Curtis Martin

[Boozer76]

I love Curtis Martin. He's my favorite Jets player of all time and IS deserving of the HOF, but not over Marshall Faulk. The problem with Curtis Martin as a HOF'er is the fact that even though he has the 4th highest total rushing yards, a fair argument could be made that he isn't even a top 15 RB of all time. He was never considered a premium offensive threat in any given season during his tenure. He never dominated in the way some RB's during his time could. Faulk, Smith, Terrell Davis, Priest Holmes, J Lewis, E James, Alexander, Tomlinson are all guys that took the league over during Martin's time. In his entire career Martin was rarely mentioned in their likes. That's the piece that was missing from Martin's game. He was never explosive like those guys. That doesn't mean by any stretch that any of the guys mentioned belong in the HOF over Martin, but having that quality of domination is one part of the HOF caliber player puzzle. Martin will deservedly get in, but the HOF weights players on consistency, greatness, DOMINANCE of the game, and longevity. Curtis is lacking in the dominance part.

[JiFtheOracle]

One of the most underrated players in the history of the league continues to be by his own fan base as well and the league.

RB's came and went, and Curtis maintained top 5 status in the league for 10 straight years...sad he doesnt get the respect he deserves. The player that helped turn around the franchise will never be appreciated.

Its a shame.

[Larz]

If the only offense a team has is one guy, yes, he will get tackled. Which is what often happened with Campbell. On his best day and Martin's best day there is no comparison; Campbell was far superior. Again Bum Phillip's offense was basically Earl, left, right and up the middle. If there was ever a day Martin ran over LBs like Campbell I'm not aware of it. Would prefer not to be the turd in the punch bowl but as to sucking we haven't raised a Lombardi since 1969.And in no small part because there has been so little success and so much futility Jets fans as here are rallying to player who had a good and statisctically impressive career.

curtis was the best player on the team, and everyone knew it. he was a complete back, he blocked, and he did catch 484 passes for 10 TD's, heck he was even 2 for 2 passing for 2 TD's. after every game, the opposing players would say the game plan was to stop curtis, just like the game plan was for campbell. campbell's style was more physical than any other RB in history, (maybe not brown or motley, but lets not split hairs) so saying curtis didn't destroy tacklers is a little unfair, as you could say that about sanders, sayers, faulk, on and on

I agree he was never dominant, never the best back in the league, so I'm not killing the voters for not putting him in first ballot, but a lot of the criticism is as over the top as the praise.

he may be the only player to go in the HOF as a jet in my lifetime

yes, that's sad to say, but since I'll never have the $8,000 it takes to go to a SB, I will not miss him going into canton

[RutgersJetFan]

One of the most underrated players in the history of the league continues to be by his own fan base as well and the league.

RB's came and went, and Curtis maintained top 5 status in the league for 10 straight years...sad he doesnt get the respect he deserves. The player that helped turn around the franchise will never be appreciated.

Its a shame.

It's kind of bizarre. I'm not even referring to just Martin, that includes guys like Chris Carter and Art Monk too. How is Tim Brown NOT a Hall of Famer? He's 6th all-time for receiving TD's. 4th in punt returns, receptions, and receiving yards, 5th for all-purpose yards. He made the Pro Bowl 9 times and was selected to the all-decade team. In any other sport in America, a line like that is a ticket to their Hall for sure. It's like there's this nose-thumbing push to ignore stat lines in an effort to adhere to an ambiguous consensus of who was or wasn't "elite," yet unfortunately there aren't ANY parameters to help define such a line of thinking. Stats should get you in to a hall of fame. They're an accomplishment just like any other.

[T0mShane]

It's kind of bizarre. I'm not even referring to just Martin, that includes guys like Chris Carter and Art Monk too. How is Tim Brown NOT a Hall of Famer? He's 6th all-time for receiving TD's. 4th in punt returns, receptions, and receiving yards, 5th for all-purpose yards. He made the Pro Bowl 9 times and was selected to the all-decade team. In any other sport in America, a line like that is a ticket to their Hall for sure. It's like there's this nose-thumbing push to ignore stat lines in an effort to adhere to an ambiguous consensus of who was or wasn't "elite," yet unfortunately there aren't ANY parameters to help define such a line of thinking. Stats should get you in to a hall of fame. They're an accomplishment just like any other.

