Rushing to judgement on Clay Matthews’ HOF chances?

By STEVE KING

Former Browns linebacker Clay Matthews’ versatility is thought to be his biggest asset in his Pro Football Hall of Fame candidacy.
Indeed, that’s a rare commodity in a day and age when players are shuffled in and out of games on almost every play, making the field look like a busy intersection with all kinds of people coming and going. That’s the case, too, even going back to the time when Matthews played 16 years in Cleveland from 1978-93, and then finished up with three seasons (1994-96) with the Atlanta Falcons, during which he never left the field because he was a three-down player. He could rush the quarterback, play the run and drop back into pass coverage. Teams are still looking for, without much success, players like that. They are godsends in the salary-cap age because they can do the work of two or three players.
Matthews is a modern-era finalist — one of 15 — for the first time in the HOF process, with his fate being determined Saturday by voters in his attempt to be a member of the 2021 induction class.
I’m hearing that he likely won’t make the cut this time. That’s disappointing, because I really think he belongs in the Hall, but, no matter what, at least he finally got this far. He is closer now than he’s ever been.
As good as Matthews was in the aforementioned three phases of his play, he probably excelled most as a pass rusher. His 62 career sacks, which still stand as a Browns record, is a testament to that.
The belief is that, again probably because he could do it all, that, he never got to focus more on getting after the quarterback when he played for Marty Schottenheimer for nine seasons (1980-89), the first 4 1/2 when Schottenheimer was Browns defensive coordinator and then the last 4 1/2 when he took over as head coach.
With that, then, If Matthews had been utilized more as a rusher, would that have helped the Browns go further in the playoffs, especially in 1986 when John Elway’s 15-play, 98-yard drive was the dagger in the AFC Championship Game, and then in the AFC title game the next season when the Browns had all kinds of trouble stopping Elway throughout another losing effort? Would he — could he — have been the difference between anguish and exhilaration?
Taking it one step further, if that philosophy in those two games kept the Browns from getting to the Super Bowl, and if the lack of a Super Bowl appearance hurts Matthews’ candidacy, as many believe, then is it helping to keep him out of the HOF?
Who knows, for sure? But it’s interesting to ponder, particularly now as Matthews waits to see if he can get into the HOF — finally without a ticket.