Defending The Commish’s Love Of Clayborn Pick
May 30th, 2011
Joe admits he was a little taken back yesterday when some commenters here blasted NFL Draft guru Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski of WDAE-AM 620 for expressing excitement over the pick of Adrian Clayborn.
The Commish’s love for the Clayborn pick shined through in a recent episode of JoeBucsFan TV. You can watch it here.
Some commented that The Commish’s draft-guru credibility took a hit because he had expressed negativity about Clayborn before the draft but was now smitten. Joe’s going to say that’s completey unfair. Pawlowski served up positives and negatives on Clayborn and all defensive ends two days before the draft (see below).
8. Adrian Clayborn – Iowa
6’3’’ – 281 lbs – 4.83
1st/2nd RoundWhy The Commish would take him: I think you take Clayborn because of how well-rounded he is and how good he is in multiple areas. Clayborn has been a 3-year starter for Iowa, a captain, had a great work ethic, been productive, and has shown fantastic instincts. He has excellent technique against the run and in getting to the quarterback. Clayborn can be very good with the bull rush, but also shows many different moves to get to the quarterback.
Why The Commish would stay away: There are a few concerns with Clayborn. First, it’s been reported that he has one arm shorter than the other arm which has forced him to only play RDE in his collegiate career. It’s also been reported that he has Erb’s Palsy that some teams are concerned about. In 2010, Clayborn saw his production really fall off after a great 2009 season. I’ve heard people say that opposing offenses were keying on him, but you could say the same for Ryan Kerrigan and JJ Watt, and they were both very productive. There are also some character concerns as Adrian Clayborn was arrested for assaulting a taxicab driver.
Commish’s Final Say: There are obviously many positives and negatives with Clayborn. I do think the Bucs have a good amount interest in him and he could end up being the pick. I do think there is risk, but Clayborn does have the talent to end up being very good in the NFL.
Comparison: Charles Grant – New Orleans Saints
The Commish also had Clayborn going 25th overall in his final mock draft, which was released the morning of the draft.
25. Seattle Seahawks – Adrian Clayborn – DE – Iowa
6’3’’ – 281 lbs – 4.81
Needs: QB, OG, DE, DT, CB
Commish’s Take: At first I thought the Seahawks might go with a quarterback, but now I’m starting to think they’ll try and trade down or grab a defensive player. Clayborn has his issues and red flags, but is still a good player.
All Joe’s saying here is that ripping Pawlowski for doing an about-face on Clayborn isn’t accurate or fair. Joe’s not about to let the guy take it on the chin for no good reason.
May 30th, 2011 at 11:12 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzyk64Xs2Wg&feature=related
May 30th, 2011 at 11:44 am
Joe here,
@CalicoJack — Think you’re missing some of the entertainment value there and are perceiving the “you can’t play defensive end …” as negative versus the looking at it as “how does this guy do it.” …Understand what you’re saying, but the two written examples are out there, tooo.
May 30th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
No wonder Justin is so excited. We got the both players he considered to be the best picks for the Bucs. The criticism on Clay was definitely tongue and chick but the J. Houston wasn’t. He might of been a bit more exuberant after the pick than he was before it, I was too. It all made sense once we made it, Clayborn gives the Bucs a talented pass rusher, run stuffer along with the toughness that is much needed on their DL. We are all Huge Bucs fans that believe in Dom and Rah.
May 30th, 2011 at 12:54 pm
Yep, I pointed the same thing out in the comments the other day. he gave pros and cons on all his picks.
May 30th, 2011 at 1:26 pm
His commentary on draft day predicting that seattke would pick him 25th and saying that he “has issues and red flags but is still a good player” sums it up. Justin also started out the vid acknowledging his flip flop.
May 30th, 2011 at 5:54 pm
+1 Calico Jack.
Joe, how do you watch that clip and say that Justin was in favor of the Bucs taking Clayborn pre-draft? How? Tounge-in-cheek maybe, but if you’re at a bar you don’t tell all your friends what a dog the girl is standing nearby and then get shocked when they call you out a week later after you’ve talked her up because you took her home that night.
