They say numbers don't tell the whole story. Maybe they do in the Pro Football Hall of Fame cases for Ken Riley and Ken Anderson as the legendary Bengals seek a bust via the senior process for players retired more than 25 years. And with Cowboys wide receiver Drew Pearson this year's senior inductee, Isaac Curtis has a compelling case, too.
Imagine the slew of interceptions Riley would have hauled in today.
- 65 - Riley's career interceptions, most by a cornerback since the 1970 merger, most ever by a cornerback for one team and tied for fifth all-time
- 71 - 2009 Hall inductee Rod Woodson's career interceptions, third all-time
- 47 - Woodson's career interceptions while listed as a cornerback
- 68 - Career interceptions for cornerback Dick "Night Train Lane," 1974 Hall inductee and fourth on all-time list
- 30 - Interceptions Lane had for the Chicago Cardinals
- 21 - Interceptions Lane had for the Detroit Lions
- 254 - Games 2021 Hall inductee Charles Woodson played to tie Riley with 65
- 207 - Riley's career games, the Bengals all-time record
- 54 - Career interceptions Charles Woodson had listed as a cornerback
- 15 - Quarterbacks who had at least 532 pass attempts in Charles Woodson's final season of 2015
- 2 - Quarterbacks who had at least 532 pass attempts in Riley's final season of 1983
- 62 - Career interceptions, tied for eighth all-time, for Lions cornerback Dick LeBeau, Riley's secondary coach for his last four seasons and 2010 Hall inductee
- 21 - Interceptions Riley had with LeBeau
- 27 - Interceptions Riley had after he turned 30
- 30 - Interceptions LeBeau had after he turned 30
In the 1970s, Anderson emerged as first of the efficient modern passers with record-breaking completion percentages. But he was no dinker and dunker.
- 4 - NFL passing titles for Anderson
- 3 - Quarterbacks with at least four NFL passing titles since the 1970 merger (Anderson, 1985 Hall inductee Roger Staubach, 2005 Hall inductee Steve Young)
- 3 - NFL passing titles for 2021 Hall inductee Peyton Manning
- 3 - Combined ballots Staubach, Young and Manning needed for induction
- 10 - Quarterbacks who have been elected to Hall of Fame since Anderson was eligible in 1992
- 81.9 - Anderson's career passer rating, sixth best among quarterbacks whose career began before his rookie season of 1971. The five in front of him are all Hall-of-Famers. (Joe Montana, Otto Graham, Staubach, Sonny Jurgensen, Len Dawson)
- 92.3 - Career passer rating of 2000 Hall inductee Joe Montana, whose career began in 1979 and is the only rating ahead of Anderson among quarterbacks whose career began in the 1970s
- 0 - Quarterbacks since the 1970 merger who hit more than 70 percent of their passes before Anderson set the NFL record with 70.6 in 1982
- 2 - Quarterbacks since the merger who hit 70 percent of their passes before Drew Brees tied Anderson's record in 2009 (Montana and Young)
- 12 - 70-percent passing seasons since 2009
- 3 - 70-percent passing seasons in 2020 (Brees, Deshaun Watson, Aaron Rodgers)
- 2 - Seasons since the merger 2016 senior inductee Ken Stabler hit better than 64 percent of his passes before 1982, the only one to do it twice.
- 64.9 - Anderson's completion percentage in 1974, third best since the merger in a season before 1982 behind only Len Dawson in 1975 and Stabler in 1976
- 7.3 - Anderson's career yards per attempt, the same or better than half of the Hall QBs elected since 1992
- 7.2 - Yards per attempt for 1989 Hall inductee Terry Bradshaw, whose career began in 1970 and ended in 1983
- 1 - NFL passing titles for Stabler, who played from 1970-84
- 7.4 - Career yards per attempt for Stabler
- 7.3 - Career yards per attempt for 2005 Hall inductee Dan Marino
Cowboys wide receiver Drew Pearson, this year's senior Hall of Fame inductee, deserves a spot in Canton. Then Bengals wide receiver Isaac Curtis' case should also be considered worthy. Pearson had a great run in the postseason, but Curtis can't be penalized for getting fewer chances on the big stage. Not in the greatest of team sports.
- 167 - Games Curtis played in his career that went from 1973-84
- 156 - Games Pearson played in his career that went from 1973-83
- 17.1 - Curtis' yards per catch
- 16.0 - Pearson's yards per catch
- 53 - Curtis' career touchdowns
- 48 - Pearson's career touchdowns
- 416 - Curtis' career catches
- 489 - Pearson's career catches
- 6 - Playoff games for Curtis
- 22 - Playoff games for Pearson
- 13 - Playoff catches for Curtis
- 68 - Playoff catches for Pearson
- 2 - Playoff TD catches for Curtis
- 8 - Playoff TD catches for Pearson
