Clay Matthews, Quick As Lightning
Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Clay Matthews is a yard and a half upfield before anyone else is even out of their stance.
The above photo is paused moments after the snap of the football on the play in which Clay Matthews caught the deflection from A.J. Hawk on his way to a 62-yard interception return for a touchdown.
Notice how far upfield Matthews is compared everyone else on the defense. Compare that to Frank Zombo on the opposite side of the field who's not even out of his stance yet.
This is not an unusual scene. Record a game and pause it immediately after the snap of the ball on any given play, and you'll very likely be witness to a very similar scene.
This is one reason why Matthews is so good, why he can knife through the offensive line before any player has time to react. His quick-twitch muscle coordination is nearly unparalleled.
It's also just one more piece of evidence why Matthews very likely could end up as the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year.
Comments (32)
November 09, 2010 at 11:16 am
He's unreal and SHOULD win the Defensive MVP award. I think he may be the most feared defensive player the Packers have had in the last decade and it's only his second year. That's saying something.
Charles Woodson, KGB -- who else?
And think about games we lost. When Matthews left the Redskins game, we couldn't put any pressure on McNabb. Didn't play against Miami, I don't even think we recorded a sack. He's a difference maker and is so much fun to watch.
November 09, 2010 at 11:18 am
A man among boys.
What's the last time one team had back-to-back different DPOY?
November 09, 2010 at 11:22 am
Allow me to answer my own question.
Ravens in 2003 (Ray Lewis) and 2004 (Ed Reed).
Bills in 1995 (Bryce Paup) and 1996 (Bruce Smith)
Steelers in 1974 (Joe Greene) 1975 (Mel Blount) and 1976 (Jack Lambert)
November 12, 2010 at 01:36 am
Imagine if Arodg can regain some of last year's magic...how cool would it be to have both offensive/defensive players of the year on the same team?
November 09, 2010 at 11:23 am
Honestly, Clay is one of the quickest football players I've ever seen. The way he goes from 0-60 is truly special. His 10 yard split at the Combine was freakish, just .02 sec slower than Percy Harvin and the 10th fastest time at 2009 Combine, including D-Backs, WRs, RBs.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ys-behindthetimes031109
November 09, 2010 at 11:41 am
The 10 yard split is a stat the should be discussed before the 40, especially for big men.
Brian Carriveau
November 09, 2010 at 11:43 am
Good points, Brett C and jeremy. +1. Thanks for bringing that to everyone's consciousness.
November 09, 2010 at 10:59 pm
I,ve been a big fan of cheesehead tv since I found it last year. I think that CMIII is a game changer and elavates the play of others with his play. He demands so much attention from the offense.
November 09, 2010 at 11:48 am
Split, schmit. thats a quick first step, and maybe some film study on tendencies and cadence.
November 09, 2010 at 11:53 am
Wow. Just wow. This image, more than anything, settled it all.
Clay Matthews III - DPOY, future HoF.
November 09, 2010 at 11:56 am
Anyone who said Thompson was unwise to trade up for Matthews, must get a strong kick in the butt. This may go down as Thompson's biggest pick to date besides Rodgers.
Thank you Patriots.
November 09, 2010 at 11:56 am
Nice post, Cara-vu! Also kudos on the "Madden" rectangle around CMIII. Will Clay get some Turducken on T-Giving?
November 09, 2010 at 12:09 pm
And he still has substantial room to grow as a player, that's scary....
November 09, 2010 at 12:15 pm
There's only two things that keeps me from saying that Clay Matthews III will be as good as Lawrence Taylor:
One is, of course, potential injuries.
The other one is PEDs. I'm still afraid he might be on it. There's no evidence whatsoever that links him up to it, but with his physical looks and Cushing being on it, I am afraid.
November 09, 2010 at 12:26 pm
I think there's always going to be speculation with him. Especially after we all found out his college teammate was on them. But like Clay said, if he was on steroids he wouldn't have repped 225 23 times at the combine.
That being said, I still do get nervous about that. He is HUGE and I mean HUGE!!! If you saw him after the game with the interview with Woodson, he was like twice the size of all of them. His arms are Peyton Hillis size.
