Former Detroit Lions Running Back Barry Sanders is obviously in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as one of the greatest players in NFL history. However, 9 years earlier, the Detroit Lions drafted another RB out of an Oklahoma school, and gave him the #20 to wear...and just like Sanders, he was something special.
His career was cut short due to injury, so he doesn't get nearly the same recognition as some other running backs do. However, I am going to make the argument that despite that injury shortened career, Billy Simms deserves to be inducted into Canton...by comparing to HOF RB...Gale Sayers. Gale Sayers? Am I crazy? Sayers is freaking...GALE SAYERS! I know that. Which is exactly why I chose to compare Sayers to Simms, in an argument to support Simms... I am going to list the stats of both backs (Scrimmage, to include both rushing and receiving stats) to demonstrate just how similar these two backs were. Sayers: 68 career games, 1,103 touches, 5.7 YPT, 6,263 Yards, 48 TDs 4x Pro Bowl selection Sims: 60 career games, 1,317 touches, 5.5 YPT, 7,178 Yards, 47 TDs 3x Pro Bowl Selection Sayers played more games, and had a slightly higher Yards Per Touch average, but he also only had 1 more TD in 8 additional games, and had less touches. In 8 less games, Sims had over 200 more touches, and over 900 more yards from scrimmage than Sayers. To be fair to Sayers, he also had 8 return TDs that have to be mentioned (the Profootball database site didn't list his KR/PR stats, so I couldn't include those) This is not an attempt to denigrate Gale Sayers. He belongs in the HOF. My point is that when you look at the careers of both RBs, Billy Sims, pound for pound, was arguably every bit the RB that Sayers was, yet doesn't get nearly the same recognition. This isn't an argument that Sayers doesn't belong in the HOF, it's an argument that Sims DOES, based on how he stacks up. The Pro Football Hall of Fame has accepted injury shortened careers before Sims (as evidenced by Sayers), and after Sims (See Terrell Davis). Why has the Pro Football Hall of Fame ignored Billy Sims?
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