11/05/24
August 17, 2002
Davis to retire:
Davis is a great back plagued by bad luck and bad knees. A MRI discovered that his left knee is arthritic. Even with rehabilitation there is no guarantee it will get better. Davis will be put on injured reserve on Tuesday so he can use the Broncos' Monday night game as a farewell to his fans. Mike Shanahan is looking pretty smart for keeping Gary and Anderson on the team
dan patrick argues davis should be in the hall of fame. his comparison to sayers is close, but not convincing for me. davis had an oustanding supporting cast. sayers did not.
posted by lescour at 03:53 PM on August 18, 2002
It depends on what you're looking for in a Hall of Famer. One school of thought says that HOFs should house players who are truly special players. Another says that the honor should go to players whose exclusion would leave an incomplete history of the sport. He should go in either case (though the Sayers comparison is irrelevant). By the latter measure, you have his numbers and what he meant to the Broncos during the mid-to-late 1990s. And in the first case, he doesn't meet that measure, but you could say that for a lot of other guys. Why leave him out?
posted by jackhererra at 06:11 PM on August 18, 2002
Why leave him out? He only had four good seasons. The last three, he played very little, doing less than most mediocre running back do in two or three games. And he didn't exactly lead the Broncos to the championship. That should be reserved for a little man named Elway (who I can't stand, but he is one of the all-time greats). He may have been the final key to unlocking that door for the Broncs, but if we let all of those who have a few great seasons, and do little else, into the Hall, it's going to get quite crowded.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:22 AM on August 19, 2002
I think John Elway owes TD for those Superbowls more than vice versa. Without him Big Grin John would have retired into the Dan Marino/Jim Kelly "No Ring" hall of fame (including an especially delightful loss in 1988). I don't think Davis should be in the hall though.
posted by owillis at 03:17 PM on August 19, 2002
The sad thing is that I drafted him on my fantasy team without thinking what a set of china bones he has. Maybe Clinton Portis will save me.
posted by corpse at 02:56 PM on August 21, 2002
You have to feel for the guy. The way he ran Denver to those two Superbowls he looked like he would be one of the all-time greats.