Roger Craig belongs in the NFL Hall-of-Fame

Bleacherreport.com hit a nerve with me.

The internet site published a story in Wednesday’s edition on the San Francisco 49ers home page arguing that former Nebraska running back Roger Craig deserves to be in the NFL Hall-of-Fame.

This story hits a nerve with me because I grew up in Northern California (Napa, CA to be exact) as a 49er fan. The 49ers became the revered dynasty that most people know them as today when I became old enough to understand football. Keep in mind, I was born in 1972.

San Francisco drafted Craig in 1983 and another former Husker (Tom Rathman) in 1986. I had a great NFL team to root for in the 49ers, they haven’t been relevant since 2002 but I digress. I just needed a good college team to root for – but Cal and Stanford just didn’t do it for me. They still don’t. USC has a great tradition in football. So does UCLA in basketball – but rooting for a Southern California team was a hard sell for me. Well, it still is as much as I respect their tradition. So I became a Husker fan in 1986. I later became a Husker graduate in 1997.

I moved back to Northern California in 1998. Sorry, I can’t bring myself to saying “NoCal” or “SoCal.” That sounds way too damn dorky and juvenile. When I hear people those terms, it sounds like a pipsqueak that has not reached puberty yet.

Back to Craig for just a moment. Well, for the rest of this commentary. Bleacherreport.com chronicled how Craig was the first player in NFL history to run and receive for at least 1,000 yards in the same season. He ran for 1,050 yards on 214 carries and led the NFL with 92 catches for 1,016 yards. He scored a team high 15 touchdowns.

In 1988, Craig was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press. He ran for a career high 1,502 yards and caught an additional 76 passes for 534 yards.

Marshall Faulk achieved the 1,000-1,000 club status as a member of the St. Louis Rams in 1999 but is widely received a slamdunk choice for the Hall-of-Fame mostly because he totaled 12,279 rushing yards in his 13 year career. Keep in mind; rushing for 10,000 yards is normally viewed as a right of passage to the Hall-of-Fame. Craig, however, had to run on muddy fields at Candlestick Park in December while Faulk played his entire career in a dome-stadium on the Astoturf.

Craig rushed for 8,189 yards but had just two 1,000 yard rushing seasons. He also added 4,911 more yards as a receiver on 566 catches, scoring 73 touchdowns (56 running, 17 receiving) in the process while playing both fullback and running back. He also had to share carries with Wendell Tyler and Tom Rathman.

His final memory to some 49er fans is a costly fumble that enabled the New York Giants to beat San Francisco 15-13 in the 1991 NFC Championship game. Some 49er fans I have spoken to have said, “Well, if Craig didn’t fumble the 49ers would have Threepeated as Super Bowl Champs.” Sorry, wouldn’t have happened.

Keep in mind, quarterback Joe Montana got knocked out of that game thanks to Giants defensive Leonard Marshall’s crushing blow. Steve Young, who later went on to have a Hall-of-Fame career replaced Montana. Let’s face it, Young could not have been trusted in a big game then. Heck, he was a hit or miss proposition in a big game after he became an All-Pro and NFL MVP in 1992.

Again, Craig might not have the gaudy rushing stats of say Faulk or Tiki Barber. However, with Craig’s hybrid style of playing running back, you have to look beyond numbers and see how he revolutionized the game as we know it today. When you watch NFL running backs like say Bryan Westbrook, LaDanion Tomlinson or Reggie Bush operate as dual threats – just remember, they owe a debt of gratitude to Craig because he started the change of a trend where the running back primarily carried the ball. As opposed to carry, catch AND pick up blitzes.

And oh, by the way, Craig has three Super Bowl rings, two more than Faulk, Westbrook, Barber, Tomlinson and Bush combined.