Rules, not voters, keeping Belichick, others out

Word has come out over the last few days that former Patriots coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft will not make the Hall of Fame this year.

Kraft has been eligible as a contributor for a while. Belichick is in his first year of eligibility. Both were expected to sail through the process this year, riding together into the glory of Canton, Ohio as a result of their long, successful tenure together – even though they seem to not like each other very much right now.

A funny thing happened along the way – both of them got caught up
in the Hall of Fame’s baffling new voting process, which combines
contributors, coaches and senior committee candidates into one pile and forces voters to choose no more than three of the five between them rather than giving them an up or down vote.

Along with the news that the Patriots’ duo has been left out has come some ridiculous ran response. Some have even suggested that those voters found to have left, at least Belichick, off their ballots should have their voting rights terminated.

That’s a bit ridiculous.

First off, the voters aren’t the problem here. The problem is the system.

I believe Belichick should be in. To the degree that I care, I believe he should be a first-ballot nominee. But there are reasons – some due to Belichick himself and some due to circumstance — I see as legitimate why folks are going the other way.

A couple of voters have come out with reasoning in their ballots. One of those reasons is the new HOF voting system. Forcing them to choose just three of the five lumped together candidates muddies the issue. One can believe, as I do, that Belichick is the most qualified of those five. That’s fine. I think Belichick should be in. But he also will have other chances.

The glut of legit senior candidates beyond this year’s trio means for this group, this is likely their last and only shot at this point. If someone was to tell me, they wanted to vote for Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and/or L.C. Greenwood in order to see them have their day, requiring Belichick to wait another year, I can’t fault them for that.

Craig had only three 1,000-yard rushing seasons, four Pro Bowls and one Associated Press First Team award in his 11 seasons, but he was ahead of his time in that the first seven years of his career he gained more than 1,100 yards from scrimmage when adding in receiving. In 1985, he became the first player to record 1,000 yards both rushing and receiving. Solid resume.

Anderson was mired on some bad teams, a la Jim Plunkett, but he had an AP MVP, four Pro Bowls and a First Team AP award in 1981 when he led the typically moribund Bengals to the Super Bowl. They didn’t win and he’s on the borderline, but he’s a credible candidate.

Greenwood, who passed away in 2013, had six Pro Bowls and two AP first team awards and unofficially had 78 sacks as a member of the Steel Curtain defense that helped the Steelers to four Super Bowls. He may not have achieved the level of glory reached by Mean Joe Greene or Jack Lambert, but he’s a legit candidate, as well.

Coaches and contributors come up and come back all the time. The Hall of Fame’s new voting system does these seniors a disservice not allowing the voters a yes-or-no on their candidacy. These players are borderline for a reason, but they deserve their time and opportunity.

Regarding Belichick, there also was the issue of a couple albeit minor scandals he was involved in during his coaching career in New England. They won’t – and shouldn’t – keep him out of the Hall. But requiring a year wait as a penalty? Not the end of the world. Certainly not cause to revoke voting privileges.

Along with that, Belichick may be paying the price for the change allowing coaches on to the ballot after sitting out just one season. Many, including some of those sitting in the virtual offices at Zoneblitz.com, think he still wants to come back and coach in the NFL again.

So, again, voters are allowed to have opinions that differ from the general public, the fan. Fans love their teams, their coaches, their players, and they should.

Voting for the Hall is different. The idea that a difference of opinion – one shared, mind you, by at least 11 voters, if Belichick and Kraft are, in fact, being left out — should permanently cost them their vote is ludicrous.

To get into the Hall, they need 40 of 50 votes or, if none of them reach 40, to be the highest vote getter of the bunch. That means at least 11 voters said no to both Belichick and Kraft. You want to replace more than 20 percent of the voters?

I’ve also heard folks say it should be the current HOFers voting on today’s candidates. Again, I disagree. Media members may not be the perfect representatives, especially if there is any truth to rumors that folks like Bill Polian are using the vote as a way to penalize former rivals. Grudges, egos and bias are a legit drawback, but I suspect if the players who are in are voting, they’ll prioritize friends and former teammates – in some cases that might work out, but in others … I think you’d find over time an even bigger issue with guys who deserve to be in left out and those who didn’t deserve it getting in. Who is going to remain more upset about that perceived cheap shot in a game in 1983? The media member watching from the press box? Or the HOFer who took the shot on the field?

I’m not sure you can find a perfect voting system. But the changes levied to the system a couple years ago to tamp down on large classes and ensure only the best of the best get in has gone too far the other direction.

But yes, at the end of the day, this is a systemic issue. The new rules were well-intentioned, but they aren’t quite right yet. This system seems to be blocking even the most legit candidates from getting in and it’s going to continue becoming a bigger deal the longer they keep these rules as more legitimate candidates get backlogged.

Getting 80 percent of the vote might have been too possible when it was a straight up-or-down vote, but it appears it’s clearly too hard under this one. It’s likely going to result in a smaller class again this year and it’s going to gum up classes in the near future, as well.