I really agree with you...this is an incredible snub. I was just having fun...
BREAKING Belichick Will Not Be Selected To Pro Football Hall of Fame on First Ballot
- Thread starter selmaborntidefan
- Start date
Eh, no big deal. Belichick waited 50 years for his girlfriend to be born. He can wait one year for the HOF.
The problem is that there have only been 5 first ballot coaches HOF coaches and Bill Walsh and Lombardi aren’t one of them. Halas, Lambeau, Noll, Shula, and Landry are the only first ballot guys. So I don’t think considering that information that the snub for Belichick is that crazy of a reality. I think its petty but it’s 20 years of sports writers who hold grudges making these decisions.
I think it will be far harder to snub Brady for the honors in 2028. Especially after Kraft and Belichick just got snubbed and it’s started a crazy backlash. But it’s far harder to snub a player than a coach. And out of that list above I think aside from Shula and Noll most of those coaches were voted in specifically for how they expanded the game forward and less because of on field success. Because how can you justify guys like Bill Walsh and Jimmy Johnson not getting first ballot honors.
I think it will be far harder to snub Brady for the honors in 2028. Especially after Kraft and Belichick just got snubbed and it’s started a crazy backlash. But it’s far harder to snub a player than a coach. And out of that list above I think aside from Shula and Noll most of those coaches were voted in specifically for how they expanded the game forward and less because of on field success. Because how can you justify guys like Bill Walsh and Jimmy Johnson not getting first ballot honors.
I think the idea that KRAFT got snubbed might be the most comical.
This is not 1963 any longer. Kraft was NOT Al Davis, who built an expansion Raiders franchise into the winningest team of the 1970s. He's not Halas, who invented the NFL (well, he was part of the group that did). He's not Lamar Hunt, who "invented" the Super Bowl. He's not Paul Brown, who took a team from outside of the NFL (Cleveland) as a powerhouse and inserted them into the league. He's a guy who bought a lousy football team, gave up a draft pick to get who looked to be an overrated head coach at the time and has benefited from decisions that have little to do with his intelligence. I'm not saying he doesn't belong there, I'm just curious as to the justification or why he's first ballot.
They've also explained the Belichick thing as a result of a bad process, and I can agree with what's been said there. By the same token, two of the guys elected on first ballot are Landry and Noll - and he has as many Super Bowl rings just as a HEAD COACH as they do COMBINED, too. (For the record, I think Walsh was the best of the bunch, he just got a late start in the NFL, mostly because Paul Brown was blocking his path).
My brother spoke to me about Roger Craig yesterday as rumor has mushroomed that he - FINALLY - has made it, and bro is looking at the numbers and trying to figure out, "How is this guy getting elected?" But as I told him, he's missing context.
When Craig retired after the 1993 season - after 3 horrid years and one below his normal - he ranked 12th on the all-time NFL rushing list. Of the 11 guys ahead of him just in rushing yards, TEN are in the Hall of Fame (Ottis Anderson is the only exception, and Anderson carried the ball 600 more times than Craig did but still had a lower ypg rush total than Roger did (4.0 vs 4.1). Then remember....Craig also CAUGHT THE BALL nearly 200 more times in 17 fewer career games and for an additional 1800 yards). The guy right behind Craig - as in ONE YARD behind him -is Gerald Riggs, who replaced William Andrews on the Atlanta Falcons (Andrews being one of the great "what if" stories in NFL history). But again, Riggs had 2500 fewer RECEIVING yards.
Craig does not have a bunch of appearances on NFL leaderboards because:
a) the 49ers BOTH ran AND pass during his career, and he did both well
b) he was a fullback his first 4 years in the league, blocking for Wendell Tyler and Joe Cribbs
c) in 1985, he had 1050 rushing yards, 13th in the league (7th in yards/attempt) - and the only guy with more COMBINED yards from scrimmage that year was leading rusher Marcus Allen (again - Craig was a blocking FULLBACK and had these numbers)
d) he wouldn't lead the league in rushing or receiving, but he'd rank highly in BOTH categories, which makes his numbers look less impressive
e) for 5 straight years, Craig was in the top 5 in yards from scrimmage, 3 times in the top 4
Craig was a member of the all 80s team, won the MVP in 1988, won 3 Super Bowl rings (which for some reason is an acceptable argument when we're discussing Eli Manning, who won one of his because of his DEFENSE), and was the first guy to score 3 TDs in a single Super Bowl game.
