Terrell Davis was considered great, if only for a short time. The former Broncos running back was not included among the 17 finalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame induction in 2007.
Thurman Thomas was considered good, but for a long time. The former Buffalo running back not only made the cut to the final round, he will be seriously considered for election into the Hall of Fame by a 40-member panel during the week of Super Bowl XLI.
“It didn’t happen, but my career has been great,” Davis said. “And the Hall of Fame is not going to take away from that. It can only add to it.”
Davis, linebacker Randy Gradishar and offensive tackle Gary Zimmerman were the Broncos who had been selected among a list of 25 players as candidates for the Hall of Fame class of 2007. Only Zimmerman made the cut to 15, with Charlie Sanders and Gene Hickerson added from the veterans committee.
Zimmerman is a finalist for the fourth time in five years.
“The potential is there this year that Zimmerman’s position of tackle could knock off the guards,” said John Clayton, an NFL analyst for ESPN and a Hall of Fame voter.
For Davis, getting knocked out before the final round raises questions as to whether he ever will become a serious candidate. Don Pierson of the Chicago Tribune lent encouragement, saying Davis’ newcomer ballot status hurt him this time.
“I detected a sense in the room (among voters) that we’re trying to do this more in chronological order than we did before,” said Pierson, one of the voters. “I think some of the older guys deserve a full hearing and don’t deserve to wait as long as some of them have. I don’t think you should read that as a rejection for Terrell Davis, at least not in my mind.”
Perhaps no other NFL running back had a better four-season start to a career than Davis. Three 1,000-yard seasons and one for 2,000. Two Super Bowl championships. An NFL MVP.
But those four seasons is where Davis’ candidacy ends. A devastating knee injury robbed him of his greatness and prematurely ended his career. He finished with 8,887 yards rushing and receiving, roughly half that of the 16,532 yards gained by Thomas.
“There is nothing I can do or say to influence anybody to look at things differently,” Davis said. “I can’t reiterate this enough – I’m honored that my name is even brought up for discussion. If it goes any further, believe me I’ll be ecstatic. But in the meantime I’m grateful this is being debated.”
Mike Klis can be reached at 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.
Fame game
Here are the Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists. Voting by a 40-member panel will be done Feb. 3 to determine the next class.
Fred Dean, DE, 1975-81 San Diego; 1981-85 San Francisco.
Richard Dent, DE, 1983-1993, 1995 Chicago; 1994 San Francisco; 1996 Indianapolis; 1997 Philadelphia.
Russ Grimm, G, 1981-91 Washington.
Ray Guy, P, 1973-86 Oakland/L.A. Raiders.
Gene Hickerson, G, 1958-73 Cleveland.
Michael Irvin, WR, 1988-99 Dallas.
Bob Kuechenberg, G, 1970-84 Miami.
Bruce Matthews, OL, 1983-2001 Houston/ Tenn.
Art Monk, WR, 1980-93 Washington; 1994 New York Jets; 1995 Philadelphia.
Andre Reed, WR, 1985-99 Buffalo; 2000 Washington.
Charlie Sanders, TE, 1968-77 Detroit.
Paul Tagliabue, NFL commissioner, 1989-2006.
Derrick Thomas, LB, 1989-99 Kansas City.
Thurman Thomas, RB, 1988-99 Buffalo, 2000 Miami.
Andre Tippett, LB, 1982-93 New England.
Roger Wehrli, CB, 1969-82 St. Louis.
Gary Zimmerman, OT, 1986-92 Minnesota; 1993-97 Denver.
