By John Turney
The Minnesota Vikings’ Matt Blair has never been a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In fact, in 20 years of modern-era eligibility since 1990, he was never a semifinalist. And since then? Well, since then, nothing's changed.
He hasn't been a semifinalist as a seniors' candidate, either.
In short, he's gotten the short end of the stick in that process, mostly because he was a playmaking dynamo -- a star linebacker who could do it all. Tackle. Force fumbles. Snag interceptions. Sack quarterbacks. He did it.
Granted, plenty of all-time greats check those boxes. But with Blair, there was more. He had an extra gear that they did not: He could block kicks, and he did it with a reckless, game-changing flair. And it's that ability that not only makes him stand out from others but should have the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame's seniors committee on his case ... sooner rather than later.
Overcoming a knee injury in his junior season at Iowa State, Blair was drafted in the second round (51st overall) by the Vikings in 1974. Despite lingering questions about the injury, the Vikings did not hesitate -- with then-coach Bud Grant saying that, were it not for the knee issue, Blair would've been one of the first picks of the draft.
In his rookie year, he started a handful of games and made enough big plays on special teams that he was voted to the league's All-Rookie team. He spent the next year doing much the same before breaking through in 1976 when he locked down the left linebacker position and never looked back.
In an era stacked with elite outside linebackers -- Hall of Famers like Jack Ham, Ted Hendricks, Robert Brazile, Chris Hanburger, and Pro Bowl studs like Isiah Robertson, Brad Van Pelt and Tom Jackson -- Blair still shined. He snagged first-team All-Pro in 1980, second-team in 1981 and punched tickets to six straight Pro Bowls (1977-82). You could make a case he deserved Pro Bowl nods in ’76 and ’83, too.
In 1980, Blair was also voted the NFC's top linebacker by the NFL Players Association. Not just the top outside linebacker, mind you, but the top linebacker, period -- prompting one writer to say that "if (Blair) played in a high-exposure city, he'd be worshipped by the football world."
He might be right. Blair was a model of consistency, piling up splash plays that flipped games and fueled Vikings' victories. And his knack for blocking kicks? That was his calling card, a rare skill that turned games on end in ways stats don’t always capture. In all, he blocked 21 kicks -- a semi-official figure that doesn't include three more blocks in the playoffs.
You could count on one hand the number of players with that many rejected kicks/punts.
"All of a sudden," Dolphins' coach Don Shula said, "this guy, Matt Blair, was jumping up like he was on a trampoline. Then, all of a sudden, he's blocking my guy's kick."
Blair acknowledged his extraordinary ability to block kicks, but the son of an Air Force serviceman always remained humble -- making sure the "grubbers" received the recognition often reserved for the Vikings' "leaper."
"I can't do it by myself," he said. "The guys who penetrate the line should get credit, too."
As significant as it was, his special-teams' resume is not the whole story of Matt Blair. If it were, we wouldn't be talking about him as a Hall-of-Fame candidate. He made splash plays on defense, too. A lot of them, in fact, finishing his career with 23 sacks, 19 defensive fumble recoveries, 16 interceptions and -- according to official NFL gamebooks -- 981 tackles.
"He's got the capacity to be around the ball," said Grant. "If it's one on the ground or in the air and up for grabs, Blair is going to be someplace in the vicinity. He's literally a natural, a player tremendously gifted."
In 1978, for example, Blair showcased his versatility by making 151 tackles, defending 12 passes, forcing five fumbles and producing four sacks, according to NFL gamebooks. He also intercepted three passes, recovered three fumbles and returned one 49 yards for a touchdown against the Chicago Bears, a key play in a 24-20 win. Plus, for good measure, he blocked a kick.
Well, of course he did.
The next year, he blocked another five and again made 151 total tackles, had four sacks and intercepted three passes. He also forced a pair of fumbles and recovered two. But those are the two years prior to his first-team All-Pro year of 1980 -- perhaps his best season -- and it didn't stop there. In 1981, he had over 100 tackles for the sixth consecutive season and blocked five more kicks, sacked the quarterback a career-high six times, forced four fumbles and recovered two others.
You get the point. He was a big-play machine, year after year. And that's what you need to know. Correction: That's what voters need to know.
Blair appeared in two Super Bowls with the Vikings, Super Bowls IX and XI, but both were losses -- first to the Pittsburgh Steelers, then the Oakland Raiders. In Super Bowl IX, he blocked a Bobby Walden punt that was recovered in the end zone, preventing the a shutout, but it's possible the two losses are factors keeping Blair out of Canton. I mean, let's be honest: It sure seems like a lot of Vikings waited a long time to get their Gold Jackets. Plus, some like Blair never had a shot.
Outside of Hall voters, however, Blair’s accomplishments have been widely recognized. In 2010, he was named one of the 50 greatest Vikings of all time, and two years later he was inducted into the Minnesota Vikings’ Ring of Honor. He was also selected to the Vikings’ 25th and 40th Anniversary Teams.
Additionally, Blair was honored by his alma maters. In 1999, he was inducted into the Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame. There, he earned Coaches’ All-American honors. In 2008, he was enshrined in the Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Athletics Hall of Fame, recognizing his contribution to its NJCAA national championship team before transferring to Iowa State.
All that's left, then, is the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Sadly, Blair passed away in 2020 at the age of 70. So, I'm urging the Hall's seniors committee not to forget who and what he was. At the very least, give the 6-foot-5½ inch, 232-pound prototypical linebacker -- a tackler, a sacker, an interceptor and a leaper -- a chance to have his case heard. Because Matt Blair's career demands it.
Note: TFL are tackles for loss, not run/pass stuffs
No. Not enough great years. But close. Give him that.
ReplyDeleteBlair was one of those guys like James Lofton who always just looked like the best athlete on the field. And at times he could be overwhelmingly awesome, but was unfortunately the only truly great athlete on a lot of mediocre Viking defenses, so teams could effectively avoid him. No doubt if he was on the Steelers or Cowboys he would have been a first-ballot HOFer, just by virtue of how much more productive he would have been with better defenders around him. Still had a tremendous career and was a guy who I always enjoyed watching.
ReplyDeleteOne other footnote, I believe Blair only became a starter in 1976 after Fred McNeill was injured in the first game of the season. Jeff Siemon was quoted years later that Bud probably should have lined up McNeill and Blair earlier in their careers, intimating that he went with Hilgenberg too long, which was painfully apparent to all who watched Viking football in the mid-1970s.
Blair also was an accomplished photographer and wrote a book "To Be A Viking" in which he interviewed Vikings about the impact their experience playing in Minnesota had on them. He deserves to be revered by Viking fans for eternity, that's for sure.