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Does Eddie George Belong In the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

This is an awesome picture.  (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
This is an awesome picture. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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Eddie George has been making the media rounds the last couple of weeks because he has been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. He will be inducted at the National Football Foundation Annual Awards Dinner on December 6th. George was an outstanding player at Ohio State rushing for 3,768 yards and 44 touchdowns. There is no doubt he deserves to be in the College Football Hall of Fame.

David Boclair raised the question over the weekend about Eddie and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There is no doubt George was an outstanding NFL running back, but his resume leaves him just short of being worthy of induction into Canton.

George currently ranks 23rd with 10,441 yards on the all-time rushing list, and there are plenty of guys ahead of him that probably won't ever make it into the Hall of Fame- guys like Fred Taylor, Corey Dillon, Warrick Dunn and Ricky Waters.

Boclair doesn't really try to make the case that Eddie should be in the Hall of Fame, but he does point out some things that people who didn't watch George as closely as Titans' fans will probably forget. Eddie was one tough running back. In his eight years with the Titans he never had less than 312 carries and had a whopping 403 carries in 2000.  You could actually make the case that Jeff Fisher's overuse of Eddie could be what ultimately keeps him out of Canton, but the Titans would not have had the success they had from 1999-2003 without him.

There are plenty of things about Eddie George that I will never forget.  I was at the 1999 game where Eddie ran for 199 yards against the Raiders.  I will never forget the EDDIE! EDDIE! EDDIE! chant each time he touched the ball.

I will never forget his run against the Colts in the playoffs that same year that put the dagger in the heart of Peyton Manning.

And maybe my favorite moment where he stiff armed Ray Lewis in the 2003 playoff win against the Ravens in Baltimore.

Eddie George was a great running back and is one of my favorite all-time football players, but I don't think he belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.