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Election Time: Vote Joe Klecko to the Pro Football Hall of Fame


Maxman

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Klecko deserves to be in the HOF without a doubt, but it appears he is being blackballed because of the whole insurance scam that he got caught up in a few years back. Of course, we do have a double murderer in the HOF plus assorted other hoodlums, but apparently being a pro-bowler at 3 different positions is not enough to overcome both playing for the Jets and having a record.

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Klecko deserves to be in the HOF without a doubt, but it appears he is being blackballed because of the whole insurance scam that he got caught up in a few years back. Of course, we do have a double murderer in the HOF plus assorted other hoodlums, but apparently being a pro-bowler at 3 different positions is not enough to overcome both playing for the Jets and having a record.

If this was the case Michael Irvin should have never gotten in

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I posted this article in the news section today but it deserves its own thread! GO Joe Klecko! and IMO Winston Hill is also very worthy of induction into the Hall of Fame.

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By DAVE ANDERSON

Published: November 7, 2008

The world is still whirling from the presidential election, but at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the voting process has just begun. The 44 members of the selection committee are reducing the preliminary list of 133 modern-era candidates to 25, from which 15 will emerge for the Jan. 31 ballot that will determine the 2009 induction class. And if enough of those 44 selectors finally do the right thing, Joe Klecko will get what he has long deserved, a bronze bust in the Canton, Ohio, pantheon.

Klecko, a Jets defensive lineman feared by opponents and cherished by his coaches and teammates, has been shamefully ignored in the Hall of Fame voting for more than a decade.

At a muscle-bulging 6 feet 3 inches and 270 pounds during his 12 seasons, from 1977 to 1988, Klecko is the only player to go to the Pro Bowl at three different positions: defensive end and defensive tackle in a 4-3 alignment, and nose tackle in a 3-4 alignment. And if it takes a Hall of Fame offensive lineman to know a Hall of Fame defensive lineman, Anthony Mu

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Anyone who thinks JK does not deserve HOF either never saw him play or has no clue what a great defensive end is.

Let's see, taking off my green glasses, what you're saying is (because as Jets fans we don't have a vote), the writers who vote to have these guys placed in the HOF, never saw him play or two, don't have a clue.

I saw him play and I like to think I have a little bit of a clue on HOF type players. Yes, Joe Klecko was an exceptional player for the Jets (we haven't had that many)...but, on the grand scale of things, how does he measure up to players who played his position(s)?

Sometimes as fans, we over value our players...we see it every off season when a player of ours may be trade bait and we start saying things like..."We can get at least a 2 for him...". More often than not, we settle for a low round draft choice.

Don't get me wrong, I loved Klecko when he played...I just think he's a fence rider at this point and not too many writers out there give a crap about former Jet players who ride the fence of greatness.

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Let's take a look at the DEs who are in the HOF and how Joe compares with them:

Clearly better then Klecko:

Willie Davis

Deacon Jones

Lee Roy Selmon

Guys with great reps but I can't comment on because I never saw play:

Gino Marchetti

Andy Robustelli

The rest of the guys I think you could make a good argument that Klecko was as good as:

Elvin Bethea - under-rated and finally got in a couple of years ago

Carl Eller - played a long time on a great front four, mostly a pass rusher

Dan Hampton (also played DT) - Outstanding at both positions, but not as explosive as Joe

Howie Long - Great all around player helped by being a media darling

Jack Youngblood - Played a SB on a broken leg and has a cool name, but better than Joe?

I think it is borderline. But as a Jets fan, I definitely would like to see him get in.

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Winston Hill is the biggest Jets HoF snub with Klecko being a close second. It is laughable that neither are in the HoF.

Klecko is easily the biggest snub. Winston Hill is second and Marvin Powell is a close third.

There are older players who have gotten in in the last four or five years that were not nearly as worthy as Klecko. Until he gets in, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is a fraudulent enterprise.

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Let's see, taking off my green glasses, what you're saying is (because as Jets fans we don't have a vote), the writers who vote to have these guys placed in the HOF, never saw him play or two, don't have a clue.

I saw him play and I like to think I have a little bit of a clue on HOF type players. Yes, Joe Klecko was an exceptional player for the Jets (we haven't had that many)...but, on the grand scale of things, how does he measure up to players who played his position(s)?

Sometimes as fans, we over value our players...we see it every off season when a player of ours may be trade bait and we start saying things like..."We can get at least a 2 for him...". More often than not, we settle for a low round draft choice.

Don't get me wrong, I loved Klecko when he played...I just think he's a fence rider at this point and not too many writers out there give a crap about former Jet players who ride the fence of greatness.

Wrong. Klecko was a an absolute beast at DE. It was his success in 1980 that forced the NFL to recognize the sack as an official stat. His move to DT in 1982 was one of the key moves that propelled the Jets to the AFC Championship game. He then was switched to NT when Bud Carson came in as DC in 1984 and was more dominant than ever.

