Sports Reference Blog
PFR: HoF Candidate – Tim Brown
Posted by Neil on December 13, 2011
Tim Brown
Timothy Donell Brown
Position: WR
Height: 6-0 Weight: 195 lbs.
Born: July 22, 1966 in Dallas, TX
College: Notre Dame (school history)
Drafted by the Los Angeles Raiders in the 1st round (6th overall) of the 1988 NFL Draft.
Weighted Career AV (100-95-...): 104 (102nd overall since 1950)
9-time Pro Bowler (fine print)
Hall of Fame finalist in 2010
Receiving | Rushing | |||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Age | Tm | Pos | No. | G | GS | Rec | Yds | TD | Lng | Att | Yds | TD | Lng | YScm | RRTD | Fmb | AV | ||||||
1988* | 22 | RAI | WR/PR/KR | 81 | 16 | 9 | 43 | 725 | 16.9 | 5 | 65 | 2.7 | 45.3 | 14 | 50 | 1 | 12 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 775 | 6 | 5 | 8 |
1989 | 23 | RAI | 81 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 | 8 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
1990 | 24 | RAI | PR | 81 | 16 | 0 | 18 | 265 | 14.7 | 3 | 51 | 1.1 | 16.6 | 265 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |||||||
1991* | 25 | RAI | PR | 81 | 16 | 1 | 36 | 554 | 15.4 | 5 | 78 | 2.3 | 34.6 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 9 | 3.2 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 570 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
1992 | 26 | RAI | WR/PR | 81 | 15 | 12 | 49 | 693 | 14.1 | 7 | 68 | 3.3 | 46.2 | 3 | -4 | 0 | 3 | -1.3 | -0.3 | 0.2 | 689 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
1993* | 27 | RAI | WR/PR | 81 | 16 | 16 | 80 | 1180 | 14.8 | 7 | 71 | 5.0 | 73.8 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 3.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1187 | 7 | 1 | 12 |
1994* | 28 | RAI | WR/PR | 81 | 16 | 16 | 89 | 1309 | 14.7 | 9 | 77 | 5.6 | 81.8 | 1309 | 9 | 3 | 11 | |||||||
1995* | 29 | OAK | WR/PR | 81 | 16 | 16 | 89 | 1342 | 15.1 | 10 | 80 | 5.6 | 83.9 | 1342 | 10 | 0 | 11 | |||||||
1996* | 30 | OAK | WR/PR | 81 | 16 | 16 | 90 | 1104 | 12.3 | 9 | 42 | 5.6 | 69.0 | 6 | 35 | 0 | 15 | 5.8 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 1139 | 9 | 3 | 11 |
1997* | 31 | OAK | WR | 81 | 16 | 16 | 104 | 1408 | 13.5 | 5 | 59 | 6.5 | 88.0 | 5 | 19 | 0 | 12 | 3.8 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 1427 | 5 | 1 | 12 |
1998 | 32 | OAK | WR | 81 | 16 | 16 | 81 | 1012 | 12.5 | 9 | 49 | 5.1 | 63.3 | 1 | -7 | 0 | -7 | -7.0 | -0.4 | 0.1 | 1005 | 9 | 3 | 6 |
1999* | 33 | OAK | WR | 81 | 16 | 16 | 90 | 1344 | 14.9 | 6 | 47 | 5.6 | 84.0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4.0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1348 | 6 | 0 | 14 |
2000 | 34 | OAK | WR | 81 | 16 | 16 | 76 | 1128 | 14.8 | 11 | 45 | 4.8 | 70.5 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 7 | 4.0 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1140 | 11 | 0 | 14 |
2001* | 35 | OAK | WR | 81 | 16 | 16 | 91 | 1165 | 12.8 | 9 | 46 | 5.7 | 72.8 | 4 | 39 | 0 | 19 | 9.8 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 1204 | 9 | 1 | 14 |
2002 | 36 | OAK | WR | 81 | 16 | 16 | 81 | 930 | 11.5 | 2 | 45 | 5.1 | 58.1 | 6 | 19 | 0 | 9 | 3.2 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 949 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
2003 | 37 | OAK | WR | 81 | 16 | 15 | 52 | 567 | 10.9 | 2 | 36 | 3.3 | 35.4 | 567 | 2 | 0 | 5 | |||||||
2004 | 38 | TAM | 81 | 15 | 4 | 24 | 200 | 8.3 | 1 | 21 | 1.6 | 13.3 | 200 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||
Career | 255 | 202 | 1094 | 14934 | 13.7 | 100 | 80 | 4.3 | 58.6 | 50 | 190 | 1 | 19 | 3.8 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 15124 | 101 | 33 | 145 | ||||
16 yrs | OAK-RAI | 240 | 198 | 1070 | 14734 | 13.8 | 99 | 80 | 4.5 | 61.4 | 50 | 190 | 1 | 19 | 3.8 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 14924 | 100 | 31 | 143 | |||
1 yr | TAM | 15 | 4 | 24 | 200 | 8.3 | 1 | 21 | 1.6 | 13.3 | 200 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Tim was a great player. I think if he played all 16 games in 1989, he could have had a even better numbers. He was a great returner also. He does not the touchdowns as Cris Carter and when Marvin Harrison gets the ballot next year, but that goes down to who had a quarterback as a Raider. Tim had mediocre Quarterbacks passing to him. I know Rich Gannon was great in Oakland, but he was an average Quarterback prior to that. Jeff George was most talented Quarterback that passed Tim Brown the ball.
