Bengals legend's Hall of Fame hopes receive major boost
Long before the days of Joe Burrow, the Cincinnati Bengals were quarterbacked by one of the most accurate passers of a generation. The story of Ken Anderson starts with the precision of which he threw a football when completing 60% of passes was an anomaly. Anderson made it look easy, no matter the circumstances. Very few […]
Long before the days of Joe Burrow, the Cincinnati Bengals were quarterbacked by one of the most accurate passers of a generation.
The story of Ken Anderson starts with the precision of which he threw a football when completing 60% of passes was an anomaly. Anderson made it look easy, no matter the circumstances.
Very few in his profession know that better than Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts, who went up against Anderson seven times and only lost twice. Their most memorable matchup was aptly labeled the Freezer Bowl, an AFC title game that featured temperatures below -50 °F.
Anderson out-dueled Fouts in a winning effort that resulted in the Bengals' first Super Bowl trip. It was one of many reasons why Fouts believes Anderson belongs in the Hall as well.
"I firmly believe that Kenny Anderson is a Hall of Famer," Fouts said on Talking Football with Bengal Jim and Friends. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for Kenny. Having played against him numerous times, always knowing that he was going to give it his very best and I had to try to match that."
Fouts is one of the most prolific passers of his generation and has the edge over Anderson in most volume statistics, whereas Anderson is on top in terms of completion percentage, passer rating, and touchdown-to-interception ratio.
When they would meet on Sundays, Fouts ended up on the winning side most of the time, but not without a fight from the opposing quarterback wearing orange and black.
"Often times we got into some real shoot outs and it was always a pleasure after those shoot outs," Fouts said, reminiscing on the glory days. "Win or lose, either side, talking to Kenny after the game and shaking his hand because of the respect I have for the guy that should be a Pro Football Hall of Famer."
Anderson has been in the Hall of Fame conversation for a while, and has gotten recent traction as a senior candidate. He was one of 12 finalists for the distinction, and watched former teammate Ken Riley posthumously receive the honor.
With more support pouring in from the likes of Fouts, Anderson's time to join Riley and Anthony Munoz in Canton should be coming sooner than later.
Featured image via Sam Greene/The Enquirer
