Hall of Fame profile: Rams-Steelers running back Jerome Bettis

The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015 gets inducted on Saturday. Shutdown Corner will profile the eight new Hall of Famers, looking at each of their careers and their impact on the game.

Jerome Bettis
Los Angeles Rams 1993-95
Pittsburgh Steelers 1996-2005
Running back

Greatest moment

Leaving with a Super Bowl championship in your hometown is a great way to end a career, and Bettis did just that in Super Bowl XL. But that game — with Bettis running 14 times for 43 yards — wasn’t exactly what you’d put first on a Hall of Fame highlight tape.

For a better moment, go back to earlier in 2005 and a highlight that became timeless. In the snow at Heinz Field against the Chicago Bears, Bettis came off the bench to rush for 101 yards on 17 carries, the only 100-yard game of his final season.

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The Steelers won 21-9, and Bettis’ second touchdown of the day was a classic. He met Bears All-Pro linebacker Brian Urlacher at the goal line and powered through him into the end zone. The image of Bettis running over the great Urlacher as the snow fell summed up his toughness and style as a runner. That was what “The Bus” was all about.

Impact on the game

If a big back comes out of college and has any chance at a decent pro career, inevitably he’ll be compared to Bettis.

(AP) Bettis was a 255-pound beast, who still had good enough feet that he was no plodder. Bettis got plenty of his 13,662 yards because he was so tough to bring down, especially if he got a head of steam going. That was true back in his Rams days, when he won rookie of the year, and surely true when he became the face of the Steelers for about a decade.

Case against his bust in Canton

Bettis didn’t even have a four-yard average per carry over his career, which makes him seem like more of a compiler than a great back. He played 13 seasons and averaged more than four yards in just four of those seasons. For my money, if I’m voting a running back into the Hall of Fame it would be former NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP Terrell Davis over Bettis. Bettis was fun to watch, had a great personality and was great for the game. And getting more than 13,000 yards with 91 touchdowns is no joke. But he was a borderline pick.

Case for his bust in Canton

Longevity is a skill as a running back, and carrying the ball 3,479 times as a big back in the NFL is tough to do. Bettis was reliable, playing double-digit games in each of his 13 seasons. He wasn’t a big-play back but he was the prototype grinder who would wear on a defense and keep picking up first downs whenever you needed them. And he got to finish his career as a champion, on the 2005 Steelers.

Notable quote

“The most satisfying moment of the whole Super Bowl week was getting the chance to allow my parents to be the center of attention, because my entire career they went to every single game … for them to have a moment where they’re being celebrated, it was great for me.” – Bettis on “In Depth with Graham Bensinger”

Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2015 profiles

July 31: Ron Wolf
Aug. 1: Mick Tingelhoff
Aug. 2: Will Shields
Aug. 3: Junior Seau
Aug. 4: Tim Brown
Aug. 5: Jerome Bettis
Aug. 6: Charles Haley
Aug. 7: Bill Polian