07-28-2021, 10:06 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-31-2021, 06:44 AM by Tesla. Edited 1 time in total.)
Analyzing the Players In and Out of the ISFL Hall of Fame - DLs and LBs
Defensive Linemen
The monsters of the middle, defensive ends and defensive tackles are there to make quarterback and running back lives a living hell. The league has inducted three defensive linemen into the Hall of Fame - Dan Miller, Thorian Skarsgard, and Fuego Wozy.
GOATs
Dan Miller
Look - no one is ever catching Dan Miller’s career sack number. The defensive tackle played against many low skill user offensive lineman in the early days of the league, sure - but setting an unbreakable record cements him as the GOAT defensive lineman in league history. Add on a Defensive Player of the Year, two DL of the Year awards, and six Pro Bowls, and you’ve got the recipe for the best of all time… at least of those in the Hall.
Generational Talents
Thorian Skarsgard
With two DL of the Year awards, six Pro Bowls, four Ultimus titles, and finishing sixth in career sacks, Thorian Skarsgard goes down as one of the best defensive tackles in league history. Dominance at the defensive line position is hard to come by, especially back when tackles had to compete against ends for the same title - but Skarsgard’s winning of two awards proves he’s one of the best. His long career also helped him jump up the sack leaderboard, placing him among the top in league history. All this combined makes him, in my book, a Generational Talent.
Statistical Locks
Fuego Wozy
Fuego Wozy never got too many awards - though he did go to eight Pro Bowls - but he did place well in both career TFLs and sacks. The only defensive end to get in the Hall, Wozy’s lack of awards can probably be attributed to competing with Miller and Tuck for one award. Had there been a Defensive End of the Year award in the early years of the league, he may be listed as a Generational Talent or a GOAT.
Other Notable Defensive Linemen
Jayce Tuck*, Drew Davidson*, Lo Rax*, Brock Weathers III*, Steco Ocewilder, Nero Alexander, Immanuel Blackstone, Bubba Thumper, BigEddi ForeverYeti
*Failed to be inducted to the HOF.
Perhaps we should get the elephant out of the room first. Jayce Tuck is probably the greatest DL of all time - but we can’t rule out how much of this legacy is due to cheating by Er. Er simmed games unsupervised and had multiple multi players in the league, and so his legacy is forever tainted. Tuck actually received 6/13 votes in the Season 12 ballot before being unceremoniously removed with 3/13 votes in the Season 14 ballot (he was not on the Season 13 ballot due to the change in eligibility rules).
Drew Davidson and Lo Rax I believe may be victims of the “no one cares about defensive ends” curse in the Hall of Fame. Despite both being top ten finishers in career TFLs (the only real stat defensive ends could get in the sim), neither have gotten into the Hall. Davidson may be overlooked due to his zero Pro Bowl appearances - but is that enough for him to receive zero votes in the S15 ballot? I don’t know. Lo Rax was actually forgotten by the committee due to being auto-retired by regression, and so made the Season 28 ballot. He has so far survived long enough to stay on through the Season 30 ballot - but time will tell if he makes it in. With four Pro Bowls and finishing seventh all time in TFLs, I would argue he deserves to be in. His lack of awards can probably be attributed to the league’s preference to defensive tackles in DL of the Year voting. Well, I should be careful with making that claim because defensive end Brock Weathers III did win three DL of the Year awards - yet mysteriously only making two Pro Bowls. Weathers’ 3/15 performance on the Season 17 ballot is probably due to his very short career of five seasons - resulting in him not being very high up the career stats ladder. Had Weathers continued his pace and played for ten full seasons, he would finish with 98 TFLs - good enough to tie Fuego Wozy. He stands as an interesting thought experiment for short career players, and if they are worthy enough for enshrinement.
Of the players yet to be eligible for enshrinement, I think Steco Ocewilder may be the only one to not make it. I don’t think that is fair to Ocewilder, as he finished fifth all time in TFLs, but much like Drew Davidson he will probably be left out. That being said, I don’t think anyone is keeping Nero Alexander and Immanuel Blackstone out. The two defensive ends have taken the league by storm, with Alexander having the career TFL lead by nearly 30 TFLs and Blackstone storming a few years after to catch up. Each have won multiple positional awards and have made over five Pro Bowls each. The committee would truly have to hate defensive ends to keep either of the GOAT defensive ends out.
