Former Titans RB Eddie George Deserves More HOF…

George has previously been among the modern-era nominees for the Hall of Fame class, but when the list of modern era finalists was trimmed, he didn’t make the cut.

The nominees for next year’s class will be reduced to 15 finalists in January before the selection committee chooses the class, which will be enshrined in August 2022.

“It’s amazing,” George said last week after being named a semifinalist . “It’s such an honor to be considered for the NFL Hall of Fame. (It’s) something that’s completely out of your control. You try not to think about it, but to be considered for this – a semifinalist – is tremendous. I’m just truly, truly floored an honored.

“This is not an easy fraternity to get into. Just to be considered for it is an accomplishment unto itself.”

George’s case is one of availability, durability and production. While some other backs put up bigger numbers over more seasons, in George’s era he was without question one of the most dependable and consistent running backs in the history of the NFL.

During his career, George racked up 36 100-yard games, and the Titans recorded a 30-6 record in those games. He did it while being the focal point of defenses, and while playing in a division that boasted some of the league’s top defenses during most of his career, where he played Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, and Baltimore twice a season. In fact, during his career with the Titans, Pittsburgh fielded a top 10 defense four times, Baltimore three times, Jacksonville twice, Cincinnati once, and Indianapolis once.

George’s finest season came in 2000, when he rushed for 1,509 yards, scored 16 total touchdowns, and six 100-yard performances for the 13-3 Titans. Playing alongside quarterback Steve McNair, George helped the Titans reach the playoffs four times in his eight years in Nashville, including a Super Bowl, and two AFC title games. George went over 1,300 yards in a season four times, and he racked up 12,668 all-purpose yards in his career.

“Absolutely Eddie deserves it,” said Hall of Fame running back Terrell Davis, who ended his career with 7,607 rushing yards (nearly 3,000 fewer than George), but won two Super Bowl rings with the Broncos. “Numbers are tricky, and you can’t look at just numbers. You have to look at that era, and when you watched him, what do you remember about that player? It shouldn’t always be about the numbers, it should be about the impact a guy made on the game, and Eddie certainly deserves that.

“When Eddie came in, he was that pounder. And he was a back the Titans were riding a lot – he was leading them to a lot of wins, just a real, big, physical cat. I watched him coming out of Ohio State, and he went to Tennessee and did his thing. Eddie was an incredible back. I loved his running style. He was 6-4, probably 240 pounds coming downhill, and he never bowed down to anybody. He was a tough back.”

Some of the evidence that backs George’s case:

• On a list of the NFL’s top running backs, George ranks 7th in average yards rushing per year. With a 1,160.1-yard average per season, he ranks behind only Hall of Famers Barry Sanders (1,526.9), Jim Brown (1,368.0), Walter Payton (1,286.6), Curtis Martin (1,281.9), LaDainian Tomlinson (1,244.0) and Emmitt Smith (1,223.7). On the list, George ranks ahead of Hall of Famers Eric Dickerson (1,104.9), Terrell Davis (1086.7), Tony Dorsett (1,061.6), Jerome Bettis (1,050.9) and Campbell (1,045.2). Some of the running backs on this list played 14-game seasons, but the majority played 16-game seasons, like George.
• At the time of his retirement, only Payton (170) had more consecutive starts than George (130). George is only the second NFL running back to rush for 10,000 yards while never missing a start, joining Brown.
• During his playing days in Tennessee, George trailed only Hall of Famers Faulk and Martin in top yards from scrimmage – Faulk racked up 13,022 yards and Martin 11,317, which bested George’s 10,959. Smith (9,267) and Bettis (9,085) rounded out the top five.