Shallow Halls

Pop quiz!

Quick, look at this old skool Patriots jersey and name the player.

If your answer is a Laurence Maroney 2009 AFL 50^th Anniversary jersey, then you really need to learn about the Patriots history.

This is a throwback Sam Cunningham jersey, also known as Sam “Bam” Cunningham. He was a Patriot from 1973-79 and 1981-82. He was part of a backfield that rushed for over 3,000 yards. 1978’s 3,165 yards rushing is an NFL record that still stands today. Cunningham is the Patriots all-time leading rusher.

Why am I telling you this? Because on Wednesday the Patriots announced that the fans voted Jim Nance as the latest addition to the Patriots Hall of Fame, beating out defensive lineman Houston Antwine and center Jon Morris.

Sorry to be mean, but I find it a little strange that the franchise’s second all-time leading rusher goes into the Patriots Hall of Fame ahead of the leader.

Nance did have the more impressive career. He set a then-Patriots record with 1,458 rushing yards in 1966. He averaged 104.1 yards per game that year, a franchise record. His 45 career rushing touchdowns is still a record for the Pats. He’s the only AFL player with back-to-back 1,000 seasons.

Yet Nance is second to Cunningham because “Bam” has longevity on his side. While Nance had those two peak years, Cunningham was steadier in the long run. Sam had just one 1,000-yard season, but he also had two 800-yard seasons, one 700-yard, a 600-yard, and two 500-yard years. Nance’s production dropped to one 700-yard, two 500-yard, a 400-yard and a 300-yard season.

If you think I’m making too much of a big deal over longevity, then we can go over a long list of names not in the NFL Hall of Fame because of a lack of consistency during a career.

Also an issue is Nance’s 5,323 rushing yards with Boston. He’s behind Cunningham by only 130 yards, which means there’s almost no difference between first and second place. That’s absolutely true. But a few ticks over 5,000 yards is a low total for a franchise’s all-time leading rusher.

To put it in perspective, of the 32 NFL teams, only the Carolina Panthers (DeShawn Foster) and Houston Texans (Dominick Davis) have an all-time leading rusher with less career rushing yards than Cunningham. Today a good running back can easily surpass Cunningham’s 5,453 yards in five years by averaging 1,100 yards, hardly a feat in today’s 16-game seasons.

It’s probably somewhat unfair to take Nance’s career out of context. The AFL was a different league during a different era. But I strongly believe in consistency over the long run. Two superlative seasons does not make a career.

If consistency was valued over a couple of amazing seasons, then the fans couldn’t had gone wrong with either Antwine or Morris. Houston Antwine was a six-time Pro Bowler and selected an All-Pro in 1963. But because of when he played, there isn’t a statistical history of his tackles and sacks. Jon Morris was a seven-time Pro Bowl player with an All-Pro honor in 1966. But offensive linemen don’t have statistics to show how well they played over their career.

Many fans need tangible numbers to believe in. Without them, there’s no proof of a player’s excellence as far as they are concerned. It was easy to see what made Nance great because Antwine and Morris only have accolades and word of mouth.

But the fans have spoken and Nance is the next Patriots Hall of Fame inductee. It’s just too bad Morris and Antwine don’t have enough of a voice.