Billy B...not 1st Ballot HoF. Will Ben also get screwed over?

Has nothing to do with deserving or earning, what is needed is an act of contrition. After Goodell destroyed the tapes and said everything was closed he said Bill and Bob would admit they made a mistake and apologize. Belichick said he never agreed to that and still maintains that he did nothing wrong.

Ben took his punishment, he apologized and did all that was required of him. I dont think they will make an example of him

 

Ward should be viewed as his impact on the game and not just his recieving numbers but unfortunately that's what the voters look at more. Hines might not have had as big of an impact as Blount but he did change how the game was played and they created rules to limit his devastating blocking.

 

I don't think this in any way affects Ben's chances. This is football using the Barry Bonds (Pete Rose, Roger Clemens etc) clause of you cheated the game, you get punished. I think that the early career personal issues - (SAx2, motorcycle crash) are a distant memory, and I can't think of any player held out for personal or personality issues. You can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that by the time he left the game, it seemed like he was widely approved by the writers. BB was both a repeat cheater and disliked by all.

 

Off field stuff is going to matter too. It's why AB won't sniff the HoF now.

Ben's fortunate that we're way past peak Me Too. But I won't be surprised if they make him wait as well.

My understanding is that they also changed how the HoF voting works a couple years ago to make it harder to get in (although I guess there are talks to change again after BB didn't get in).

Ben certainly deserves to be in on the 1st ballot. But so did BB.

 

There is no higher honor in professional football than being inducted into the Hall of Fame in a player's first year of eligibility. Since the AFL-NFL merger, only a select few have achieved this status, representing the elite tier of Hall of Fame inductees.

I understand there may be some bias against the Steelers or potential moral objections regarding Ben Roethlisberger's first year of candidacy. However, the Hall of Fame is ultimately for the fans. To ensure transparency, the selection panel’s votes should be made public so fans can determine if any voters are unfairly penalizing him for reasons outside of his performance on the field.

Regardless, I am nearly certain ( 99.999% ) that Ben will eventually be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

- JB

 

I would also like to see transparency in the voting. And I think there should be more turnover on the committees. Particularly if transparency in voting shows that some people are stupid with their votes (e.g. Peter King not voting for Troy).

But I could also see transparency hurting the process too. In Ben's case, there could be some reporters who would vote for him. But they might feel that activists might attack them if they did given the previous SA allegations.

IMO, the benefits are bigger than the risks. But as I said above, the politics of it make me not really care all that much re: HoF anymore.

 

I like Peter King and honestly enjoy reading some of his work but the man really has some weird views that come out of nowhere. Im sure they make sense to him at the time but for those not in the know they make very little sense. His choice of Garrett for DPOY based upon PFF's newly made up stat when every other measurable stat said Watt had the better season was just baffling especially since the new stat had no accounting for a tackle or sack. Just percentage of times the player got home(created pressure) vs single or dbl team. It's just weird.

 

Sport Reporters are petty AF ... if they have an axe to grind with Ben he will get snubbed. It wouldn't surprise me.

 

I said it earlier in the thread I don't think they will penalize Ben because he apologized and served his suspension without grumbling. Belichick has never admitted he did anything wrong, hasn't apologized and steadfastly maintains he won't either. Thats why he got snubbed.

 

Nope

Yes

 

Peter King is a New England Patriots fan, born close to Boston. IMO he disliked the Steelers and kissed the Patriots rear end.

He had some odd takes for sure.

 

Ben will definitely get in.... however, I'm not going to throw a fit if he doesn't get in the first year of eligibility (next year).