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Why does everybody seem to hate John McClain?

paycheck71

paycheck71

Hall of Fame
Last time I lived in Houston, the Oilers were on their way out of there, and John McClain was a respectable reporter covering the Oilers and the NFL for the Chronicle, appearing on the local radio. So, in other words, it's been awhile.

I've read some of his columns since then as part of following football in Houston after moving away. He kept me up to date on what was happening with awarding Houston the new franchise. Up until twitter blew up, he and the Chronicle were almost the only source I was aware of I could reliably follow for my Texans news.

About 3 years ago I started working from home, so I get to listen to the radio of my choice all day long, and it gave me an opportunity to listen to multiple Houston sports stations. I also follow most Houston football media on twitter.

What I don't understand is the public (twitter is public) vocal dislike of many in the media of John McClain. I understand that he's old and probably not as fast as some of these new young guys that are trying to make a name for themselves, but I think he's had a very successful career and probably deserves some respect. Unless there is some personal stuff, and he's a grade A a-hole in person to these guys, I just don't get it. People should stay professional and keep this sort of stuff out of the public forum regarding their colleagues.
 
Three things.

1) He's been doing the NFL beat too long, and has gotten stale with his assessments. He's more interested in building his movie and tv career than talking about the NFL.

2) He's dismissive of fans and thinks we're all morons.

3) His lack of the big picture and dismissiveness makes him not see things clearly. EXAMPLE: On Saturday, they were on the radio talking about the Sunday game, and, the host said, "So, is there a chance that Jeff Fisher pulls this off since he's been coaching against the Texans for 10 years? McClain immediately interrupted the host and was hostile: "NO. The Rams are terrible, blah, blah, blah." He wouldn't even acknowledge that the Texans could lose the game. He's supposed to look at all angles of things, and he often does not. Not only is Kubiak's playbook stale, but, Jeff Fisher knows this team. It's absurd to not consider those things in assessing the game.

Sure enough, Sunday came, and look at what happened.
 
McClain has good war stories. He's a walking history book about much of the AFL/NFL and Houston football history. I respect and enjoy him when he starts telling stories. That's why you see him on some of those NFL "top ten" shows giving commentary.

That being said, his football analysis is where he tries too hard. I've heard him say some bonehead stuff over the years when he ventures into breaking down plays and explaining schemes. He really seems over his head at times when he does this.

I think he's probably a nice enough guy, so it's not anything personal. He just needs to play to his strengths instead of trying to be Mr. All-Things-Football.
 
paycheck71 said:
Not to be too self critical here, but I think most fans, certainly a very large percentage, are probably morons.
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Speak for yourself. I'm not a moron. And I don't think most people on this board are morons.

Yes, there are a lot of clueless fans who say clueless things; but my point was that McClain can't even see things that a "normal" fan can see (like, um, maybe we should worry about Jeff Fisher coming in here??), and when fans point things out to him, he is dismissive.

As the other person above said, he knows a lot, he's been around a lot, he knows a lot of history, but, when he tries to analyze things as they currently are, he looks like an idiot.
 
paycheck71 said:
Unless there is some personal stuff, and he's a grade A a-hole in person to these guys, I just don't get it.
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He's not that. Many of us here have hung out with JM and he is a good guy. He likes to hang out with and do some special things for the fans from time to time.
 
houstonspartan said:
Speak for yourself. I'm not a moron. And I don't think most people on this board are morons.
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Settle down. I certainly wasn't talking about this board or you in particular. But when you get bombarded by who knows how many emails and tweets every day, majority of which are probably idiotic, it's easy to eventually become dismissive (all assumptions on my part).

I can see how he's old and set in his ways, and not too interested in hearing someone's 24 yo opinion, but I don't see how that warrants the kind of hate I see sometimes.
 
houstonspartan said:
Three things.

1) He's been doing the NFL beat too long, and has gotten stale with his assessments. He's more interested in building his movie and tv career than talking about the NFL.=
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Actually he is not over the NFL like he used to be and that is his greatest problem. When the Texans started McClain was covering the whole league and got to pick the best games to go to, talk to people all over the league, etc. He has great contacts for that gig. But then the Chronicle made him focus on the Texans. He didn't like that. It worked out OK at first because Casserly would talk to him so he still didn't have to do any analysis. Then Kubiak came to town and his administration doesn't talk to the press. Now McClain was stuck in Houston with no sources and so he had to start attempting more analysis and despite decades as a sports writer he is not good on the technical aspects of the game.
 
paycheck71 said:
Not to be too self critical here, but I think most fans, certainly a very large percentage, are probably morons.
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earlier tonight the NFL.com had a poll asking who should start at quarterback for the texans. when i voted for keenum, the leader was vince young by a considerable margin.

need i say more?
 
