Will the real Clay Matthews please stand up?

ivo610

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I remember a Clay that we had that was one of the best defensive players in the league. This clay matthews that we see this year seems to be a shell of that guy. This season he is overpaid and his lack of contribution was never more glaring than Sundays game against the fins. Paging Kevin Greene Paging Kevin Greene, can you come to the field to pick up your lost student?
 

red4tribe

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We once had a good OLB who forced a key fumble that turned the tide of a Super Bowl we won. Can't remember his name.

Thank god for Peppers. Matthews has looked totally mediocre this year.
 

60six

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During an interview this morning Clay was asked about his slow start and he replyed........ R.E.L.A.X.
 

rodell330

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During an interview this morning Clay was asked about his slow start and he replyed........ R.E.L.A.X.

Love Clay but he's making waayyyy to much money to be looking like just a guy out there smh. The defense isn't that great and it doesn't help that the best player is not doing much. I never thought I'd say this but Nick Perry who's a part time player has even outplayed Clay Matthews and has stayed healthy. Maybe they need to move him back to the other side since his best yr cane from the left.
 

NOMOFO

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People that suggest Matthews is just fine and he's the same player he ever was have completely forgotten who "he was".

Remember the guy that wreaked havoc on opposing QBs down after down? He##, we're lucky to see him doing that once a game these days.
 

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I hadn't contemplated the loss of Kevin Greene in relation to Matthews' performance. It's still to early for me to jump to conclusions about the source of the problem, if there is one. All I know is that he's not playing at his old level yet it's one of his healthiest seasons so far. Maybe we can send a private plane down to Kevin Greene's house and offer him a fat "media" contract if he'd come back! :roflmao:
 
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ivo610

ivo610

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Well Clay played with alot more passion this week against the Panthers, so the player is still there, as I was worried we wouldnt see him again. I dont need the eye popping stat numbers, but I do need that aggressiveness that he showed today
 
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Well Clay played with alot more passion this week against the Panthers, so the player is still there, as I was worried we wouldnt see him again. I dont need the eye popping stat numbers, but I do need that aggressiveness that he showed today
It seemed as if today that he was either bull rushing through the offensive line, or running around them completely on every single play... It was fun to watch.
 

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I suggest looking beyond his stat line on the box score. Sacks aren't everything for a pass rusher. Being disruptive in the offensive backfield IS, and he has been just that. He's also dropping into coverage more than ever this year and doing a fine job of that.
 
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Although he only registered a half sack yesterday Matthews played way better than in previous weeks. Hope he´s able to keep that up.
 

easyk83

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It seemed as if today that he was either bull rushing through the offensive line, or running around them completely on every single play... It was fun to watch.

One thing I've noticed this year, including the Panthers game, Clay doesn't take the edge quite like he did last year. In the past Clay used to get as low around the corner as anyone in recent memory, he looked like Bruce Smith coming around the edge. This season he's been much more upright, I haven't seen him get low and fast once. I don't think he looks slower or weaker, just not as fluid which leads me to believe that he might have some nagging injury again.
 
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A similar to earlier sentiment..Clay has clearly underperformed for the year. That being said, his expectations level is higher than his paycheck and we need him to life up to every penny of it. His performance was good this week, occasionally disruptive but not dominant. He met my expectations this week but no trophies here also
 

TJV

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Heard on radio he is #2 in the league with q/b hurries
Going into the Vikings game I believe he was one ahead of Peppers in QB hurries. And the Packers are among the league leaders in QB knockdowns and I'm sure in QB hurries as well.
 

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Clay was fantastic yesterday. Stats may not show it, but he was constantly disrupting plays and was double teams consistently.
 

Einstein McFly

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People who say that he wasn't playing hard need to trust their eyes more than box scores. Mathews has been playing hard like he always does, but it seemed like yesterday he got to rush from the edge a lot more consistently. He's a great player and we're lucky to have him. However, like someone above said, he's not bending around the edge the way that he has in the past. It's especially hard watching Wake against the Packer and bears the last two weeks bend like crazy and get to the QB. Unless Mathews is injured, I can't imagine why he wouldn't be using that move anymore.
 

