2025-2026 NFL Thread

[Madhatter32]

Bill Belichick not being allowed in the Hall of Fame on his first opportunity destroys the credibility of the HOF as an institution in the minds of a lot of people. It's really an injustice and does little more than demonstrate that the selection committee is comprised of clueless petty jerks.

How Patriots legend Bill Belichick didn't make the Hall of Fame on his first ballot | Sporting News

This seems like a miscount.

www.sportingnews.com

 

[pachyderm]

I can't tolerate either one of those clowns either.

1) Smith is the worst at the NFL, it is the subject he knows the least, and in general his entire viewpoint is either annoying, ignorant or a combination of the two.

2) Mad Dog Russo. Before I came down to Houston (1998) I lived in Stamford CT, and Mike (Francesa) and the Mad Dog was the afternoon sports radio on WFAN, NY. Francesa now sounds senile and Russo was always whiney, strongly opinionated and annoying, like a yapping Chihuahua (with a hideous NY accent).

Saturday has always been very good.

Exactly.

 

[Corefile]

Bill Belichick not being allowed in the Hall of Fame on his first opportunity destroys the credibility of the HOF as an institution in the minds of a lot of people. It's really an injustice and does little more than demonstrate that the selection committee is comprised of clueless petty jerks.

Belichick is right if he can't make it with six Super Bowl wins with the Pats then nobody should be able to. This will turn into an embarrassing farce for those named as the voter numbskulls are saying they're better, BETTER, than Bill Belichick.

 

[TheIntruder]

Looks like the Bills have promoted Joe Brady to the head coaching position.

What is everyone's thoughts on this?

I'm rather underwhelmed

Stephen A. Smith just voiced Bills Mafia’s biggest fear about Joe Brady hire

"Insanity," as purportedly defined by Einstein.

Three leftovers in the "let's pick teams" exercise: Browns, Raiders, and Cardinals. And for obvious reasons.

Word of the Browns being left at the altar has been circulating in the national news.

By contrast, the Raiders have been relatively quiet, as have the Cardinals.

I guess the Raiders may have their sights set on waiting for Klint Kubiak, which would be good for Mendoza.

The Bidwells are cheapskates, and even if Murray is still around, who wants to work for a cheap owner, and be stuck with a QB who doesn't do his homework?

Being a Pro Bowler just lost all value in my eye. They add Shedeur to the AFC's roster. Wut? Sanders more worthy of a Pro Bowl nod this year than T-Law? A guy who threw more picks (10) than TD (7) is a Pro Bowler?

The players revealed long ago what they thought of the game when they started to make up lame injuries to excuse themselves from the game. A game which they don't even play any longer.

 

[txa1265]

Belichick is right if he can't make it with six Super Bowl wins with the Pats then nobody should be able to. This will turn into an embarrassing farce for those named as the voter numbskulls are saying they're better, BETTER, than Bill Belichick.

Yep - that is it for the HoF. You already KNEW it was rigged, but this shows such blatant non-football nonsense at play.

 

[pachyderm]

From The Sporting News:

"Patriots owner Robert Kraft is also a finalist this year, but ESPN reported that it's "unknown" who did get in, just that Belichick didn't.

Belichick is tied to a couple of scandals, including Spygate and Deflategate.

ESPN quoted Peter King, a 32-year voter who didn't cast a ballot this year as saying, "Holy f---! Oh f---!... I'm very, very surprised... A lot of things happen in that room that are unexpected. And of course this is a big surprise to me."

On the ballot, Belichick is competing against Kraft and three senior nominees: Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and L.C. Greenwood. Voters could select only three finalists, which can contribute to it being tough to reach 80%.

But still, it's quite the shock. Belichick may very well reach the Pro Football Hall of Fame eventually, but not on the first try."

Wonder why he didn't vote?

Those are pretty solid player names... I can see why a coach might not get in with that crew but seriously... 8 SB wins? Of those three Ken Anderson would be the weak link IMHO.

 

[Madhatter32]

From The Sporting News:

Belichick is tied to a couple of scandals, including Spygate and Deflategate.

Jimmy Johnson, hall of fame coach, calls BS:

 

[maflynn]

So for people in New England, they're losing their collective minds over the snub, for folks outside of new england they ask one simple question - could be that Belichick cheating have anything to do with it?

Maybe if he didn't videotape opposing teams this wouldn't be a conversation

 

[Non-Euclidean]

Bill Belichick not being allowed in the Hall of Fame on his first opportunity destroys the credibility of the HOF as an institution in the minds of a lot of people. It's really an injustice and does little more than demonstrate that the selection committee is comprised of clueless petty jerks.

How Patriots legend Bill Belichick didn't make the Hall of Fame on his first ballot | Sporting News

This seems like a miscount.

www.sportingnews.com

Utter poppycock and pure drivel.

Its the price for cheating.

He dumped on 31 other franchises by instituting cheating programs to collect other teams signals, brought in other teams defensive players to confirm his findings, had a guy whose sole duty was to collect, collate and analyze this materiel (Ernie Adams). When confronted by the league he lied. When told to stop, he didn't.

