Steelers Former RB Jerome Bettis HOF Finalist: Here We Go Again
By Kim Myers
Here we go again. For the past four years we’ve been watching as Steelers legendary running back Jerome Bettis has made the finalist phase of the Pro Football Hall of Fame voting. He’s made it again this year and we’ll find out on January 31st if we’re finally getting to take The Bus to Canton.
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Jerome Bettis remains sixth on the NFL’s all-time rushing list with 13,662 yards ten years after he’s taken his last snap. He went out like so many NFL players would dream to go out; by hoisting the Lombardi trophy with the team he spent the majority of his career with in his home town of Detroit.
But, the fact that Bettis has had to wait this long to get his bust means that there are some out there who think that he’s just not worthy of the gold jacket. The two biggest strikes I’ve heard against Bettis’ campaign to be in the Hall include his career yards per carry average being only 3.9 and the fact that he was never considered the top running back in the league in any given season in his career.
Here’s the list of the Top 10 on the All-Time Leading NFL Rushers. The * denotes a player who has already been enshrined in the Hall of Fame. LaDainian Tomlinson is still a year away from eligibility.
[table id=51 /]
The fact that Bettis accepted a short-yardage back role late in his career is largely due to the decline in his career yards per carry average. To hold that against him is ridiculous. If the Steelers had a first and goal from the 1, how the hell is Bettis supposed to pick up more than the one yard? Ask Brian Urlacher if Bettis needed more than 3.9 yards to get passed him?
If Jerome never led the league in rushing yards that’s one thing but can you think of another big back in the history of the NFL that had more of an impact on games than Jerome Bettis. What is the Hall of Fame for if not to reward those players who made the greatest impact on the game?
I hope we’re not left scratching our heads on January 31st again like we have for so many years. If the voters get it right this time, we’re all taking The Bus to Canton!
Here we go Steelers! Here we go!