Is Clay Matthews the Shawn Merriman II

[cnhnyy]

He looks a lot smaller and was nowhere to be found on pass rush.

 

[Cowboys&LakersFan]

He was spectacular his first two seasons, but he regressed badly this season. Wouldn't call him Merriman 2.0 yet let's see if he bounces back next season.

 

[johnny utah]

He is nowhere near the player he was last year. After one season though it's to early to label him Merriman part 2.

 

[casmith07]

No but I read it right here that he's better than Ware and we need a guy with long hair.

 

[Future]

I think a couple things have happened to him...

1) Teams have started to key on him
2) there are 0 other pass rushers to take any of the pressure off of him
3) he stopped taking steroids

That's a recipe for disaster.

 

[pancakeman]

It's an interesting thought.

 

[CooterBrown]

He looks a lot smaller and was nowhere to be found on pass rush.

No, Brian Cushing is Merriman II, Matthews is Merriman III.

 

[TheRat]

I think a couple things have happened to him...

1) Teams have started to key on him
2) there are 0 other pass rushers to take any of the pressure off of him
3) he stopped taking steroids

That's a recipe for disaster.

How about:

1) he stopped taking steroids
2) he stopped taking steroids
3) he stopped taking steroids

 

[ScipioCowboy]

No but I read it right here that he's better than Ware and we need a guy with long hair.

...and steroids.

 

[CowboyMike]

Matthews was right there at USC with Cushing. They both completely transformed from one year to the next size wise. Clay Matthews was a back up and wasn't expected to do much in college until he completely made a turnaround his senior season after "working more in the weight room."

His own father declined not to start him in high school because he was undersized.

From his wiki article:

Physically, Matthews was a late bloomer. His father was the team's defensive coordinator, but declined to start his son because he was physically undersized. Matthews began developing physically in his senior season, but only garnered interest from Division I FCS schools and local community colleges.[1] He has described his own recruiting status out of high school as "not applicable."[2] Like his father and uncle, Matthews opted to attend the University of Southern California with hopes of becoming a walk-on for the Trojans football team.

Matthews entered USC as an unheralded, walk-on student athlete. During his first season, USC's 2004 National Championship season, he played only on the scout team and turned down several playing opportunities during garbage time during the fourth quarters of games in order to preserve his redshirt status and remaining seasons of NCAA eligibility. He remained a non-athletic scholarship (a "walk on"), reserve linebacker during the 2005 season, and played mainly on special teams. He was granted full athletic scholarship status at the beginning of the 2006 season. Matthews continued to play reserve linebacker in the 2006 and 2007 seasons, and made two starts in 2007 in place of injured teammate Brian Cushing.[1] He was awarded USC's Co-Special Teams Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007 and blocked two field goals in the latter season.[3]

During the off-season, Matthews committed to weight training and conditioning programs to gain size and improve his performance level and stamina. At the beginning of the 2008 season, defensive coordinator Nick Holt, Carroll and Norton decided to try using Matthews in a hybrid "Elephant" position, where Matthews would stand in the position of defensive end, but use the speed and tactics of a linebacker; the coaches had used Cushing in the position in a similar manner in 2006.[1] The experiment was successful, as Matthews recorded 4.5 sacks while playing alongside his other NFL-bound teammates Brian Cushing, Rey Maualuga and Kaluka Maiava. Furthermore, Matthews continued his spectacular special teams play and was awarded USC's Co-Special Teams Player of the Year in 2008, making him the only player in USC history to be awarded three consecutive Special Teams Player of the Year awards. Matthews was a participant in the 2009 Senior Bowl and was considered a top prospect for the 2009 NFL Draft[4]

Clay Matthews went from being a 6-1 165 in high school to 6-3 246 his senior year at USC. That's 81 pounds of weight in 5 years, which is fantastic for a linebacker to retain his speed and ability.

His teammate at USC, Rey Maualuga: “I just remember how little he was. But he was always in the weight room three times more than anybody else.”

He also had to overcome rumors he tested positive--along with Cushing--for performance enhancing drugs at the combine.

The writing is on the wall.

 

[SaltwaterServr]

...and steroids.

I think the real answer is aliens.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

I think the real answer is aliens.

I'm not saying it's aliens, but it's definitely aliens.

 

[Aikmaniac]

Really, with all the testing happening, how can steroids be taken in the NFL? I guess I'm being naive.

 

[Zman5]

No but I read it right here that he's better than Ware and we need a guy with long hair.

Ware needs to get with the program. He'd be a beast if only he did this with his hair:

http://i124.***BLOCKED***/albums/p15/zman55/redskins11220922.jpg

 

[SAboys889]

Ware needs to get with the program. He'd be a beast if only he did this with his hair:

http://i124.***BLOCKED***/albums/p15/zman55/redskins11220922.jpg

Funniest thing I've seen in a while! :laugh2: I needed this after a disappointing season

 

[Leadbelly]

Ware needs to get with the program. He'd be a beast if only he did this with his hair:

http://i124.***BLOCKED***/albums/p15/zman55/redskins11220922.jpg

OK. That made me LOL. :laugh2:

Perfect picture.

 

[Arch Stanton]

Matthews just needs a full off season to get back.....

 

[Sarge]

He looks a lot smaller and was nowhere to be found on pass rush.

I totally noticed the same thing.

 

[Mash]

He probably has a strike against him already that we dont know about....

He looks less muscular imho......its probably roids.....

JMHO tho

 

[joseephuss]

He probably has a strike against him already that we dont know about....

He looks less muscular imho......its probably roids.....

JMHO tho

What do you mean by strike? Pot or something along those lines? The first strike for any performance enhancing drug is an automatic 4 game suspension. We would probably know about that by now.