Zero2Cool
15 years ago
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Nobody was thinking about Minnesota when the Green Bay Packers took Clay Matthews in the first round of the draft in April.

And Matthews certainly had no inkling he'd be chasing quarterback Brett Favre when he was sidelined with a hamstring injury just days into his first summer practices.

But on the threshold of the biggest game of the year for Green Bay, the Packers will need something out of all their outside linebackers to apply pressure on Favre. And fortunately for them, Matthews' injury is a long and forgotten issue.

Make no mistake about it: Packers general manager Ted Thompson traded up to the first round for the first time in 10 drafts to get Matthews for big plays in big games just like the Packers at Minnesota showdown Monday night.

Versatile, smart and athletic as much as he is young and new to these sort of monster NFL games, Matthews' role this week is relatively simple: Rush Favre.

In April, scouts told the Journal Sentinel's Bob McGinn that Matthews ranked as a top-five pure pass rusher in a draft that had a lot of them.

In three games this season, Matthews has done OK. With Brady Poppinga starting at right outside linebacker, Matthews comes in on sub packages and has been playing about 50% of the downs. He showed his potential against Cincinnati when he put a quick spin move on left tackle Andrew Whitworth to chase down Carson Palmer for a sack.

Matthews has shown his speed in games, though he had zero pressures in St. Louis against Rams left tackle Alex Barron.

The Packers may prefer to have Poppinga on the field for obvious running downs to defend running back Adrian Peterson, which means Matthews likely would be on the field mostly when backup running back Chester Taylor is in the lineup. No matter - Favre, Peterson or Taylor - the Packers will require Matthews to have that explosiveness to complement the outside rush they'll need on Favre's left and from Aaron Kampman on Favre's right.

That Matthews is available at all may be a combination of good fortune and wise caution.

When the Packers gave up a second-round and two third-round draft choices to draft Matthews, the expectation was that the rookie would start. But he hurt his hamstring in off-season practices and then reinjured it in August, and he's probably lucky he's not dealing with it now.

Running back Ryan Grant hurt his hamstring in training camp last year and, although he rushed for 1,203 yards, he admitted it nagged him for almost the entire 2008 season.

"A football player with a hamstring - can't do it," said Grant. "It's like a pitcher who can't throw.

"You've got to fight through some injuries, or you try to, but a hamstring is more frustrating because you can't do as much as you want to. You may want to try and fight through, but you just can't run."

Defensive tackle Ryan Picket can testify to that. He suffered a hamstring injury early in his career.

"Once you do it you know right away, the pain is instant. It's horrible," he said. "And the bad thing about a hamstring is, it don't just go away. It might take two, four weeks and after that you might be able to play, but it's still there and you're always scared to open up because it's so easy to pull it again.

"It's the hardest thing. If you pull a hamstring during the year - it's pretty much going to be there the whole season."

Pickett said it took two to three months before he could run at top speed again.

Matthews could afford to take the time to heal in the summer, though it cost him valuable practice time with everyone anxious to see him in action.

"It is a frustrating injury; these guys are locked up in contact," said strength and conditioning coordinator Dave Redding. "There's a lot of pressure on these guys to get their (butts) back on the field. It is tough."

Redding said the Packers use caution with hamstring injuries. They look at the player's history with them and then determine a plan for rehabilitation, whether it is expected to be a short three weeks or something that drags on for months.

"It's a very sensitive thing to try to train and rehab and how far you want to take it, meaning how far you want to fatigue it," said Redding. "It's hard to simulate a release and then a dead sprint at game speed in a rehab program. What you don't want to do is keep reinjuring it, reinjuring it, reinjuring it."

That was the plan for Matthews, but the hamstring acted up on him again in late summer.

"I really to this day have no idea why because I was getting my sleep, eating properly, hydrating, I was more flexible than I've ever been," said Matthews. "I was actually thinking I was being proactive. I might have pushed it, coming back too early, and just kind of delayed the process, and then the training staff wanted to make sure this was not a recurring issue."

Matthews said the off-season rehabilitation is paying off. His timing couldn't be better.

"You could play through it, but you won't be at full speed, and that's where you hurt not only yourself but your team," said Matthews. "You have to make sure when you come back with a leg injury . . . it's 100%. And I feel good right now."


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tromadz
15 years ago
bozz_2006
15 years ago
I like him too.
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Pack93z
15 years ago
In the opener, I was impressed with how well he set the edge of the run defense more so than anything he has shown to date in terms of pass rushing.. not to discount his rush ability, but for a young player the awareness not the get caught inside was impressive. Career is off to a very solid start.
"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"
PackFanWithTwins
15 years ago
Hope Clay doesn't read this.