Joe Greene, who played the same role in the 3-4 under Carson with the Steelers said that Klecko played the position even better than he did. Dwight Stephenson, one of only three centers in the Hall of Fame and widely considered the best ever at the position and Hall of Famer, John Hannah, the best guard to ever play the game are both on record as saying that Klecko is the best they ever faced. I'll take the word over Hall of Famers like Stepehnson, Hannah, Munoz, DeLamielleure and Greene over any fan's and idiot members of the selection committee like John Clayton and Peter King, neither of whom ever played the game any day of the week.

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The most accurate compliments will come from the players and coaches you competed against. Their opinion carries much more weight than any poster here including myself.

Prior to a Jet / Phin game, I forget which year, Don Shula was asked what he was going to do to slow down Mark and Joe and he said, I dont honestly know. One of them is the best in the league.......and the other one is better.

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Wrong. Klecko was a an absolute beast at DE. It was his success in 1980 that forced the NFL to recognize the sack as an official stat. His move to DT in 1982 was one of the key moves that propelled the Jets to the AFC Championship game. He then was switched to NT when Bud Carson came in as DC in 1984 and was more dominant than ever.

Joe Greene, who played the same role in the 3-4 under Carson with the Steelers said that Klecko played the position even better than he did. Dwight Stephenson, one of only three centers in the Hall of Fame and widely considered the best ever at the position and Hall of Famer, John Hannah, the best guard to ever play the game are both on record as saying that Klecko is the best they ever faced. I'll take the word over Hall of Famers like Stepehnson, Hannah, Munoz, DeLamielleure and Greene over any fan's and idiot members of the selection committee like John Clayton and Peter King, neither of whom ever played the game any day of the week.

Wrong? I don't think so....if it's such clear cut, why isn't he in the HOF then? No Jets fan is saying he wasn't a great player for us so spare your post of trying to convince me or anyone else...whip up an email and send it to the writers...the people that you're trying to persuade.

More than likely if Klecko had a ring it would have put him over the top.

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Wrong? I don't think so....if it's such clear cut, why isn't he in the HOF then? No Jets fan is saying he wasn't a great player for us so spare your post of trying to convince me or anyone else...whip up an email and send it to the writers...the people that you're trying to persuade.

More than likely if Klecko had a ring it would have put him over the top.

I think I made that clear in my post. The main reason Klecko is not in the Hall of Fame is because of the idiots on the selection committee which have and currently include notorious Jets hating morons like John Clayton and Peter King and underinformed schmucks who lack knowledge like Sam Kuvares from Jacksonville.

These are the same jackasses who took forever to put Art Monk in the Hall of Fame. The selection committee is hardly infallible and they are far more notable for their exclusions than their inductions.

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I think I made that clear in my post. The main reason Klecko is not in the Hall of Fame is because of the idiots on the selection committee which have and currently include notorious Jets hating morons like John Clayton and Peter King and underinformed schmucks who lack knowledge like Sam Kuvares from Jacksonville.

These are the same jackasses who took forever to put Art Monk in the Hall of Fame. The selection committee is hardly infallible and they are far more notable for their exclusions than their inductions.

Understand completely...but, you have to remember that the HOF committee has a lot more idiots than Clayton and King who just have one vote each.

Face it, the Jets don't have many friends outside of Jets World.

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Klecko is easily the biggest snub. Winston Hill is second and Marvin Powell is a close third.

There are older players who have gotten in in the last four or five years that were not nearly as worthy as Klecko. Until he gets in, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is a fraudulent enterprise.

and with your username, Im sure you're opinion is unbiased. :)

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  • 3 weeks later...
The only defensive linemen on that list at Klecko's level are Charles Haley and Bruce Smith.

Kevin Greene? Are you ****ing kidding me?

The selection committee doesn't know its ass from its elbow and knows even less than that about football.

Smith was one of the best ever.

Greene? Pass rush specialist, Gastineau was better.

Haley? Give me a break.

How can you give any cred to this process when Steve Tasker makes the cut and Joe K does not.

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The only defensive linemen on that list at Klecko's level are Charles Haley and Bruce Smith.

Kevin Greene? Are you ****ing kidding me?

The selection committee doesn't know its ass from its elbow and knows even less than that about football.

Unfortunately, Klecko's stats don't match up with the other guys on the list, and that's all these guys have to fall back on when making their decisions, because you know damn well they're not sitting down and watching hours of tape before casting their votes. How many Jets games in the early 80's do you think these guys were watching? They can do a quick search and see that Kevin Greene has 160 career sacks though, compared to the 24 "official" sacks that Klecko recorded in his career. If the Jets had won the Super Bowl in '82, maybe that would've put him over the top. Does Fred Dean get in if he didn't force his way out of San Diego to be part of 2 Super Bowl teams?

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