Steve vs. Michael - Are you kidding?

I have wanted to post this rant for a while now, but I thought that I needed to gather my facts before I attacked my younger brother. Now I should start off by saying that my brother was born a Dallas Cowboy fan. I don’t remember a time when he was anything but a Cowboy fan. Somewhat fanatical some would say. Add to that fact that he is also a huge Miami Hurricane fan and you will understand the basis for our disagreement…OK it was an argument.

My brother actually had the balls last week to say that he though that, not only should Michael Irvin be a first ballot Hall of Famer, but there was no way that Steve Young should have gone in before him. As someone who basically has had two favorite football teams my whole life – the San Francisco 49ers and anyone playing Dallas – you can imagine what my response was. Is he kidding? At first I tried to write it off as the ranting of a lunatic who has spent too much time staring at that dam star. But the more he said, the more I had to disagree.

His argument basically was that Steve Young did nothing while he was with Tampa Bay and he took over one of the best teams in the NFL and only managed to win one Super Bowl. Well first off, Tampa Bay went 2-14 both years that Steve Young was on the team. I do not think that had much to do with Steve as much as it had to do with the fact that Tampa Bay sucked.

He also thinks that Michael Irvin was one of the best wide receivers to ever play the game. He also mentioned that one of the reasons that Steve Young did so well was he got to play with Jerry Rice – the greatest receiver of all time (that was hard for him to say, but the silver and blue cleared from his eyes for a moment so he could state the obvious). The thing I find funny about that argument is that Michael Irvin spent his career being thrown to by Troy Aikman – no slouch at the QB position. Not to mention the fact that he had the all time leading rusher in the backfield – ever heard of Emmitt Smith? Despite that, he still thinks that Irvin was more deserving than Young.

Well I have to tell you, that the stats do not back up that argument. I took the time to look up a few things…

Michael Irvin’s stats:
Receptions – 750
Yards - 11,904
TDs - 65

These are all respectable stats. Does he hold the record in any of these areas? NO. Is he even in the top 3 in any of these areas? NO. So you might be wondering if he holds any records. Yes he does. At the time of his retirement he held these records.

[1st] Most 100 yard games in a season – 11
[Tied for 1st] Most consecutive 100 yards games in a season – 7
[3rd] Most career 100 yard games – 47

That is it. Now please don’t get me wrong. Should Michael Irvin be in the Hall of Fame – Yes. Did he deserve to be in on the first ballot? Maybe. Did he deserve it more than Steve Young? Hell NO!

Here are Steve Young’s career stats.
Passing Yards - 33,124
Passing TDs - 232
Rushing Yards - 4,329
Rushing TDs - 68

Now some of you will say…so what. Those look like OK stats but what is so special? What records does he hold? Well here they are:

[1st] Most Consecutive Seasons Leading League, Passing - 4 (1991-1994)
[1st] Highest Passer Rating, Career - 96.8
[1st] Highest Passer Rating, Season -112.8 (1994)
[1st] Highest Completion Percentage, Career - 64.28
[1st] Most Consecutive Games, 300 or More Yards Passing - 6 (1998)
[Tied for 1st] Most Seasons Leading League, Passing Touchdowns - 4 (1992, 1993, 1994, 1998)
[Tied for 1st] Most Seasons Leading League, Passing - 6 (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997)
[2nd] Most Consecutive Seasons Leading League, Completion Percentage - 4 (1994-1997)
[2nd] Most Seasons Leading League, Average Gain Passing - 5 (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997)
[2nd] Most Consecutive Seasons Leading League, Average Gain Passing - 4 (1991-1994)
[Tied for 2nd] Most Consecutive Seasons Leading League, Passing Touchdowns - 3 (1992-1994) [Tied for 2nd] Most Consecutive Seasons Leading League, Passing - 2 (1996-1997)
[Tied for 2nd] Most Consecutive Passes Completed - 20 (vs. Washington, Nov. 24, 1996)
[3rd] Highest Completion Percentage, Season - 70.28 (1994)
[Tied for 3rd] Most Seasons Leading League, Completion Percentage - 5 (1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997)
[Tied for 3rd] Most Games 300 or More Yards Passing, Season - 7 (1998)
[Tied for 3rd] Longest Pass Completion - 97 Yards (to John Taylor, vs. Atlanta, Nov. 3, 1991)
[Tied for 3rd] Most Games, Four or More Touchdown Passes Season - 4 (1994)
Super Bowl Records
[1st] Most Touchdown Passes, Game - 6 (SB XXIX, vs. San Diego)
[Tied for 2nd] Most Pass Attempts Without Interception, Game - 36 (SB XXIX, vs. San Diego)
Post-Season Records
[1st] Most Pass Attempts, Game - 65 (vs. Green Bay, 1995)
[Tied for 1st] Most Touchdown Passes, Game - 6 (SB XXIX, vs. San Diego)
[Tied for 3rd] Most Pass Completions, Game - 32 (vs. Green Bay, 1995)
[Tied for 3rd] Most Consecutive Games, 300 or More Yards Passing - 2 (1994-1995)

Not bad for a guy who just took over the best team in the NFL. Enough said.

Now I tried to ease my brother’s pain by mentioning that Michael Irvin might not have gotten into the Hall on the first ballot due to his off field issues…you know what I am talking about. I would like to think that the Hall of Fame ignores those types of issues, but if they did, then Pete Rose would have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame years ago. His retort was that Laurence Taylor made it in as a first ballot. LT? You are going to compare Irvin to LT? LT, the man that changed the game of football and linebackers in the NFL forever. There was never a LB like LT before him and they are still trying to produce LT clones today. I do not believe that Michael Irvin changed his position forever. He was not overly fast. He did not run away from people. He had size and was one hell of a receiver over the middle. He might be the best possession receiver that ever played the game – despite what Keyshon might say (what a loser he is…don’t get me started on his hype). But there were possession receivers before Michael, do you remember Steve Largent. He did not have Irvin’s size, but he sure put up better numbers. How about John Stallworth…if anything I would have said that Irvin was a Stallworth clone.

I have learned over the years that you can’t convince a Cowboy fan that there are any other teams or players in the NFL. Now I know what I am talking about as I lived in Dallas for about 7 years of my life, and as a 49er fan, that is sheer torture. Maybe once he reads through this, he will have a moment of clarity and begin to understand how absolutely ridiculous his original statement was. Steve Young was a great ball player, who had the unenviable task of following arguably THE BEST QB TO EVER PLAY THE GAME, and yet still found a way to not only be successful, but end up as one of the greatest QBs to ever play the game. Michael Irvin will be in the Hall of Fame some day, but thankfully, not this year.