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znModeratorincredible job by nfl films narrating how mccourty broke up the pylon post mcvay dialed up in the red zone pic.twitter.com/ZXTsY1x1mv
— betz (@alltwentytwo) March 21, 2019
znModeratorJason Cole@JasonCole62
Federal judge in Oakland v Raiders case hearing says he usually encourages parties to settle then jokes, “Don’t you dare settle this case, it’s much too much fun.”znModeratorMSNBC was ready to go live…their reporter however, was not pic.twitter.com/s7IKSZFN91
— Someone's An Idiot (@SomeonesAnIdiot) March 22, 2019
znModeratorMe the next time someone says Clay Matthews *only* had a career-low 3.5 sacks last season… pic.twitter.com/m0hbj60PQd
— J.B. Long (@JB_Long) March 22, 2019
znModerator“I expect my position to be fluid. I expect I’ll have a variety of roles,” Matthews said.
Not sure how he’s going to stop anyone if he’s fluid.
Although, I suppose tar is a fluid and it’s pretty sticky.Ya think that’s what he meant?
Tar?
He’s going to play like tar?
That’s the only thing that makes sense.
C’mon! Don’t be so literal minded!
–>*OBVIOUSLY*<– by “fluid” Matthews meant going with the flow. Laid back. Takin-er easy. You know like The Dude. So, expect more bowling.
znModeratorField Yates@FieldYates
Clay Matthews deal with LA, per source: 2-years, $9.25M base value, including $5.5M guaranteed.znModeratorMerlin
Matthews is going to be a superb signing. Very confident of that. Wade gets better and better as he gets the right personnel to execute his scheme, and the Rams should be closer to what he wants on the edge not to mention Clay being a guy who can move around and cause offenses fits. Go watch his film from last year, he gets pressure still. Not an elite rusher but a very good one and Wade’s gonna engage this dude in some fun ways.
znModeratorField Yates@FieldYates
Official cap space by team (24-32):
24. DEN: $11,776,067
25. NYG: $11,520,273
26. NE: $9,187,763
27: LAR: $4,675,533
28. ATL: $4,639,049
29. CAR: $3,302,890
30. PIT: $3,297,799
31. MIN: $3,003,682
32. TB: $2,726,307znModeratorSource: The #Rams are matching the two-year, $3.25M offer sheet for RFA RB Malcolm Brown, source said. They keep him, the #Lions will keep searching. He gets a $100K signing bonus and $1 million guaranteed.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 22, 2019
znModerator1.
” I expect my position to be fluid. I expect I’ll have a variety of roles,” Matthews said.
2.
Yeah, I wonder if they see Matthews as a piece they move around to field different looks and attacks. A smart veteran like Matthews could be perfect for that. He doesn;t have to line up at just OLB or just ILB or just in the base 3/4. They could draw up all sorts of things for him and move him around. That’s something we know Wade just does and is good at–he draws up all these variations and subpackages and forces offenses to contend with that.
*
I don’t think they give us here on the board NEAR enough credit when they borrow ideas from us.
…
znModeratorWhere will Clay Matthews play within the Rams’ defense? “I expect my position to be fluid.”
Myles Simmons
“Well any time we have one of these, you know it’s a good day for the Rams.”
That’s how head coach Sean McVay began his opening statement during Los Angeles’ introductory press conference for linebacker Clay Matthews, who officially signed his two-year deal with the Rams on Thursday.
Matthews — the Packers’ all-time leader since the sack became official in 1982 with 83.5 — sat between McVay and general manager Les Snead to field questions about why he decided to come home to L.A. And the first thing he mentioned was how successful the team has been over the last couple years.
“It’s truly remarkable in such a short amount of time — especially coming to L.A. So from a football standpoint, it makes perfect sense,” Matthews said. “But for me personally, where I’m at in my career, having grown up in the area, living all of 20 minutes away from here, it made sense. We’re building a house out here. I’ve got three kids now. I think my wife was more excited than I was to have signed with the Rams.”
But more than that, Matthews noted that like Los Angeles’ other free agent signings in safety Eric Weddle and backup quarterback Blake Bortles — this was the place where he wanted to be.
“It’s obviously a new experience for me. I’ve been fortunate enough to be with the same organization for 10 years, so this was definitely new,” Matthews said. “But as soon as my chance to return to Green Bay was kind of past me, I knew I wanted to come to the Rams. And I put it on my agent, and put it on these guys here to try to get something done. And fortunately the feeling was mutual, and they were very receptive to the idea. And I talked with [assistant head coach/linebackers coach] Joe Barry as well as Sean, just seeing how I’d fit within the defense — and it seemed like a perfect fit.”
If you’ve followed Matthews’ career, you likely know that he started out mainly as an edge rusher before moving to inside linebacker midway through. Now as he comes to Los Angeles, McVay said Matthews’ role is going to be all about emphasizing his strengths.
“When you have a player that has that versatile skillset, you can utilize him in a variety of ways,” McVay said. “I think, obviously, what he does at an extremely high level is when he’s going forward and trying to affect and influence the quarterback, rushing the quarterback, setting the edge in the run game. So I think you’ll see a lot of that. But then when you get into some of those known-passing situations, you can get creative with where you’re moving him around.”