No, he was not Joe Montana.
No, he was not Jerry Rice.
On the other hand, it could also be argued they had it easier BECAUSE Craig was on their team and a threat as well. In Super Bowl XXIII - where Rice set a Super Bowl record with 11 receptions (since broken twice), CRAIG HIMSELF had 8. And while Rice was a superstar in that game, Craig attained 172 of their 454 total yards. He just didn't get all of the attention because he wasn't the QB and Rice had a game for the ages himself.
Indeed, that's part of what sort of shades up to how good Craig was. Everything he did great was overshadowed because of Montana and Rice - but it doesn't mean he didn't accomplish it.
I hope he - finally -makes it as it is deserved. If that means Belichick has to wait a year, so be it.
Will Steve Tasker ever get in? Teams used to plan around him. The Bills offense used to beg Levy to put Tasker in on offense, but Levy rarely allowed it because he didn't want to risk losing his best ST weapon on a gimmick offensive play.
Brees, Fitzgerald, Kuechly, Vinatieri, Craig make Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame will welcome five into its 2026 class, including Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald -- who were in their first year of eligibility -- as well as Adam Vinatieri, Luke Kuechly and Roger Craig.
Roger Craig did get in.
Brees, Fitzgerald, Kuechly, Vinatieri, Craig make Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame will welcome five into its 2026 class, including Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald -- who were in their first year of eligibility -- as well as Adam Vinatieri, Luke Kuechly and Roger Craig.www.espn.com
Roger Craig did get in.
I don't know much about Kuechly (I haven't watched much NFL in the last 15 years), but the others and Kenny Anderson are deserving.
A note on Anderson in the light of the Eli Manning bandwagon.
Anderson did not play for two Super Bowl champions, although he became the first QB to take a team from a losing record to a Super Bowl appearance IN ONE YEAR when he won the MVP in 1981. But compare the career stats of these two and then tell me how Eli is the HOFer other than "oh, two Super Bowl rings!"
Anderson's completion pct is only one point below Eli's - despite the fact they played 30 years apart when passing was less refined as the skill it is today.
Despite playing for generally less talented teams in a smaller market, Anderson's record was ten games above .500, Eli was exactly .500.
Anderson won a regular season MVP, Eli never did.
Yes, Eli threw for 25K more yards - but Anderson actually had a higher YARDS PER COMPLETION (12.4 vs 11.6) despite a lower %. Then remember this: almost half of Anderson's career games were BEFORE the 1978 revision of rules that opened up the passing game and began the climb in yards per season. Eli ran up his totals during a flag football era.
Anderson led the league in passing yardage TWICE and percentage THREE TIMES. Eli never led in either category. Keep in mind Anderson's competitors at the time included Fran Tarkenton, Terry Bradshaw, Ken Stabler, and Roger Staubach, all in the Hall of Fame. And then remember that Anderson didn't have Plaxico Burress or Mario Manningham as receivers, he had Chris Collinsworth (yes - THAT Collinsworth).
If you think the Hall should reflect the top 10% of players at a given time, you have 3 QBs in a 28-team league. If you think top 20%, you can have up to six. Anderson was among the top six QBs in passing yardage FIVE TIMES (Eli once). He was also in the top six for TDs five times, Eli four.
Of the ten most similar players to Anderson, FIVE are in the Hall of Fame and at least 1-2 more are candidates. Eli has four most similar in the Hall and I'm sure Big Ben will make it. And most of those names are somewhat similar.
But that's also an argument in favor of the guy who had more rule obstacles if the numbers are the same.
If you look across his career, Anderson was never "the best" QB in football, but he was right up there. HE WAS A BETTER QB THAN TERRY BRADSHAW was, but he didn't play for the Steel Curtain dynasty.
I lived in Northern Kentucky when Ken Anderson was playing for the Bengals...and followed him and the team quite close. He was an exceptional player in many ways -- execution and play calling among the best. He was not the most gifted QB but he was incredibly efficient. BTW, he now lives in Hilton Head, SC and plays golf several times a week -- at least he did 9 years ago when I lived there for a year. I even was invited by the pro to be a part of his morning game...
What's funny is that I never was a Bengals fan and back in those "you only get the games we want you to see" days, you rarely saw Anderson on a game of the week until later in 1981 as the Bengals kept winning. And I never really gave his HOF candidacy any thought at all. As I recalled, he played for some bad Bengals teams and back then we knew the name of the QB on every single team. What caught my attention was when considering if Matthew Stafford should be in the Hall and looking at Jim Plunkett's stats compared with Eli - and I kept coming across Anderson's name consistently near the top of the league as I looked through the year-by-year stats.