He is not going to the Hall of Fame this year. The Question lays if he gets in before Marvin Harrison. Harrison has better numbers than Tim Brown, but there is the argument of how much Peyton Manning helped Harrison's career.
tim brown from the eye test says yes he is a HOFer. schroeder,marinovich,evans,wilson was his qb the first 4 or 5 years. his punt return ability and blocking made him elite. art monk of his day except played special teams.
Nine 1000 yard seasons in a row. IN!
@1 "there is the argument of how much Peyton Manning helped Harrison's career."
I don't know. Say, how are the Colts doing this year?
@4,
Marvin Harrison's stats really went up once he got Peyton Manning. Marvin was good for his 2 years before Peyton Manning, but he was not the same league as Cris Carter, Tim Brown and others were in 1996 and 1997. Marvin Harrison wasn't going to get 4 straight 100 catch seasons without Peyton Manning.
This year proves why Peyton should league MVP every year and is a first ballot hall of fame quarterback. once he retires. At the same time, Peyton's injury actually exposes Bill Polian and decrease's the odds of Bill Polian going to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Harrison was being called a bust going into his first year with Manning. Peyton did more than just throw him the ball, he gave Marvin a reason to put in the extra effort on the practise field and in the film room.
Tim Brown had those nine seasons where the opponents knew he was getting the ball. They had nobody else who could even be called a #2 receiver. Yet year in and year out, he made the catches, with that string of 2nd and 3rd rate QBs.
But the HoF committee doesn't care about how good a player was in reality. They need a ten word or less summary -- "Three rings, one MVP, and six Pro Bowls". Nothing else matters. And if they don't like you, or your owner, you're not getting in.
Sorry, Tim.
One other thing: one of the main arguments for putting in Art Monk several committee members made was, "In a couple of years, Tim Brown and Cris Carter will be eligible, and thy obviously will have to go in ahead of Monk."
Gibbs basically swung that vote when he convinced enough voters that Monk was basically a TE, given how he was used, and by that standard, the best ever. I'm not entirely sure he was wrong....
Nine straight 1,000 yard recieving seasons, and he had mediocre QB's throwing the ball to him during the prime of his career, he should be in.
Tim Brown is a no-brainer Hall of Famer. The only reason he is not in already is two-fold.
First, it does hurt that he doesn't have a Super Bowl ring. The fact that only 5 of the Raider teams he played for could be considered a contender wasn't his fault. It wasn't his fault that Tom Brady's fumble was called an incomplete pass or that Al Davis let Jon Gruden go to Tampa where he did a better job calling the Raiders offense in the Super Bowl than the Raiders did.
Second, he's in line behind Chris Carter, who is the only current eligible WR more worthy of induction. Its like Curtis Martin and Jerome Bettis, one has to go in first before the other.
Regardless, its semantics at this point. Tim Brown will be wearing the Gold Jacket within the next 3 years - it could be sooner but it won't take longer.
Agree with Bill. Brown is a no-brainer, it's just a matter of which year.
Easy. Tim belongs. Just a matter of having to wait out the WR log jam.
In short. Yes, Tim Brown belongs in the Hall of Fame!!
Can they kick out Lynn Swann, if they're afraid of having too many HoFers, or too many WRs. or whatever?
@13,
They can not kick out Lynn Swann, because once a player is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, that player can't be kicked out even if it was a bad choice like in the case of Lynn Swann.
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@13
I actually knew that, was just kidding.
Or I'd be "kicking out" several more.
If Andre Reed and Chris Carter is going to wait a few years to be inducted into the Hall of Fame then Tim Brown might wait to. Unlike Chris Carter Tim Brown is an impact player who was a big threat to score! And lets not forget that he was a kick returner as well! I think that he will eventually get in just not this year.
Are you guys crazy? Maybe not, but just too young to have seen Lynn Swann play. He's way better than Tim Brown could ever dream of being.
I believe Tim Brown will one day make the HOF. But he's sloppy seconds compared to Lynn Swann. You can't compare stats from the '60s, '70s and early '80s to players stats from the late '80s, '90s and '00s...especially receiving and passing stats. It's better to reserve opinions for players you have actually seen play the game. I have to assume you guys are younger than 50 and never saw Lynn Swann play and you're judging him by the number of catches he had. Remember that it was literally 5 times harder to complete a pass in his era and they ran the ball more. If you multiply his catches by a factor of 5, this would be how many catches he would have playing in the era of easy offense, which is when the players you are raving about played. Was Tim Brown a great receiver? Absolutely! Was he better than Lynn Swann. NO!!!
@17 "Remember that it was literally 5 times harder to complete a pass in his era and they ran the ball more. If you multiply his catches by a factor of 5, this would be how many catches he would have playing in the era of easy offense, which is when the players you are raving about played."
You're literally wrong.
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/rec_year_by_year.htm
I'd think someone who was 5 times better than Brown would have:
led his league in just one thing after his second year
been a Pro Bowler more than three times
one Similar Player in the Hall
@17
Art Monk, in 1984 (during Swann's career) actually had MORE receptions than ANY player in ANY of the later years from 1985-1991 AND 2004-2006 (among others). Sticking with the literally five times harder?
@19
Lynn Swann didn't play in 1984. His last season was in 1982
@20
True, although Winslow (during Swann's career) had a year that was pretty close to the late 80s (after Swann's career).
Not quite the literal "five times"
@17,
I am not crazy. While I did not see his prime, my reason for him deserving to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame isn't numbers based.
I am fully aware of the era before the Mel Blount Rule in 1979, but the truth is Lynn Swann actually is farther down the list of Wide Receivers from that era and is in the Hall of Fame. I also am fully aware of John Stallworth being his teammate.
Drew Pearson had a short career like Lynn did and actually should be put into the Pro Football Hall of Fame before Lynn was. I know Drew would have been into Canton if it wasn't for his car accident. I argue Cliff Branch also should have been in the Pro Football Hall of Fame before Swann also. Cliff Branch also played with Dave Casper, and Fred Biletnikoff.
I am aware that Dave Casper is a Tight End, but my point was Cliff's stats were hurt by having great teammates as passing target in a tough era for passing.
Brown's stats were hurt by, uh, NOT having Bradshaw as a QB
@24,
I am fully ware of Tim Brown not having a Hall of Fame Quarterback like mentioned on an earlier post.
I only brought up Casper and Fred Biletnikoff because of the era John D was referring to as a way to counter if John was going to mention John Stallworth.
17 - We're judging Swann by his career, what he achieved relative to other players at the same position. Swann had three very good but not great years. He was done by the age of 29.
When you have a receiver, playing with one of the great QBs of all time, behind one of the great lines of all time, with one of the great coaches of all time, and one of the greatest running backs of all time, shouldn't your claim to greatness be a little stronger than leading the league in TD's once and being top 10 in yards three times?
I understand why people do not want Lynn Swann in the HOF - but you can't change that now. I think Swann made it for his playoff permformances and his production when playing. I think his career was shortened due to concussions - but he was one tough SOB, and I think the players of his era would agree. I am not comparing him directly to Gale Sayers - but looking just at career #'s, Sayers' totals are not great. But he was great, and had his career cut short due to injuries. I think both got in the HOF in part due to some breaktaking plays and ability.