So no, its not an injustice, its his due reward for his actions. He sewed it and now he is reaping it.

I believe he will get in, it will take a bit longer. I don't know if its just this one slap in the face (not getting in on 1st ballot), or for how long he will be delayed entry.

The next question is if the same happens to Brady.

 

[Non-Euclidean]

Jimmy Johnson, hall of fame coach, calls BS:

Jimmy Johnson has always explained away Belichick's cheating. Those two are good friends. I think after he got canned in Cleveland he went down to Florida and hung out with Jimmy and got some encouragement. Nothing to see here.

 

[Madhatter32]

Utter poppycock and pure drivel.

Its the price for cheating.

He dumped on 31 other franchises by instituting cheating programs to collect other teams signals, brought in other teams defensive players to confirm his thoughts, had a guy whose sole duty was to collect, collate and analyze this materiel (Ernie Adams). When confronted by the league he lied. When told to stop, he didn't.

So no, its not an injustice, its his due reward for his actions. He sewed it and now he is reaping it.

I believe he will get in, it will take a bit longer. I don't know if its just this one slap in the face (not getting in on 1st ballot), or if he will be jerked around a bit longer.

The next question is if the same happens to Brady.

Even if true, which it is not (see John Tomase's admitted fake report in the Boston Herald), the Hall of Fame is not a mechanism to punish people for old scores or, for that matter, issue one-year disciplinary actions. And, the outrage is not limited to those in New England. Claims like that are silly.

It should happen to both Brady and Kraft under the same logic but people usually do not exercise logic when dealing in false narratives and their conspiracy theories.

 

[maflynn]

Hall of Fame is not a mechanism to punish people for old scores or, for that matter, issue one-year disciplinary actions. And, the outrage is not limited to those in New England. Claims like that are silly.

And yet every sport excludes gifted individuals from gaining the HOF because they cheated.

I would say if you cheated in the game, then entrance into the HOF should not be guaranteed. Belichick did, his actions contributed directly to the team winning games, he should not be a first ballot HOF.

 

[pachyderm]

He belongs though. He'll get in.

 

[maflynn]

He belongs though. He'll get in.

Oh no question, its not like he bet on the game, like Pete Rose. (and no Pete Rose absolutely does not deserve to get into the HOF)

 

[maflynn]

As for 'SpyGate' - Belichek was punished. We can debate the whole 'letter of the law' / 'spirit of the law' thing, but whatever at this point. We all know it was a targeted attack because the Patriots failed to lose when the league was pushing parity

No matter how you slice it, no mater what excuses are used, at the end of day he made decisions to give the patriots an unfair advantage. What makes it all the more galling is that the patriots were so good they didn't need to cheat, but he chose to do so anyways.

Doesn't matter if they were targeted or not, doesn't matter how much focus the franchise had, he cheated, period.

But let's be clear - not electing the greatest football coach of all time to the HoF IMMEDIATELY invalidates the HoF as yet another political tool.

He will get in, the committee chose not to make him a first ballot HOfer. Why reward cheating?

 

[Gregg2]

Patriots fans in VT, NH, ME, CT and RI would disagree 🙂

…as they probably watch Patriots games on a TV station from Boston. 😉

 

[Madhatter32]

No matter how you slice it, no mater what excuses are used, at the end of day he made decisions to give the patriots an unfair advantage.

You can believe what you want but this is not correct from a league perspective. As Roger Goodell and others have repeatedly said, the Patriots likely got no actionable real-time advantage from the videotaping (which was actually permitted under league rules -- but not from the sidelines/field -- and evident to anyone in stands paying attention) and studies published subsequently demonstrated that this was statistically true.

 

[maflynn]

You can believe what you want but this is not correct from a league perspective

It has nothing to do with belief. Here we are with BB not being a first ballot entrant. Consequences are being shown that cheaters are not getting rewarded.

Legendary former Patriots coach Bill Belichick falls short of Pro Football Hall of Fame on first ballot

"The only explanation [for the outcome] was the cheating stuff," a Hall of Fame voter told ESPN. "It really bothered some of the guys."

The same logic was applied to New England owner Robert Kraft when he was passed over again for induction in 2025. Kraft is a finalist for the 2026 Hall of Fame class for the first time after gaining eligibility 14 years ago.

 

[Non-Euclidean]

You can believe what you want but this is not correct from a league perspective. As Roger Goodell and others have repeatedly said, the Patriots likely got no actionable real-time advantage from the videotaping (which was actually permitted under league rules -- but not from the sidelines/field -- and evident to anyone in stands paying attention) and studies published subsequently demonstrated that this was statistically true.

What Goodell said was PR spin, because admitting that it did matter, the depth to which it extended would have been a PR nightmare.

I get it, you are a Patriot fan, can't accept it and deny what happened. New flash. There is nothing you or any other Patriot fan can say or point to that will ever convince anyone of what you are saying. The evidence isn't in your favor, despite whatever newspaper article you wish to bring up, or whatever weak conspiracy argument you want to claim.

Yeah, Deflategate was overblown. Spygate was not.

