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Clay Matthew HOF Finalist!


The Gipper

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https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2021/01/clay-matthews-former-browns-linebacker-a-finalist-for-the-pro-football-hall-of-fame.html

One of 15.  First time he has made it this far. 

Clay Matthews is one step away from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The longtime Browns linebacker and 19-year NFL veteran finally broke through to the final round of voting this year after having his Hall of Fame candidacy previously end four times in the semifinals.

Matthews’ brother, Bruce, was a 2007 inductee.

If Matthews is inducted as part of the Class of 2021 he will be the Browns’ 18th hall of famer.

Other finalists include:

 
  • Jared Allen, Defensive End
  • Ronde Barber, Cornerback/Safety
  • Tony Boselli, Tackle
  • LeRoy Butler, Safety
  • Alan Faneca, Guard
  • Torry Holt, Wide Receiver
  • Calvin Johnson, Wide Receiver
  • John Lynch, Safety
  • Peyton Manning, Quarterback
  • Sam Mills, Linebacker
  • Richard Seymour, Defensive End/Defensive Tackle
  • Zach Thomas, Linebacker
  • Reggie Wayne, Wide Receiver
  • Charles Woodson, Cornerback/Safety

It will still be tough row to hoe with that competition. 

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1 hour ago, gumby73 said:

22e5038b1ff203168fdd20776fa2b7f5.jpgBruce Matthews with his older brother Clay Matthews, Jr.   Can the voters stop screwing this guy?

Anybody seen the list of writers that will be voting this time? 

Not sure of the process....but I do NOT believe that the same people that vote on who makes it in, or not, from the Finalists are the same ones that chose who would choose who those finalists are. 

Tony Grossi,  as far as I know represents the Cleveland Market.   I believe this will be the first time ever that he will be able to vote for Clay because Clay has never been a Finalist before. 

Also, as far as I know....of the 15 names above,  only  4 get voted in.     There may also be a Veteran's Committee  nominee , plus a "Contributors" committee nominee. 

After googling it,  Here is the process link:

https://www.profootballhof.com/heroes-of-the-game/selection-process-faq/

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Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee
Arizona Kent Somers, Arizona Republic
Atlanta Darryl Ledbetter, Atlanta Journal - Constitution
Baltimore Scott Garceau, 105.7 The Fan/WMAR-TV
Buffalo Vic Carucci, Buffalo News
Carolina Darin Gantt, Carolina Panthers
Chicago Dan Pompei, The Athletic*
Cincinnati Geoff Hobson, Bengals.com
Cleveland Tony Grossi, ESPNCleveland.com/WKNR Radio
Dallas Rick Gosselin, Talk of Fame Network*#
Denver Jeff Legwold, ESPN/ESPN.com*
Detroit Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press
Green Bay Pete Dougherty, Green Bay Press-Gazette
Houston John McClain, Houston Chronicle*
Indianapolis Mike Chappell, Fox 59/CBS 4
Jacksonville Sam Kouvaris, Florida Times-Union/SamSportsLine.com
Kansas City Terez Paylor, Yahoo
Los Angeles (Chargers) Eric Williams, Sports Illustrated
Los Angeles (Rams) Howard Balzer, Sports Illustrated
Miami Armando Salguero, Miami Herald
Minnesota Mark Craig, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune
New England Ron Borges, Talk of Fame Network*
New Orleans Jeff Duncan, The Athletic
New York (Giants) Bob Glauber, Newsday
New York (Jets) Gary Myers, Author
Oakland Frank Cooney, The Sports Xchange*
Philadelphia Paul Domowitch, Philadelphia Daily News
Pittsburgh Ed Bouchette, The Athletic
San Francisco Matt Maiocco, NBC Sports Bay Area
Seattle Mike Sando, The Athletic
Tampa Bay Ira Kaufman, JoeBucsFan.com*
Tennessee Paul Kuharsky, PaulKuharsky.com/104.5 The Zone
Washington Jarrett Bell, USA Today#
PFWA Mary Kay Cabot, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer
At-Large Tony Dungy, NBC Sports Football Night in America
At-Large John Clayton, ESPN Seattle#
At-Large Jason Cole, FanSided.com
At-Large John Czarnecki, FOX Sports*
At-Large Dan Fouts, Broadcaster (Hall of Famer)
At-Large Clark Judge, Talk of Fame Network and Yahoo Sports Radio#
At-Large Peter King, NBC Sports#
At-Large James Lofton, CBS Sports (Hall of Famer)
At-Large Alex Marvez, SiriusXM
At-Large Bill Polian, SiriusXM (Hall of Famer)*
At-Large Sal Paolantonio, ESPN#
At-Large Lisa Salters, ESPN Monday Night Football
At-Large Jim Trotter, NFL Network#
At-Large Charean Williams, Pro Football Talk#
At-Large Barry Wilner, Associated Press

 

* Member of the Senior/Coach Selection Committee
# Member of the Contributor Selection Committee

DieHard football fan.  Hans Gruber excluded. 

