Longtime defensive linemen Richard Seymour and Vince Wilfork have been backed by many to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, including New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
The NFL announced this past week the 26 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2022, which included both Seymour and Wilfork. Seymour has at the least been a semifinalist in the past five years, while Wilfork is currently in his first year of eligibility.
Both talents shined during their respective runs with the Patriots, which included a multitude of timely sacks in the playoffs. And as expected, Belichick sees that they each are much deserving to soon see their name enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which he touched on during a press conference ahead of the Patriots' Week 12 matchup against the Tennessee Titans.
“For me, those are two best defensive linemen that I've coached,” Belichick said. “Vince was a phenomenal player, and he was quite different from Richard. Richard was a phenomenal player and quite different from Vince, but both very dominant in their own way and kind of in their own position, even though Richard played nose his rookie year and Vince played end his rookie year. Vince is really an inside player and Richard is a three to a five-technique. Richard's almost impossible to match up against, but in a way, Vince is impossible to block in the running game, and, in the passing game.
“Again, in my Hall of Fame, those two guys are there without a doubt.”
As with any Hall of Fame in professional sports, there has been criticism as to just what voters base their criteria on when it comes to inducting players into this prestigious football institution. Belichick questions on what an NFL player would need to accomplish in order to become an eventual Hall of Famer.
“As I've said before, Hall of Fame is out of my control, and since there's no criteria for the Hall of Fame, it's really hard to even have a conversation about it because it's not based on anything,” Belichick said.
“It's your opinion of a great player, my opinion of a great player, somebody else's opinion of a great player. I don't know what that means. Is it how many years they played? Is it All-Pros they had? Is it how many championships they won? Is it individual stats? You can make it whatever you want to make it.”
Whether it is stats or team accolades, Seymour and Wilfork each have a strong case to one day receive a gold jacket.
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