SAN FRANCISCO -- The Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee has a chance to do something on Saturday that hasn't been done since 1991: induct a kicker.
Twenty-five years ago, Jan Stenerud became the first placekicker to get a bust in Canton, Ohio. Twenty-five years later, Stenerud is still the only true kicker in the Hall of Fame, and Adam Vinatieri thinks that needs to change.
The Colts kicker, who could very well end up in the Hall of Fame himself someday, believes that his position's not getting enough respect from the committee.
"I think we're underrepresented, punters and kickers and specialists," Vinatieri told CBSSports.com this week. "I would like to see at least a handful of those guys in there."
The amount of kickers in the Hall of Fame could double on Saturday if Morten Anderson gets inducted. With 2,544 points, Anderson is the NFL's all-time leading scorer and someone who absolutely deserves to be enshrined in Canton, according to Vinatieri.
"Morten Anderson is up this year, 25 years in the league, I mean come on," Vinatieri said. "If you can be at that level for 25 years -- and he wasn't just a player, he was a really good kicker, led the league in a lot of statistics while he played. He definitely deserves to be in there, I'm hoping he gets in this year. There definitely needs to be more representation."
This year marks the third time that Anderson has been a Hall of Fame finalist.
Although the committee took a small step forward in 2014 when it voted to induct Ray Guy -- the Hall of Fame's first punter -- it's almost impossible for a specialist to get in. Vinatieri says the issue could be that the committee might not understand the value of a good kicker.
"Now a days, I think teams appreciate the value of kickers and punters," Vinatieri said. "I think we're starting to get a little more of the deserved respect because of the position we play. Hopefully [the committee sees] the value of what a kicker brings to the table."
Lou Groza and George Blanda are both former kickers who were inducted into the Hall of Fame; however, both thrived at other positions. Blanda started over 100 games as a quarterback, while Groza spent 12 years as an offensive lineman.
As for Vinatieri, he was in San Francisco for Super Bowl week as part of a promotion with the NFL Extra Points Barclaycard. The Colts kicker nailed three field goals during the charity event, which led to a $15,000 donation to the Pat Tillman Foundation.
