Murray: Ty Law Got Hosed By Pro Football Hall Of Fame Committee
BOSTON (CBS) -- Ty Law is without a doubt one of the greatest cornerbacks of all time. Yet for the second straight year, he came up short in Hall of Fame voting, and he was not one of the finalists announced on Thursday night.
This news was most upsetting to Jim Murray, who opened up Friday's Felger & Massarotti Show with his thoughts on the matter. Below is what Murray had to say.
I think Ty Law got porked last night. The former Patriots cornerback was not among the 15 modern-era finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2016. I know with the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a lot of these things take some time, a lot of these guys have to toil for a little bit, they only allow X amount of players.
But when I see some of the other names on the list, that's when I get mad. Specifically, a stupid kicker in Morten Andersen, because who the hell really cares about kickers? And the one that really got me was former Colts running back Edgerrin James.
I think stats, obviously, should matter, no matter what hall of fame we're talking about. But above all else, when it comes to the hall of fame for -- who's a fan more than anything else -- I think you have to have that instinctive yes/no with a guy. And Edgerrin James, you say that name to me, it's a resounding no. I don't know one Patriots fan who's ever shaken in their boots any time they had to go up against the Colts and, ooh, Edgerrin James! He was good, not great. His stats are comparable to Jerome Bettis. They're almost exactly the same. Jerome Bettis, I believe, shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame. He went in last year, I kicked and screamed about that.
But to me, James' lasting legacy is getting stood up at the 1-yard line in Indianapolis by Willie McGinest. I just think he was a decent enough running back.
Ty Law deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. And stats alone, NFL 2000s All-Decade Second Team, five-time Pro Bowler, all of that, but if you just look at the 2000s overall, it was him, Champ Bailey, and Charles Woodson that were the best cornerbacks in the game. I think it's a very important position, the most important position on defense in the game.
And when it came to Peyton Manning, no matter what uniform Law was wearing -- whether it was Patriots, Jets or Chiefs -- he owned that ass.
Ty Law should be in the Hall of Fame. He got porked. It was the second year in a row. I think he'll get in, but if you look at those other names, he should be on that ballot.
Listen to the audio below, which includes a discussion of how statistics affect the ability for defensive players to make the Hall of Fame.
