but this whole thing has been misrepresented here. I was given the impression, when this issue first surfaced, that Shannon had been officially placed in the WR category, and that voters had to consider, does Shannon Sharpe deserve to be in the HOF as one of the best WRs who ever lived? But he is not being arbitrarily placed in a category, and voters are not being forced to consider him only in the context of that category. Clayton is indicating his thinking. Initially, he seems to be saying, if the alltime number two wide receiver didn’t get in on the first try, why should we expect the alltime number two tight end to get in on the first try? We could argue about whether Sharpe is really number two rather than number one at tight end, but otherwise that’s not an unreasonable point. But then Clayton continues that since Sharpe was primarily a pass catcher, then he shouldn’t get in ahead of receivers who caught more passes than he did. Now Sharpe did shift the balance between pass catching and blocking towards the former for that position, but pass catching even for the modern tight end paradigm he created is still not as primary as it is for a wide receiver. That’s where Clayton’s argument runs off the tracks. He’s wrong, in my opinion, but not as obviously or as egregiously wrong as he’s been painted. Furthermore,
the whole thing about Sharpe being in some sense officially moved into a different category is simply somebody’s not very careful reading of the original interview, thus leading to the reporting of an occurrance that never happened. Thanks to JohnnyB for providing a link to the original comments, thus enabling this misimpression to be cleared up.

The translation error was mine. But the MSM is still arrogant and biased, and the HOF selection process is still flawed.

If both WRs and TEs are expected to catch passes and block, then that description, as far as it goes, makes them functionally equivalent. In that case the guy who catches the most passes, if that’s what both of them primarily do, is the better player. Where Clayton’s argument goes wrong, and where yours fails to engage and correct it, is here. If Shannon’s blocking was no better or no different than that of the WR, then he should be expected to catch more passes than the latter in order to be considered better. But Shannon’s blocking doesn’t suffer in comparison to wide receivers. It suffers in comparison to blocking tight ends, which is to say more traditional tight ends, and at that only to a degree. If he couldn’t block at all he wouldn’t have been a tight end. The point of his revolutionizing the position is that he shifted the balance of receiving versus blocking.

But a second difference is the kind of blocking a tight end does. How many wide receivers pass block?
How many wide receivers block defensive ends or linebackers on running plays? Unless I’m mistaken they generally block defensive backs and safeties, and usually or often downfield rather than at the line of scrimmage. Hence, to say that a tight end is a poor or only fair blocker doesn’t mean that a wide receiver who’s considered a relatively good blocker would be able to carry out the former’s blocking assignments better than he can. These are the sorts of considerations that establish that tight end is a different kind of position than wide receiver, and that each’s relative stature should be based on how good he is compared to others at his own position.

Shannon just took that to the next level. I think that if it weren’t for Shannon and Tony Gonzalez, the receiving TE would have been a fad and gone out of vogue after a few years. However, now guys like Tony Scheffler, Chase Coffman, and even myself owe some debt of gratitude to Kellen, Shannon, and Tony G for legitimizing our position. I liken it to the quarterback; Otto Graham was the first “modern” QB, but after him John Unitas made it a legitimate weapon in an NFL offense.

Although you have to include Ozzie Newsome as well.

Shannon Sharpe revolutionized the position by being BOTH a great blocker and pass catcher.

Sure, it’s self-promotion, but Sharpe’s logic cannot be denied. He has three Super Bowl rings. Gonzalez has three playoff games, all losses. Sharpe has been part of 12 postseason victories.

Also, how many Super Bowls did Carter help his teams to? Not only did he help the Broncos win two, he also helped the Ravens win one as well, even though the Ravens were a defensive team.