Good post. The NFL is the only league where a player is defined more by his mythos than by his statistics. If Martin makes a single decent play against the Steelers or Broncos in those playoff games, it would likely have pushed him over the top. Curtis doesn't have that "Remember that game he had..." moment that the greats do. As such, he's on the outside looking in.

[JiFtheOracle]

It's kind of bizarre. I'm not even referring to just Martin, that includes guys like Chris Carter and Art Monk too. How is Tim Brown NOT a Hall of Famer? He's 6th all-time for receiving TD's. 4th in punt returns, receptions, and receiving yards, 5th for all-purpose yards. He made the Pro Bowl 9 times and was selected to the all-decade team. In any other sport in America, a line like that is a ticket to their Hall for sure. It's like there's this nose-thumbing push to ignore stat lines in an effort to adhere to an ambiguous consensus of who was or wasn't "elite," yet unfortunately there aren't ANY parameters to help define such a line of thinking. Stats should get you in to a hall of fame. They're an accomplishment just like any other.

Well its because you have a bunch of morons out there that devalue the stats. Call him a "stat compiler" whatever that means. Maybe he should have gone backwards when handed the ball or said, no thank you, I would not like the ball, please give it someone else.

Funny thing is, its those people that have more than likely never played a competitive sport, or are just not a competitive person. Anyone that plays a game thats a true competitor wants the ball, as often as possible. Its almost like some people knock that attitude, hence all the Lamont Jordan b.s. you continuously hear around here as if he was some kind of elite RB himself. Never understood hows that a flaw.

What Curtis Martin did in his career is elite. Maybe he never was to the naked eye, but his number say he was. People can devalue them all they want, but you dont just fall over and get to the 4th most rushing yards ever. And there's a reason why only 2 players in the history of the game have run for 1,000 yards in their first 10 years in the NFL, its because its nearly impossible to do. 2 out of what, a couple of thousand who have carried the rock. But lets devalue that because he never looked like Sanders doing it.

Its a pointless conversation, the HOF has become the Pro Bowl...but worse in a lot of ways.

[Falcon63]

These arguments are stupid. For those who say that he was never the best HB in the NFL, it's because Faulk was there. Just because you aren't the best any given year doesn't mean overall throughout your career you aren't one of the best.

An example (basketball, but it still applies to football), is Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley. At no point in their careers were they considered the best player in the NBA because of Jordan, but they are still 2 of the greatest players ever.

[Falcon63]

Plus, I will say, the single reason Martin isn't in the HoF this year is because he has no Superbowl rings. FACT.

[T0mShane]

An example (basketball, but it still applies to football), is Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley. At no point in their careers were they considered the best player in the NBA because of Jordan, but they are still 2 of the greatest players ever.

They were far and away the best players at their respective positions, and the guys behind them (David Robinson, Karl Malone) were all-time greats. Curtis Martin is Joe Klein compared to Hakeem Olajuwon.

[JiFtheOracle]

Good post. The NFL is the only league where a player is defined more by his mythos than by his statistics. If Martin makes a single decent play against the Steelers or Broncos in those playoff games, it would likely have pushed him over the top. Curtis doesn't have that "Remember that game he had..." moment that the greats do. As such, he's on the outside looking in.

I love the postseason debate with Curtis. Jets fans dont remember, he carried the Pats to that SB. 5 TD's in the postseason...how many RB's can say they have a SB TD under their belt? You ever look at Bledsoe's stats from that postseason run?

And wasnt he the only person who scored vs. Denver? And wasnt he the only effective offense vs. the Steelers? He was averaging over 4 yard per carry against the best run D in the league that game. The Steelers were #1 vs the rush giving up something like 3.2 per carry. If Hernm let him run it a couple more times, maybe we win that game.

I dunno, maybe its me, but its pretty typical for D's to be really good and hard to run against in the playoffs. I hate this supposed knock on Martin, its a very naive argument.