No clue when Mary Kay Cabot got put on there!

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Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee.  

Do  you think a few more HOF players and a few less talking heads might be good ?

 

 

 

 

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Well it that time of year again for past players to be nominated as finalist for the next inductee's into the H.O.F. Clay Mathews is among the group again. I sure hope he gets in this year. The man played 19 yrs in the NFL as a good LB. Started his career in 1978 along with Ozzie Newsome. The Jaguars OT Tony Boselli is also a finalist. But I don't feel his time in the NFL should be even close to be elected. He only played 6 yrs. There are countless OT who played many years for a team, and don't get the praise that Boselli is getting.

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I think Manning, Woodson & Boselli are locks, but if I recall Boselli has been passed over before. That only leaves room for two more to make the final 5. I'm sure Butler, Lynch, & Faneca will get lots of love from the committee.

We all would probably disagree on who is worthy every year. And you need 80% of the votes to get in once you make the final 5. 

Good luck Clay, you shouldn't have had to wait this long. 

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Here's a post, I can't take credit on. But something to consider... 

* I think this might be Clay's only shot as a "modern era" player. The Hall's seniors committee handles the cases of players who have been retired at least 25 years, and that includes Matthews as of next year.

I'm not sure if being a "senior" would help Clay's case or not, but he's not really competing against peers on this ballot. He's the only person on the ballot who played in the '70s, and 10 of the other 14 had NFL careers that began after he retired. *
 
Do the guy right 🤞..Vote #57. He's waited long enough.. There's nothing left to overthink on your committee questionaire ... 🤔  
(well unless getting the group of steelqueens in this year in Canton? Than marching #73 out there 1st ballot & #57 rolls out there with him as a senior?)
 and That's not* how the HOF of any sport should work ! !  
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^ Yup... tough class.

At most 8 get in and I can see at least 7 locks not named Clay.

 

And I know he played only a handful of years (basically same amount of time as Sayers), but Boselli was great... 5-time All Pro... 3-time Pro Bowl 1st-team.

While Tony's not the #2 GOAT behind Munoz  (that's likely Ogden or Walter Jones), it would not be out of line to include him in that conversation.

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3 hours ago, mjp28 said:

Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee.  

Do I you think a few more HOF players and a few less talking heads might be good ?

 

 

 

 

No.  not Really.   Unless you do this voting the way you do the   Heisman voting  and  give a vote to every living Hall of Famer, plus about a thousand other people...writers/broadcasters etcl 

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3 hours ago, Bob806 said:

I think Manning, Woodson & Boselli are locks, but if I recall Boselli has been passed over before. That only leaves room for two more to make the final 5. I'm sure Butler, Lynch, & Faneca will get lots of love from the committee.

We all would probably disagree on who is worthy every year. And you need 80% of the votes to get in once you make the final 5. 

Good luck Clay, you shouldn't have had to wait this long. 

Don't forget Calvin Johnson,  who, except for Peyton seems to be the most solid lock. 

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1 hour ago, gumby73 said:

Here's a post, I can't take credit on. But something to consider... 

* I think this might be Clay's only shot as a "modern era" player. The Hall's seniors committee handles the cases of players who have been retired at least 25 years, and that includes Matthews as of next year.

I'm not sure if being a "senior" would help Clay's case or not, but he's not really competing against peers on this ballot. He's the only person on the ballot who played in the '70s, and 10 of the other 14 had NFL careers that began after he retired. *
 
Do the guy right 🤞..Vote #57. He's waited long enough.. There's nothing left to overthink on your committee questionaire ... 🤔  
(well unless getting the group of steelqueens in this year in Canton? Than marching #73 out there 1st ballot & #57 rolls out there with him as a senior?)
 and That's not* how the HOF of any sport should work ! !  

