GREEN BAY — Having added yet another position to his job description — dime linebacker — last week, Clay Matthews is ready to go all in.
Cornerback? Safety? Nose tackle? How about playing on offense?
"Yeah, I need to start catching some touchdown passes," the Green Bay Packers do-everything linebacker said Friday. "Padding those stats."
The fact that Matthews can joke about his situation a month after being pressed into service at inside linebacker to help a struggling defense says something about his comfort level. After taking some unexpected criticism for merely admitting that he was apprehensive about his move inside — having played exclusively outside linebacker during his first five NFL seasons, four of which ended in Pro Bowl selections — he's gotten more comfortable with his diverse role and has seen the move pay off.
Not only has the defense improved since his post-bye move inside against Chicago on Nov. 9 , but the Packers have won four straight. After having him split time inside and outside in the first three games — he generally would line up at inside linebacker in the base and nickel defenses and outside in the dime — the Packers used Matthews differently against New England last Sunday, playing him inside all game long. When they went to their dime defense, Matthews stayed in the middle and Julius Peppers and Mike Neal handled most of the edge rushing.
That was in part because defensive coordinator Dom Capers wanted to use Matthews in coverage at times on tight end Rob Gronkowski. It would seem logical for Matthews to move back outside and rush off the edge against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night at Lambeau Field, but there's no telling for sure.
One thing Capers can promise is that he's been keeping track of exactly how he uses Matthews on every play, dating back to using him off the line of scrimmage extensively when the Packers experimented with a 4-3 defense earlier in the year, including in Week 2 against the New York Jets.
"We played a lot of 4-3 in the Jets game, and I heard the comment afterward, 'What in the world are they doing with Clay dropping so much?'" Capers said Friday. "But that really helped us in that second half win the game.
"Believe me, there's an awareness on my part in terms of the number of times he's rushing and dropping. The bottom line is, what gives us the best chance of getting them stopped? He's done a nice job with the run. You just obviously have to be conscious of how much you're asking him to go backwards and how much you're asking him to go forwards."
Matthews, who enters Monday night's game with 52 tackles, 4.5 sacks, an interception, two forced fumbles and six passes broken up, admitted his biggest concern before the game against the Bears was his readiness at a position he'd never played. The coaches basically gave him a crash course in inside linebacker out of desperation to fix the league's worst run defense.
"I'm having fun with it. It adds to the versatility. [But] I will say it does require a lot more study in the classroom and mistakes made on the field during practice. I had a few today," Matthews said. "But at the same time, I'm always learning, and I think that's especially important. And I hope that all this moving around and learning new positions really helps my overall football acumen at the end of the day. It really has as far as knowing where people fit, why they're fitting there and the help in which I have on the field. So hopefully it makes me a better player."
Although he didn't say so on Friday, you can bet that Matthews still would rather jet upfield as a pass rusher on every down. And just as he privately voiced his uneasiness to his brother Casey before facing Casey's Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 16, there's still some measure of that as he continues to acclimate himself to his varied roles.
But Matthews said he is getting more and more comfortable, and that has helped his attitude, too.
"I'm definitely more confident with what I'm capable of doing out there," he said. "Not only that, but knowing the position, as well. I think we talked about this, you have to understand we're very much creatures of habit and like to be in a rhythm. When you shake that up, there's uncertainty.
"That being said, I know what's being asked of me now, I know what I'm capable of and I know what I'm going to see out there week-in and week-out. So I'm definitely more comfortable in that regard, and I like the end result, too.
"But as I continue to say, we'll see what that means moving forward. We've had times where I'm not on the field (in the dime defense at Minnesota on Nov. 23), times where I'm in there with Sam [Barrington], A.J. [Hawk]. I could be the lone linebacker, as well as rushing the passer. Ultimately, I don't know where this thing is going, but as long as we're making plays and winning games, there's not much room to complain."
Jason Wilde wrote: