Justice For The Head-Hunter
February 2nd, 2018
BY IRA KAUFMAN
With Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu coming ’round the bend, this is a big year for John Lynch’s Hall of Fame chances.
It was minus-2 degrees when my plane touched down in Minneapolis Thursday, but the meeting room promises to be quite toasty on Saturday morning as 48 selectors gather at the crack of dawn to choose the Class of 2018.
Safeties have been woefully neglected in Canton, but Kenny Easley was elected last year as a senior candidate. Reed’s first year of eligibility is 2019, followed by Polamalu in 2020.
So here stands John Lynch, a key component in a defense that made Tampa Bay proud for a long time, capped by the dismantling of the Raiders.
The temperature outside was frightful, but I was more interested in assessing the temperature of the meeting room before the first presentation is given bright and early.
The consensus seems to be that Lynch and Brian Dawkins will duke it out again for safety supremacy. Last year, they took votes away from each other, allowing pass rusher Jason Taylor to earn a bust in his first year of eligibility.
Dawkins has the numbers and Lynch has the ring. The Eagles were a good defensive team with Dawkins patrolling the middle. The Bucs were a dominant defensive team with Lynch excelling in his hybrid role.
“Lynch could make plays on the ball or play in the box and hit like a linebacker,” says Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner. “That’s what made him so special. He stood out in both areas, and you couldn’t figure out how to take advantage of him.”
A silly notion has been floated by some in the room suggesting Lynch wasn’t particularly effective in coverage. Try telling that to Tony Gonzalez, who says Lynch had “no weaknesses” at his peak.
During the 2002 championship season, the Bucs boasted one of the great pass defenses of the modern era. Opposing quarterbacks fashioned a 48.4 passer rating. That’s crazy good.
How can you can be so stingy against the pass if you have a safety with subpar range? You can’t.
“We always had a cat-and-mouse game going against that great Tampa defense, and Lynch was very good at it,” says Brett Favre. “He was also a head hunter, like Ronnie Lott. He wanted guys to look over their shoulders — and that’s what happened.”
Shortchanged
Buc fans have every right to think their franchise is getting the short end of the Hall of Fame stick. Warren Sapp was a two-time All-Decade player. End of story. Derrick Brooks was one of the best linebackers in NFL history. Mike drop. Yet Ronde Barber didn’t even make it to the list of 15 finalists this year.
That’s a travesty for one of the most unique corners in NFL history. And Lynch is back in the room for a fifth consecutive year, hoping his time is now.
And for any yahoos out there wondering why a team that won only one Super Bowl deserves heavy representation in Canton, let’s remember that FIVE Chief defensive players have already been fitted for gold jackets. And unlike the Bears and the Ravens, Tampa Bay’s defensive brilliance endured for an extended period.
Those Bucs didn’t fool anybody. They said here we are, we’re better than you.
Intimidation And Momentum
Lynch was in the middle of the action, whether he was occupying a spot in the mind of Barry Sanders or playing mind games with Peyton Manning.
“John was a safety that you always knew where he was,” Manning says. “I think there are only certain guys like that, where you know where No. 47 is on every play. He was such a physical football player, what I would call an impactful tackler. Any receiver going near or across the middle with No. 47 in the area knew what he was getting into. He was always there. You could see it very often on film, after an early hit how he would affect a receiver, his confidence going across the middle or anywhere near there the rest of the game.”
Before the era of CTE findings and concussion protocol, intimidation was a big part of pro football. Although you can’t quantify how many receivers grew short arms with Lynch lurking nearby, his jarring hits changed momentum.
I’m hopeful that momentum is now on Lynch’s side this weekend after four years of being turned away at the Hall of Fame doorstep. His time should be now, followed by Barber and Simeon Rice down the line.
According to the great Ronnie Lott, Lynch is the best Cover 2 safety in NFL history.
That sounds like a Hall of Famer to me.
Ira Kaufman is the most revered sports personality and writer in town. He has hung his hat at JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters since July 2016. Tampa Bay’s only Pro Football Hall of Fame voter, Ira busts out columns here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and his award winning podcasts fire Tuesdays and Thursdays. You can also hear Ira on SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio Wednesdays during football season, and see him now on Mondays and Fridays at 10:30 p.m. on Spectrum Sports 360. Ira also is part of FOX-13 Tailgate Sunday.
February 2nd, 2018 at 9:46 am
Agree with Ronnie. If you watched every game he played you know he is a hall of famer. Those talking about his coverage skills obviously didnt. I feel this is the year. John Lynch is a Hall of Famer. Go Ira go. I wonder how many unreported concussions lynch had. Man that guy was a missile. A joy to watch for sure.