[Bleedin Green]

curtis was the best player on the team, and everyone knew it. he was a complete back, he blocked, and he did catch 484 passes for 10 TD's, heck he was even 2 for 2 passing for 2 TD's. after every game, the opposing players would say the game plan was to stop curtis, just like the game plan was for campbell. campbell's style was more physical than any other RB in history, (maybe not brown or motley, but lets not split hairs) so saying curtis didn't destroy tacklers is a little unfair, as you could say that about sanders, sayers, faulk, on and on

I agree he was never dominant, never the best back in the league, so I'm not killing the voters for not putting him in first ballot, but a lot of the criticism is as over the top as the praise.

he may be the only player to go in the HOF as a jet in my lifetime

yes, that's sad to say, but since I'll never have the $8,000 it takes to go to a SB, I will not miss him going into canton

I think this is right about where the truth lies. Sure Martin wasn't an all time great athlete in RB in terms of breaking ankles, sprinting past defenders or running guys over, but he was still pretty ******* good. Nobody should ever bring him up in a "Best RB of All Time" discussion, but those who try to refer him as mediocre are just as big of a joke. Over the first 10 years of his career he accomplished something that only one other player in history has (that guy happens to be in the hall of fame). He's also run for more yards then all but 3 guys in history (all in the HOF).

While he may not have been one to take over the game, his entire time here, outside of maybe 1998, he was the guy other teams focused on. It wasn't necessarily a matter of fear like some other guys who would make you pay the second you weren't paying attention, but more out of respect and recognition that this was the one guy that made a annually unimpressive Jets offense go. We can sit here and list a number of guys Martin wasn't as talented as, and that's all well and good, but I'm not sure how that makes him any worse of a player than he really was. Bottom line is the guy is deserving of a hall of fame nod, and he'll certainly get it soon enough.

[T0mShane]

I love the postseason debate with Curtis. Jets fans dont remember, he carried the Pats to that SB. 5 TD's in the postseason...how many RB's can say they have a SB TD under their belt? You ever look at Bledsoe's stats from that postseason run?

And wasnt he the only person who scored vs. Denver? And wasnt he the only effective offense vs. the Steelers? He was averaging over 4 yard per carry against the best run D in the league that game. The Steelers were #1 vs the rush giving up something like 3.2 per carry. If Hernm let him run it a couple more times, maybe we win that game.

I dunno, maybe its me, but its pretty typical for D's to be really good and hard to run against in the playoffs. I hate this supposed knock on Martin, its a very naive argument.

13 carries, 14 yards and a fumble while Terrell Davis was going for a buck-sixty in the AFCCG is as much a part of his legacy as any 5,000 of his career rushing yards.

[RutgersJetFan]

Well its because you have a bunch of morons out there that devalue the stats.

That's not even it though. The problem is that the voters don't even know how to vote on it. Can anyone say here that they know what they honestly use as criteria? No? You know why? BECAUSE NOBODY KNOWS. What they did to Harry Carson for years was ridiculous and no explanation has still has ever been offered for it. And Willie Roaf isn't a first balloter? Are you kidding me? What more does a LT have to do than what Roaf did throughout his career?

[Falcon63]

They were far and away the best players at their respective positions, and the guys behind them (David Robinson, Karl Malone) were all-time greats. Curtis Martin is Joe Klein compared to Hakeem Olajuwon.

I meant in all of basketball. There's only 5 positions in basketball...

[Sperm Edwards]

One of the most underrated players in the history of the league continues to be by his own fan base as well and the league.

RB's came and went, and Curtis maintained top 5 status in the league for 10 straight years...sad he doesnt get the respect he deserves. The player that helped turn around the franchise will never be appreciated.

Its a shame.

Except that he isn't one of the most underrated players in the history of the league, and he certainly wasn't a top-5 RB for 10 straight years. This is an invention of foggy memories. Unimpressive as his 4.0 ypc mark is for a HOF résumé, Martin was sub-4.0 ypc for a comfortable plurality of his NFL games outright. For those select "elite" games where he pushed a league-leader-esque level 5.0 ypc plateau, 70% of them came against defenses ranked outside the top 20 and fully a third of them came against turnstile ones that ranked in the bottom 3-5 outright.

