Ken Anderson and L.C. Greenwood Fall Short

 By John Turney 

L.C. Greenwood (left) and Ken Anderson (right)

The massive hullabaloo surrounding the Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft snubs sucked up so much air in the room that it left almost none for the reality that two other senior candidates also got passed over — Ken Anderson and L.C. Greenwood.

Those two, plus Roger Craig, were the trio that made it out of the seniors committee process and got presented to the full Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors. Unlike Craig, they didn't pull in the votes needed for induction. We're calling it "needed" because election required at least 40 out of 50 votes (that's the 80% minimum threshold). Well, unless nobody hit 40—in which case it'd go to the top vote-getter (or get split in a tie but that is a story for another day).

We have no clue whether Craig actually cleared that 80% bar or not. All we know for sure is that he was the lone survivor from the combined seniors, coaches, and contributors finalists group to get voted in this year. 

Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson and Steelers defensive end L.C. Greenwood didn't make the cut—and it's tough to see either one getting another real shot down the line. Both had popped up on the modern-era final 15 list back in the day, and now they've finally reached that make-or-break yes/no stage in the seniors process. But justifying slots for them in future classes? That looks like a long shot.

Anderson's resume has some real shine: he won four passing titles (passer rating leader in 1974, 1975, 1981, and 1982—one of a few guys in NFL history to hit that mark, and the only one with consecutive titles across two different decades). He was the 1981 NFL MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, and Comeback Player of the Year, plus he led the Bengals to their first Super Bowl appearance that same year (Super Bowl XVI, where he played solid but they fell to Joe Montana's 49ers 26-21).

That said, whenever passer rating (the basis for those passing titles) comes up, you hear the same old debate: it's a great stat on one hand, but it's often called flawed or era-dependent on the other. Pick your side—go figure. 

We think Anderson's best claim is that his career is on par with Ken Stabler's. And even Dan Fouts in some ways. Both of them started slow and then had career-ending slides, Fouts less so, and Anderson had a down era, but it was in the middle of his career. It was a different career path but his early-1980s comeback is to his credit, falling from MVP level to let's call it average, back to MVP-level.

It does seem unfair that Anderson is left out, given that Stabler, especially, is not far ahead of him, if any, really. Perhaps the separator is the Super Bowl ring Stabler owns,

With Greenwood, it was also a close-but-no-cigar scenario. He has the four rings, was a vital part of the Steel Curtain Defense, the best edge rusher they had. He was touted by his supporters as a run-stopper, someone who was a left-end who did "the dirty work" for the Steelers, the "two-gap" guy.

That wasn't true, as far as the two-gap, but he was a strong run defender. If he weren't the Steelers' defensive coach, Bud Carson, would not have had him on the field. He was a defensive end who could play the run and who was an excellent pass rusher. 

Sometimes his sack totals were not elite, but if pressures were counted, he'd have had a lot. A group like Pro Football Focus (PFF) or NextGen Stats would be his friend had they existed because they often praise guys like that. Maybe a modern era comp may be Rob Burnett or DeMarcus Lawrence, who will be showing his wares in Super Bowl LX, in terms of role. Burnett player before the era of those analytics companies, but Lawrence is a darling of PFF as someone who is a complete edge player.

The question is whether that is good enough for the Hall of Fame.

Greenwood has two consensus All-Pro seasons and was voted to six Pro Bowls, but he wasn't able to get a high number of sacks, even unofficial ones. A nice round mark of 100 or more would have helped. But he was nearly two dozen short of that. 

The book is not entirely shut on these two; the seniors committee could vote them out of the committee again, it has happened before, but how fair would that be to those who are still waiting for their cases to be presented to the full committee? The seniors committee will probably choose new blood next year. 

Hopefully, there will be changes in the process so more than one player/coach/contributor will end up with a Gold Jacket, as has happened in the last two classes. One is not enough.