DaytonDailyNews.com

Memo to all aspiring punters out there: It's time to explore another position, because no matter how adept you become, it looks like you'll never make it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

We learned this over the weekend when Ray Guy, widely acknowledged as the best punter ever, was bypassed yet again.

More disturbing than the snub was the subsequent reasoning supplied by ESPN's John Clayton, one of the voters, who presumably speaks for many.

Clayton said he can't bring himself to give Guy the nod simply because of the position he played, never mind that he was better at it than anyone in the modern era.

Being the best at something apparently just doesn't get you very far these days.

Guy was only on the field for an average of five plays per game, so how much of an impact could he have had?, Clayton argued Saturday afternoon on ESPN Radio.

That's shockingly ignorant, especially from a veteran NFL reporter who covered the Steelers in the '70s and should know better.

Maybe it's a backlash against the Raiders, who were the Steelers' bitter rivals back then. If that's the case, Clayton should just admit it and remove himself from the proceedings next year.

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel thinks the punt is the most important play in football. You've heard him say it hundreds of times. The hidden yardage. The potential swing of field position. Any 8-year-old can see the value.

There's one pure placekicker (Jan Stenerud) in the Hall of Fame, but not a single punter.

Ray Guy deserves to be there.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2408

or smcclelland@DaytonDailyNews.com.