Dallas Clark is a HOF TE.

[Iza]

I've agrued he was one of the best ever in college...and I mean ever...and he's proven to be near the same level vs his NFL compatriots.

[Hawk_Kegmasters]

If he plays with Peyton for another 5 years, I'm guessing you are correct.

[Monster]

I love Clark, but with the exception of last year, his stats are fairly pedestrian.

[Iza]

I love Clark, but with the exception of last year, his stats are fairly pedestrian.

All TE's stats are fairly pedestrian. That's the nature of the position, IMHO.

[Monster]

I love Clark, but with the exception of last year, his stats are fairly pedestrian.

All TE's stats are fairly pedestrian. That's the nature of the position, IMHO.

He averages about 43 catches and 500 yards per season. That ain't gonna get it done. The last TE to get voted in was Newsome, and he ended with 660+ catches. Clark has 267 after 6 years. Plus, he has to compete with several really good TEs in an era when the TE is blossoming - Gonzalez, Gates, Witten.

[MikeyJoe]

Newsome was admitted in 1999. He played 12 years, and ended with 662 catches, 7900 yards, and 47 TDs.

But he wasn't the most recent.

Dave Casper was admitted in 2002. He played 10 years, and ended with 378 receptions fo 5200 yards and 52 TDs.

And he's not even the most recent.

Charlie Sanders was admitted in 2007. He played 9 years and had 336 receptions for 4800 yards and 31 TDs.

In 6 years (plus 3 games) Clark has 267 receptions, 3300 yards, and 32 TDs. If you double his career production he's certainly comparable. His TDs are particularly noteworthy.

[Iza]

On a related note, both Manning and Warner are on fire tonight.

[Monster]

Newsome was admitted in 1999. He played 12 years, and ended with 662 catches, 7900 yards, and 47 TDs.

But he wasn't the most recent.

Dave Casper was admitted in 2002. He played 10 years, and ended with 378 receptions fo 5200 yards and 52 TDs.

And he's not even the most recent.

Charlie Sanders was admitted in 2007. He played 9 years and had 336 receptions for 4800 yards and 31 TDs.

In 6 years (plus 3 games) Clark has 267 receptions, 3300 yards, and 32 TDs. If you double his career production he's certainly comparable. His TDs are particularly noteworthy.

I meant as far as playing careers, Newsome was the most recent. I think that's something to consider, as he is competing - as I said - with some pretty good TE peers. Gonzalez has 900+ catches, while Witten and Gates both have over 400 in the same time span. Maybe Clark will light it up and catch them stats-wise, but considering his tendency to get injured, I doubt it.

Ain't no way the hall will take 4 TEs from the same era, when there's only 8 total in the HoF right now.

[MikeyJoe]

Ain't no way the hall will take 4 TEs from the same era, when there's only 8 total in the HoF right now.
See, I don't know about this. This is definitely the era of TEs.

[Monster]

Ain't no way the hall will take 4 TEs from the same era, when there's only 8 total in the HoF right now.
See, I don't know about this. This is definitely the era of TEs.

Ooookay, I see what you're doing now.

It's hard to adjust to your new M.O. ;)

[MikeyJoe]

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

In the meantime, let's celebrate our new common ground. Brett Favre is the greatest QB in the history of the NFL.

[Monster]

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

In the meantime, let's celebrate our new common ground. Brett Favre is the greatest QB in the history of the NFL.


Nice. :rotf:

[Grape Ape]

He's never been the best player at his position

[L. Wade Childress]

hes never even made the pro bowl LOL

[The Incredible Hawk]

he's a hybrid.
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/piaggio_mp3_hybrid02.jpg

[Edgecrusher7711]

hes never even made the pro bowl LOL

Now that Tony is gone it's all Clark's. And he is the best TE in the AFC if not the league right now.

[crazed_hoosier1]

Love DC. Great TE. Matchup hell for defenses. Glad as hell he's on my team.

But he probably won't make the HOF...it's just too tough to do from his position. There are only a handful of TEs there now -- names like Newsome, Mackey, Ditka, and Winslow. Some very elite company.

Of current/recent Colts players, I'm sure that Manning and Harrison are both shoo-ins for Canton. Other, less certain possibilities include Edgerrin James, Reggie Wayne, and maybe Dwight Freeney...depending how his career goes from here (he's playing fantastic right now).

