Found it!!!! There are several players who have been snubbed by the NFL Hall of Fame voters but none more than these three. Tommy Nobis: After a stellar collegiate career he was the first overall pick in the 1966 draft by Atlanta and was named Defensive Rookie of The Year. With the likes of Butkus, Nitchske, Willie Lanier and Mike Curtis roaming the defensive field at middle linebacker, Nobis was a 5 time Pro Bowl selection, once a unanimous All-Pro choice and was named to the all time team of the 1960s. But I guess because of the Falcons pathetic record during his reign, 1966-1976, he has been left out of the Hall. A similar case can be made for former Detroit Lions middle LB Mike Lucci. He played 12 seasons and was arguably the best pass coverage middle LB in the league in the late 60s and early 1970s. Like Nobis, Lucci was overshadowed by Butkus, Nitchske, and the others mentioned. As a result Lucci was hard pressed to make any All-Pro team. Despite that he was All-NFL in 1969, NFC All-Conference in 1970-1971 and he was named to the Pro Bowl following the 1971 season when he intercepted five passes, two of which he returned for touchdowns. As I mentioned his pass coverage abilities were second to none at the middle LB position. In his career he intercepted 21 passes returning 4 for TDs. A longshot choice but he should be in. The last player I will mention is a Punter. Not very many pure kickers are in the Hall. I can think of only one player who did nothing but kick, Jan Stenerud. George Blanda was a QB first then a place kicker and Lou Groza was an All-Pro offensive tackle before his kicking days. Sammy Baugh still holds the NFL single season punting record of 51.4 in 1940 and retired as the leading punter of all time which stood for nearly 7 decades. Oaklands Shane Lechler is now the all time leader. Ironically the man I am making the case for is an Oakland Raider, the only team he ever played for. So dominant was he that the NCAA award going to the best punter annually is named after him. He was a 7 time Pro Bowl selection, 6 time unanimous First Team All-Pro, named to the All-Time Team of the 1970s and was named to the NFLs 75th Anniversary All Time Team. Read these highlights; Ray Guy was the first and only punter ever to be selected in the first round in the NFL Draft as of 2010. During his career, Guy: Played in 207 consecutive games, Punted 1,049 times for 44,493 yards, averaging 42.4 yards per punt, with a 33.8 net yards average, Had 210 punts inside the 20 yard line (not counting his first 3 seasons, when the NFL did not keep track of this stat), with just 128 touchbacks, Led the NFL in punting three times, Had a streak of 619 consecutive punts before having one blocked, Had five punts of over 60 yards during the 1981 season, Never had a punt returned for a touchdown. If you polled most fans they think Guy is already in the Hall. Put him in for crying out loud!
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 13:06:40 +0000
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