I didn't realize that Clay is the only one that played in the 70s.   Sam Mills began his career in 1986.

As far as the Senior Committee is concerned.....there are two names that come to my mind that should be considered by them:   Jim Marshall DE of the Vikings.   And:

Dick Schafrath.        Per PFR he actually had a more productive career than any Browns player that has played since like 1960.   More than JB,  Clay,  and JT. 

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3 hours ago, The Gipper said:

Don't forget Calvin Johnson,  who, except for Peyton seems to be the most solid lock. 

Well I'd disagree with that, and I loved Megatron.

There really shouldn't be a bias, but it seems to me a lot of Packers & Steelers get in once they make it this far.

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This year, there is SERIOUS competition for limited spots, so Clay's induction may be delayed again. What pisses me off is a number of past inductess far less deserving than Clay, led by good ol' Joe Willie Namath, who made it based on pantyhose, furcoats, ONE brash prediction & the New York media IMHO.

He certainly didn't make it based on his career stats (see below) or the fact he had a LOSING career record.

 

His teams had an overall record of 68 wins, 71 losses, and four ties, (64–64–4 in 132 starts, and 4–7 in relief).

General Passing
Year Team GP GS Cmp Att Pct Yards TD Int Lng Avg Rate
1965 NYJ 13 9 164 340 48.2 2,220 18 15 62 6.5 68.7
1966 NYJ 14 13 232 471 49.3 3,379 19 27 77 7.2 62.6
1967 NYJ 14 14 258 491 52.5 4,007 26 28 75 8.2 73.8
1968 NYJ 14 14 187 380 49.2 3,147 15 17 87 8.3 72.1
1969 NYJ 14 14 185 361 51.2 2,734 19 17 60 7.6 74.3
1970 NYJ 5 5 90 179 50.3 1,259 5 12 72 7.0 54.7
1971 NYJ 4 3 28 59 47.5 537 5 6 74 9.1 68.2
1972 NYJ 13 13 162 324 50.0 2,816 19 21 83 8.7 72.5
1973 NYJ 6 5 68 133 51.1 966 5 6 63 7.3 68.7
1974 NYJ 14 14 191 361 52.9 2,616 20 22 89 7.2 69.4
1975 NYJ 14 13 157 326 48.2 2,286 15 28 91 7.0 51.0
1976 NYJ 11 8 114 230 49.6 1,090 4 16 35 4.7 39.9
1977 LAR 4 4 50 107 46.7 606 3 5 42 5.7 54.5
Career[41] 140 129 1,886 3,762 50.1 27,663 173 220 91 7.4 65.

 

I couldn't believe Joe Willie got inducted when he did & it still bothers me. Facts don't lie.

50.1% completions, more picks than TDs, & W-L record? But he DID win a Super Bowl....Whoop-de-doo

Mike

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6 hours ago, Bob806 said:

Well I'd disagree with that, and I loved Megatron.

There really shouldn't be a bias, but it seems to me a lot of Packers & Steelers get in once they make it this far.

By that do you mean that you do NOT believe that behind Peyton that Calvin is not considered the next sure thing......or just not YOUR next sure thing.  (I think conventional wisdom IS that he is the next sure thing after Peyton)

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3 hours ago, Canton Mike said:

This year, there is SERIOUS competition for limited spots, so Clay's induction may be delayed again. What pisses me off is a number of past inductess far less deserving than Clay, led by good ol' Joe Willie Namath, who made it based on pantyhose, furcoats, ONE brash prediction & the New York media IMHO.

He certainly didn't make it based on his career stats (see below) or the fact he had a LOSING career record.

 

His teams had an overall record of 68 wins, 71 losses, and four ties, (64–64–4 in 132 starts, and 4–7 in relief).

General Passing
Year Team GP GS Cmp Att Pct Yards TD Int Lng Avg Rate
1965 NYJ 13 9 164 340 48.2 2,220 18 15 62 6.5 68.7
1966 NYJ 14 13 232 471 49.3 3,379 19 27 77 7.2 62.6
1967 NYJ 14 14 258 491 52.5 4,007 26 28 75 8.2 73.8
1968 NYJ 14 14 187 380 49.2 3,147 15 17 87 8.3 72.1
1969 NYJ 14 14 185 361 51.2 2,734 19 17 60 7.6 74.3
1970 NYJ 5 5 90 179 50.3 1,259 5 12 72 7.0 54.7
1971 NYJ 4 3 28 59 47.5 537 5 6 74 9.1 68.2
1972 NYJ 13 13 162 324 50.0 2,816 19 21 83 8.7 72.5
1973 NYJ 6 5 68 133 51.1 966 5 6 63 7.3 68.7
1974 NYJ 14 14 191 361 52.9 2,616 20 22 89 7.2 69.4
1975 NYJ 14 13 157 326 48.2 2,286 15 28 91 7.0 51.0
1976 NYJ 11 8 114 230 49.6 1,090 4 16 35 4.7 39.9
1977 LAR 4 4 50 107 46.7 606 3 5 42 5.7 54.5
Career[41] 140 129 1,886 3,762 50.1 27,663 173 220 91 7.4 65.

