Lolley's Talking Point: Ward was better than Edelman taken on the South Side (Steelers)

GETTY

The Patriots' Julian Edelman

Julian Edelman retired Monday.

In case you were living under a rock and missed that historic event, it was plastered all over the place like Tom Brady or Bill Belichick had been the ones who had called an end to their respective careers.

In fact, the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Twitter feed put out an announcement that went along with news of Edelman's announcement with one of its own.

That's nice. Good for Edelman. He'll be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2026. He'll also be eligible in 2036. And he'll probably still be eligible in 2046 because he's not worthy of being a Hall of Famer.

In 137 career games, Edelman caught 620 passes for 6,822 yards and 36 touchdowns. His numbers in the postseason were good, bordering on great. In 19 career playoff games, he caught 118 passes for 1,442 yards and five touchdowns. He was part of four Super Bowl teams and three winning teams, taking home the MVP honors for one of those games.

Again, nothing wrong with that. He had a very good career.

But let's compare his numbers to those of Hines Ward.

In 217 career games, Ward caught 1,000 passes for 12,083 yards and 85 touchdowns. Sure, he played more games, but he also played in an earlier era when teams still ran the ball close to 50 percent of the time on a regular basis.

In 18 playoff games, Ward caught 88 passes for 1,181 yards and 10 touchdowns. He appeared in three Super Bowls, winning two, including taking home the game MVP after one of those contests.

Ward was voted to four pro bowls to none for Edelman.

Ward has been passed over five times for induction into the Hall of Fame. And given the number of wide receivers eligible each year, will likely continue to be passed over. Like Edelman, he was a very good player. But when his numbers are measured against others, they pale in comparison.

And I really don't have an issue with that.

I sat in that room in 2020 when Troy Polamalu got enough votes to get in and Alan Faneca did not. I know how the process works.

And I listened as Ron Borges, the representative for the Patriots, made a very good point that New England's championship teams are under-represented in the Hall of Fame.

In his words, he said those championship teams must have been "Brady and a bunch of slappies."

Borges was stumping for Richard Seymour. And I wound up voting for Seymour, so this isn't about a Patriots' bias. This is about a player who isn't Hall of Fame material being pushed for the Hall of Fame.

You could make a much stronger point for Wes Welker to be in the Hall of Fame before Edelman. And he isn't getting in, either.

So, let's stop with the Edelman Hall of Fame talk already. He had a great career. Good for him. But he's not one of the greatest to ever play the game.

YOUR TURN: Is Julian Edelman deserving of the Hall of Fame? Is Hines Ward?

Loading...
Loading...