February 2nd, 2018 at 9:50 am
Steve Atwater -> Lynch
1 ring is not enough. Blame the one dimensional dungy the clown. he wasted whyces other hall of farmers too.
February 2nd, 2018 at 10:19 am
tmax
your wife must’ve been caught underneath dungy’s desk for him to receive all this hatred…..
your divorced living with cats and she’s remarried to a much wealthier man….get over it!!!!!!
you’ll never get her back and you’ll never be able to accomplished what dungy and others have done in the nfl…..
now go change the litter box….I can smell you from over here!!!!
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
February 2nd, 2018 at 10:43 am
813
I don’t hate dungy he’s irrelvant but You people who continued to rewrite history and give that failure credit he does not deserve need to be offset with facts. Dungy failed and wasted 2 hof handed to him by whyce. Those are facts. 2 playoff wins in 6 years is failures. Great defense horrible team = dungy years.
The legend of dungy far exceeds his actual accomplishments
February 2nd, 2018 at 10:54 am
tmax
well what about the 2 future HOF and 1 current HOF that he helped get over the hump….Marvin Harrison…manning…reggie wayne….
dungy won a SB as a player and as a coach…..he turned a loser organization into a respectable franchise…..what more do you want?….I guess in your eyes(because of the color of his skin) he has to have 8 SB rings and 3 undefeated season with in 9 years to be HOF worthy…..GTFOH!!!!!
go feed your cats!!!!!
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
February 2nd, 2018 at 11:04 am
813
Hall of fame used to be for the best of the best not coaches with a career losing record in playoffs. If you can not win when it matters most you don’t belong in hall of fame.
Go look up the playoff winning percentage for the first minority head coach to win a superbowl Tom Flores
February 2nd, 2018 at 11:04 am
John Lynch don’t have Hall of Fame numbers. I don’t get all of this hype.
February 2nd, 2018 at 11:05 am
Yea- its not really looking good Irv.
Last year was Lynch’s best chance and the voters turned up their noses and voted instead for a RB who had 3 great years and then NOTHING the final 3 years of his very short (yet apparently HOF worthy) 7 year NFL career. SMH
Hope you have come up with one DILLY of a persuasive presentation this year Irv. Because you are definitely gonna need to twist some arms and sway some ignorant opinions in that room for Lynch to get over the hump.
Sapp and Brooks were easy. Now with Lynch and Barber we get to see how good you REALLY are at this HOF presentation stuff Sage.
February 2nd, 2018 at 11:10 am
813
Dungy failed with both legendary defenses andboffenses. He cost both colts and bucs super bowls with his coaching scared philosophy and inability to comprehend all phases of the game… popular YES great NO WAY
February 2nd, 2018 at 11:11 am
Terrell Owens has Hall of Fame numbers, and he was unstoppable on the football field. Terrell Owens was never suspended by the NFL. He’s never been arrested in his life. Outside of Jerry Rice, no WR had a more productive career than Terrell Owens. The Hall of Fame committee is a Joke, nothing but a sideshow.
February 2nd, 2018 at 11:23 am
John Lynch perhaps grew too famous for his ferocious hits. They were spectacular but I think he’s been typecast.
Trying to suggest he couldn’t cover or had any other manifest deficiencies is simply not true.
Lynch was a converted QB…best athlete on his team…he had major league talent as a baseball player…in short Lynch was not simply a hard hitting safety…he was a great athlete with smarts to go with it. I’ve always believed that both Lynch and Ronde were great because they had figured out the game as well as their obvious physical talents
February 2nd, 2018 at 12:30 pm
tmax says: If you can not win when it matters most you don’t belong in hall of fame.
so I guess Jason taylor….dan marino…barry sanders and countless others don’t belong
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
February 3rd, 2018 at 1:56 am
Don’t forget Simeon Rice not even being brought up in the conversation until what, last year?
Also, this is being a homer, I get that, but how in the world is Jerome Bettis in and Warrick Dunn isn’t even remotely considered to even be a candidate. Dunn has more yards from scrimmage than Bettis, more yards per carry, obviously was a much more dominant pass catcher and was rarely THE guy, yet still put up better numbers. So no, I don’t think Dunn is a HOF’er and shouldn’t be on the list, but if that is true then how is Bettis in? Once they let in Curtis Martin for just being healthy and playing a long time, they really lowered the bar. Then you have legit candidates like Barber who don’t even make the top 15. It’s disgraceful.