Goodell's outright failings at the time, the wrist slap penalty and sweeping Spygate under the rug didn't in anyway reduce the extent of the cheating. The Brady-Belichick SB teams are tainted because of those actions.

Now you are seeing delayed payback from an unexpected angle.

 

[Non-Euclidean]

There is also another aspect to this which hasn't been brought up.

The process is changed. Coaches (Belichick) and contributors (Kraft) are now competing with 3 seniors (previously passed over non-modern era players) to get in (LC Greenwood, Roger Craig, Ken Anderson)

Convoluted voting process contributed to Bill Belichick snub

The current system needs to be torn down and rebuilt.

www.nbcsports.com

Previously, the modern-era players would be reduced from 15 to 10 to five at the selection meeting, with the voters then casting an up-or-down ballot as to each of the final five. If at least 80 percent voted “yes,” the finalist secured enshrinement.


Now, the modern-era list goes from 15 to 10 to seven. The voters then pick five of the seven. Those who appear on at least 80 percent of the ballots get in. That makes it harder for each of the seven finalists to advance to enshrinement — and it puts each of the seven modern-era finalists in direct competition with the rest of them.

As to the other categories, the finalists used to get their own up-or-down vote, with 80 percent being the magic number. Now, the five finalists from the coach, contributor, and seniors categories end up in the same bucket. Of the five, the voters pick three. Those who appear on 80 percent of the ballots get in. Which means that the five finalists from the coach, contributor, and seniors categories are in direct competition, too.

For 2026, Belichick was the coaching finalist. Patriots owner Robert Kraft was the contributor finalist. Ken Anderson, Roger Craig, and L.C. Greenwood were the seniors finalists.

Earlier this month, each of the 50 voters submitted a ballot with three of those five names on it. No one affirmatively voted “against” Belichick. Not enough (at least 40) put him on their three-of-five ballot.

The question for the 11 (or more) who omitted Belichick is why? It’s possible someone (or more than one someone) believed Belichick should wait, due to the Spygate scandal. It’s possible someone (or more than one someone) believed Belichick’s success was more about Tom Brady. It’s possible someone (or more than one someone) simply doesn’t like Belichick. It’s possible someone (or more than one someone) resents the manner in which he has conducted himself, professionally and/or personally, over the past year. It’s possible someone (or more than one someone) objects to him dating someone young enough to be his granddaughter.

It’s also possible that someone (or more than one someone) assumed Belichick would easily get to 40 votes, with the three votes going to others instead.

Or, some of the voters figured Belichick can wait since he will get in later and it might be the last time some of those seniors can get in. I wonder which of those seniors made it in since Bill didn't.

 

[maflynn]

Looks like the Browns have their head coach. Ex Raven OC Monkin has been tapped. It’s been reported that one of requirements was to keep DC Schwartz and the other candidates balked as they wanted their own team

 

[ucfgrad93]

Bill Belichick not being allowed in the Hall of Fame on his first opportunity destroys the credibility of the HOF as an institution in the minds of a lot of people. It's really an injustice and does little more than demonstrate that the selection committee is comprised of clueless petty jerks.

How Patriots legend Bill Belichick didn't make the Hall of Fame on his first ballot | Sporting News

This seems like a miscount.

www.sportingnews.com

It is surprising he didn’t make it.

 

[txa1265]

It is surprising he didn’t make it.

Bill Belicheck not getting first ballot HoF is like Michael Jordan or Wayne Gretzky not getting into the NBA or NHL HoF. It means as Jimmy Johnson that NO COACH belongs in the HoF. Period.

 

[TheIntruder]

There is also another aspect to this which hasn't been brought up.

The process is changed. Coaches (Belichick) and contributors (Kraft) are now competing with 3 seniors (previously passed over non-modern era players) to get in (LC Greenwood, Roger Craig, Ken Anderson)

Convoluted voting process contributed to Bill Belichick snub

The current system needs to be torn down and rebuilt.

www.nbcsports.com

Oh, wait, it's not some vast anti-NE/BB conspiracy?

Baseball HoF says, "hold my beer."

Jimmy J trying to invoke the "If you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'" defense is also good for a chuckle.

But I do believe that karma is more than a female dog, and if he was puzzled that some people disliked him, or didn't work in his favor to grant admittance to a club, via a popular vote, then there is some lack of self awareness on his part.

People make these decisions, rightly or wrongly, and years of treating some of them with less than common courtesy could come back to bite him in the butt, whatever his credentials are, which to be noted, do include some black marks, despite those who in denial. The steroid error baseball stars know this well.

Looks like the Browns have their head coach. Ex Raven OC Monkin has been tapped. It’s been reported that one of requirements was to keep DC Schwartz and the other candidates balked as they wanted their own team

Schwartz is well regarded, and supposedly under contract, but even if the new guy wanted him on staff, I'd wonder how much he'd want to stick around a dysfunctional franchise that snubbed him.

 

[maflynn]

I'd wonder how much he'd want to stick around a dysfunctional franchise that snubbed him.

Rumors are swirling that he's unhappy being snubbed and likely to leave the franchise