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Long-time NFL columnist and reporter, Gary Myers, is banging the drum for several former New York Giants greats to finally get their due.
Myers believes that both Carl Banks and Tiki Barber belong in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and that Leonard Marshall deserves a spot in the Giants’ Ring of Honor.
Few Giants thoughts for this weekend:
1. @CarlBanksGIII and @TikiBarber should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
2. @LeonardMarsh70 is a glaring omission from the NYG Ring of Honor. Marshall was every bit as good and perhaps even better than Tuck and Osi, who are in ROH.— Gary Myers (@GaryMyersNY) February 26, 2022
We’ve personally been down this road with Barber but not so much with Banks. Barber was one of the best running backs of his era but he has his drawbacks. His career was basically on hold his first three seasons and then kicked into gear. He had three seasons where he amassed over 2,000 total yards from scrimmage and almost had a fourth (1,984 yards in 2002). His last three seasons were actually his best.
Barber retired after the 2006 season and that is where the rub begins. He left his career numbers on the borderline. Enough in my opinion to get him into Canton, but one more season would have put him over for sure. And that season would have been 2007 — the year the Giants won Super Bowl XLII. A Super Bowl ring would have also gone a long way with voters.
Banks also did not become a starter right away. He became a starter in Year 3 and was a formidable player once he did. The issue with Banks is he has just one All-Pro/Pro Bowl season (1987) to his credit and may not have been as good a player as the man he replaced — Brad Van Pelt, who went to five Pro Bowls playing on last place teams.
As for Marshall, we agree he belongs in the Ring of Honor. In fact, he’s on our list of the best players not to inducted in the Ring.
Here’s what I wrote on Giants Wire back in 2018:
Marshall will always be known as the guy who ended the 49ers’ “Three-Peat” when he blasted Joe Montana right out of Candlestick Park (and eventually out of San Francisco) in the 1990 NFL Championship Game. He is a two-time Super Bowl champion, two-time Pro Bowler and a two-time second-team All-Pro. Marshall’s 79.5 sacks rank him third in franchise history in that stat behind Michael Strahan and Lawrence Taylor.
No question, Marshall should be in the Ring of Honor. He has also lived in the area and represented himself and the Giants in the community over the years. I expect him to be added in the next round of inductees, whenever that is.
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