My apologies for replying to an older topic, but this one intrigued me, and there's a couple things I will point out:Jeremy Crowhurst wrote: ↑Wed Aug 22, 2018 2:17 pmWikipedia.sluggermatt15 wrote: I do not know where the four consecutive All-Pro's came from?
There's always some All Pro team out there somewhere for everybody who had a good year. In 1994 he was Sporting News First Team, according to PFR. But there's always, like, the San Jose Mercury News All Pro Team, and other "All Pro teams" like that. 1995 was his only AP selection.
Despite the occasional hand-wringing to the contrary on this site and others, "All Pro" means Associated Press, and anything other than AP should have an asterisk.
According to pro football reference, Merton Hanks was a first team all pro in 1995, and a second team all pro in 1994, 1996, and 1997; so he technically was a part of four AP all pro teams, but three of them were second team selections.
There are five players that are listed as safeties that are in the Hall of Very Good and played post merger (before the merger, there were twice as many all pro slots to go around).
Those players are Dick Anderson, Joey Browner, Deron Cherry, Kenny Easley, and Cliff Harris.
On one hand, according to pro football reference, all of those guys had at least two first team all pro selections (as well as an all decade team) unlike Hanks. But on the other hand, Anderson, Easley, and Harris each had three combined first or second team all pro selections, Browner had four, and Cherry had five.
So if all pro selections by the associated press are something you want to consider, then Hanks' total number of them fits in with the players already included.
If interceptions are your thing, then Hanks has slightly more than Harris in four fewer career games, and one more pick than Easley (who had admittedly had a career that is considered abbreviated).
From 1994-1997 when he was as a first or second team all pro, Hanks was also a full time starter for defenses that ranked sixth, second, fourth, and third by points, so the defenses he was a part of were successful in general too.
From a Seahawks fan, I wouldn't call Merton Hanks a Hall of Famer, but I also wouldn't be opposed to him being considered Hall of Very Good when he's eligible.
