ESPN's HoF idiocy

Yet another reason ESPN must be destroyed: today's top 50 Hall-of-Fame candidates list
from players on current rosters. This kind of article can either be an interesting exercise
or a joke. ESPN's, of course, is a joke, as it considers Isaac Bruce an also-ran in favor of
several rookies from last year - Reggie Bush, Vince Young, Matt Leinart and AJ Hawk.

It's fine to put a rookie on such a list if they've had a truly dominating season. None of those
fellows did. Bush's 1200+ combined offensive yards comes closest. Good, he's 60% of the
way to something Marshall Faulk did 4 times. Put him in the hall! Leinart and Young finished well
behind Tony Romo in passing yards - Romo was 15th in the league - despite having 40 and 20 more
attempts respectively. Neither had a QB rating north of 75.0. Both have more career INTs
than TDs. Put them in the Hall! Hawk was only the THIRD-leading tackler among rookies last
season, so I guess Demeco Ryans and Ernie Sims are going to the Hall, too, though they
weren't on ESPN's list.

Bruce's exclusion is more annoying given some of the veteran WRs ESPN took the time to
include. Hines Ward is one of my favorite non-Rams, but at the same point for his career, Isaac
has 5 more TDs and a whopping 1500 more yards. I agree that Ward is on his way to the Hall.
But so is Isaac.

I don't even want to talk about Randy Moss and TO being on the list. They have done more
psychic harm to the game than they have made up for with their statistics. Isaac has a
higher career yards-per-catch than T.O., by the way, and has more Super Bowl rings than
both of those jerks combined.

Which brings me to Rod Smith, who ESPN specifically states is on the list, ahead of Bruce,
because he has a second Super Bowl ring. I like Rod Smith. I hope he makes the Hall of Fame.
He had a great Super Bowl XXXII: 5-152 with an 80-yard TD. Thing is, that second ring's
practically a freebie for Smith, who had no catches in Super Bowl XXXIII, only a fair catch
of a punt. That's why he should be in the Hall over Isaac?

In career stats, Bruce is pounding Smith in yards per season (1029 to 949), yards per catch
(15 to 13.4) and TDs (Rod is 12 behind in one season less than Isaac). Over 12 postseason
appearances, Smith is 49-860, 6 TDs; Bruce is practically there, 44-759-4, in just 9 postseason
games. And he went 5-56 in Super Bowl XXXVI playing most of the game with broken ribs.

Not that Pro Bowl recognition should be important, but the score there is Moss & T.O. 5,
Bruce & Ward 4, Smith 3. Isaac's got nothing to apologize for there.

ESPN did have the sense to include Torry Holt, a stone-cold HoF lock right now, and Orlando Pace,
who I can't call a 100% lock, but who'd better be on a list that already has Johnathan Ogden and
Walter Jones. Steven Jackson's also on the list, very prematurely, but again, if Reggie Bush is on
it, Steven damn well better be.

Bruce's exclusion is even more annoying considering the inclusion of Adrian Peterson, who hasn't
taken a pro snap and didn't survive his final season in college, and Calvin Johnson, WHO HASN'T
EVEN REPORTED TO CAMP YET. Or DeMarcus Ware, who's apparently there on the strength of
tying for 9th in the NFL in sacks in '06. (Shaun Phillips, Aaron Schobel and Aaron Kampmann await
their HoF credentials from you, ESPN.) One of those guys ought to be left off for the time being
in favor of Bruce, of one of the most accomplished and hardest-working WR's in the game's history.