Whats Wrong With Clay Matthews?

Did you see the sack Bishop got that was actually because Clay had forced Orton out of the pocket and stepped up right into the hands of Bishop. Bishop gets the stat but that sack was all Clay. I watched him time and time again keep on motoring after what looked like an initial hit to take him out of a play. The way he was relentlessly pursuing on every down didn't look like a guy with a physical issue to me. We just need to get someone else that coaches have to game plan for, right now there really isn't a beast on the other side to worry about. Things will work them selves out.

I have rolled the bones and I predict that next week the Claymaker will be feasting on Falcon under glass.

 

Haven't read a single post in this thread outside of the original one so my point has probably been repeated many times already.

No one else in the front 7 is getting any pressure at all. Matthews gets double-teamed and nobody can win their one-on-one matchup. Cullen Jenkins is sorely missed in that regard.

Also, Matthews is struggling as a pass rusher as well.

 

Are we going to lose much putting in So'oto? Or we saving him as a secret weapon ala James Starks circa 2010?

I mean as a compliment to Clay. Who isn't producing by the way. Hate away.

 

If we were getting as much pressure from other guys as we're getting from Matthews we wouldn't be giving up 400 yards passing a game. We do miss Jenkins. Maybe Neal will help our rush when he gets back. One guy can't give you all your rush and that's were we are right now. Matthews was double teamed, held, chipped, you name it. Put So Oto in. We are crying for some rush from the side opposite Clay.

 

I told you guys that I focused in on Clay a bunch of times.
Here some photos I took, of how Clay is typically blocked about many times a game with no flags.
These are holding if it was Tauscher on Peppers or Clifton against Jared Allen.
Why is Clay not getting the call? When they let them block him like this, it's hard to get sacks of course.
When the zebra allows the guy to get away with this, he will keep lasso-ing Clay over and over like this. It needs to be called right away. You cannot allow them to grab a guy's shoulder, neck, jersey like that.

Sidenote. Notice Hawk not winning his one-on-one with a little running back, and all kinds of space for AJ to run around the guy. Or blast him back. But he was stalemated. Maybe his job was just to prevent the FB from getting out as a receiver.

 

After what the Saints and Panthers did with their RBs and TEs on delayed routes, I'd bet it has a lot to do with it. But then again, Hawk is notoriously bad at disengaging blockers.

As for Matthews, this game was different from the last 3. But it's a great sign.

If the Falcons think they're a passing team and work the shotgun early, they're gonna be demolished by Matthews.
If they work the running game and the playaction like the Broncos, they're not gonna score enough to keep up with our offense.

So... Pick your poison.

 

Clay was slipped on the field like crazy. I counted 4x when I STARTED to notice. What's up with that?

 

Stats can lie. Remember, one of his sacks was that goofy play in Chicago where he was just unblocked. Wynn doesn't get consistent pressure like Jenkins did. Wynn isn't the biggest problem but he can definitely improve.

 

Pro Football Weekly weighed in on Matthews yesterday:

“While he does continue to deal with health issues, getting by with greatly reduced practice time because of a lingering thigh/quadriceps injury, daily team observers agree that Matthews is playing as well as ever. He is providing constant pressure (team-leading 18 QB hurries) and disruptive energy and coming up with key plays against the run, especially in the red zone.”

Of course they could be biased: They named Matthews their defensive MVP last season. They go on to mention the Packers need another pass rusher and Neal was supposed to be that guy. They also say Zombo will spit time with Walden when he gets back. I haven’t seen it mentioned in the press but like many of you, I’d also like to see what So’oto can do rushing the passer. He did play STs last week.

 

Sorry I haven't weighed in until now. For some reason my RSS wasn't updating new threads here, and I haven't had much time lately to browse the forum.

As for the Matthews debate, I think it's tough to say whether he's genuinely off to a slow start or not. It's true he's not getting the sexy stats, but it's obvious he's serving as a disrupting force. As a team, the Packers are tied for 8th with 11 sacks on the season. Jurius Wynn leads the team with 3, Bishop is second with 2, plus a handful of people with one. That doesn't happen unless Matthews is drawing quite a bit of attention. It's been mentioned several times already that Matthews is still causing havoc in the back field, which is true. The Bears will tell you all about it.

You also have to consider the lack of another pass rusher to draw those extra double teams. Jenkins was a force to reckon with, and Neal was supposed to be that force this season. Unfortunately the lack of Neal is allowing for more attention to be paid to Matthews when it might go elsewhere.

Then there's scheme, both on the defensive and opposing offensive side of the ball. Matthews may be in a 1 on 1 situation for 56% of the opposing passing downs, but he's not sneaking up on anyone, and a a fast release to a wide out or WR can account for a teams best pass rusher. Plus it's not unrealistic to expect the other guy to win at least half of those battles.

It's also been said that the Packer are rushing 3 more often than not these days. That doesn't bode well for sacks. I also believe that once Neal and Zombo return, we'll see a schematic change from Capers. Right now he doesn't have the personnel to be ultra aggressive. The return of those two will open up some opportunities.

And finally, the injury. I do believe he's hindered by this a bit more than we're being led to believe. He's practiced once a week for most of the season, which does little to help him improve and stay strong from a schematic perspective.

All in all I think it's too early to really worry about Matthews. I believe his stats will come in due time. I also trust in our coaches, and believe they aren't worried about it. I believe he's still playing at a very high level in other facets of the game, and is opening some holes and creating opportunities for others. He started strong last season because we played two really inept offensive lines in the first two games. This season everyone knows to look out for #52.