say both; no one would argue that Davis made the system great as opposed to vise versa. And if that's the case, if this is one of the greatest systems ever, its greatest player is Nalen, even if that "system" has been responsible for a few low blocks. It's time to get past this anti-center bias. There's a reason why Bill Belichick played center. You have to be the smartest offensive player -- or in a tie with the quarterback -- to succeed.
Plus, Nalen isn't zip-lipped around the media because he's a jerk; it's tradition. Look, everyone who carries around a notebook for a living wishes the NFL were a bunch of Charles Barkleys in chinstraps. But isn't it nice to cleanse ourselves of Cinco Ocho and T.O. and Ray Lewis and see a guy who is the best at what he does, lets others get the glory, is perennially in the Pro Bowl and out of the police blotter, and a key -- maybe the key -- in a revolutionary scheme?
I thought that's what we want in Hall of Famers. Guess not.
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ESPN: Nalen Should Be Center of Attention
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