CANTON, Ohio – What if I told you the only player in NFL history with 50 sacks and 25 interceptions is not in the Hall of Fame.
What if I told you the only linebacker since 1980 who’s had three or more interceptions in five seasons and one of only two linebackers since 1980 with three sacks and three interceptions in four seasons isn’t in the Hall.
What if I mentioned that, you know what? The linebacker who had 10 more interceptions than any other linebacker from 1987 through 1996 has been shunned by the Hall voters.
Or that a guy who played on the best defense in the NFL over a five-year, was 1991 Defensive Player of the Year, made three Pro Bowls and should have made three more and won a Super Bowl in his final NFL game has not yet been invited into the Hall.
Somebody needs to alert the Pro Football Hall of Fame voters that Seth Joyner exists.
Despite a monster body of work in his 13-year career, Joyner was never even a Hall of Fame finalist before his modern-era eligibility expired two years ago.
And if there’s anywhere on Earth you wouldn’t blame Joyner for being bitter about his Hall of Fame snub it’s at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Yet there he was on Saturday on the field at Fawcett Stadium, surrounded by Hall of Famers, thrilled to watch long-time teammate Eric Allen – himself snubbed by the Hall for a quarter of a century – finally enshrined among the greatest players of all time.
“Honestly, it doesn’t bother me,” Joyner said. “I fell in love with football when I was 9 years old. It had always been a goal of mine to become a professional football player. I never played the game for things like the Hall of Fame. Don’t get me wrong, it is the honor of all honors to be viewed as one of the best to ever do it.
“But I didn’t play the game to become a Hall of Famer. So it doesn’t bother me like it may bother some other guys.”
Now that Joyner’s modern-era eligibility is up, his only shot at the Hall of Fame is in the seniors category. He was a nominee this year, but it’s a very difficult route. Close to 200 players are nominated each year in the seniors category and only three are selected. His chances are not great.
But Joyner is OK with all of it.
“Ultimately, I’m here today to celebrate my brother,” Joyner said as he stood just a few feet from 110 Hall of Famers assembled on a giant stage without a trace of envy.
“I mean, I’m just so elated for him and his wife and his boys, because he deserves it. And he is a salt-of-the-Earth guy. A brother until I leave this earth.”
Until Allen went in on Saturday, the only member of that legendary Gang Green Defense enshrined in Canton was Reggie White, inducted posthumously in 2006 in his first year of eligibility.
White, Clyde Simmons, Jerome Brown and that ferocious defensive front may be why the Hall voters haven’t given Joyner the consideration he deserves.
“I hear it,” he said. “I hear people say, ‘Oh, well, you know, if I played linebacker behind that defensive front I’d be this or that too.
“But guess what? All of those sacks, all 52 ½ of those sacks I got. I got them. I had to beat somebody to get them. All 25 of 26 of those interceptions, I’m the one that caught those balls. The two that I ran back for touchdowns? I’m the one who ran them back, or the fumbles I caused, I caused them.
“So it’s easy to say that players are the product of other players that are around them. But show me a great linebacker that’s in these hallowed halls that didn’t have a great defensive front in front of them.
“You know how hard it is to play football as a linebacker if you don’t have support up front? I just happen to have one of the best to ever do it. And I like to believe that I helped them too because there were times where I rushed, so instead of Reggie getting a double team, the tackle had to kick out to me and Reggie got a sack.
“It’s perception, how people see me. So I can’t get myself caught up in whether I get in or whether I don’t get or whatever that dynamic is.
“I lived my dream. I couldn’t ask for more.”
One other thing to consider with Joyner is that he was an 8th-round draft pick. There isn’t even an eighth round anymore.
Only three linebackers drafted in the eighth round or later had more interceptions than Joyner’s 27 and all played in the 1960s and 1970s. Only one linebacker drafted that late had more sacks than Joyner.
Joyner had more sacks than 14 of 18 true linebackers who played since sacks became an official stat in 1982. And only Ray Lewis had more interceptions.
And none of this even considers that Joyner was an absolute beast against the run, unlike a lot of outside linebackers of his generation.
Zach Thomas had 20 ½ career sacks and 17 interceptions. He’s in the Hall of Fame. And he’s deserving. Joyner had twice as many sacks and 10 more INTs.
“It’s funny,” Joyner said., “I ran into Zach Thomas yesterday. And, he’s like super high-energy all the time. So he comes up to me and he’s like, ‘I just gotta tell you, when I was in college? Man, I used to watch your film. I used to watch everything you did.’
“Here’s a guy that’s in the Hall of Fame, and he’s got almost fan-like reverence for my play. I mean, if that’s all it is? That’s enough for me. You know? If that’s what it is, I’m at peace with it.”
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