Matt Johnson A McClay Pick?

[Hoofbite]

I shit you not when I started typing this I was only going to post about a thread I came across the other day and how it should provide a little caution for a full fledged swan dive into the Will McClay hot tub. I was curious how much lip service Will McClay had received prior to last fall. Searched around and ran across an interesting radio recap of Stephen talking about the draft of 2012. Came from May 3, 2012 and one of the bullet points was:

Will McClay did a lot of work scouting Matt Johnson. He had everything we look for in safety. Other teams might have knocked him for his tackling last year and injury, but we were actually impressed he played through an injury that knock most people out for the year.

I was going to piggyback this with a quote from the very same Stephen Jones talking about the 2013 draft in comparison to the 2012 draft.

“We got a guy in the fifth round [running back Joseph Randle] we had on the board in the third. We got good value on guys instead or reaching as we did in the past. Last year, we needed a safety and might have pumped a little air in [fourth-round pick Matt Johnson]. We took him earlier than we needed to. That didn’t happen this year, other than maybe the first round. We got good value.”

What I was going to point out from these two quotes is that:

1. Will McClay worked extensively with Johnson and subsequently the team reached for him. Specifically speaking, it was likely McClay who was pumping a good amount of that air if he worked with Johnson enough to have Stephen explicitly mention it.​

2. Matt Johnson may have a free pass for the duration of his contract. They aren't ditching on a McClay pet any sooner than they have to after being as pleased as they were with the job he did last year. If he stays healthy, they're probably gonna just consider him a rookie and keep him even if he looks pretty bad in camp and preseason. If he gets hurt, they'll IR him and try again next year.​

As I alluded to earlier, this was all I was going to post and just point out that maybe we should tap the brakes on McClay if guys he's getting a very good look at are being labeled as reaches the following season.

That said, after having read a shit ton of Will McClay articles and posts in trying to find out when the first time a guy who's been with the team for 11 years was actually noticed to a great extent, I've got a whole new thread in the works and it comes packaged with a nice little conspiracy theory.

:fern​

Well, sort of. Not a real conspiracy but just a hunch on the ass backward day-to-day operations within the organization.

I'll also point out that while I was pretty fucking skeptical about how such a scouting savant could lay low within the organization for a decade, I'm a little more optimistic about the McClay aspect than I was prior to looking at all this garbage.

 

[Midswat]

I can't bash him for the Johnson selection because I don't remember if Johnson was as injury prone in college as he's been with us. The guy just can't stay healthy.

Now, had he gotten playing time and just sucked , then maybe

That said, I don't think McClay is anything special. Ireland an cCiscowski have been hyped as geniuses as we'll. and look at our team and complete lack of depth, success, and overall talent.

 

[diehard2294]

3rd on Randle is a joke and tells you all you need to know about the brass

 

[Freddie]

I've been following Willie McClay's career since his days in the Arena League. He is the Real Deal, amigos.

 

[boozeman]

Nice.

 

[boozeman]

I can't bash him for the Johnson selection because I don't remember if Johnson was as injury prone in college as he's been with us. The guy just can't stay healthy.

Now, had he gotten playing time and just sucked , then maybe

That said, I don't think McClay is anything special. Ireland an cCiscowski have been hyped as geniuses as we'll. and look at our team and complete lack of depth, success, and overall talent.

I can bash him simply because he was a reach. What has happened since he was drafted is just icing on the shit cake.

What I don't get is that McClay is being hailed because he digs under every rock and grinds to find players where nobody else does.

Sometimes you can overanalyze things.

When you start thinking small school guys who are blowing up some dork that will be selling insurance after graduation during his career at Eastern Washington will be diamonds, well, you are probably guessing. Or hoping, which seems to be the organizational thought process.

I respect Ciskowski because he has some skins. From year to year, we seem to do an okay job of scouting, and the players we have interest in (but of course never take) are solid.

The one thing that scares me is McClay's philosophy that could have easily been born out of his days in the fricking arena league. His job there was to dig up athletes to play a bastardized version of the sport. How exactly does that translate to being able to evaluate talent for the NFL? What guys who cut their scouting teeth in the AFL are littered all over the league? I'd love to know because I can think of only one.

Great post, Hoof. Needs to be something people know about this guy who is getting way too much credit for doing, well, nothing other than being the flavor of the moment.

 

[Jon88]

Jerry tells him to look for small school prospects because Jimmy found a lot of good ones when he was here. He's desperate to show everyone else how much smarter he is than them.

I can't name any good ones Jerry's drafted outside of Larry Allen in the 2nd round and Dexter Coakley in the 3rd.

 

[Irving Cowboy]

icing on the shit cake.

This made me LAWL.

 

[dbair1967]

Dude is gonna have 7 or 8 picks this yr...book it

 

[peplaw06]

I can bash him simply because he was a reach. What has happened since he was drafted is just icing on the shit cake.

What I don't get is that McClay is being hailed because he digs under every rock and grinds to find players where nobody else does.

Sometimes you can overanalyze things.

When you start thinking small school guys who are blowing up some dork that will be selling insurance after graduation during his career at Eastern Washington will be diamonds, well, you are probably guessing. Or hoping, which seems to be the organizational thought process.

I respect Ciskowski because he has some skins. From year to year, we seem to do an okay job of scouting, and the players we have interest in (but of course never take) are solid.

The one thing that scares me is McClay's philosophy that could have easily been born out of his days in the fricking arena league. His job there was to dig up athletes to play a bastardized version of the sport. How exactly does that translate to being able to evaluate talent for the NFL? What guys who cut their scouting teeth in the AFL are littered all over the league? I'd love to know because I can think of only one.

Great post, Hoof. Needs to be something people know about this guy who is getting way too much credit for doing, well, nothing other than being the flavor of the moment.

Yep. Small school guy, who was a reach. Not unheard of that such a guy would be injury prone. He'll be forgotten after this season just like Justin Beriault.

 

[cmd34]

I can't bash him for the Johnson selection because I don't remember if Johnson was as injury prone in college as he's been with us.

Will McClay did a lot of work scouting Matt Johnson. He had everything we look for in safety. Other teams might have knocked him for his tackling last year and injury, but we were actually impressed he played through an injury that knock most people out for the year.

I can bash him simply because he was a reach

Seattle had a 7th round grade on him. San Francisco graded him as an UDFA.

 

[marionbarberthe4th]

Guessing ?

 

[dbair1967]

CMDstile with sources

 

[Midswat]

Seattle had a 7th round grade on him. San Francisco graded him as an UDFA.

I know there was talk Phily was going to take him if we didn't, but philly flat out sucks at drafting safeties so Wgas

Is Nate Allen still a thing?

 

[boozeman]

I know there was talk Phily was going to take him if we didn't, but philly flat out sucks at drafting safeties so Wgas

I also heard Chicago. And they sucked at drafting white safeties too.

 

[Hoofbite]

I know there was talk Phily was going to take him if we didn't, but philly flat out sucks at drafting safeties so Wgas

Is Nate Allen still a thing?

That's how Jerry operates. Rather than do what's best for his team, he's all concerned and shit about taking a player before someone else does.