November 09, 2010 at 12:29 pm
I just don't know that you can even compare the two, regardles. There was no 'scheme' to manufacture sacks for Taylor. He was a physical/mechanical anomoly that the league had never seen and TE's/LT's didn't have the athletic ability to even cope with. That was an evolution in the game, in the position. I don't know of another player that (argueably) is responsible for the birth of the West Coast Offense so the QB could get rid of the ball.
Not taking anything away from Clay's physical ability, but this isn't the same quantum leap in professional football.
Also, Capers has schemed Matthews to 1/3rd of his productivity. They really are a good fit together. That's not a slight to Matthews, he still executes the scheme.
PED speculation is just that, speculation with zero evidance other than association with a former teamate.
November 09, 2010 at 12:45 pm
I didn't mean as a revolutionary player, and you're right, but as a player altogether. The combination of speed, power, agility, nose for the ball, moves, intelligence.
I see big, big similarities. I had never seen a rookie pass rusher do what he did last year, not only in terms of production, but also gameday. The angles he takes when he dives, the knowledge of the position, the speed. And now he's even better.
November 09, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Agreed, that's why I say he hasn't hit his ceiling yet. Really, other than great hand use, turning the corner and being tenacious he hasn't refined many other pass-rushing moves. He's still learning, scary..
November 09, 2010 at 12:40 pm
Living is SoCal i get a lot of USC coverage and Cushing was always a total "meat heat". CM3 never really lifted until college and thats why he bulked up. I mean when it comes to steroids and HGH, there is always a chance a player is on it, but the Cushing comparison is unfair.
That being said it has been an awesome treat for us Packer fans to enjoy back to back seasons with Charles Woodson and now CM3.
November 09, 2010 at 12:46 pm
It's more about the forehead and popped veins than the growth.
The comparison with Cushing is just that they were teammates, and speculation arose during the combine.
November 09, 2010 at 12:51 pm
As a side note, the speculation has been with Cushing since being recruited out of New Jersey while playing high school ball. Matthews was never questioned until Cushing finally got busted for what he had been doing since 17 years of age.
There were those erroneous reports about Matthews being only 170 lbs., but then it was revealed the media were listing his ht/wt after his junior year of high school. Nothing like showing up at USC 2 inches taller and 45lbs. heavier 1.5 years later.
November 09, 2010 at 01:51 pm
yup, it's the barry bonds klingon forehead that tips me off.
November 09, 2010 at 06:57 pm
PackersRS,
Take solace in the fact that LT was all hopped up on PED's during his hey-day too. Two commond PEDs were called Cocaine or Amphetamines back then, and I'm pretty sure he was snorting and eating those by the truckload before games. No reason to think LT was safe from juicing back then, either. Steroids which had been used by Bodybuilders for years were leaving the gym and catching fire in all sorts of athletic circles by that time.
November 09, 2010 at 07:05 pm
GREAT points. Hadn't tought about that...
November 09, 2010 at 07:16 pm
At first, I thought 52 was offside on the play. I watched the replay several times and think it could easily have been called, but wasn't clear cut. The guy has amazing quickness, but on this play he was so far ahead of everyone else because he took a risk - anticipated the snap and got it right.
November 10, 2010 at 06:19 am
I may be wrong but I don't think Clay has been hit with an offsides all season so far, so I guess he is winning that risk he is taking and right on all of the QBs cadences.
November 10, 2010 at 12:22 pm
Thank you Jay Glazer? It certainly explains his quick hands....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2SrEi04HkM&NR=1&feature=fvwp
November 10, 2010 at 06:57 pm
Wow, Glazer's MMAthletics is certainly going to get a huge bump in business from that Clay Matthews endorsement considering the kind of year Clay is having.
November 10, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Sorry frank zombo had backside contain on that play. He has man coverage on the TE. The TE didnt release so he held him to prevent a pass.
All overload blitzes use this principle. Plus capers has been burned Twice on TE screen delay plays.
November 10, 2010 at 12:50 pm
Hopefully we can ride Matthews out until the eventual steroids suspension. Going to suck.
November 11, 2010 at 07:02 pm
SUCK ONE NickGBP
November 12, 2010 at 10:12 am
Watched this play 50 times already at nfl.com. Talks like a whigger, plays like Godzilla.
Corey was right on Transplants, this kind of player is way fckng rare. Even that sounds like an understatement. Notorious by now, other teams will be looking for him from here on out. Hoping for sack record.