In this particular instance, the adage, "Takes one to know one" might be dubious.
Steelers Hall of Famer Lynn Swann said he doesn't think Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson should be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame if he retires, as expected, before next season, according to The Detroit News.
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Apparently, Swann places greater emphasis on bling than substance.
"I would think that it would be difficult for Calvin Johnson at this point to be considered a Hall of Famer," Swann said. "Calvin Johnson has an extreme amount of talent and ability, but when you start to look at his team, the success of his team and did he lift that team; he made them a little bit better, but at the end of the day, I'm not quite sure."
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Swann may have been looking at his four Super Bowl rings when he made those remarks. Both Swann and Johnson played nine years, but Johnson's teams only reached the playoffs twice during that span and never won a postseason game.
"Hard to say he's going to be in the Hall of Fame when his team hasn't gotten to a Super Bowl, and they don't get a chance to get into the playoffs," Swann said. "And that's for a lot of guys across the board. If he had broken every passing record, like Danny Fouts, who didn't win the Super Bowl, then yeah, I think there's going to be consideration."
After all, it took Swann 14 years to get elected despite his four rings. Of course, Swann was one of nine Steelers on those four Super Bowl-winning teams to be inducted to the Hall of Fame, not including Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll.
Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has had a nice career, but he is not headed for the Hall of Fame anytime soon. The Lions never have had another Hall of Fame-type receiver play alongside Johnson.
Swann's first four years were in the NFL era of 14-game seasons. Nevertheless, comparing stats between the two is mind-boggling and suggests that Johnson did put up crazy stats, like Fouts before him.
Swann had 336 career receptions, with his high of 61 coming in 1978 -- the league's first 16-game season. He also had a high of 880 receiving yards that year and 5,462 yards for his career. He did score 11 receiving touchdowns twice in a season (1975 and 1978) and had 52 career scores (including one rushing).
Megatron? He finished with 731 career receptions for 11,619 yards (both more than double those of Swann). Johnson had 83 career receiving touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. He had four seasons of at least 12 TD receptions with a high of 16 in 2011.
Johnson had only two seasons in which he failed to reach 1,000 receiving yards.
Swann has to ask himself whether Johnson would've performed any worse than he did if Megatron played on those Steelers championship teams. He should know the answer.
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