BTW all those sweet things Justin mentioned about Clayborn, he seems to have an 8 near is his name. Is that 8 as in 8th best DE? Not 8th best player right? So that means there were 7 DE’s Justin rated higher than Clayborn, of which Cam Jordan who was available was one who was ranked a few slots higher amiright?
Your right Joe, what ARE these silly fans thinking?! Justin loved the guy…I get it 😉
May 30th, 2011 at 6:24 pm
Joe’s not about to let the guy take it on the chin for no good reason…….since there is nothing else to report on
May 30th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
Man, we got too much time on our hands. … And loving it.
I too just re-read and re-watched all this. I think Justin clearly acknowledged the red flags and rated the guy in line with what the Bucs needed and got his value right. The video seemed to be more tongue-in-cheek than anything else. …Jeez, we need a game to talk about.
May 30th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
This is the Internet. Taking it on the chin is what it’s all about, no?
Shout Out to my boy Oar!
May 30th, 2011 at 6:47 pm
Joe here
@MVPFreeman – Joe’s not short of stuff to write about. Look for a good take by Jeff Carlson tomorrow and a top notch and more more meaty video from Justin, plus Joe’s usual buffet.
May 30th, 2011 at 7:10 pm
Thats interesting, since there are no OTAs, no training camp, no trades, no signings or re-signings, heck, even the ticket office is going to be shutdown this week.
About the only thing to talk about is how Freeman is organizing workouts with teammates. I hope it is interesting Joe, but I don’t know what you, Carlson, or Justin are planning on talking about.
May 30th, 2011 at 9:58 pm
I heard Justin’s take on 620 live as Clayborn was selected. It was all “ehhhhhhhhh…..” let’s get real.
May 30th, 2011 at 10:17 pm
I really can appreciate the time it must take Justin to put all of his draft stuff together, same for Joe and this site.
For the most part I had no problem with Justin’s analysis for other players, but his analysis of Clayborn through this whole draft process drove me nuts, mostly because all of his negatives regarding the guy was just a bunch of BS that was being spewed by everybody else on TV and the internet. It was always erbs palsy this, cab driver that, his one arm isn’t as strong as the other and so on and so on. How about we analize his game for once and not a non-issue birth defect that he has lived with for 20+ years and as far as I can tell, never affected his football playing ability at all.
I don’t want to say that I’m happy that he was born with this issue or that he had a down year, but had he put up another 10 sack season he would have been a top 10 pick. Last year if you would have told me that the Bucs would have a chance to grab Clayborn with the 20th pick I would have told you you’re insane.
I’m not a huge Hawkeye fan, but I live in Iowa and have alot of friends that are die hard Hawks fans, and the big gripe that they always have is that Iowa does not adjust thier defense whatsoever during games. They play assignment football and do not move players around to give them easier matchups like what Purdue did for Kerrigan and Mizzou did for Aldon Smith. Clayborn played his senior year with a banged up knee and what he got he earned the hard way every week.
Nevertheless, Justin and Joe, I love this site, appreciate the time and research it takes to pump out all of the info that you guys put on here for us, and don’t have a doubt in my mind that Adrian Clayborn will rip some sh!t up whenever we get football back again. Keep up the great work guys, and Justin, no hard feelings, I give all draft “guru’s” crap from time to time. I think you and Joe both understand that that comes with the territory.
May 31st, 2011 at 7:29 am
And still no mention that I was calling the Clayborn Pick in Febuary. So often that other pisters were getting pissed at me.
Sad, I don’t think I ever got props for that call. And that took
some insight! I called Clayborn and Clayborn alone as our first pick for 3 months straight. I only wavered once, right after the Talib event. I though this made the Bucs look at Clayborns “taxi incident”harder. But went right back to him.
I’m not trying to Gloat. I just wanna start building my credibility real high for the next draft discussions. Those may start soon! And may not be interloper by a season, either!
May 31st, 2011 at 10:34 am
capt tim, you can go back and see the fights that i got into early in support of clayborn too. the biggest skeptic of clayborn through the whole process was the resident draft guru. i’m already looking forward to next years draft arguements.
May 31st, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Good job Capt! I love the pick, he is going to be awesome…