Bill Polian says something stupid

Even smart people say really stupid things sometimes.  Indianapolis Colts GM and Hall of Famer Bill Polian said this week that neither Terrell Owens nor Randy Moss deserve to be in the Football Hall of Fame. Why?  Terrell Owens wasn’t a good team mate, and Moss didn’t give 100% effort.

Really?  And I suppose Babe Ruth doesn’t deserve to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame; sure, he hit 714 home runs, but he was drunk a lot and didn’t give 100% effort.  Mickey Mantle doesn’t belong either, because he boozed it up as well.  And Jim Brown shouldn’t be in Canton; he quit after only nine seasons!  That’s not giving 100%.  Why is Lawrence Taylor in Canton?  He wasn’t a very good teammate from what I hear.  Polian apparently believes entry to Canton should be based on saintliness, not statistics.

Look, if Randy Moss didn’t give 100% effort, then how many yards, receptions, and touchdowns would he have had if he did?  He got over 15,000 yards and scored 156 touchdowns, but Polian wants him to have at least 30,000 yards because he only gave 50% effort.  If that’s your standard, then every receiver who ever played the game is disqualified.  Oh wait, I forgot about Lee Folkins; he only had 80 career receptions for the Cowboys in the 1960’s, but he gave 100%!  Put Folkins in the Hall of Fame, but keep Randy Moss out!

Did Terrell Owens help his teams?  He made it to the postseason eight times, and his 16,000 yards and 156 TDs certainly did help.  Owens took a lot of flak while he was in Philadelphia, but who played better in the Super Bowl?  Terrell “I have metal pins in my hand” Owens, or Donovan “Would you like to see what I had for lunch” McNabb?  Owens had nine receptions for 122 yards and was probably the MVP for the losing Eagles.

Okay, we get it, Bill Polian doesn’t like players like Terrell Owens or Randy Moss.  He’d rather have players with less . . . talent.  If he thinks Terrell Owens should not be in Canton because he was a bad teammate, then why does Canton induct individuals instead of teams?  Football may be a team sport, but individuals are singled out, individuals who have the most talent.  If Owens and Moss were marginal hall choices, he might have a point.  But Owens and Moss are, statistically, the second and third best receivers OF ALL TIME.  Of course their combined 31,000 yards and 300 touchdowns helped their teams FAR MORE than any locker room incidents or spats with the media.

There is also the fact that these are receivers—almost all receivers are divas.  This is such an accepted truth that now a days a receiver would have to say that he thinks his team throws to him too often t get any attention.  Owens and Moss were just ahead of their time.

Either Randy Moss made an effort in practice and in games, or else it is incredible that he could have been as successful as he was coasting on only 90% effort.  No one gets to be that good with a lot of effort; no one is that naturally gifted.  Did Owens’ gift for self-promotion really negate 16,000 yards of offense?  I doubt it.

Bill Polian is too smart to believe what he just said.  Of course Moss and Owens deserve to be in the Football Hall of fame in Canton.  They are two of the three greatest receivers in NFL history.  Does Canton select its inductees on merit, or on Bill Polian’s list of player who showed proper deportment?  I think it should be a meritocracy, but Bill Polian apparently thinks the definition of a Hall of Famer is to be well-behaved.