The Bill Belichick snub has sparked an effort to determine which of the 50 Hall of Fame voters failed to put him on their ballot. Many have wondered whether former Buccaneers and Colts coach Tony Dungy voted for Belichick, based on Dungy’s ties to former Colts G.M. Bill Polian — who eventually said he did vote for Belichick.
At a Tuesday NBC press conference, Dungy addressed the Belichick elephant in the room.
Asked by Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports regarding whether he voted for Belichick or Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Dungy said, “Well, first of all, we don’t know that they didn’t get inducted in the Hall of Fame. I’m a voter. I have not heard who’s in or who’s out. So I’m not going to make a comment on it and speculate. We’ll find out I think on Thursday who’s in and who’s out.”
Dungy’s position apparently arises from a desire to respect the Hall of Fame’s procedures. After the announcement is made on Thursday, he may decide to disclose whether he selected Belichick and/or Kraft from a list of five candidates Ken Anderson, Roger Craig, and L.C. Greenwood were the other options. All voters picked three of the five.
If none of the five got at least 40 votes, the highest vote getter will be inducted. If Belichick got 39, it means that at least one of the five got to 40.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye improved significantly as a passer in his second season, but Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson has seen improvement elsewhere as well.
Stevenson said Maye is a much better leader than he was a year ago, growing into a commanding presence in the huddle in his second NFL season.
“He’s very mature. I was with him last year, I think he made a great jump this year in his leadership role. He’s commanding the huddle well. He’s telling the offense what he needs to see. He’s doing a great job. I’m excited for him and I’m proud of him.”
If the Patriots win on Sunday, Maye will be the youngest starting quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl. But one of the reasons the Patriots are in the Super Bowl is that Maye is already showing veteran leadership at age 23.
The Seahawks are getting a key member of their special teams unit back just in time for Super Bowl LX.
Seattle announced on Tuesday that the club has activated Chazz Surratt off of injured reserve.
Surratt has been sidelined by an ankle injury suffered in November. He had been on the field for 60 percent of Seattle’s special teams snaps in 11 games played before going on injured reserve. He played seven snaps as a linebacker during the regular season.
Surratt has appeared in 52 career games for the Vikings, Jets, and Seahawks since 2021.
As a corresponding move, the Seahawks placed offensive tackle Amari Kight on injured reserve.
The first injury reports of the week are due out for Seattle and New England on Wednesday.
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel knows his defense is going to have a tough time rattling Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold in Super Bowl LX.
Vrabel said on Tuesday morning that he is impressed with the way Darnold handles pressure, and that he’s not a quarterback who struggles with the pass rush closing in.
“I think he’s handled it well,” Vrabel said. “There’s a willingness to stand in the pocket and there’s a willingness to progress through. His courage to stand in there, the Rams nailed him and he completed an unbelievable pass to Cooper [Kupp] on the sideline. He didn’t shy away, didn’t duck, didn’t fade back, he stood there and faced the fire, which is what you have to do in this league if you’re going to be an elite quarterback.”
Darnold was sacked on a career-high 7.7 percent of his dropbacks during the regular season, so he certainly takes plenty of hits. But Vrabel is impressed with how Darnold keeps getting back up.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel says there’s no doubt in his mind that his predecessor, Bill Belichick, belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Asked about the reports that Belichick was voted down by the Hall of Fame selection committee, Vrabel said he’s confident that mistake will be rectified and Belichick will get a bust in Canton.
“I’m confident that Bill will get in,” Vrabel said. “I don’t know the process. I know that everybody is talking about the process. However the vote needs to go, I know that Bill is a Hall of Fame coach. Whether he’s going to get in this year, next year or the year after that, he’s a Hall of Fame football coach.”
Vrabel played for Belichick in New England from 2001 to 2008.
“I appreciated my time with Bill, enjoyed it -- enjoyed every second, eight years with Bill,” Vrabel said.
Belichick traded Vrabel to the Chiefs in 2009, and Vrabel spent his final two seasons playing in Kansas City. But Vrabel remains a big supporter of Belichick as he follows in his footsteps as a head coach leading the Patriots to the Super Bowl.
