A (Possible) Farewell To Marshawn Lynch, And His Case For The Hall Of Fame

Marshawn Lynch has figuratively and literally hung up his cleats, and called it a career. Or has he?

Rumors are beginning to surface that Lynch may return to the field of battle, contrary to what Lynch’s agent has confirmed as an official and lasting farewell. But we’ll see.

Whether or not Lynch is calling an end to a memorable career in Seattle, he has made his presence felt and he deserves a hero’s farewell for the production and toughness he brought to the Emerald City. Despite what Russell Wilson and the defense have been able to accomplish, none of it would have been possible without Lynch and the key yards he churned out week to week.

Lynch’s first season with Seattle was mostly forgettable, as he produced just 737 yards and 6 touchdowns while appearing in 13 games. He had his moments but for the most part looked like a troubled young player with average running skills and above average interaction with the law.

Things turned for the better on January 8^th, 2011. Seattle, the first franchise to win their division with a losing record, hosted the defending champion New Orleans Saints in what really jumpstarted Lynch’s career. Prior to a run that would later be known simply as “Beast Quake”, Lynch had produced just 57 yards on 16 carries for an average of 3.5 yards per carry.

Not exactly a memorable performance, but what happened next quickly put Lynch on the radar of defensive coordinators everywhere. Beast Mode had arrived, and the NFL took notice.

On the play in question (see the video here), Lynch used a combination of power running and fancy footwork to dance through tacklers and burst through the first level of the defense, fighting off 5 tackles in a matter of seconds. Once in open space, Lynch eluded another 4 tackles using a stiff arm, a high step, another high step, and once he was near the end zone, took a leap that looked as ridiculous as 11 defenders being unable to prevent it from happening. Anyone who doesn’t like what that leap represented had better learn how to tackle, because the 11 professionals hired to do it couldn’t get the job done when it counted most.

The following season, Lynch continued his climb in the NFL rushing leaders, finishing with 1204 yards and 12 touchdowns as the Seahawks moved a step backward as a team. 2013 would be a different story, as the arrival of Russell Wilson brought some much needed balance to the offense, and the defense started to gel. Lynch finished with 1590 yards and 11 touchdowns, proving he just needed some help from his friends to launch to even higher levels.

2013 would be a banner year for Lynch and the franchise, as Lynch rushed for 1257 yards and 12 touchdowns as the Seahawks claimed homefield advantage throughout the playoffs and won the Super Bowl for the first time in team history. 2014 started out the same and Lynch even upped his totals, finishing with 1306 yards and 13 touchdowns, but the team lost to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, ending the talk of a potential dynasty in the Pacific NW.

2015 marked the first of Lynch’s time in Seattle that saw him held back by injuries, as he appeared in only 7 games and produced just 417 yards and three touchdowns. Lynch attempted a comeback in the playoffs, but managed only 20 yards on six carries as the entire team struggled in a divisional round loss to eventual NFC champion Carolina.

Lynch would have many memorable moments during his career in Seattle, and these five best capsulated the type of player he became. But what other players saw or felt when they played against Lynch mattered also, and this video of his best plays of 2014 with commentary from his peers speaks volumes about the type of player Lynch was not just to the fans, but to the NFL as a whole.

Lynch started 71 regular season games for Seattle, averaging 85 yards per contest. Lynch rushed for 6094 yards and 54 touchdowns with only 14 fumbles, or once every 120 carries.

It has been a pretty special career for Lynch, and one that deserves notice from all around the league. Less than a week after his retirement, Lynch’s eligibility for the Pro Football Hall Of Fame has been called in to discussion, and while some might argue that Lynch does or does not have a spot among the NFL’s enshrined former players, his numbers and contribution to the game would easily place him in a bronze bust if looked upon from an impartial eye.

While no one can deny that Lynch has had a complicated past with the media, those chosen for enshrinement in Canton should be graded based on merit, not how many friends they made. Another thing that no one can deny is that Lynch’s current rushing yardage total does not meet or exceed 10,000 yards, but that should not keep him out either.

