Precedent set: Gale Sayers is a Hall of Famer -- and so should be Terrell Davis

If you've been able to cut through DeflateGate and the national fascination over Marshawn Lynch repeating the same phrase in Super Bowl media sessions, you likely have have heard that Terrell Davis is one of 15 modern-era finalists for the Pro Football of Fame, and the Class of 2015 will be determined Saturday.
There's been a groundswell of support -- at least in the Rocky Mountain region -- for the Denver Broncos' all-time rushing leader and Ring of Famer, including this column Thursday by the Denver Post's Mark Kiszla.
But, nationally, the view on Davis' HOF chances is spotty at best. The majority of the naysayers, including the following from a Sporting News senior writer, immediately cite Davis' relative lack of longevity:

Denver folks campaigning for Terrell Davis because ... three great years? We saw him play. He wasn't Gale Sayers. #ProFootballHOF
— Michael DeCourcy (@tsnmike) January 29, 2015

Gale Sayers -- that's a name frequently brought up in conjunction with Davis' candidacy as well.
Like Davis, the former Chicago Bears' running back had a brilliant but brief NFL career cut short by injury. And Sayers, like Davis exactly 30 years later, played seven NFL seasons but had five full or near-complete seasons to Davis' four.
Sayers, though, was elected to the Hall of Fame in his second year of candidacy, while Davis is still waiting more than a decade after his retirement in the 2002 preseason.
So DeCourcy's smug and dismissive tweet got me wondering: Just how does Davis' career stack up with that of the Hall-of-Famer Sayers?
Here's a breakdown of 14 pertinent comparisons:

Service
Sayers: Seven seasons (68 games)
Davis: Seven seasons (86 games)

Total touches
Sayers: 1,221 (991 rushes, 112 receptions, 91 kickoff returns, 27 punt returns)
Davis: 2,047 (1,859 rushes, 188 receptions)

Rushing
Sayers: 991 carries-4,956 yards-39 TDs; 5.00 average yards per carry; 14.6 carries per game-72.9 yards per game; 20 100-yard games in 68 career contests
Davis: 1,859 carries-8,747 yards-72 TDs; 4.71 yards per carry; 21.6 carries per game-100.5 yards per game; 41 100-yard games in 86 career contests

Receiving
Sayers: 112 receptions-1,307 yards-nine TDs; 11.7 yards per catch
Davis: 188 receptions-1,411 yards-five TDs; 7.5 yards per catch

Yards from scrimmage
Sayers: 6,263 and 48 TDs on 1,103 offensive touches for a 5.68 yards-per-touch average
Davis: 10,158 and 77 TDs on 2,047 offensive touches for a 4.96 yards-per-touch average

Total touchdowns
Sayers: 56 (39 rushing, 9 receiving, 8 special teams) among 1,221 total touches for an average of .046 TDs per touch
Davis: 77 (72 rushing, 5 receiving) among 2,047 total touches for an average of .038 TDs per touch

Kick returns
Sayers: 91 kickoff returns-2,781 yards-six TDs for a 30.6 average per return; 27 punt returns-391 yards-two TDs for a 14.5 average per return
Davis: None

Postseason
Sayers: None
Davis: 204 rushing attempts-1,140 yards-12 TDs for an average of 5.59 yards per carry and seven 100-yard games; 19 receptions-131 yards-zero TDs for an average of 6.9 yards per catch

Fumbles
Sayers: 34 in 1,221 total touches for an average of .027 fumbles per touch
Davis: 24 in 2,047 total touches for an average of .012 fumbles per touch

Rushing titles
Sayers: Two (1,231 yards in 14 games to lead the 15-team NFL in 1966 & 1,032 yards in 14 games to pace the 16-team NFL in 1969)
Davis: One (2,008 yards in 16 games to lead the 30-team NFL in 1998)

Era rushing ranks
Sayers: 1965-71 (Fourth with 991 rushes, fourth with 4,956 yards, fifth with 39 TDs)
Davis: 1995-01 (Fifth with 1,859 rushes, fourth with 8,747 yards, tied for second with 72 TDs)

All-time ranks
(All regular season unless noted otherwise)
Sayers: Rushing (132), yards from scrimmage (outside top 250), all-purpose yards (169), total TDs (182t), kickoff-return average (1)
Davis: Rushing (53), yards from scrimmage (140), all-purpose yards (207), total TDs (117t), postseason rushing yards (6), postseason rushing TDs (4), postseason rushing average per carry (2)

Awards, honors
Sayers: Four Pro Bowls, five first-team all-pro selections, first-team All-1960s selection
Davis: Three Pro Bowls, three first-team all-pro selections, one league MVP, one Super Bowl MVP, second-team All-1990s selection

Team success
Sayers: Bears were 29-36-3 in his 68 regular-season games with two winning seasons; no postseason games
Davis: Broncos were 51-27 in Davis' 78 regular-season games with four winning seasons; Broncos were 7-1 in Davis eight playoff games with two Super Bowl titles


Digesting the above, two things immediately jump out: Sayers was the more dynamic and versatile player -- as evidenced by his superior yards/TDs-per touch averages and kick-return numbers -- while the workhorse Davis shone the brightest in the clutch as he helped lift his team to greater heights.
They were different backs in that sense with Sayers the more flashy, highlight friendly and gifted athletically and Davis the more dependable, dominant and debilitating to defend.
The most obvious résumé difference is Davis' postseason accomplishments. Now sure, Sayers didn't have Davis' supporting cast -- the Bears' primary quarterbacks were Rudy Bukich and Jack Concannon for crissakes as compared to John Elway -- but even a casual glance at T.D.'s postseason numbers shouts that he just didn't play on playoff and championship teams but he was the best player -- the guiding force -- on those teams.
In short, how is it possible that one of these running back's résumés is second-ballot Hall of Fame material and the other's -- in the opinion of some -- isn't worthy at all?
If we were comparing quarterbacks here, where postseason accomplishments reign supreme, this wouldn't be an issue as Davis would have long owned a gold jacket.
To be clear, though, none of this isn't to disparage or diminish Sayers' skills or accomplishments in any way. Rather it is point out that if the former Bears' great is in the Hall of Fame, the ex-Broncos' standout definitely is deserving of a bust in Canton as well.
The precedent, in fact, was set 38 years ago.