 

I couldn't believe Joe Willie got inducted when he did & it still bothers me. Facts don't lie.

50.1% completions, more picks than TDs, & W-L record? But he DID win a Super Bowl....Whoop-de-doo

Mike

I have absolutely no problem with Joe Namath being in.    And FYI....50% completion and  1:1 ratio on TDs to Ints. was quite common and normal on that era.   Bradshaw had similar stats....except his team around him was much better than Joe's for the 70s.    And that is always a critical component:   how good, or how shit was the team around you.  The Jets, other than their SB year, were pretty much an overall shit team.   They really were.  Him carrying that team to a .500 record during his career is actually a testament to his fortitude and greatness. 

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1 hour ago, The Gipper said:

By that do you mean that you do NOT believe that behind Peyton that Calvin is not considered the next sure thing......or just not YOUR next sure thing.  (I think conventional wisdom IS that he is the next sure thing after Peyton)

I think a WR, no matter how good, who plays only 9 seasons in a pass happy era is going to have to wait. 

You may call that unconventional wisdom. After the committee discusses it, I'd be shocked if he's a first ballot HOFer.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Unlike past years where  the voters gather before the day of the Super Bowl to select those to go into the HOF,  this time the voting was apparently done virtually....and was already conducted, even though the results are not to be officially released until the day before the Super Bowl.

One of the Finalists apparently has already gotten the word somehow that he did not make it:  Leroy Butler:

https://sports.yahoo.com/leroy-butler-indicates-did-not-154626932.html

Which means possibly one less player that Clay Matthews is up against.    (though, I personally am not optimistic)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well fellow Browns fans, tomorrow we will know if the long time linebacker will be inducted into the H.O.F. He should be inducted. He happens to be me my all time favorite player on the Browns. And i'm sorry but Tony Boselli doesn't belong on this list. He didn't play long enough. So if Tony Boselli gets in and Clay Mathews doesn't, oh hell, im going to call the election board a bunch of frauds.

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16 minutes ago, BrownsfaninPa said:

Well fellow Browns fans, tomorrow we will know if the long time linebacker will be inducted into the H.O.F. He should be inducted. He happens to be me my all time favorite player on the Browns. And i'm sorry but Tony Boselli doesn't belong on this list. He didn't play long enough. So if Tony Boselli gets in and Clay Mathews doesn't, oh hell, im going to call the election board a bunch of frauds.

My fave all time also... It would be a travesty.. It would border on Pete Rose stupidity...

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Here is some info.   This is  Clay's 20th year of eligibility...and I believe it is the Final year he will be eligible.

But it is the very first time he has been a Finalist:   Voting is tomorrow.

Year of Eligibility

Finalist

1st

Jared Allen, Calvin Johnson, Peyton Manning, Charles Woodson

2nd

Reggie Wayne

4th

Ronde Barber, Richard Seymour

6th

Alan Faneca

7th

Torry Holt

8th

Zach Thomas

9th

John Lynch

15th

Tony Boselli, LeRoy Butler

19th

Sam Mills

20th

Clay Matthews Jr.

 

TIMES AS FINALIST

Player

Times

Years

Jared Allen

1

2021

Ronde Barber

1

2021

Tony Boselli

5

2017-2021

Leroy Butler

2

2020-21

Alan Faneca

6

2016-2021

Torry Holt

2

2020-21

Calvin Johnson

1

2021

John Lynch

8

2014-2021

Peyton Manning

1

2021

Clay Matthews Jr.

1

2021

Sam Mills

2

2020-21

Richard Seymour

3

2019-2021

Zach Thomas

2

2020-21

Reggie Wayne

2

2020-21

Charles Woodson

1

2021

 

 

 

 

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