For being THE Texans beat reporter he is lazy as hell. He also acts as though his analysis (which people have pointed out, is at best, mediocre) is coming from up on high and is irrefutable. He sounds like a fat walrus on the radio and it's grating, and mostly he cares more about his tiny movie career than he does about covering the Texans.

Also, especially during the offseason with Free Agency and the Draft, he acts as though his word is infallible and he is frequently frequently wrong. His war stories from back in the day are fine, but he's stuck in the 80's and 90's and seems content to just half-ass his job now because he knows the Chronicle isn't going to fire him.
 
I don't dislike McClain but I don't find his insight very credible. McClain needs someone to give him his opinion when it comes to x's and o's. Not trying to be harsh, but he really doesn't know what he's looking at in many cases. On the positive side he is a great historian and I think he's one of the reasons we have so many HOF Oilers (although Dr. Doom is a glaring omission) due to his plethora of excellent NFL contacts. I actually like his writing when he doesn't pretend to be an expert at diagnosing what he sees. When he documents reactions, gets insider information and covers the bigger picture he is well worth reading. You just can't rely on his technical opinion unless he's passing on someone else's.
 
The Oilers era was his heyday. Now, he's nothing more than a parrot when it comes to football. He knows his stuff when it comes to history

I quit following him on Twitter due to the bullbutter he spewed
 
Vinny said:
I don't find his insight very credible.
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McLaim's sources packed up and moved with the Oilers to Tinbredville.


He's continued to act as if he knows what's going on behind the curtain .... when his information is nothing more than a guess - Just like the fans.
 
Vinny said:
I don't dislike McClain but I don't find his insight very credible. McClain needs someone to give him his opinion when it comes to x's and o's. Not trying to be harsh, but he really doesn't know what he's looking at in many cases. On the positive side he is a great historian and I think he's one of the reasons we have so many HOF Oilers (although Dr. Doom is a glaring omission) due to his plethora of excellent NFL contacts. I actually like his writing when he doesn't pretend to be an expert at diagnosing what he sees. When he documents reactions, gets insider information and covers the bigger picture he is well worth reading. You just can't rely on his technical opinion unless he's passing on someone else's.
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Very well put Vinny, that sounds like a solid summary of McClain, past & present. Just leaves one question for me about JM, what exactly is his role with the former Oilers who of course have been in Nashville for awhile now ?
Is he on their payroll, or does he just do NFL and/or Titans stuff as a member of the Nashville sports media ?
 
I was thinking about this yesterday actually. I like listening to McClain. He's wrong a lot, but he has a lot of good stories and he does have some good insight.

Plus he is the guy that pushes to get our guys into the hall of fame.
 
Its not that we hate him we just hate he believes all the bull**** the Texans put out without ever questioning it. Its not hard to see that everything on kirby dr is not unicorns farting rainbows but if Kubiak and CO tell McClain that he always seem to take it as fact when its not.
 
Just noticed it... Mods, can you please change the thread title to "Why does everybody seem to hate John McClain?"

I hate it when I make mistakes like this.
 
One thing for sure is that we often get Texans' breaking news from outside of Houston media. Why is that? Are the JM and other Houston Chronicle writers doing their job? Or, just eating hot dogs and being happy just watching Texans play and not paying attention and open their ears and eyes which they supposedly being paid to do.
 
SAMURAITEXAN said:
One thing for sure is that we often get Texans' breaking news from outside of Houston media. Why is that? Are the JM and other Houston Chronicle writers doing their job? Or, just eating hot dogs and being happy just watching Texans play and not paying attention and open their ears and eyes which they supposedly being paid to do.
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The team in secretive in nature .... most "breaking news" really isn't all that.


Kubiak & Smith don't let much get out about injuries who's playing where .... McLaim is guessing jut like the rest of us.

The only difference is that he has the opportunities to ask questions of people so they can tell lies and half truths in response.
 
Corrosion said:
The team in secretive in nature .... most "breaking news" really isn't all that.


Kubiak & Smith don't let much get out about injuries who's playing where .... McLaim is guessing jut like the rest of us.

The only difference is that he has the opportunities to ask questions of people so they can tell lies and half truths in response.
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John McClain gets scooped constantly about the Texans. When that is what he gets paid for, the be the guy that tells you whats going on with this team. His contacts may have left town, but apparently he's incapable of developing relationships in a regime that has been here for 7 years now.
 
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