Longtime Hall of Fame selector Clark Judge recently blogged for the Talk of Fame Network about former Falcons kicker Morten Andersen.
“One look at the list of 15 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2017, and you get it. The field is so wide open that a wild card is liable to sneak in.
I’m talking about someone we didn’t expect; someone who wasn’t on anyone’s radar but made a last-minute rush to capture the flag. Someone like … well, someone like Morten Andersen.”
Andersen was named a finalist the fourth consecutive year on Tuesday.
On Jan. 17, 1999, Andersen made a 38-yard field goal to give the Falcons a 30-27 victory over Minnesota in the NFC Championship game. The kick sent the franchise to its only trip to the Super Bowl.
Andersen is the leading scorer in NFL history with 2,544 points. He still holds the record for scoring in the most consecutive games (360). Only one player, Jason Elam, is within 100 games of that consecutive games scoring mark.
George Blanda, Lou “The Toe” Groza and Jan Stenerud are the only kickers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Andersen, a native of Copenhagen, Denmark, was drafted by the Saints in the fourth round of the 1982 draft. He played for the Saints (1982-94), Falcons (1995-2000, 2006-07), New York Giants (2001), Chiefs (2002-03) and Vikings (2004).
Judge adds: “Bottom line: Morten Andersen is worthy, and he belongs. He was the best at his position … for two decades … and he changed that position. Nobody played in more games. Nobody made more field goals. And he set a scoring record that hasn’t been beaten.”