Was John Fox's Mile High résumé as impressive as it appears?

So John Fox is out after four seasons, four AFC West titles and four playoff appearances as the Broncos' coach, taking his franchise-best .690 winning percentage (49-22) with him to parts unknown.
But is Fox's record really as shiny as it appears?
I've broken the 49 wins and 22 losses down into the following splits so judge for yourself:

Regular season: 46-18 (.719), Postseason: 3-4 (.429)
Home: 28-9 (.757), Road: 21-12 (.636), Neutral: 0-1 (.000)
AFC West: 21-4 (.840), Non-AFC West: 28-18 (.609)
AFC: 38-16 (.704), NFC: 11-6 (.647)
Playoff qualifiers: 12-16 (.429), Non-playoff qualifiers: 37-6 (.860)
Winning teams: 17-17 (.500), .500 teams: 9-2 (.818), Losing teams: 23-3 (.885)
Favorite (SU): 41-12 (.774); Underdog (SU): 6-10 (.375); Pick (SU): 1-1 (.500)
Favorite (ATS): 30-23 (.566); Underdog (ATS): 7-9 (.438); Pick (ATS): 1-1 (.500)
Peyton Manning starts: 40-13 (.755); Tim Tebow starts: 8-5 (.615); Kyle Orton starts: 1-4 (.200)

Some notables from the above:

• 75.5 percent of Fox's victories came against teams which didn't make the playoffs
• Fox's teams were 32-5 (.865) against teams which finished .500 or worse, including 25-1 (.962) during Manning's three seasons
• Fox's teams were 0-4 as underdogs in the Manning era
• Three of Fox's four postseason losses came in games in which the Broncos were favored

Dominant home teams threaten end of 9-year NFL playoff streak

Not only are the home teams in the NFL's divisional round all expected to win this weekend, but for only the third time in the last two decades, all four opened as favorites of six or more points.
Three are still favored by a touchdown or more, including your Denver Broncos -- a seven-point pick Sunday afternoon against the visiting Colts. Meanwhile, the Patriots are also favored by a TD over the Ravens, the defending-champion Seahawks are 11.5-point favorites against the Panthers and the Packers are now down to a 5.5-point pick against the Cowboys at Lambeau.
But the question is -- as it always is leading into the best weekend on the NFL calendar -- which one of the top four seeds is going down?
Since the league adopted its current 12-team playoff format in 1990 -- where the No. 1 and 2 seeds receive bye weeks followed by home games in the divisional round -- the home teams are a combined 70-26 (.729) in the conference semifinals. However, 15 of those 26 losses have come in the last nine seasons as the No. 1 and 2 seeds are a combined 21-15 (.583) since 2005.
In fact, at least one home team has lost in the divisional round in each of the last nine seasons, with the 2013 Panthers serving as most recent example in their 23-10 home loss to the 49ers a year ago.
The other No. 1- or No. 2-seeded victims during the span were -- sorry to dredge up the unpleasantness, Broncos Country -- the 2012 Orange and Blue, 2011 Packers, 2010 Patriots and Falcons, 2009 Chargers, 2008 Titans, Giants and Panthers, 2007 Colts and Cowboys, 2006 Chargers and Ravens and the '05 Colts and Bears.
One Peyton Manning, as you may have noticed, quarterbacked three of those 15 teams.
But is this the season the run ends?
Both No. 2 seeds, the Broncos and Pack, went 8-0 at home during the regular season, and the Patriots and Seahawks were both 7-1, adding up to an impressive 30-2 total. And that, mind you, includes New England's Week 17 loss to Bills in which the Pats had already wrapped up the AFC's top seed and rested a number of regulars.
After all, when you're talking NFL home-field advantage, Foxborough, Seattle, Green Bay and the Mile High City should start almost every conversation.
But will one if the visitors be able spring an upset?
This year, that question is more intriguing than ever on the best weekend on the NFL calendar.

NFL's best weekend at hand

For my money, the best weekend of the NFL calendar is at hand.
It's divisional-playoff weekend, and the chase for the Lombardi Trophy is down to eight teams -- the four top seeds and the quartet of wild-card weekend winners -- who will do battle in two intriguing back-to-back doubleheaders.
Your Denver Broncos, of course, are once again in the divisional-round mix, as they prepare to host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
Take a minute Broncos Country to re-read that last sentence and rejoice in that simple fact.
The Broncos will be playing in their fifth divisional-round game in the last nine years. And over that last decade, only the New England Patriots (8), Baltimore Ravens (7), Colts (6),  and San Diego Chargers (5) have made as many conference semifinal appearances in the AFC, and just the Seattle Seahawks (7) and Green Bay Packers (5) have as many in the NFC.
The Orange and Blue are 2-2 in those games, beating the Patriots (2005) and Chargers (2013) and losing to the Pats (2011) and Ravens (2012).
Meanwhile, almost half (14) of the other 31 NFL teams haven't experienced a divisional-round win during that span -- from the 2005 postseason on -- and nine of those 14 haven't even made a single Elite Eight appearance.