SoonerPack

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GPG hit it on the head. Throw the box score out and watch his IMPACT on the game. He never dogs it and just because he doesn't have a flashy sack total I guarantee you D-Coordinators are spending ample time every week trying to gameplan for him. He has dropped back into coverage a lot more this season and that obviously has an impact on his sacks. Claymaker will be and is just fine. He was all over the field yesterday and I was thrilled with how he "stayed at home" on the few zone read plays the Panthers ran. He showed his closing speed on one in particular where he was waiting for Cam to keep but he handed it off and Clay had the jets to close and almost get a TFL on the play. I, like many, would love to see him rack up 15+ sacks but as long as we are winning and I see his golden locks flying around the field I am one happy camper. This defense is starting to gel and I think as the season progresses Bloodline will start to see more open lanes to the passer. When he does start to get some openings I fully expect him to capitalize and for his sack numbers to climb. Here's hoping that once his sacks increase some of you will take a step back from the ledge. Stats are nice and all but they in no way paint the whole picture.
 
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One thing I've noticed this year, including the Panthers game, Clay doesn't take the edge quite like he did last year. In the past Clay used to get as low around the corner as anyone in recent memory, he looked like Bruce Smith coming around the edge. This season he's been much more upright, I haven't seen him get low and fast once. I don't think he looks slower or weaker, just not as fluid which leads me to believe that he might have some nagging injury again.
or maybe... Just maybe... He is trying to PREVENT injuries and save the 100% effort for the postseason. This could be an easy explanation and could help prevent any major hamstring injuries that we have seen in the past.
 

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He did look good yesterday. Personally I haven't questioned his effort, just his discipline. As Clay conceded below, the Panthers inexplicably only ran the read-option away from Clay (to the offense's right) instead of at him. Peppers did a nice job each time that I saw it, which wasn't often.

"We had that pick-six taken away, which was unfortunate," said Matthews. "They ran it (read-option) all right but we did a pretty good job of shutting it down ... making sure we knew where to be, especially after the success Miami had last week."
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/279702172.html
 

longtimefan

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People who say that he wasn't playing hard need to trust their eyes more than box scores. Mathews has been playing hard like he always does, but it seemed like yesterday he got to rush from the edge a lot more consistently. He's a great player and we're lucky to have him. However, like someone above said, he's not bending around the edge the way that he has in the past. It's especially hard watching Wake against the Packer and bears the last two weeks bend like crazy and get to the QB. Unless Mathews is injured, I can't imagine why he wouldn't be using that move anymore.


That is what the person on the radio said..

However, he was quoting Profootbalfocus on clay's performance.

He is #2 in the league in hurries, but was really bad in a lot of other areas. But after the Panther game, PFF had this to say


Clay Matthews, OLB, +4.9

Breakdown: After nearly half a season’s worth of average play, Matthews broke out in a big way against a couple of overmatched tackles. Recording a sack and team-high six total pressures, the USC product looks to have regained his form after an injury-marred 2013 season.

Signature Play: It wasn’t all pass rushing for the multi-dimensional linebacker. At 11:04 in the opening quarter, Matthews shot off the line unblocked to take down Jonathan Stewart for a three yard loss.

The person on the radio (I am pretty sure it was from WSSP) said he talked to Clay about the issues...Clay supposedly said that he is very aware of the pressure on him (from his teammates, to the fans) to be better than he has been. He knows he is paid to be one of the top defensive players in the NFL..

Even tho the game was out of hand, one reason why he stayed in the Viking game so late was to try and get a sack...They believe sacks do come in bunches, the team hope a sack in the Viking game could launch him into a sack frenzy..
 
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People who say that he wasn't playing hard need to trust their eyes more than box scores.

I haven´t seen anybody here on the forum criticizing Matthews for not playing hard. There´s no denying though that he didn´t have the impact the Packers want out of him and he got fooled way too often on read option and misdirection plays through the first six weeks.

He had a pretty good game vs. the Panthers, hope he will continue to play like that.
 

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