How many times did he have a game like that against a top-5 defense? Exactly once: 9 carries for 45 yards against the '99 Bills in a game we lost 17-3.

He'll get in sooner or later, because of his impossible longevity for the position which led to gaudy career totals. But looking back people are idealizing and reinventing memories of how ordinary he was in any given game and just how rare it was for his A-games to come against A-run-defenses. Most of the time they came against cellar-dweller run defenses like the Colts, Chiefs, and Panthers had, saving his F-games for late-season matchups against the Raiders, Steelers, and (when their rush-D wasn't lousy) New England.

But again, he'll get in eventually, so dry your eyes for someone the Jets made the highest-paid RB in NFL history. Twice.

[JiFtheOracle]

13 carries, 14 yards and a fumble while Terrell Davis was going for a buck-sixty in the AFCCG is as much a part of his legacy as any 5,000 of his career rushing yards.

Yep, he had a bad game...along with the rest of the best offensive unit I've seen on the Jets. Sucks. He also destroyed JAX the week before 124, 2 TD's, 6 rec, 56 yards. lol.

If you judge Curtis Martin based off one game, a game where our entire team sucked and we essentially abandoned the run...shame on you.

That's not even it though. The problem is that the voters don't even know how to vote on it. Can anyone say here that they know what they honestly use as criteria? No? You know why? BECAUSE NOBODY KNOWS. What they did to Harry Carson for years was ridiculous and no explanation has still has ever been offered for it. And Willie Roaf isn't a first balloter? Are you kidding me? What more does a LT have to do than what Roaf did throughout his career?

But that is my point, people have their agenda and thats whats it based on. Whats the definition of elite? Whats a "stat compiler"? Some dude who came up with filming games got in over a player. Thats just stupid.

[JiFtheOracle]

Except that he isn't one of the most underrated players in the history of the league, and he certainly wasn't a top-5 RB for 10 straight years. This is an invention of foggy memories. Unimpressive as his 4.0 ypc mark is for a HOF résumé, Martin was sub-4.0 ypc for a comfortable plurality of his NFL games outright. For those select "elite" games where he pushed a league-leader-esque level 5.0 ypc plateau, 70% of them came against defenses ranked outside the top 20 and fully a third of them came against turnstile ones that ranked in the bottom 3-5 outright.

How many times did he have a game like that against a top-5 defense? Exactly once: 9 carries for 45 yards against the '99 Bills in a game we lost 17-3.

He'll get in sooner or later, because of his impossible longevity for the position which led to gaudy career totals. But looking back people are idealizing and reinventing memories of how ordinary he was in any given game and just how rare it was for his A-games to come against A-run-defenses. Most of the time they came against cellar-dweller run defenses like the Colts, Chiefs, and Panthers had, saving his F-games for late-season matchups against the Raiders, Steelers, and (when their rush-D wasn't lousy) New England.

But again, he'll get in eventually, so dry your eyes for someone the Jets made the highest-paid RB in NFL history. Twice.

Cool, i'm not crying. I expected this. No biggie, the Hall is a shame anyway. They let people no more qualified than you decide. I just completely disagree with you and dont really care to break down piece by piece why. I've done it a hundred times before and its boring. You'll say yeah but and ignore his accomplishments, so it pointless

People have their agenda...thats fine...so do voters...thats fine. Clearly yours is Curtis wasnt worth the money. I think thats silly. He's easily the most identifiable player to look at that turned this franchise around and made them competitive. I'll take Bill Parcells opinion over yours.

There's been a thousands of Rb's to grace this league, only 2 have done what Curtis did. Yet he's not elite. I'm not sure how many better definitions of underrated exist.

[BP]

Cool, i'm not crying. I expected this. No biggie, the Hall is a shame anyway. They let people no more qualified than you decide. I just completely disagree with you and dont really care to break down piece by piece why. I've done it a hundred times before and its boring. You'll say yeah but and ignore his accomplishments, so it pointless

People have their agenda...thats fine...so do voters...thats fine. Clearly yours is Curtis wasnt worth the money. I think thats silly. He's easily the most identifiable player to look at that turned this franchise around and made them competitive. I'll take Bill Parcells opinion over yours.