I am a "small Hall of Fame" guy, thinking it is only for the best of the best - not "some guy who did really well in the postseason in a couple of chances but was otherwise not all that good." Generally speaking - in my opinion - in any one season you should have AT MOST five QBs in a given season that wind up in the Hall of Fame. Maybe in a time frame where stellar guys like Brady and Peyton are playing, you can go as high as 6 or maybe 7 AS LONG AS those guys at the bottom would have been the best QBs otherwise in other time frames without question, which is tricky.
So I'm scouring the stats to see how Heisman winner Plunkett - who was cut twice from the NFL and only wound up with an extended career because Dan Pastorini suffered a broken leg in week five in 1980 - and Plunkett is all over the place, which is why the Pats and 49ers both sent him home. But I noticed after their careers "really" began (not rookie jitters), Anderson's name kept appearing near the top of the league for nearly a decade.
1973 - 4th in passing yardage in his 1st full season, 5th in TDs - on a team 12th in points scored.
1974 - led entire NFL in passing yards, completion pct on a team 10th in points scored
1975 - passed for a league leading 3169 yards on an 11-3 team that was 9th in points scored
In the two years above, Anderson threw for almost 3,000 yards more than Bradshaw, though to be fair, Terry was injured for 7 games in 1974. But Terry won the Super Bowls, so Terry got famous.
1976 - Anderson drops to 9th in passing yards, in part because Ken Stabler has his best season ever (and wins the Super Bowl) and Bert Jones and Dan Fouts spring forward as new dazzling passers (Jones will suffer injuries that derail him). Again, Anderson throws for about double Bradshaw's yardage but Terry AGAIN is out for 1/2 the season. But figure it by yards per game and Kenny is still 50 ypg ahead.
1977 - Bradshaw has a MUCH better year than Anderson this time, Ken regresses and so do the Bengals
1978 - Bradshaw again has a MUCH better year than Anderson, wins the MVP, wins his 3rd Super Bowl
1979 - saddled with a 4-11 team, Bradshaw again blows Anderson away this particular year.
1980 - fourth year in a row Bradshaw is indisputably better - but it's over and they're only a year apart in age.
1981 - Anderson is 5th in passing yards (1100 yards behind Fouts, who is blowing away the record book) and wins the MVP and takes his team to the Super Bowl. Bradshaw misses two games and has a good year, but his decline phase happens almost overnight.
1982 - Anderson finishes 3rd in the strike season (9 games) behind two HOFers, Fouts and Joe Montana.
He completes 70.6% of his passes, has the highest QBR in the league, and the Bengals return to the playoffs but are blown out by the Jets, 44-17.
1983 - Kenny misses 3 games due to injury but still leads the league in completion percentage. But at 34 years old, he's also clearly done.
Compare their career numbers:
Anderson played 24 more games than Bradshaw and in those games accumulated an additional 5,000 yards passing. It's simply not difficult to figure out which QB was better there. He had 15 fewer TDs but FIFTY fewer INTs. He was an All-Pro and MVP as many times as Terry, and he made more Pro Bowls. Also - Anderson didn't have a team full of Hall of Famers like Bradshaw did, playing with only Charlie Joiner (4 seasons), offensive lineman Anthony Munoz, and corner Ken Riley. Put Bradshaw on the Bengals and Anderson on the Steelers of the 70s and tell me what happens.
But it isn't just Bradshaw.
He's also better than Ken Stabler. Their career TD and percentage marks are almost identical, but Anderson threw for (again!) 5K more yards than Stabler and 62 fewer INTs playing for FAR WORSE teams.
I don't think he's BETTER than Roger Staubach, but he's absolutely comparable statistically. We think of Roger as a scrambler and Kenny as a pocket passer - but Anderson had 44 fewer yards on 47 fewer scrambles. Of course, Roger's stats are cut by his military service, so he's indisputably better overall. When Roger retired, he had the highest QBR rating of all-time (83.4) but Anderson's was 81.3, not too far behind.
Looked at when Anderson played:
- Staubach and Fouts were unquestionably better and Tarkenton was better than all of them
- Bradshaw was on a better team and won four rings
- Anderson was actually better than Stabler
- it's hard to say he's better than Griese, who retired before the new passing rules altered the game so much.
