Time to pump the brakes on that Andre Johnson-to-HOF talk
Bruce and Holt played in two Super Bowls, and Bruce won Super Bowl XXXIV with a 73-yard catch in the final two minutes. Furthermore, he scored on 8.9 percent of his receptions during his career, while Holt scored on 8.0. Andre Johnson? He scored on 6.6.
Yes, he ranks ninth in career receptions, just behind Reggie Wayne, while Bruce ranks 12th. But Johnson’s ninth-place standing is about to change because Jason Witten and Anquan Boldin are closing fast. You want to make them dead-bolt cinches for the Hall, too?
Now let’s move on to career yardage leaders, where Johnson is 10th, behind Wayne (8th) and Steve Smith (ninth). Wayne won one Super Bowl and appeared in two, while Smith was a Super Bowl runnerup in 2003 when he took command of the playoffs – with 404 yards receiving and three TDs in four games.
Now with the Ravens, Smith appeared in 11 playoff contests and produced nine touchdowns, and, yeah, that’s what I call meaningful. Johnson appeared in four playoff games. He had one touchdown catch.
Then there’s this: Andre Johnson wasn’t an all-decade choice. Torry Holt was. He was also a Super Bowl winner. But he can’t get past the top 25 candidates for the Hall.
Former Dallas star Drew Pearson was an all-decade choice, too, and he not only made the original “Hail Mary” catch to stun Minnesota in the 1975 playoffs; he helped push the Cowboys to three Super Bowls and one Lombardi Trophy. But, like Holt, hasn’t been a Hall-of-Fame finalist.
Why does that matter? Because, like it or not, all-decade choices and championships matter. The overwhelming majority of players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame have one or the other … or both. And Andre Johnson has neither.
