Clay Mathews is done.

[weeds]

Has anyone mentioned Clay didn't play well?

Amish, I read that too. I tend to think Clay's groin has had its share of pain inflicted upon it.

 

[Starr To Dowler]

had a poor game for sure...AND perhaps the most bone-headed play of his career. pff gave him a 29 grade. yikes! hopefully an aberration. if not a benching will be in his future...maybe even a cut.

I think where Clay goes from here is entirely in his hands. He's no fool, and he's been around long enough to know exactly how it works. If we all know how poorly he played last night, you can be certain he's even more aware of it than we are.

So... he knows where it's at, and he knows what he has to do. If he's able to, he will. If he doesn't, then he's probably done. The next few weeks should tell the tale.

 

[easyk83]

I feel like he has disappeared in games before but yesterday he disappeared and only reappeared to do something foolish

If only he did disappear, he was very visible on Sunday night.

 

[gbgary]

For context, PFF rated 74 OLBs and Matthews ranked 74th. Said, (i'm not sure if this was a joke) that only 1 player was rated lower - Nathan Peterman QB. Who had one of the worsts game of any QB in NFL history.

saw that too. 74 of 74. smh.
as for Peterman...Stafford gave him a run for his money last night.

 

[swhitset]

Most of the critique of CMIII here is justified. Hindsight is 20/20, but the dude just played terribly, and then took out his anger at the worst time. He has been reduced to trying to run around linemen where he used to run through them. He has nothing to be ashamed about, he’s getting older. Edge rusher is a young man’s game. By the time a guy turns 30, it’s almost inevitable that he’ll slow down. All that said, we gotta play this year with what we got. But I won’t be surprised to see CMIII gone next year. He gave us a lot, made a huge play in the SB win over the Steelers - 8 years ago. Gluten addressed a LOT of problems but he couldn’t solve em all in one year. Next year you can be sure he loads up on edge players and O lineman. Considering last year, it’s still a big improvement. But last night’s victory was all ARod. He needs more help.

Hmm ... I know this an an extreme outlier... but I’d like to point out that Julius Peppers was playing for Carolina on Sunday.... and playing very well.

 

[pacmaniac]

Matthews is the new Capers. Washed up, but going to stick around for as long as we're willing to send him paychecks.

 

[XPack]

Clay should be moved Inside. He lacks the speed and bust the tackle ability, but still has enough athleticism to drop into coverage and run block at ILB.

 

[bigbubbatd]

Clay should be moved Inside. He lacks the speed and bust the tackle ability, but still has enough athleticism to drop into coverage and run block at ILB.

I would be fine moving clay to ILB but his tackling was terrible on Sunday too. Was Clay even that good at ILB?

 

[XPack]

Was Clay even that good at ILB?

I reckon he was. Good at run stopping when he played there earlier. With Mo/Clark/Mike ahead of him, he is still fast enough to rush the running lanes and/or drop back into coverage.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Have to wonder what the dynamics of Clay is to the other team. Once a guy that they had to always be aware of and possibly devote a second blocker to him. If in fact teams are no longer doing that and just saying "Clay who?", that leaves Pettine and Co. to find ways to either figure out a different way to use him or just wait until Gilbert or someone else is a better option. We can all **** and moan about how bad Clay played against the Bears, but the truth of the matter is, who do we have to take his place?

 

[bigbubbatd]

I reckon he was. Good at run stopping when he played there earlier. With Mo/Clark/Mike ahead of him, he is still fast enough to rush the running lanes and/or drop back into coverage.

To be clear that was a question not a statement. I really dont remember if Clay was good at ILB. I thought I remember games where he didnt record a tackle but I also thought he had some really solid games. Right now Perry and Gilbert look better at OLB

 

[easyk83]

Have to wonder what the dynamics of Clay is to the other team. Once a guy that they had to always be aware of and possibly devote a second blocker to him. If in fact teams are no longer doing that and just saying "Clay who?", that leaves Pettine and Co. to find ways to either figure out a different way to use him or just wait until Gilbert or someone else is a better option. We can all **** and moan about how bad Clay played against the Bears, but the truth of the matter is, who do we have to take his place?

Which is the crux of the problem. Reggie Gilbert looked good in the preseason but is he more than JAG during the season or a solid edge guy? If Matthews can recover some of his old form he'll almost certainly be the better player. Thing is we will see Gilbert out there taking snaps sooner or later, neither Matthews or Perry will be full go all season.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Which is the crux of the problem. Reggie Gilbert looked good in the preseason but is he more than JAG during the season or a solid edge guy? If Matthews can recover some of his old form he'll almost certainly be the better player. Thing is we will see Gilbert out there taking snaps sooner or later, neither Matthews or Perry will be full go all season.

Well said and I hate to say it, we will also be seeing Fackrell at some point as well. If people moan and groan about Clay, KF isn't going to make them feel any better. I am still a bit surprised at Gute apparently sitting on his hands right now in regards to the OLB position. 5th man up is PS player Donnerson and he by no means is ready to play.

 

[XPack]

Well said and I hate to say it, we will also be seeing Fackrell at some point as well. If people moan and groan about Clay, KF isn't going to make them feel any better. I am still a bit surprised at Gute apparently sitting on his hands right now in regards to the OLB position. 5th man up is PS player Donnerson and he by no means is ready to play.

Probably will blitz more using our DBs.

