Does this Guy belong in Canton?

[foreverfree]

Or any pure punters, for that matter, what with Jan Stenerud being the first pure PK to enter the PFHOF? I mean, all Guy did for a living was catch very long snaps, drop the ball, and boot it before it hit the ground. At least Danny White had additional talent (and might be a PFHOF candidate if he'd brought the Pokes back after "The Catch" in the 1981 NFC championship; the Landry Cowboys began to decline after that, but I digress). Guy might be viable if he showed grace under the pressure generated by bad or muffed snaps with a miniumum of Tony Romos pulled.

http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/story.jsp?story_id=2285

BTW "Whatta" Guy recently celebrated his birthday. I heard a DJ in Reading, PA opine that if Ray were a hockey player the pronunciation of his surname would be "gee" with a hard "g".

John

 

[White Shogun]

Yes, Ray Guy belongs in the HOF. Kickers and punters both don't get enough respect in my opinion. Everybody is willing to make them the the goat when things go bad, but how often do you hear anybody praise a guy for making a game winning field goal with 2 seconds left on the clock? They might get some recognition the last two minutes the game is televised but that's it.

A bad punt can literally cost your team the game. Guys who can punt well can bail out a poor offense over and over again.

Wide receivers drop passes in the end zone all the time. (See Bobby Engram two years ago with the Seahawks as a prime example of a receiver costing his team a playoff win with a dropped pass.)

Running backs get stuffed on the goal line all the time.

How many of those guys are put on waivers for failing to score?

Kickers are expected to make a kick automatically. They rarely get any margin for error, and heaven forbid you miss a crucial kick during the playoffs. See ya!

Why shouldn't guys like Morten Anderson make the HOF? Or Adam Vinatieri, when his career is over? If Vanderjagt ever makes a comeback I thought he would be a HOF kicker, too. The most accurate kicker in NFL history shouldn't be in the HOF?

Kickers and punters should be evaluated against their peers, i.e. other punters and kickers, and their career reviewed for points scored, clutch performances, etc, just like every other player, in order to see if they are worthy of making the HOF.

IMO even 'special teams demons' have a place in Canton, if they're good enough. If you are so good on special teams that they reserve a roster spot for you just so you can play on special teams, and special teams only, I'd say that makes you pretty, uh, 'special'.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Good points Shogun, and I agree. There is nothing wrong with kickers/punters/special teamers being in the HOF. The myth that they aren't athletes is largely due to them being white. The incredible longevity and dependability of guys like Morten Anderson or Gary Anderson should be rewarded.

 

[Lance Alworth]

Ray Guy should definately be in the HOF.

 

[white is right]

Good points Shogun, and I agree. There is nothing wrong with kickers/punters/special teamers being in the HOF. The myth that they aren't athletes is largely due to them being white. The incredible longevity and dependability of guys like Morten Anderson or Gary Anderson should be rewarded.

Kickers are more important then ever. Also three hall of famers might not of made it to the hall without kicking. Blanda was really a bit qb, his longevity as kicker got him in the hall. Paul Horning's scoring prowess was helped by his kicking and Lou Groza was known as the toe......

 

[white tornado]

The hall of fame while a great honor is still a popularity contest. There are five O-Line men on the field and one QB, you would think that there would be five times more linemen than QBs but linemen barley out number QBs. Tommy Nobis who many consider the best linebacker ever is not in the hall. Since Larry Csonka there has not been a fullback elected to the hall( John Riggens was a tailback).

 

[speedster]

The Cowboys were still good after"the catch"game.They made it to the NFC championship game the following year and were 12-4 the year after that and in 1985 won another NFC east division title to run their consecutive winning seasons to 20.In 1986 at the half-way point of the season the 6-2 Cowboys suffered a big loss when Danny White fractured his wrist,now that was the start of the meltdown.Old myths die hard.

 

[Solomon Kane]

Ray Guy was great, at least if memory serves me. He had a career punting average of around 45 yards per kick, plus he kicked the ball high, thereby giving time for the coverage to nail the carrier immediately, and perhaps cause a fumble. Also, he was a coffin corner specialist as well.

I think that a great punter can really help a team. Think how important it is to deny the enemy good field position. Field position is the difference between a touchdown and a field goal, an automatic field goal and 20-50 % field goal, a 20% field goal and a punt.

 

[foreverfree]

The Cowboys were still good after"the catch"game.They made it to the NFC championship game the following year

after a 6-3 regular season grossly truncated by a 57-day players strike

and were 12-4 the year after that

which was only good enough to host the NFC wild card game, which Dallas lost, then followed it up with a 9-7 1984 (the year of the brief Gary Hogeboom experiment, and going back to D. White in midseason didn't prevent Big D from missing the second wild card that year thanks a head to head sweep by NYG)

and in 1985 won another NFC east division title to run their consecutive winning seasons to 20.

then went to Anaheim and fell victim to the Rams' 248(?)-yard Eric Dickerson show. I think the 'Boys were shut out in that game.

In 1986 at the half-way point of the season the 6-2 Cowboys suffered a big loss when Danny White fractured his wrist,now that was the start of the meltdown.Old myths die hard.

ESPN's Skip Bayless subscribes to that myth. This is evident in his book "God's Coach,", which I wish I had hung onto rather than given to my local library's semiannual used book sale. Bayless grew up a Cowboy fan in Okie City, went to Vandy, had stints at the Miami Herald and the LA Times before becoming a columnist at the Dallas Morning News and then the Dallas Times Herald (and later the Chi. Tribune and the San Jose Mercury News). His time at the Dallas papers coincided with the Cowboys' "decline". And one time during a "SportsCentury" about Landry, Bayless said that when it came to handling players, Landry "checked his Christianity at the door."

John

 

[speedster]

That 6-3 record was still secound best in the NFC that year,counting the playoffs it was 8-4 included in that record was a win over Washington at RFK.Oh how terrible.The 12-4 record was also the secound best in 1983 in the NFC,oh how terrible.If White had started the whole year in 1984 things would have been different.The 1985 team won their division thanks to their sweep of the Giants.Skip Bayless had an axe to grind and interviewed a number of disgruntled Cowboys to prove his theory.