Matthew Emmons — US Presswire
Former New York Giants’ DE Michael Strahan is on the list of the 15 finalists who could be elected into the NFL Hall of Fame. Also on that list is former Giants’ head coach Bill Parcells, who won two championships with the Giants in a four-year span just like current head coach Tom Coughlin.
Strahan amassed 141.5 sacks in his 15 years with the Giants. Strahan is currently fifth on the all-time sack list, a statistic that wasn’t official until the 1982 season. Strahan racked up 22.5 sacks in the 2001 season, the season following their Super Bowl appearance. That was a single-season record, breaking the mark set by former New York Jets’ DE Mark Gastineau.
With all of this in mind, the big question is obvious. Does Strahan belong in the Hall of Fame? Strahan’s numbers and his single-season record should be more than enough to get him into the Hall of Fame. Strahan was one of the most consistent pass rushers of his time, and he also provided stability to a team that found themselves mostly in rebuilding modes throughout the 90s.
However, it’s not necessarily set in stone that he’ll be a Hall of Famer. Two names that come to mind right away recently when I think of Hall of Fame snubs are former Minnesota Vikings’ WR Cris Carter and Oakland Raiders’ WR Tim Brown. I believe both are definitely worthy, but have not gotten the respect for their respective careers they deserve.
Meanwhile, former Jets’ RB Curtis Martin got in. While he did have a good amount of rushing yards in his career, it was rather unremarkable for the most part. He got in on the first try, while Carter and Brown still can’t get in. They were thought of as locks during their playing careers. Now it seems we’ve forgotten how good they were.
Hopefully the same doesn’t happen for Strahan. Strahan wasn’t just effective, but he was effective for a long time. Pass rushers sometimes burn out since it is taxing on your body going up against big offensive linemen on every snap. Strahan should definitely get the credit he deserves.
