I know the headline seems a bit sensationalist, but this is really concerning the Hall of Fame, and the fact that participation on Super Bowl-winning teams seems to increase the likelihood that a player will be considered worthy for induction into Canton.  There are those who will think I'm just biased as a Bengals fan, and I'll admit that if we were all Patriots fans we probably wouldn't be having this sort of conversation anyway.  The way it seems to me, though, is that the fact that football is the "ultimate team sport" has overshadowed the idea that the Hall of Fame is supposed to be about individual achievement, and not how that achievement relates to team success (otherwise Barry Sanders wouldn't be considered, either).  Since Dr. Z got hit by strokes, there remains no sports writer that will take up the mantle of the forgotten Bengals greats, so here's my stab at it.

Let's look at the facts.  First, there's the case for Ken Riley and Lemar Parrish, two great corners who played before my time, so all I can really judge from are their stats.  Here's a quick quiz, though:  Do you know the only player with more career interceptions than Dick LeBeau who isn't in the Hall of Fame?  It's Ken Riley, with his 65 career picks making him fifth all-time, but apparently not good enough to be considered one of the best corners.  Last week Geoff Hobson pointed out that Champ Bailey is one of only three corners to make eight Pro Bowls; Deion Sanders was one, Lemar Parrish the other.  Care to guess which of those three players won't be in the Hall of Fame?

The cases for Ken Anderson and Isaac Curtis are equally obvious.  If not for a heartbreaking loss in the Super Bowl, Kenny might already be in there; as it stands, everyone's forgotten about him.  Isaac Curtis put up better numbers than Lynn Swann, but which do you hear about, Curtis's speed or Swann's ballet moves?  And on that note, why shouldn't Sam Wyche be considered as a Hall of Fame coach, since the world wouldn't have the no-huddle offense without him.

Coming up, we'll watch as Jonathan Ogden and Walter Jones are lauded as the best tackles of their generation, while Willie Anderson will be left to wonder what would've happened if he'd been part of a team that didn't lose all the time.

Maybe I'm just finding new reasons to cause myself malaise, and I'm sure it's a losing battle, but I feel like keeping up the good fight for the guys who made this team fun to watch, at least at times.