There's been a thousands of Rb's to grace this league, only 2 have done what Curtis did. Yet he's not elite. I'm not sure how many better definitions of underrated exist.

Bill Parcells sucked, remember?

[JiFtheOracle]

Bill Parcells sucked, remember?

LOL, I never said that...not at all. I contribute the Jets turnaround to him. Definitely. I always knew he'd be short term guy, but I'll never forget what he did for the Jets and always thank him for bringing us the great Curtis Martin to help turn this franchise around. It worked too.

Now we just need a Effin Super Bowl. Arg.

[T0mShane]

LOL, I never said that...not at all. I contribute the Jets turnaround to him. Definitely. I always knew he'd be short term guy, but I'll never forget what he did for the Jets and always thank him for bringing us the great Curtis Martin to help turn this franchise around. It worked too.

Now we just need a Effin Super Bowl. Arg.

Homer.

[slats]

Faulk > Martin > Bettis

The voters have it right. Curtis shouldn't be a first ballot guy, but he should get in before The Bus. Nothing to see here but rehashed debate that wasn't all that interesting the first time.

[BP]

LOL, I never said that...not at all. I contribute the Jets turnaround to him. Definitely. I always knew he'd be short term guy, but I'll never forget what he did for the Jets and always thank him for bringing us the great Curtis Martin to help turn this franchise around. It worked too.

Now we just need a Effin Super Bowl. Arg.

It must have been Klecko that said that then. I keep getting you two mixed up.

[JiFtheOracle]

It must have been Klecko that said that then. I keep getting you two mixed up.

Thats the most insulting thing anyone has ever said to me. You just ruined my day. But yes, Klacko hates BP and thinks he ****ed the Jets.

[NJ]

how many RB's can say they have a SB TD under their belt?

[Sperm Edwards]

Yep, he had a bad game...along with the rest of the best offensive unit I've seen on the Jets. Sucks. He also destroyed JAX the week before 124, 2 TD's, 6 rec, 56 yards. lol.

If you judge Curtis Martin based off one game, a game where our entire team sucked and we essentially abandoned the run...shame on you.

But that is my point, people have their agenda and thats whats it based on. Whats the definition of elite? Whats a "stat compiler"? Some dude who came up with filming games got in over a player. Thats just stupid.

One game my a$$.

Late 2000 Jets are 9-4. Win and we're in.

Away at Oakland, 17 carries for 11 yards (0.6 ypc). Jets lose.

Home game against the Lions. 16 carries for 53 yards (3.3 ypc). Jets lose.

Away at Baltimore, 18 carries for 47 yards (2.6ypc). Jets lose.

Late 1998 Jets are 8-4 and in the driver's seat to run away with the division (which we did).

Home against Seattle, 17 carries for 37 yards (2.2ypc) and a TD. Jets win thanks to refs mistaking Vinny's helmet for a football.

Away at Miami, 19 carries for 71 yards (3.7 ypc) & a TD. Jets barely win 21-16 and needed a TD on defense.

Away at Buffalo, 20 carries for 38 yards (1.9 ypc). Jets win 17-10 no thanks to our elite top-5 RB.

Home against NE with nothing to play for. 29 carries for 102 yards (3.5ypc). Jets win thanks to Bledsoe-less NE just sucking and Vinny throwing 4 TD's (one to Martin).

That Jacksonville playoff game was more due to manhandling Brunell than Martin taking 3 dozen handoffs for his 120 yards. Jacksonville didn't exactly have an elite rush defense either. Oh and don't forget Martin lost a fumble inside Jacksonville's 20 that only Hudson's unbridled stupidity kept from changing the entire game.

Then of course was the Denver game. While there was plenty of Jets nose-holding going on, we should be able to rely on our "elite" RB to keep the ball out of Denver's hands with a 10-point 3rd-quarter lead. We could have done something early-on also. Vinny & Chrebet took us down the field on the opening drive while Martin gained nothing, and Hall missed a 40-yarder. Maybe if our elite RB gets us 5-10 yards closer (or - gasp! - even closer) the game's different. A blink of an eye later Meggett returns a punt 30-something yards to mid-field and immediately Martin coughs it up for the second playoff game in a row.

