My case for Clay Matthews and the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021 will be revealed Saturday night during the NFL Honors Show beginning at 9 o’clock on CBS.

Browns linebacker great Clay Matthews is one of 15 finalists vying for a maximum of five spots.

Voting on the Class of 2021 took place on Jan. 19 during the annual meeting of 48 selectors, which was conducted for the first time via Zoom conference. The meeting lasted 8 hours, 47 minutes.

Members of the committee were not informed of the voting results until Saturday night.

I was appointed by the Hall of Fame as the leader of discussion for Matthews’ candidacy. Below is the text of my presentation. It was followed by about 13 minutes of discussion among the selection committee.

I thank this committee for advancing Clay to the finalist round for the very first time. It’s Clay’s 20th and last year of modern eligibility. We know that if he doesn’t get elected by us today he will fall into the so-called senior swamp. This is a special player who deserved to be here long before now. This is his chance today and I appreciate the honor of stating his case.

Clay Matthews played linebacker at the highest level for 19 seasons – 16 with the Cleveland Browns and three with the Atlanta Falcons. Think about that for a moment. Nineteen years at one of the most demanding and complex positions in the sport. He appeared in 278 games and made 248 starts. No NFL linebacker in history played more. There are 31 linebackers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Their average length of career is 13 years. Clay was 34 years old in his 13th year. He did not just hang on for six more. He played till the age of 40 and led his team in sacks at that age.

I lead with Clay’s longevity because it is unique. I know it alone does not make Clay a Hall of Famer. But when you have a player like Clay Matthews who has sustained excellence for 19 years – which, in some cases is three times as long as players already in the Hall of Fame – he should not be overlooked and should not fall through the cracks.

Clay Matthews comes from football royalty. His father played in the NFL in the 1950s, his son in the 2000s. Clay is also the older brother of Bruce Matthews. Bruce holds the record for most games played by an offensive lineman. Bruce was one of the greatest linemen in history, a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2007. Bruce played against Clay 22 times in his career.

Bruce Matthews said to me, “The thing about my brother, which is the thing I think is keeping him out, is his versatility. He could play over the tight end, be stout against the run, be stout taking on blocks. He did all the dirty work. He could cover. He was a nickel linebacker, great in coverage. When they finally cut him loose rushing the passer, and he got 12 sacks. He did everything and he did it very well.”

The elephant in the room is – why did Clay Matthews make the Pro Bowl only 4 times in 19 years? Clay played in the glory years of the 3-4 outside linebackers who piled up big sack numbers because that’s mostly what they did. We all know sack numbers cloud the judgment of Pro Bowl voters. When Clay came to the Browns in 1978, they were playing a 4-3 defense and Clay played right linebacker. He stayed on the field on third downs -- not to rush the passer but to drop in pass coverage of tight ends or running backs. His first five years in the NFL, Clay had more passes defensed than sacks in every year.

When Marty Schottenheimer took over as head coach in 1984 and installed a 3-4 defense, he would call on Clay from year to year to play a different role. Sometimes he was the nickel defensive end and he rushed on third downs. Sometimes he was the nickel linebacker and was asked to cover. In Marty’s “dime” defense, Clay was the only linebacker on the field. Sometimes he played inside because he was the best Marty had against the run. But he never left the field. Simply stated, he could beat you in a lot of ways. His sack totals suffered because he did whatever was asked. Because he loved the game, not personal glory.

From Houston Oilers guard Mike Munchak, Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2001: “I thought he was as good as anyone I ever played against.”

Clay Matthews is the all-time sack leader of the Browns franchise with 82.5. That total includes sacks researched from the years 1978-81 before the sack became an official statistic. When you add in other impact plays such as forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, and interceptions, Clay Matthews’ impact numbers hold up well against any linebackers in the Hall of Fame from any era.

Total impact plays among linebackerss in the Hall of Fame from Clay’s era:

1.Rickey Jackson, 213.

2.Lawrence Taylor, 195.

3.Derrick Thomas, 187.5.

4.Clay Matthews, 140.5.

Clay is ahead of Hall of Famers Andre Tippett, Ray Lewis, Junior Seau, Derrick Brooks and two linebackers up for vote this year.

Many of you know the work of Mike Giddings. He’s an independent scout who has been grading players for 45 years. Mike uses color codes to grade players. His top grade is blue, then comes red, purple, and gray. Blue is an All-Pro, red is comparable to Pro Bowl-caliber. Mike said he considers a player Hall of Fame-worthy if he has at least five or six seasons in blue.

According to Mike – and I checked this three times with his son, who has all the records -- Clay Matthews had 13 seasons of an overall blue rating, and four in red. The only year Clay did not receive a blue or red was his rookie season and another year when he broke his leg in the second game. Mike Giddings said, “Clay not only qualifies for the number of blue years in our type of evaluation, but the fact he went out playing red all the way to his 19th season is unbelievable.”

I want to close with a couple examples of the kind of player Clay was.

1989 playoffs against the Buffalo Bills. One of the greatest games in Browns history. This was the game Marv Levy and Ted Marchibroda out of necessity spawned what would become their K-gun offense over the next four Super Bowls. They were down by 10 in the fourth quarter and they went no-huddle and Jim Kelly just kept throwing to Thurman Thomas.

The Browns couldn’t cover him out of the backfield. When Thomas lined up in the slot, that was Clay Matthews’ assignment. On the day of this game, Clay was 33 years old and Thurman Thomas was 23. Thomas rang up 150 yards receiving, mostly in the second half. Jim Kelly got down to the 11-yard line trailing, 34-30. With 9 seconds left, he threw one last time for Thomas and Clay intercepted at the goal line.

Fast forward to 1994. Clay is 38 years old and disillusioned with the way Bill Belichick is weeding out older players he inherited on the Browns. Clay intended to retire but was persuaded to play two more years by June Jones, coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Clay started 31 games at the ages of 38 and 39 and graded out red in Giddings’ ratings. Jones begged Matthews to come back for a third season at the age of 40 as a situational pass rusher – a role he never had. Matthews then led the Falcons in sacks with 6.5.

Now here’s the thing. Jones told me about Matthews’ last game of his career in the 1996 season finale. The Falcons were crappy, 3-12, and played the Jacksonville Jaguars, who were good and needed a win to make the playoffs. The Jaguars led by two, 19-17, and were running out the clock. With about four minutes left, Matthews sacked Mark Brunell on third down to force a Jacksonville punt. It was the last play of Clay’s career – a sack of a pretty mobile quarterback.

The Falcons drove the length of the field, but kicker Morten Andersen missed a 30-yard field goal for the win. Jones knew he’d be fired with the loss, but he said the one guy most upset with the loss in the locker room was Clay Matthews.

When I told Mike Munchak this story, he said, “That’s exactly how he was. He didn’t want to lose one rep, much less one game.”

Clay Matthews is the epitome of a Hall of Fame player. He deserves to be in. Please don’t let him fall through the cracks. Thank you for your time.