Why No Chris Carter?

For the third straight year, Chris Carter is not going to Canton. In a class that should have seen the #1, #3, and #4 all-time leaders in catches get inducted into the Hall of Fame, both Chris Carter and Tim Brown (#3 and #4 respectively) got the shaft. #1 Jerry Rice was an easy selection. Now why does LBS care about those 2? Well for starters, Carter was drafted by the Eagles and started his career there. I will go into more detail in a bit. Though Brown played all but one year with the Raiders, it is just wrong that a player just as great got snubbed.

Carter was drafted in the 1987 draft in the fourth round. He didn’t become an endzone threat until his last season with the Eagles 1989 when he was third in the league with 11 TD’s. Shortly after, Carter was cut from the Eagles. Buddy Ryan, then the head coach, claiming, “All he does is catch touchdowns.”

Ryan went under fire for the ridiculous explanation and never publically admitted to why he cut Carter. Years later, Carter admitted that he had an alcohol and cocaine addiction and that Ryan knew Carter had to get out of Philly. Ryan lied and made himself look like an idiot to save Carter. Carter credits Ryan for saving his life and helping turn it around.

Carter was signed by the Vikings where he made himself into the should-be Hall of Famer he is today. He played his final four seasons there with Randy Moss, forming one of the greatest tandems of all time. In his 12 seasons there, he caught 1004 balls for 12,383 yards, and 110 TD’s. The best season of his career came in 1995 when he had 122 catches, 1371 yards, and 17 TD’s. His career totals: 1101 catches (3rd all-time), 13,889 (8th) and 130 TD’s (4th). He played one year in 2002 with the Dolphins where he barely played in an injury-riddle season. He retired after the season.

To go with his amazing stats, Carter has been elected to eight Pro Bowls (when they meant something) and was named to the All-Pro Team twice. He had eight straight seasons with over 1000 yards (1993-2000) and is the only player to record over 120 catches in a season twice (122 in 1994-5) as well.

It took Art Monk, another one of the greatest receivers of all time, to be inducted (Class of 2008). Also waiting to be honored are Brown, and Andre Reed, making the selection of Carter a little harder.

Instead of being inducted in possibly the greatest class in history, Carter will probably be the best inducted in a class of “pretty goods.”

2010 NFL HOF inductees:
Jerry Rice
Emmitt Smith
Russ Grim
John Randle
Floyd Little
Rickey Jackson
Dick LeBeau