Why Doesn't The NFL HOF Have More Kickers?
 

Totally random, and way off topic, but was looking at Butker's stats, and he's been pretty elite for the most part during his career, and it got me looking at other kickers. Man, there are some really good kickers who are not in the HOF. Why?

Because old school dipshits won’t get past it. Kickers determine more games than nearly all players. The best deserve to get in over good players at other positions.

Because there is a bunch of sentiment that kickers aren't real football players.

Which is ironic because kickers and punters were highly prized in the game's earliest years.

Because Kickers suck..

It’s called football after all.

Let Nick Lowery in!

For me it takes one hell of a kicker to make it. It’s a critical position. But it’s really an individual position. You’re not finding ways to outsmart a guy lined up directly opposite you. Or figuring out how to beat a lightning fast guy one week, huge guy the next week.

Because they play soccer

Because they are untrustworthy.

Kareem Hunt ruined it for the rest of them.

Probably because voters emphasize other skill positions more and due to limited slots every year kickers typically get pushed to the side. Unless a kicker is generational his chances of getting in are slim at best.

I wish when football was invented, that the rules didn't involve the kicking game. In it's modern form, the kicking game is a source of injury, penalties, and randomness (muffed punts, missed chip field goals, returns for TD). It would be a better game with the best team winning more often without kicking and punting. If you like randomness in footballl, we could have more important plays decided by coin flips.

Kickers and punters are actually playing a different game than every other player. A successful kick requires everything to go perfectly: good snap, snap is placed perfectly, laces out, proper tilt, no gusts of wind, good footing and a thousand other things. It's closer to golf or bowling than it is to playing any other position on the football field.

Imagine if QBs required everything to go right. Called the wrong play for the defense? Fail. Pass rush? Fail. Bad snap? Fail. Receiver not open by five yards? Fail. Ball is wet? Fail. Wind is blowing? Fail. Footwork got messed up? Fail. Stuff going on in my head? Fail.

Receivers: pass isn't perfect? Fail. Defender gets his hands on me? Fail. Get hit when the ball arrives? Fail.

Defensive linemen: OL has good footwork? Fail. OL gets his hands on me? Fail. QB steps up in pocket? Fail.

Football is about every player locked in conflict with one or more other players and overcoming that conflict to make a great play. Kicking and punting are antithetical to that idea.

Kicking is an important part of the game, so they should get consideration. I think there's a big bias, though, because specialized kickers don't participate in what most of us believe to be the core elements of the game: blocking, tackling, running, hitting, and catching.

Hard to believe a kicker was MVP of the league in 1982. And this is a true story, Mosley had the record for most consecutive fields goals and when he finally missed, my brother caught the football in that game and brought it home.

That is a cool story and keepsake.