Of current/recent TEs, I'm sure that Gonzalez and Sharpe will get to the HOF. Gates certainly has the potential to if he keeps performing at the level he has been.

I'd put Clark in the same category as Jason Witten, Mark Bavaro, Ben Coates, Shockey or somebody along those lines. They're all genuinely great players. But none of them are likely to see the Hall....

....unless the Board of Selectors starts giving more deference to the TE position than it has in the past. And that's entirely possible -- the TE position has, IMO, become a more significant component of a lot of offenses in the last 15-20 years.

And, quite frankly, Dallas Clark is writing his own chapter about how that position can be played.

[crazed_hoosier1]

He's never been the best player at his position

That's probably true (although I think an argument could be made that he's been the best TE in the league the first 3 weeks this season).

But it's probably not far from accurate to say that nobody else really plays his position. Technically, he's a TE just like any other TE. But, then, technically Dan Marino and Bob Griese were both Dolphins quarterbacks.

However, anybody who ever watched Marino and Griese both play would know that their approach to that position could not have been more different. About the only thing they had in common, besides their uniforms and the position "QB", was the fact that they both took snaps from under center.

Both Marino and Griese, BTW, are in the Hall of Fame. And they got there in very different ways. Few lists of "Best Quarterbacks Ever" will have Bob Griese's name on it. Understandably so: the guy hardly ever threw the ball. Dan Marino, OTOH, hardly ever handed it off.

But just because people wouldn't have considered Griese to be in a class with Unitas, Staubach, Tarkenton, Fouts or other contemporaries of his doesn't mean he doesn't deserve his place in the Hall. Stats can be very misleading things in sports.

[Iza]

Dallas did only have 5 catches yesterday. :^)

[L. Wade Childress]

clark is awesome and and still tremendously overrated by iowa fans.

[RecreationalGynecologist]

Clark is a touchdown machine. I predict he'll play at least 4 more years in the NFL and get around 400+ catches. We'll start to see more TE's go into the HOF due to the importance of the position in the WCO and other passing offenses in the NFL. Shannon Sharpe will be another one that will enter the HOF

[bpasker28]

If Clark wasn't playing with Manning this conversation wouldn't even be happening.

[RecreationalGynecologist]

If Clark wasn't playing with Manning this conversation wouldn't even be happening.

Why? That would go for most TEs throughout NFL history. Clark has come up with some great catches over the years and has bailed out Manning quite a few times.

[nolookpass]

I love Farve, but with the exception of this year, his stats are fairly pedestrian.

qft

[Monster]

I love Farve, but with the exception of this year, his stats are fairly pedestrian.

qft

:rollfloor:

[RecreationalGynecologist]

I love Farve, but with the exception of this year, his stats are fairly pedestrian.

qft

What is his QB rating? He's got incredible stats this year. He's on the way to his highest QB rating and lowest interception totals ever. He is 12 TDs off his season high with 3 regular season games left to play and the post-season remaining.

[nolookpass]

clark is awesome and and still tremendously overrated by iowa fans.:rotf:

[roseboundhawk]

Last night Dallas broke the record for NFL TDs by a player from Iowa.

[Monster]

I love Farve, but with the exception of this year, his stats are fairly pedestrian.

qft

What is his QB rating? He's got incredible stats this year. He's on the way to his highest QB rating and lowest interception totals ever. He is 12 TDs off his season high with 3 regular season games left to play and the post-season remaining.

NLP is trolling.

BTW, postseason stats aren't rolled into reg season stats.

[RecreationalGynecologist]

Those stats are from the Minnesota Vikings website. So Favre's 39 TDs about 10 years back were all during the regular season?

[drbutkus]

Dallas is a fantastic tight end, but next year he hopes to be a wide receiver.

http://images.google.com/url?source=imgres&ct=img&q=http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/UFDiFgYcJDg/0.jpg&usg=AFQjCNE_pay5hIOiu_va20TWPkbBEiYiiQ

[HawkLax6]

Those stats are from the Minnesota Vikings website. So Favre's 39 TDs about 10 years back were all during the regular season?

Correct. Postseason stats are never grouped with regular season stats when it comes to records (unless noted regular season and postseason) for most sports.

College Football just started including bowl stats into single-season records in like 2000 or 2001.

[Hawk_Kegmasters]

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