Quote Originally Posted by Cheesehead Craig View Post
People peak at different times. I think Hawk was hitting his peak in college and simply couldn't get any better even with NFL-level training. Then he started to decline earlier than others at his age. Perhaps Clay is the same way, he hit his peak fast and is simply unable to sustain it. I think we get spoiled with some players that can sustain a high level of excellence (Lawrence Taylor, Ray Lewis, Reggie White, etc) for an extended amount of time and when others cannot match that we think they suck.
The Claymaker wasn't a regular starter til his 5th year in college, so he probably hasn't peaked yet.

Two reasons for the Claymaker's decline in production:

1. Claymaker - He's soft, especially at OLB. Takes himself out of the game and is a hamstring pull waiting to happen.

2. Polar Bear - Want proof of Thompson's incompetence? His failure to fix the miseries at ILB forced the Claymaker to waste almost 2 years of his prime playing ILB. Claymaker's a fucking elite OLB. He should not be playing ILB til he's a greybeard at 34. Thanks Ted!