Cleveland Browns: Could Deion Sanders comments hurt Clay Matthews Hall of Fame hopes

Hall of Famer Deion Sanders had some harsh words for those who elect players into the Hall. Could his words hurt the bid of former Cleveland Browns linebacker Clay Matthews?

Clay Matthews, Jr. was a heck of a linebacker for the Cleveland Browns. In 16 seasons with the Browns, Matthews had an unbelievable 1,430 tackles which are the most in team history.

In addition to that, he had 62 career sacks, 24 forced fumbles, and 14 interceptions. He was a do-it-all linebacker and continued to perform even after his 16 years in Cleveland. In 1994, at the age of 38, he joined the Atlanta Falcons and played three more seasons.

After recording 153 tackles in his first two seasons, he became a part-time player at 40-years old. Still, the linebacker made an impact with just 12 tackles — 6.5 of which were sacks. Many claim that this should get him into the Hall of Fame, but for whatever reason, it just hasn’t happened.

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Now with Deion Sanders ripping the voters, it’s fair to wonder if that will hurt his chances of ever making it in. Amid talk that Eli Manning should be a Hall of Famer, Sanders went off, claiming too many people are already being allowed in which makes it less special.

"“What is a Hall of Famer now? Is it a guy who played a long time?” Sanders said via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “It’s so skewed now. Once upon a time, a Hall of Famer was a player who changed the darn game, who made you want to reach in your pocket and pay your admission to see that guy play. That’s not a Hall of Famer anymore. Every Tom, Dick and Harry, you’re a Hall of Famer, you’re a Hall of Famer, you’re a Hall of Famer. They let everybody in this thing. It’s not exclusive anymore. And I don’t like it.”"

Sanders, who was a member of the Atlanta Falcons as well, but left for San Francisco the same season that Matthews joined the Dirty Birds, makes some valid points.

Many sports Hall of Fames put a lot of weight on stats as they justify whether a player is great or not. However, this isn’t always fair.

For example, neither Joe Montana and Troy Aikman ever hit 4,000-yards passing in a single season. Matthew Stafford has done so seven times, one of which included a 5,038-yard season. As impressive as Stafford has been, he hasn’t changed the game, even if the numbers he put up are staggering.

Of course, these are different era but it’s just a small example that stats aren’t enough to get a player in. So the real question for players such as Matthews, is whether or not they changed the game. For Clay, I still believe the answer is yes.

Longevity aside, this is a guy who led one of the better defenses for years. He routinely racked up 100-plus tackles, but he was also a beast when rushing the passer. He finished with 62 sacks and had a career-high 12 in 1984 which was only the second season that the league recorded them as a statistic.

Pair those stats up with the fact that for more than a decade he was the cornerstone of a team that was constantly in the playoffs and you have a guy who left his mark on the game.

The Kardiac Kids of the 1980 season were a joy to watch and guys such as Matthews were a big reason why.

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So while Deion’s comments have merit and the Hall should listen to him, they have no bearing on Clay Matthews, Jr. as he should have been in the Hall of Fame long ago.

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