Guy's HOF Punt Blocked

Ray Guy

Ray Guy had his Hall of Fame punt blocked on Saturday. It was a slap in the face to arguably the greatest punter in NFL history. The veteran of 14 seasons, all with the Raiders, was eligible for the 6th time since retiring in 1986 and once again he’s left wondering if a punter will ever get into the hall.

If not Guy, what other punter is worthy of the distinguished honor? The answer is simple. There is no punter who is more deserving than Guy. His contributions to the Raiders during the glory days of the 70’s & 80’s are no less important than any other player who donned the silver & black.

When opposing teams stopped Raider drives, they knew that there was the added burden of having the Raiders punter boom the ball 70 yards if the field would allow or having a pooch punt pinned inside the 5 anytime Guy touched the ball.

“Hang time”, the term used to measure the period a punted ball stays in the air, was coined because of Guy’s prodigious blasts. Guy’s precision with the ball left many an opponent pinned to their own end zone after a coffin corner deposit.

In 1985, Guy’s 15th year in the league, he left opponents inside their own 20 yard-line 32 times. He had punts over 70 yards in three seasons and he averaged less than 40 yards per punt in a season only once. That came in 1982, the Raiders first year in Los Angeles, when Guy only played in 9 of 16 games.

In his illustrious career, Guy totaled fore than 44,000 yards in punt length. 44,000 yards! In 1,049 regular season games, Guy was only blocked 3 times. He’s been kept out of the Hall of Fame twice as many times as he was blocked in 16 years of punting.

The fact that Guy spent 16 years with the same franchise is a feat in itself, especially when you consider the fickleness (or greed) of today’s player. For a punter to last that long is a remarkable achievement. Punting for the same franchise for 16 years is Herculean.

2007 HOF inductee Charlie Sanders had 31 receiving touchdowns over a 10 year career with Detroit, a team that had winning seasons four times over that span. Guy’s Raiders finished 7-9 in 1981 and 8-8 in 1986. Sanders’ championship affiliations? None. Guy has three rings.

6 straight Pro Bowl appearances (7 total) and a collegiate award named in his honor are simply icing on a Hall of Fame career. Plain and simple.

The voters need to see past the position and do what’s right. Let’s hope they make amends for this in 2008.