Old school debate......Ken Riley or Lemar Parrish

[fredtoast]

Which CB deserves to get in the NFL Hall of Fame first?

KEN RILEY.....15 yrs ('69-'83).  All with Bengals.  First Team All Pro '83.  .  .  Finished top 10 in interceptions 4 times.  Career high 9 in '76 (2nd in league).  Career total 65 ranks 5th all-time. String of 15 consecutive seasons with an interception is also 5th all-time.5 interception return tds (28th all time).  .  .  Finished top 10 (AFL) in kick off return average in '69.  .  .  .  ProFootballReference 2nd team '70's All Decade team.  .  .  Incredibly durable athlete.  Played in every game in 10 of his first 13 seasons missing a total of only 6 games in that span.  His career high in interceptions and his only All Pro selection came in '83 at age 36.

LEMAR PARRISH.....13 yrs ('70-'82)  First 8 with Bengals.  8 time Pro Bowl (6 with Bengals).  1 time All Pro ('79 Redskins).  .  .  .  Top 10 in interception 3 times.  Career high 9 in '79 (2nd in league).  Career total 47 (47th rank). 4 interception return tds.  .  .  .  Finished in top 10 punt return average twice including league leading 18.8 avg in '74 (still the highest single season average since the AFL/NFL merger).  .  .    Finished third in kick off return average in '70 (30.1).  .  .  .  Broke Ken Houston's record for career return tds with his 13th in 1977.  Held the record for 20 years until Deion Sanders broke it in '97.  Still ranks 5th all-time.  .  .  .  ProFootballReference picked him as their First Team CB on the 1970's All Decade Team.  .  .  .  Got into some drug trouble after he retired and it seemed like the NFL unofficially black balled him.  You never hear him mentioned among the All-time greats.

During the 8 years that Parrish and Riley started for the Bengals ('70-'77) they only had a losing record one time.  They made the playoffs three times (when only 8 teams went) and missed the playoffs in '76 despite going 10-4.  The overall defense waas top 10 in 5 of those 8 years and in the five years from '72-'76 the Bengals ranked top 4 in pass defense 4 times.

I honestly think that the main reason Riley did not get more attention was that Parrish was more flashy and made more big plays.  I remember watching them play as I was growing up, but I have no idea which one was better in coverage.  I mainly remember announcers always talking about how good they were as a tandem.

[BengalChris]

I really think they both deserve to be in the hall. If I had to pick the one I felt was the best, then I'd pick Riley, but I want to see both of them in the hall.

In looking over those stats one has to add that they did it in an era when much fewer passes were attempted and there were fewer games per year. All four players ahead of Riley are in the hall and many people behind him are as well.

Charles Woodson finally tied Riley for interceptions this, his final year in the league. He'll be a 1st ballet HoFer. Yet it took him more years, with more games per year to catch Riley.

Darrell Green is in with fewer and it took him longer to get those fewer.

Now interceptions isn't the only stat, but both these guys (Riley and Parrish) were good at what they did and they played well in the defense and how it was designed. They both made a difference.

[Yojimbo]

They were both incredible, I went with Riley because he has an awesome nickname.

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Wasn't Riley the only Bengals player or NFL player up to that point who had a perfect score on the SAT's or something like that?

[*Go Cards*]

Went with Riley per him playing entire career with Bengals and I lean toward homerism mostly.

Both were outstanding though.

[Goalpost]

(02-07-2016, 11:13 PM)Nebuchadnezzar Wrote: Wasn't Riley the only Bengals player or NFL player up to that point who had a perfect score on the SAT's or something like that?

Only perfect score i know of was Pat McInally's perfect score in the Wonderlic.

[*bfine32*]

(02-07-2016, 11:13 PM)Nebuchadnezzar Wrote: Wasn't Riley the only Bengals player or NFL player up to that point who had a perfect score on the SAT's or something like that?

IDK, I do know he was a Rhodes Scholar nominee. So he is pretty smart.

[BengalFanInNJ]

Riley.

It's an Irish thing.

[Junglejuice]

Leaping Lemar!!

[Atomic Orange]

The Ripper because he would go in as a Bengal for sure. Both should be in though.

After Anderson of coarse.