JameisLoseston wrote:I just looked up Alworth and was under the impression he had better numbers in Dallas than he did. But he was number 1 of the AFL WR's and also won a super bowl(I don't think this should matter much but it clearly does). In terms of Blanda he got in mainly as a kicker and while he was good enough as an AFL QB to have a case I think he'd be in the same boat as Kemp if he was being judged as a QB.
Interesting take on Blanda. My impression always was that he never would have been considered as either or, since he wasn't too far above average at either position, but the fact that he did both for so long made him a no-doubter. Sort of like if you had an inferior Shohei Ohtani who was a decent pitcher for 10 years and a decent hitter for 20 years... yeah, probably still a HOFer. But yeah, Jack Kemp is the HOVG's worst pick.
Alworth was the king of the AFL WRs, but not nearly by such a margin that he and Maynard (who played forever, unlike most of them) ought to be the only ones inducted.
In terms of kicking Blanda retired as the NFLs all time leader in both scoring and field goals made. In terms of accuracy you're right(he retired 33rd in that) but he had all the longevity records In terms of points scored and he retained this lead into the 21st century. Longevity inflated or not if he'd just played kicker he'd have been a shoe in for the HOF same as the holder of any major NFL record. I think the only all time scoring leader to not make the HOF is Gary Anderson and that's a special case because of the 98 Vikings. In terms of field goal leaders Lowery's also not in but he only briefly held the lead and generally that record gets a kicker into the HOF too. In terms of the scoring record in particular it's an offensive record not a kicking record. While the leaders today are exclusively kickers(today the top 100 has 90 kickers with Jerry Rice being the leading non kicker at 40) before Groza the top scorers were skill position players.
Groza and Blanda are often ommitted from lists of HOF kickers because they played other positions at such a high level but unlike in baseball where that makes someone a unicorn that was common during the earlier eras of the NFL. We can usually tell what side of the ball got them inducted. If Blanda's numbers and titles had been in the NFL he'd have probably made it but we know how the HOF views gaudy AFL stats.
Not sure if Kemp is the least worthy player in the HOVG even if I disagree I see the reasons people would vote for him(pro bowls, championships etc) but there's many players at every position who aren't in the HOVG who i think are more deserving for sure. Among HOVG AFL QB's I have Lamonica far ahead of him. He's in the conversation for worst HOVG for sure.
In terms of the receivers while I prefer Otis Taylor over the all decade picks I think Powell and Hennigan belong in the HOF if it's a yes or no question. Bigger problem for me is how many other HOF worthy WR's there are who didn't play their whole careers in the AFL. This seems to be the issue at most positions. While AFL only HOF candidates didn't get a fair trial by the HOF before they became seniors it'd also be hard to justify inducting most of them over other seniors. I think the AFL issue should be handled seperate.