Because if AD is in the game, "Just Rush Brett" is not what I want him to be doing or we will see Peterson with 3 or 400 yards. Also watch for Taylor. If the back field is empty, let him go for it. Control is the key the rest of the time.
The world needs ditch diggers too Danny!!!
RashaanSalaami
15 years ago
Almost all game I'd prefer to have Matthews. This is the week we need our elite athletes on the field as much as possible. Poppinga has looked kinda crappy out on the field, while Matthews has been nothing but impressive. I'd trust his instincts and athleticism, give him the start, and rotate Poppinga in an out. I really hope our entire team is out there and fired up. I know Favre will get the Vikings fired up and I'm afraid that their best in the trenches is better than ours, even though it's not what they've had the last two years.
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Fan Shout
Zero2Cool (1h) : I'm not sure I hope for that. I'll be at the game.
Martha Careful (15h) : I hope it is colder than a well-diggers ass on Thanksgiving night.
Zero2Cool (23h) : doubt he wants to face the speedsters
beast (23h) : Dolphins offense can be explosive... I wonder if we'll have Alexander back
Zero2Cool (25-Nov) : No Doubs could be issue Thursday
Mucky Tundra (25-Nov) : Bears. Santos. Blocked FG
Zero2Cool (24-Nov) : Bears. Vikings. OT
Mucky Tundra (24-Nov) : Thems the breaks I guess
Mucky Tundra (24-Nov) : Two players out and Williams had an injury designation this week but Oladapo is a healthy scratch
Zero2Cool (24-Nov) : Packers inactives vs 49ers: • CB Jaire Alexander • S Kitan Oladapo • LB Edgerrin Cooper • OL Jacob Monk
TheKanataThrilla (24-Nov) : Aaron Jones with a costly red zone fumble
Zero2Cool (24-Nov) : When we trade Malik for a 1st rounder, we'll need a new QB2.
packerfanoutwest (23-Nov) : Report: Aaron Rodgers wants to play in 2025, but not for the Jets
beast (23-Nov) : That's what I told the Police officer about my speed when he pulled me over
packerfanoutwest (23-Nov) : NFL told Bears that Packers’ blocked field goal was legal
packerfanoutwest (22-Nov) : 49ers are underdogs at Packers, ending streak of 36 straight games as favorites
Zero2Cool (22-Nov) : 49ers might be down their QB, DL, TE and LT?
packerfanoutwest (22-Nov) : Jaire Alexander says he has a torn PCL
Zero2Cool (20-Nov) : Even with the context it's ... what?
Mucky Tundra (20-Nov) : Matt LaFleur without context: “I don’t wanna pat you on the butt and you poop in my hand.”
beast (20-Nov) : We brought in a former Packers OL coach to help evaluate OL as a scout
beast (20-Nov) : Jets have been pretty good at picking DL
Zero2Cool (20-Nov) : He landed good players thanks to high draft slot. He isn't good.
Zero2Cool (20-Nov) : He can shove his knowledge up his ass. He knows nothing.
beast (20-Nov) : More knowledge, just like bring in the Jets head coach
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : What? Why? Huh?
beast (19-Nov) : I wonder if the Packers might to try to bring Douglas in through Milt Hendrickson/Ravens connections
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : The Jets fired Joe Douglas, per sources
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : Jets are a mess......
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : Pretty sure Jets fired their scouting staff and just pluck former Packers.
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : Jets sign Anders Carlson to their 53.
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : When you cycle the weeks, the total over remains for season. But you get your W/L for that selected week. Confusing.
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : the total and percentage are the same as the previous weeks
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : the total and percentage are the same as the previous weeks
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : the totals are accurate..nrvrtmind
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : I don't follow what you are saying. The totals are not the same as last week.
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : ok so then wht are the totals the same as last week?
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : NFL Pick'em is auto updated when NFL Scores tab is clicked
Martha Careful (19-Nov) : The offense was OK. Let's not forget the Bear defense is very very good.
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : Who updates the leaderboard on NFLPickem?
beast (19-Nov) : Has the Packers offense been worse since the former Jets coach joined the Packers?
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : Offense gets his ass in gear, this could be good.
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : Backup QB helped with three wins. Special Teams contributed to three wins.
bboystyle (18-Nov) : Lions played outside thats why. They scored 16 and 17 in the only 2 outside games this year
Zero2Cool (18-Nov) : The rest of the NFL is catching up to Packers ... kicking is an issue throughout league
packerfanoutwest (18-Nov) : Packers DL Kenny Clark: We knew 'we were going to block' Bears' game-winning field goal attempt
Zero2Cool (18-Nov) : Lions seem to be throttling everyone, but only (only) got 24 lol maybe the rain is why
Zero2Cool (18-Nov) : Packers vs Lions game doesn't seem so bad.
beast (18-Nov) : Dennis Green "They are what we thought they were, and we let them off the hook!"
Martha Careful (17-Nov) : comment of the day Z2Cool "Bears better than we want to admit. Packers worse than we think. It's facts."
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