Bubba Thumper should also be an easy enshrinement and should easily fall in as a Generational Talent. Thumper has three positional awards, seven Pro Bowl appearances, and finished fourth on the career sack list - the highest of any player in the modern era. While he’s not quite at Dan Miller levels of dominance, I would honestly argue that Bubba belongs in the GOAT discussion.
And finally, we come to the legend that is BigEddi ForeverYeti. Edd easily finishes his career as one of the greatest in his generation, as not even Jayce Tuck could finish with four positional awards. But yet, his career statistics kind of stink. In sacks, a defensive tackle’s bread and butter, Edd only finishes 34th all time. Will Edd get the Weathers treatment and be left out in the cold? Or is an overwhelming four DT of the Year awards enough to get him in? Only time will tell.
Linebackers
Linebackers are known as the “quarterback of the defense”, and the ISFL loves a good LB. These versatile players can rack up tackles, TFLs, and sacks, depending on where in the defensive midfield they play. The league has inducted a whopping 14 linebackers into the Hall - Harrif Ernston, Boss Tweed, Jonathon Saint, Jaylon Lee, Angus Winchester, Kurt Hendrix, Julian O’Sullivan, Brian Mills, Austin Roenick, Mason Brown, Danny Grithead, Raymond Vans, Mo Berry, and Alex Selich.
GOATs
Danny Grithead, Mo Berry, Alex Selich
I think this might end up being a controversial take, but I’m going to keep off a lot of the old league legends from this list. These three were on another level their whole careers. Danny Grithead goes down as one of the greatest defensive players of all time, and don’t let those two DB of the Year awards fool you. While Grithead was listed as a safety, he played at linebacker and absolutely blew the league apart - winning an MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and making five Pro Bowl appearances. Grithead was so good that the league instituted banned safeties from playing at linebacker, forcing those who did to bulk up and make the full switch to linebacker. Finishing third in career tackles and 15th in career sacks, Grithead certainly makes a case to be the GOAT.
Mo Berry, on the other hand, feasted once safeties were banned from playing in the box. His top ten finish in sacks despite a short career is one thing, but having three Defensive Player of the Year awards, a Defensive Rookie of the Year award, and four Linebacker of the Year awards should do it on their own. Berry made the Pro Bowl in every season but his rookie year, and may just go down as the greatest outside linebacker to ever play.
Note that I said outside linebacker - OLBs frequent sacks, while ILBs like Alex Selich ate tackles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. At the time of his retirement, Selich was the career tackle king of the league (only recently being replaced by Quentin Bode), but he was not a one trick pony. Selich also managed 66 sacks in his career, good enough for 33rd all time - as well as the 20th best single-season sack performance in league history. Selich managed to make seven Pro Bowls and has a Defensive Player of the Year, Defensive Rookie of the Year, and three Linebacker of the Year trophies in his closet. It’s hard to argue against Selich being the best middle linebacker in league history.
Generational Talents
Julian O’Sullivan
Julian O’Sullivan was a double threat, inside and outside. One does not simply win an MVP award at linebacker, but O’Sullivan managed to split one in Season 13. O’Sullivan also collected six Pro Bowl appearances, a Defensive Player of the Year, and Linebacker of the Year in his career. But it wasn’t just awards that O’Sullivan collected, otherwise he wouldn’t be considered for this category. O’Sullivan finished fifth in career tackles with 1,132, and finished 17th in career sacks with 79. O’Sullivan certainly goes down as one of the best LBs of all time.
Best of their Era
Boss Tweed, Mason Brown, Raymond Vans
It could be argued that any of these three should be considered a Generational Talent - but I had to set the line somewhere and none of them could quite meet the career statistics of O’Sullivan. Boss Tweed, as we discussed previously, used to play running back at a very high level before switching to linebacker upon his trade to Yellowknife. This resulted in a career renaissance, tallying up to two Defensive Player of the Year and Linebacker of the Year awards in his five seasons at the position. Mason Brown served as a centerpiece of the Orange County defense, and was well awarded. Brown was a two time Defensive PLayer of the Year and Linebacker of the Year as well, and also received a Defensive Rookie of the Year award for his time. The nine-time Pro Bowler also finished his career eighth all time in tackles. Finally, Raymond Vans also received a Defensive Player of the Year award and two Linebacker of the Year awards. Vans was a constant league presence, though often overshadowed by Mo Berry he still finished in the top 20 in both tackles and sacks.
