Death Does Not Equal Hall of Fame

For starters, isn't it funny how Michael Jackson is forgiven for his egregious actions with children following his death, while a perceived good guy like Steve McNair is looking like a bigger a-hole in death?

Maybe you should live life as a d-bag because death seems to be the ultimate cleanser.

And with that, some people like to believe that death increases your Hall of Fame credentials. Though, that has been proven on occasion. Just look at Bob Hayes and Art Monk. Former Redskins safety Sean Taylor also got a sweep of Hall of Fame sentiment after he was gunned down (and was omitted from that earlier rant). People have obviously regained their senses about that one. Seriously, he ran over a punter in the Pro Bowl. Whoopie!

Now people are trying to get McNair into the Hall of Fame. Please stop people. McNair was a pretty good quarterback and did some great things. But the criteria should be, can you tell the history of the NFL without this person? And really, you can. Coming from Alcorn State was a great story, but not greater than say, Doug Williams -- who also has the caveat of having a Super Bowl win. And really, if you are going to be a quarterback in the Hall of Fame without a Super Bowl title, you had better be damn special. But compared to his peers, McNair does not stand out.

You cannot blame people for their knee-jerk reaction to stories like this. McNair's death is hitting some hard. However, that doesn't mean that the Pro Football Hall of Fame should lower its standards.