So spare us the revisionist "based on one game" stuff. This is only a small sampling of his big-game and late season choking anyway.

He had a great career but c'mon, he was the quintessential NOT-making-something-from-nothing RB like elite RB's did and do. In a single game against a good rush defense for all the marbles, where you're going to need to move the ball on the ground, Martin is one of the last guys you'd want carrying the ball for you.

His career summary was not that he was great, but that he was good for an unusually long time.

[T0mShane]

One game my a$$.

Late 2000 Jets are 9-4. Win and we're in.

Away at Oakland, 17 carries for 11 yards (0.6 ypc). Jets lose.

Home game against the Lions. 16 carries for 53 yards (3.3 ypc). Jets lose.

Away at Baltimore, 18 carries for 47 yards (2.6ypc). Jets lose.

Late 1998 Jets are 8-4 and in the driver's seat to run away with the division (which we did).

Home against Seattle, 17 carries for 37 yards (2.2ypc) and a TD. Jets win thanks to refs mistaking Vinny's helmet for a football.

Away at Miami, 19 carries for 71 yards (3.7 ypc) & a TD. Jets barely win 21-16 and needed a TD on defense.

Away at Buffalo, 20 carries for 38 yards (1.9 ypc). Jets win 17-10 no thanks to our elite top-5 RB.

Home against NE with nothing to play for. 29 carries for 102 yards (3.5ypc). Jets win thanks to Bledsoe-less NE just sucking and Vinny throwing 4 TD's (one to Martin).

That Jacksonville playoff game was more due to manhandling Brunell than Martin taking 3 dozen handoffs for his 120 yards. Jacksonville didn't exactly have an elite rush defense either. Oh and don't forget Martin lost a fumble inside Jacksonville's 20 that only Hudson's unbridled stupidity kept from changing the entire game.

Then of course was the Denver game. While there was plenty of Jets nose-holding going on, we should be able to rely on our "elite" RB to keep the ball out of Denver's hands with a 10-point 3rd-quarter lead. We could have done something early-on also. Vinny & Chrebet took us down the field on the opening drive while Martin gained nothing, and Hall missed a 40-yarder. Maybe if our elite RB gets us 5-10 yards closer (or - gasp! - even closer) the game's different. A blink of an eye later Meggett returns a punt 30-something yards to mid-field and immediately Martin coughs it up for the second playoff game in a row.

So spare us the revisionist "based on one game" stuff. This is only a small sampling of his big-game and late season choking anyway.

He had a great career but c'mon, he was the quintessential NOT-making-something-from-nothing RB like elite RB's did and do. In a single game against a good rush defense for all the marbles, where you're going to need to move the ball on the ground, Martin is one of the last guys you'd want carrying the ball for you.

His career summary was not that he was great, but that he was good for an unusually long time.

What do the kids call it these days--owned? Pwned? Powned?

[CTM]

So, because I was in grade school means that I can't comment on them? I watched and followed the NFL from a very, very young age....Sanders I only really saw a few years, but Sharpe was one of those guys I watched growing up, along with guys like Curtis, Drew Bledsoe, Tedi Bruschi, and Kurt Warner. Just because I'm younger doesn't mean I don't know as much about football.

I didn't implay that at all..

[Savage69]

Well its because you have a bunch of morons out there that devalue the stats. Call him a "stat compiler" whatever that means. Maybe he should have gone backwards when handed the ball or said, no thank you, I would not like the ball, please give it someone else.

Funny thing is, its those people that have more than likely never played a competitive sport, or are just not a competitive person. Anyone that plays a game thats a true competitor wants the ball, as often as possible. Its almost like some people knock that attitude, hence all the Lamont Jordan b.s. you continuously hear around here as if he was some kind of elite RB himself. Never understood hows that a flaw.

What Curtis Martin did in his career is elite. Maybe he never was to the naked eye, but his number say he was. People can devalue them all they want, but you dont just fall over and get to the 4th most rushing yards ever. And there's a reason why only 2 players in the history of the game have run for 1,000 yards in their first 10 years in the NFL, its because its nearly impossible to do. 2 out of what, a couple of thousand who have carried the rock. But lets devalue that because he never looked like Sanders doing it.