Statistical Locks
Harrif Ernston, Jonathon Saint, Jaylon Lee, Angus Winchester, Kurt Hendrix, Austin Roenick
All of these players either finished top ten in one of the two main statistics for linebackers or top 20 in both, while also not receiving a ton of awards for their career. Harrif Ernston and Angus Winchester were both sack masters in the early days of the league, and their sack numbers may never be caught (Bubba Thumper being the closest one). Jonathon Saint and Jaylon Lee were both all-around linebacking talents, finishing top 20 in both tackles and sacks (though Lee finished higher in both counts). Kurt Hendrix was also one of the best at taking down the QB, finishing seventh all time in sacks, one short of 100. Finally, Austin Roenick was for a time the league tackle king at 1,235 before being overtaken by Grithead, Selich, and Bode respectively. All of these players are easy statistical locks for great LBs in league history, and it’s hard to argue against any of them being in.
Hall of Very Good
Brian Mills
Brian Mills might be the only player I think doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame. That’s not to say he wasn’t very good - in fact I think that’s about where he belongs - but nothing about his career screams Hall of Famer to me. Mills’ only real qualification is the three Ultimus trophies he won. Of the other Hall of Famers, only Harrif Ernston has fewer Pro Bowls than Mills, and Jaylon Lee is the only other with five. Mills does not place in the top 20 in tackles (21st, 886 tackles) and barely registers on the scale for sacks (80th, 46 sacks). Note that my line for statistical locks was either top 20 in both or top ten in one of the two - Mills does not catch this line. If he had any awards, it would be something to maybe push him to the fringe. But he doesn’t have any awards or accolades. Mills was a solid player but based on what I see, he either sets the bar much lower than it should be or simply shouldn’t be in.
Other Notable Linebackers
Tony Gabagool*, Chad Pennington*, Lanzer Grievous*, Mike Hockhertz, Quenton Bode, Galf Wilf
*Failed to be inducted to the HOF.
Remember when I said Brian Mills sets the bar lower than it should be? Tony Gabagool, Chad Pennington, and Lanzer Grievous would all like a word with the committee. Gabagool probably falls into the Hall of Very Good, but his sixth place finish in career tackles should have garnered more respect than 1/9 votes in the Season 28 ballot. Chad Pennington and Lanzer Grievous, however, have serious questions about the HOF voting process thanks to Brian Mills. Pennington, to be honest, falls in the Statistical Lock category as he finished tenth all time in tackles, but his 63rd place finish in sacks is still better than Mills. AND he has a Defensive Player of the Year award. The only place Brian Mills outshines Pennington is in Pro Bowls, which I don’t think was enough to keep him out with 4/15 votes in the Season 21 ballot. Finally, Lanzer Grievous has been the site of much debate with the Hall of Fame Committee, who has pushed his can down the road three times now. By the Brian Mills standard, Grievous should be a slam dunk candidate. He finished 22nd in career sacks and 66th in tackles, on par or better than what Mills did in the reverse statistics, but also has a Defensive Rookie of the Year and Linebacker of the Year award. Does Grievous scream Hall of Famer to me? No. But if Mills is in then Grievous should be too.
Mike Hockhertz, much like Tony Gabagool, is probably on the outside looking in. Another pure MLB, Hockhertz finished seventh all time in tackles but a paltry 199th in sacks. With only one Pro Bowl to his name, Hockhertz will likely stay in the Hall of Very Good when his ballot comes up. Quenton Bode and Galf Wilf, on the other hand, likely have a good chance of getting in. I don’t think that the committee will keep out the current tackle king (by nearly 200 tackles) simply because he didn’t make many sacks. Galf Wilf probably goes down as the best OLB in his generation, finishing eighth in sacks and 15th in tackles, and collecting two Defensive Player of the Year and Linebacker of the Year awards. Wilf is probably on par with Tweed, Brown, and Vans, and will almost certainly be inducted.
Next Time: Defensive Backs and Kickers