Belichick and Kluwe Go to Bat for Ray Guy Punters seem to be unwelcome at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, so this week's flurry of articles on the subject is as close to a salute as they get. Les Carpenter of Yahoo Sports started it with a long profile of the former Raider Ray Guy after visiting him in Mississippi. Guy, 62, who sold his Super Bowl rings a few years ago after declaring bankruptcy, expressed frustration and sadness over not being selected. "If you find out the answer, let me know," Guy says almost forlornly. If you accidentally hear why they're never going to put me in, let me know before I leave this old world. I'd rather take that one with me. Then Patriots Coach Bill Belichick went on a long riff about how puzzling it was that kickers like Adam Vinatieri and punters like Guy and Dave Jennings don't get their due: Via ProFootballTalk.com: I don't know if it's a popularity contest or if it's a political thing. I don't know what it is. It's hard for me to believe that, as great as this game is, that there are no punters and one kicker in the Hall of Fame. I don't know what more Dave Jennings could have done at his position or Ray Guy or guys like that. What else would they have had to do? Get a bunch of interceptions? We don't judge quarterbacks on their rushing yardage. We don't judge them on how many tackles they made. Vikings punter Chris Kluwe went to Deadspin to fulminate over the issue. (Hey, look what Kluwe did for gay marriage in Minnesota. Maybe he can turn the tide on this one yet.) That's right, voting committee, you're lazy. You're indolent, slothful, petulant, ignorant, and flat-out stupid. You perpetuate the same small-minded "Oh, he's just a kicker" stereotype every single time you refuse to acknowledge that Ray Guy belongs in the Hall of Fame, because YOU'RE UNWILLING TO LEARN. Also, why don't you just change the HoF entrance by position group instead of just a static number? For example, you could do 0-2 specialists, 2-4 offensive players, 2-4 defensive players, and 0-1 administrator/coaches each year. That literally took me all of 10 seconds to think of. K.C. Joyner made the case for Guy in The Times in 2009: Guy is one of only five eligible players who are not in the Hall despite having at least six consensus All-Pro nominations and nine over all. The other 45 made it. He is also one of only two players on the N.F.L.'s 75th anniversary All-Time team not in the Hall. Extra point It's not exactly true that no pro punter is in a hall of fame. A quick Web search revels that at least one Canadian punter is in the C.F.L. Hall of Fame. That punter, Bob Cameron, was excellent at his job; his job was part of football; and he was honored for it.