There are 29 running backs in NFL history with 10,000 career rushing yards or more, and 15 of them are not in the Hall Of Fame, and only 3 of those 15 are still active players in the NFL.

If Lynch were to be inducted in to Canton, he would not be the 1^st running back with less than 10K rushing yards, in fact he wouldn’t even place in the single digits. There are currently 18 players short of 10K yards in the HOF, and some of them are well short.

These are the modern era (1967-present) running backs in the HOF, all of who began or finished their careers after the first Super Bowl. The real question to those voting, is if Lynch belongs on this list?

This is where Lynch’s career numbers would fall, if his career were graded against the modern greats at his position:

However, before you can vote Lynch in, you need to know who he is running against. As noted there are 15 players with at least 10K yards, and three of them are still active in the NFL today. If Lynch is going to get in, his numbers need to be better.

Of everyone on the “hopefuls” list, LaDanian Tomlinson and Adrian Peterson are the only virtual locks for the HOF based on career production, although Peterson’s off the field issues hold at least the potential to keep him out. A case can be made against admitting Williams, Taylor, Anderson, Dunn, and Jones, as they all averaged below 1000 yards per season and Williams was the only one among the group who averaged at least 6 TDs per season. The rest of the HOF hopefuls don’t appear to have a reason to be left out in the cold as they all averaged at least 1000 yards per season over their careers, with only Barber averaging fewer than 6 TDs per season, which means that there are at least 12 players in line with Lynch.

Lynch could stick around and get a higher career rushing total, but the point of the hall of fame is not to punish players who opt not to play beyond their prime years. It would be difficult to argue that Lynch could not gain another 1000 yards if he played another year or two, if that’s the only reason he’s playing, that goes against the point of the hall of fame, which is to enshrine the players that best capsulate the history and heart of the NFL.

During his six years in Seattle, Lynch absolutely did that.

7 modern-era running backs are in the HOF with fewer than 1000 yards per season, and two of the seven recorded less than 6 TDs per season. Floyd Little, Leroy Kelly, and Gale Sayers are the three obvious head scratchers, as none of them produced mammoth numbers even taking in to account the expectations and defenses of their eras. Sayers can be a convincing case as he was a very talented athlete whose career was cut short by injury before modern knee surgery and rehab practices were established. But couldn’t the same case be made for Bo Jackson?

While many think of Peterson as head and shoulders above the rest of the NFL, (Peterson does have one fewer season than Lynch on his resume but still has over two season’s worth of yards more and 26 more TDs)there is no denying that Lynch is the obvious number 2 running back of the last decade.

Leaving Little, Kelly, and Sayers off the list, you are left with the bulk of the best runners from the last five decades, and only 9 of them eclipsed 10K yards during their prime years. Seeing his numbers alongside his potential peers, one would be hard pressed to look at the best running backs and not include Lynch. If you look at the best individual seasons of the same runners, Lynch is still just as comparable:

Lynch does something nearly all of them do well in their finest seasons – produce high volume rushing yards with double digit TDs, average more than 100 yards per game, and gain 5 yards per attempt.

Lynch’s best case for the HOF could be Earl Campbell, who also only played 9 seasons, leaving the game due to injuries and fatigue rather than a lack of love for the game. Both fell short of 10K yards on their careers but easily could have accomplished the feat with just one or two average seasons tacked on to the end of their careers. They had nearly identical numbers, and were both arguably the most physical runners of their generation.

While Lynch won’t be labeled as a “once in a generation” type of player, Lynch was a very special player, a player key to the success to his team, and an irreplaceable all-pro runner during a league wide push on passing.

Lynch was an old school running back, who got the job done and went home. He loved the game but he didn’t like interviews. He loved contact and he loved competition, but he didn’t like to talk.

Lynch belongs in the Seattle Ring Of Honor, he belongs in the hearts of the 12^th man, and he belongs in the Pro Football Hall Of Fame.

Lynch’s numbers, play on the field, and impact on the game all prove him worthy of NFL immortality.