Its a pointless conversation, the HOF has become the Pro Bowl...but worse in a lot of ways.

Yes there is because most rookie running backs don't get 368 carries and some go into a 2 back system..Emmitt Smith would have had 12 1,000+ season if he had more then 241 carries as a rookie.. Same with Jim Brown who had 202 as a rookie and missed by 58 yds.. Also most backs don't compile for 10 years..

[Savage69]

Yep, he had a bad game...along with the rest of the best offensive unit I've seen on the Jets. Sucks. He also destroyed JAX the week before 124, 2 TD's, 6 rec, 56 yards. lol.

If you judge Curtis Martin based off one game, a game where our entire team sucked and we essentially abandoned the run...shame on you.

But that is my point, people have their agenda and thats whats it based on. Whats the definition of elite? Whats a "stat compiler"? Some dude who came up with filming games got in over a player. Thats just stupid.

On 36 carries that put him under his 3.5 ypc avg..

[slats]

Yes there is because most rookie running backs don't get 368 carries and some go into a 2 back system..Emmitt Smith would have had 12 1,000+ season if he had more then 241 carries as a rookie.. Same with Jim Brown who had 202 as a rookie and missed by 58 yds.. Also most backs don't compile for 10 years..

If Marcus Allen is in the HoF, Curtis should be there, too. Curtis is a better, significantly more consistent Marcus Allen.

[CTM]

One of the most underrated players in the history of the league continues to be by his own fan base as well and the league.

RB's came and went, and Curtis maintained top 5 status in the league for 10 straight years...sad he doesnt get the respect he deserves. The player that helped turn around the franchise will never be appreciated.

Its a shame.

Under rated? He was what he was.. An above average player who generally didn't put the ball on the ground (unless it was the championship game) and stayed healthy. he was never a guy anyone feared, or a guy that dominated. I'm not underrating anything, I just value elite, game changing play more then consistantly good play.

I do believe Martin belongs in the hall and will get in, but I'm not shocked that he got left off in favor of faulk who was way more dynamic

[#27TheDominator]

I am probably more of a detractor than not, but I don't see the hate of the hate. Most of us agree that Curtis deserves to get in. The points where we get prickly are in the GOAT discussions and the surefire first ballot discussions. I look at it like with baseball stats black ink/gray ink. Black ink = leading the league, gray ink is top 10. Curtis has exactly 1 black ink statistic, the rushing title in 2004. Move to gray ink and he is way up there with 7 times for yards and twice for TDs.

I didn't implay that at all..

I think this one is social commentary and not iPhone.

[CTM]

I think this one is social commentary and not iPhone.

lol... i noticed it right after submit, but decided I liked it that way

[Bugg]

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MartCu00/gamelog/post/ This is the playoff logs of Martin's career. In the Colts 41-0 game, Lamont Jordan had a 100-yard game, Martin was more of a receiver. In both of the 2004 playoff games vs. the Steelers and Bolts, Jordan had a way higher YPC average and arguably outplayed The Warrior. Didn't stop Herman Edwards form giving Martin the bulk of the carries. He did have 100 yards vs. the Raiders in a game more decided by abd defense because of John Abraham's tummyache. Someday soon someone will try to tell us that Abraham is a Hall of Famer based on stats and longevity. That fool can go fvkc himself in advance.

[Savage69]

If Marcus Allen is in the HoF, Curtis should be there, too. Curtis is a better, significantly more consistent Marcus Allen.

I couldn't agree more.. I think Cumar was one of the nicest athletes to play any sport ever.. My problem wasn't with Martin it was with the Martinette's who lie about stats and trash other Jets to make him look better.. When I said back in 01 in the last game of the season;How come Jordan gets one carry goes 46 yds for a td and never see's the ball again? I was bombarded with Jordan can't carry Martins jock or he only had that run because Martin wore the defense down etc.. I like a 2 back system because it keeps the backs fresher come playoff time and keeps the D off balance..But thats just me..