McClure has been the Rodney Dangerfield of the Atlanta Falcons. He don't get no respect. McClure never got voted to the Pro Bowl and rarely got the respect he deserved from the fans or the front office.
Ok I just need to let everyone know because I keep getting hammered about not coming back. I wanted to play this year.
— Todd Mcclure (@ToddMcclure62) September 30, 2013
If you did not respect McClure before this year, you gained some measure of it watching Konz fall all over himself. McClure was an important piece to Atlanta's offensive line and Atlanta did not want him back. Until October.
Per Alex Marvez of Fox Sports, Atlanta reached out to McClure last month about a return. McClure was ready and willing to jump back into the starting lineup. However, after thinking about it, Atlanta decided to move on with what they had. More Konz. Less blocking.
The report states they checked in with McClure during the bye week. The Falcons were 1-3, having just lost three close games. Julio Jones just went down for the season but Roddy White and Steven Jackson were expected to return from injury after the bye and things certainly should have been looking up.
Since that time, Atlanta beat a struggling Tampa Bay team followed by three blowout losses. These blowout losses were due in part to the offensive line failing to do anything other than stumbling to the ground and earning Pro Bowl selections for every opposing defensive lineman.
It would have been great to add a bit of stability to the offensive line, and through that, hopefully the offense. These situations are usually avoided by things like training camp battles, but McClure don't get no respect. Now our Falcons don't either.