Anderson would make the 7th QB in the HOF during the 1978 season, so I can see the argument against expanding the Hall. But he sure seems like a viable candidate to me, a guy straddled across eras.
I actually attended a Bengals/Raiders Monday night game on December 6, 1976. The Bengals led most of the game, but in the 4th quarter Stabler heated up and threw for a couple of TD's and they won 35-20. KS' precision when he was motivated was unmatched.
I also was offered tickets to the Freezer Bowl game but declined....here's the description:
I also was offered tickets to the Freezer Bowl game but declined....here's the description:
- AFC Championship vs. San Diego Chargers (Jan 10, 1982):Known as "The Freezer Bowl," this game was played in -9°F air temperature with a -59°F wind chill. The Bengals won 27-7, with Ken Anderson passing for 161 yards and two touchdowns to secure their first Super Bowl appearance.
True story: that Jan through March, my Dad was at Wright-Patterson AFB (Dayton, OH) to help the Air Force choose a new fighter jet for the future (he fixed them is why he was there). He was driving back from Mississippi to Dayton that day and he was - literally - right outside Riverfront Stadium when that game kicked off. He had the heat roaring in his Ford XL Ranger F-150, blankets alongside the metal inside - and said he had never been so cold in his life despite all that.
He kept watching cars just die on the road, and he was hoping his engine would keep going.
It did.
Robert Kraft was also left off and my guess is Brady's next. They ought to strip all writers and non former players and coaches their votes and just let former players and coaches do the voting.Folks - the last proof the Pro Football HOF is a sick joke just occurred today.
Former Patriots HC Bill Belichick Reportedly Won't Be a First-Ballot Hall of Famer | FOX Sports
Bill Belichick will have to wait at least another year before getting inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.www.foxsports.com
Bill Belichick will have to wait at least another year before getting inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The former New England Patriots head coach won't be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2026, denying him entry on his first ballot, ESPN reported. Belichick, who was named a finalist for induction as part of the Class of 2026, needed at least 40 of the 50 votes to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. It's unclear how many votes he received.
Belichick, 73, is one of the most decorated coaches in NFL history. His six Super Bowl titles as a head coach are the most ever, while he has the second-most wins ever for an NFL head coach (333, regular season and postseason combined).
The golden boy will get a pass. I guarantee it. The writers will not admit they just don't like Belichick or Kraft
That's how Harold Baines wound up in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
I know folks complain about who gets left out by the writers but pretty much every INSANE "how in the Hell is HE in the HOF" selection ever made was made by committees consisting primarily of former players and coaches, who all manage to convince themselves that their buddy is an all-time great.
It's also how guys like Derek Jeter win Gold Gloves they don't deserve and Rafael Palmeiro wins one by playing only 28 games at the position.
And does anyone REALLY think that former players from the teams Brady or Belichick BEAT won't bear a grudge? Marshall Faulk is still whining 25 years later.
I don't even see Kraft as a big deal. He's an owner, that's all, and most teams nowadays fall under a corporate umbrella. It's not like when Al Davis or Paul Brown began teams from the ground up.
Belichick, well, a couple of folks have pointed out that unlike baseball (for example), FOOTBALL doesn't have one set of voters for the executives and sportswriters and another for the players. I see this more as a flawed process than a snub, even if that makes me naive.
Brady will be in first ballot. Guaranteed.
I dont disagree there would be some slip throughs but the writers and journalists have become like a bunch of middle school girls and maybe they need to pass off their vote to someone else. What have they done to actually say they "deserve" to vote someone in the HOF? Most of them can't even relate to the game they're covering. They just sit from the outside making stupid judgments about players playing a game they never were good enough to play beyond a little league level.
Last edited:
Trending content
-
-
-
Thread 'Good luck dealing with a pandemic, depending on this administration...'- TIDE-HSV
Replies: 8K -
-
-
-
-
Latest threads
-
Alabama Wins 8-4 on Saturday to Take Series from No. 18 Florida- Started by Diamond Tide
- Replies: 0
-
Link: Bama/CNO is the Poster Child for Changing Basketball- Started by BamaMoon
- Replies: 3
-
Game Thread: NCAA Tournament Rd 2 - Non-Alabama catch-all
- Started by DzynKingRTR
- Replies: 49
-
-
ESPN: Trump EO keeps 'national focus' on Army-Navy- Started by TideFans Reporter
- Replies: 0