From *****ing about our secondary last season, we seem to be using them for everything this season.

 

[yooperpackfan]

still a bit surprised at Gute apparently sitting on his hands right now in regards to the OLB position

I'm not just "surprised", I'm Stunned!!!!

 

[HardRightEdge]

Was Clay even that good at ILB?

The answer is an unqualified "no".

 

[XPack]

The answer is an unqualified "no".

I reckon he'd be a starter as ILB in our team right now. As good as Blake, if not better.

 

[HardRightEdge]

I reckon he'd be a starter as ILB in our team right now. As good as Blake, if not better.

I've noted the following more times than I care to count, but it remains worth repeating:

Playing full-time ILB a couple of years back, he went two consecutive games without making a single tackle. How is that even possible?

That may be the worst of it, but there was plenty of other badness to go with it, like chasing in coverage.

 

[Mondio]

Well said and I hate to say it, we will also be seeing Fackrell at some point as well. If people moan and groan about Clay, KF isn't going to make them feel any better. I am still a bit surprised at Gute apparently sitting on his hands right now in regards to the OLB position. 5th man up is PS player Donnerson and he by no means is ready to play.

again you're mistaking no changes to sitting on hands. Legit pass rushers get paid and they don't get let go until they're done. Mack is an exception and he was cost prohibitive for the most part. There might be some names floating around out there and i'm ok with thinking they've certainly made contact with anyone they had remote interest in. The fact they just made 2 roster moves yesterday shows this team isn't sitting on their hands. Just because we want change, doesn't mean there is a change out there worth making.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

again you're mistaking no changes to sitting on hands. Legit pass rushers get paid and they don't get let go until they're done. Mack is an exception and he was cost prohibitive for the most part. There might be some names floating around out there and i'm ok with thinking they've certainly made contact with anyone they had remote interest in. The fact they just made 2 roster moves yesterday shows this team isn't sitting on their hands. Just because we want change, doesn't mean there is a change out there worth making.

Point of clarification, I did say it appears Gute is sitting on his hands in regards to the OLB position, not in general. Now when we start hearing about news that he isn't, whether its a signing or a FA visit, than I will agree with you that he has now shifted a hand, in order to sign a guy or at least shake his hand while visiting. I find it hard to believe that there aren't options available to improve the OLB position that the Packers currently have, whether that is a FA or a trade. I hope you are right and Gute indeed is exploring such options, because I really don't see this defense being able to rely solely on Perry for 15 + games. Now maybe Pettine is going to just have to play the hand he is dealt and get creative with blitz packages, but I still think its pretty dangerous to think Perry, Matthews, Gilbert and Fackrell are going to get you through an entire NFL season.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I've note the following more times than I care to count, but it remains worth repeating:

Playing full-time ILB a couple of years back, he went two consecutive games without making a single tackle. How is that even possible?

That may be the worst of it, but there was plenty of other badness to go with it, like chasing in coverage.

Agreed and what some people saw is a Clay that got to the QB more while rushing from the ILB postion, but that doesn't mean he was successful at playing the position of ILB. If moving Clay around on 3rd and long, nets him a sack or hurry, I don't care if he is lined up at nose guard. But putting him at ILB full time, no thanks. Clay is now basically a one trick pony and sadly, I'm not sure if he is even capable of that one trick anymore. I guess we will see.

 

[Dantés]

Moving Matthews inside doesn't make sense unless Martinez is hurt. They would need to play the same role in the defense the majority of the time and Martinez is better at it. Matthews isn't going to play a Burks-style hybrid LB/S role. They'd only play side by side against very specific looks or the rare offense that wants to come out in a lot of 21 personnel.

If he continues to play like he did on Sunday Night, the best thing they could do is move him to 3rd on the OLB rotation and move Perry and Gilbert up. Against the Bears, Matthews had 60 snaps, Perry had 41, and Gilbert had 37 (70 possible). That's 86%, 59%, and 53% respectively. So move Perry up into that lead role, increase Gilbert's snaps, and make Matthews the 3rd guy. Better yet, sign a competent 4th rush (Simon, Means, Ayers, someone...) and cut his snaps even further. Maybe Matthews can still provide some pass rush production if he's given limited work.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Maybe Matthews can still provide some pass rush production if he's given limited work.

This is my conclusion as well. If Clay keeps getting as many snap as he did against the Bears and nets nothing, the Packers are fooling themselves into thinking he still is a quality starter at OLB. Light a fire under his ***, start Gilbert and give Clay 10-15 snaps a game and see what happens.

 

[Dantés]

This is my conclusion as well. If Clay keeps getting as many snap as he did against the Bears and nets nothing, the Packers are fooling themselves into thinking he still is a quality starter at OLB. Light a fire under his ***, start Gilbert and give Clay 10-15 snaps a game and see what happens.

They're either fooling themselves, or just felt they were in a bad spot to do anything else. I'm guessing they're trying to ease Perry back in, and would like to increase Gilbert's role gradually, not all at once.

 

[XPack]

I've note the following more times than I care to count, but it remains worth repeating:

Playing full-time ILB a couple of years back, he went two consecutive games without making a single tackle. How is that even possible?

That may be the worst of it, but there was plenty of other badness to go with it, like chasing in coverage.

Come on. It was back in 2015 and Nick Perry had a 3 game streak with nothing at same time. Anyways, we need to look at recent history for a useful discussion.