HOF Report; Week 1

Building Legacies

 Peyton Manning:  He tied Brett Favre with his 23rd game with 4 plus touchdown passes as well as tying the all-time single game touchdown record, the first one to do so in 44 years. Hard to do better than that. There’s nothing left for him to do to make himself a Hall of Famer, but in the annals of the all-time greats, this performances is just another benchmark by which his statistics are marked.


Tom Brady: Down 21-20 to the Bills, Tom Brady made the most of his limited offensive weapons and drove down the field for the 39^th game-winning drive in his career. That’s good for fifth all-time according to Pro-Football Reference.com. It’s just another building block in Brady’s legacy of clutch play. Like Manning, Brady’s spot in the Hall of Fame is more or less reserved. Now he’s adding fuel to the war machine of his legacy against Manning’s. This season could be his most challenging yet, considering the lack of offensive playmakers.

  
Building the Case 

Larry Fitzgerald: After a down year and several years burdened with sub-par quarterbacks, Larry looked like one of the best receivers in football again with Carson Palmer throwing him the balls. He added eight catches, eighty yards and two touchdowns to his resume which was already impressive. With a good season, specifically 13+ TDs, he could put himself to 90 TDs, within easy striking distance of the  100 mark. All before he turns 32. 

Adrian Peterson: Adrian Peterson’s first carry showed why he is one of the best running backs ever, but the rest of the game showed a lot of cause for concern about the Vikings workhorse.  After hitting a big home run with a 78 yard touchdown run to start the game, Peterson stuttered his way to a paltry 15 yards the rest of the game. He still finished with 3 touchdowns for the game, but eyes will be on him throughout the season to see if he’s lost a step or if this was just an anomaly.

 
Anquan Boldin: Boldin’s 203 yards receiving to begin the 2013 season was the second highest total of his career. The highest was his very first game in the NFL when he caught 10 passes for 213 yards and 2 touchdowns. It’s a great start to his tenure in San Francisco. While he may never be considered to be as good a receiver as his former teammate Larry Fitzgerald, his career numbers are comparable. A big season in San Fran could quickly elevate him in the minds of most fans.

 
Charles Tillman: Charles Tillman has been a solid corner for years. However of late, he’s been getting more and more recognition as an elite player. He recorded two interceptions in his first game this year, 2/3rds of his total from last year, and bringing his career total to 35. Between his cover skills and his unique ability to force fumbles, Tillman is one of the nest ball hawks in the NFL currently. Another big season, either with interceptions or forcing fumbles, could seal his case in the mind of some.

Jason Witten: After catches 110 passes last year, Witten showed a lot of promise for this season. While he didn’t get a ton of yards, only 70 on eight catches, he made two of those catches in huge spots, scoring the Cowboys two offensive touchdowns. Interesting stat of note, the past six years, Jason Witten has yet to have a season with fewer than 900 yards receiving. For his career he has seven total season with over 900 yards receiving, which is second all time for tight ends, behind Tony Gonzalez’s nine. While Gonzales is planning to retire either this year or next, Witten still looks like a young pup and is likely to be in Dallas as long as Tony Romo, who has fed him the ball each of the last six years, is up as the starting QB.