5 Pro Football Hall of Famers Who Shouldn't Be

Every year deserving inductees like Tim Brown, Cris Carter, and Shannon Sharpe find out that they will have to wait another year before they enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame. They probably get their hopes up each year, and then they get disappointed yet again when the list of inductees does not include their name. It would be nice if we could remove a few players that are in the hall already and replace them with more deserving candidates. Here I five I would elect to get the heave ho.

Troy Aikman: Yes I realize that he helped to win three Super Bowls for the Dallas Cowboys, but look at his numbers. He averaged exactly one touchdown per game, while averaging .85 interceptions per game. In the era of high octane offenses he had just under 200 yards passing per game. He had a Hall of Fame wide receiver in Michael Irvin for most of his career, but couldn't manage better numbers than that. I know he had Emmitt Smith to hand the ball off to, but really should a quarterback get into Canton just because he was good a handing a ball off.

John Stallworth: A wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1974-1987, Stallworth made it into the hall in 2002. He averaged 53 yards per game and just over three receptions per contest. He was a four time Pro Bowler, though one of those seasons was in 1983 when he played just four games and had 100 yards receiving. It wasn't a time of high flying offenses, but still these numbers just aren't Hall of Fame quality.

Gale Sayers: A running back for the Chicago Bears from 1965-1971, Sayers was electrifying, but still not Hall of Fame worthy. He basically played just five full seasons and still didn't average 1,000 yards per season. He had just 39 touchdowns in his career. The problem here is all about longevity, he had none. He may have been a sentimental favorite because is by accounts a good guy and was a huge part of the football movie classic Brian's Song, but still that does not warrant entrance into Canton.

Lynn Swann: Yes I am picking on Steelers wide receivers from the 70's. Swan played in the Steel City from 1974-1982. As with Sayers longevity is a concern, but not the main one. Swann averaged under six touchdowns per season and just over 600 yards. He never had a season of over 1,000 yards. When you average 38 receptions a season, I just can't see how you are that big of a cog in the offense.

Joe Namath: Maybe the first rock-star quarterback, Namath played from 1965-1977. When you look at Namath's stats one thing jumps out at you right away, he had a losing record of 62-63-4. How do you get into the Hall of Fame with a losing record? But wait there is even more. He threw 47 more interceptions than touchdowns in his career. Namath won a huge game in Super Bowl III and coasted into the Hall of Fame on that achievement.

If you disagree with my selections and have some of your own please leave a comment below.

Sources:
All stats form pro-football-reference.com