“But those are exciting things for us as coaches to think through,” McVay continued. “We’ve been spending a lot of time today even thinking about how you want to utilize him, how you can get Aaron [Donald], [Dante] Fowler, and some of these guys in situations to take advantage of the matchups you can create with players like that. So it’s exciting, and it’s something that’s going to be evolving as we get more familiar with each other.”
After describing his positional journey through the league, Matthews said he felt he excelled at both inside and outside linebacker.
“I thought when you allow me to play in space, and you allow me to go sideline to sideline downhill, good things are going to happen. So I expect it to be the same here. I expect my position to be fluid. I expect I’ll have a variety of roles,” Matthews said. “But I think the most important thing — kind of what Sean alluded to — is just pressing the quarterback, making him make bad decision, and keeping the heat, keeping the pressure on him.”
And even though he’ll turn 33 in May, Matthews feels he still has the ability to play at a high level in order to contribute to another run at an NFC West title in Los Angeles.
“I know I have the ability to produce like I’ve done before. And not to make excuses, but there was some change last year in the Packers organization, and, unfortunately, it didn’t work out for me,” Matthews said. “But as far as moving forward, I know I’m a difference-maker. I know I can change games and I look forward to doing that, and proving that, and showing to everybody here — you guys, the fans — that what you saw these past 10 years is what you’ll get from these next two.”
znModeratorRyan Kartje@Ryan_Kartje
Les Snead on signing Blake Bortles: “It was the experience factor. When you’re in the phase we are, we want to continue winning. Having a quarterback who’s been there and done that helps, if you ever have to go to the bullpen.”znModeratorGary Klein@LATimesklein
Blake Bortles on Sean McVay: “Everybody kind of wants a piece of what he’s doing and wants to understand how he’s doing what he’s doing at the level he’s doing it at.”znModeratorColin Kaepernick & Eric Reid receiving a settlement for under $10M may seem underwhelming based on $$ speculation, but it reflects a high legal burden to prove collusion: a clear preponderance of evidence. That burden made it likely they'd lose. More here: https://t.co/wEI5oVlgF1
— Michael McCann (@McCannSportsLaw) March 21, 2019
znModeratorGreg Beacham@gregbeacham
Rams LB Clay Matthews: “I know I’m a difference maker. I know I can change games, and I’m looking forward to proving that, and proving what you saw the last 10 years is what you’ll see the next two.”Clay Matthews on the Packers’ game at the Coliseum last fall: “That was a great game, too. One that we should have won.”
Sean McVay: “But ya didn’t.”
Andrew Siciliano@AndrewSiciliano
Former @nflnetwork intern Clay Matthews, asked if there would be too many distractions playing at home in Los Angeles.I’m married with three kids now, I don’t think I have too much down time to get into trouble.”
ProFootballTalk@ProFootballTalk
Clay Matthews: Rams are “a perfect fit” for meznModeratorMyles Simmons@MylesASimmons
On RFA RB Malcolm Brown, who has signed an offer sheet with the Lions, #LARams GM Les Snead says, “Our goal is to continue discussing and figure that out probably by tomorrow.”znModeratorVincent Bonsignore@VinnyBonsignore
“I knew I wanted to go to L.A.” is becoming a common phrase among free agent veteran #NFL players. New #Rams additions Blake Bortles and Clay Matthews indicated today they made that a priority with their agentsMatthews said as soon as returning to #Packers was no longer an option he immediately wanted to play for the #Rams
Rich Hammond@Rich_Hammond
Les Snead asked Clay Mathews if he had heard from Seattle coach Pete Carroll, his coach at USC.Matthews said no, then added, “We don’t speak his name around here? Like Voldemort?”
Lindsey Thiry@LindseyThiry
Highlight of Clay Matthews’ press conference.
Les Snead: Clay, was @LATimesklein on the USC beat with you?
Matthews: Yeah but Gary didn’t have time for me then, he was too busy with @ReggieBush and @MattLeinartQB.
Klein: **Blushes**==
Name a more iconic hair trio. pic.twitter.com/dJTAkMezaB
— Rich Hammond (@Rich_Hammond) March 21, 2019
znModeratorVincent Bonsignore@VinnyBonsignore
Just ran into Sebastian Joseph-Day at #Rams HQ in Thousand Oaks. He looks to be in incredible shape & told me he’s been working out at the facility Mondays through Fridays this offseason. Big year coming up for the 2nd year DT from Rutgers and he’s obviously putting the work inBlake Bortles said signing with #Rams – as opposed to a team where playing time was likely more available was “100 percent the best decision, I think, for, personally, my career and the long term.”
Lindsey Thiry@LindseyThiry
Blake Bortles, on a conference call with local LA reporters, just said that he we would have signed with the Rams w/o taking a visit – based on everything he’s heard about Sean McVay, and watching coaches get plucked from his staff. (His agent advised him to visit first).==
Adam Schefter@AdamSchefter
Colts reached agreement with former Chiefs’ LB Justin Houston, source tells ESPN.—
🖊 to 📄!
@ClayMatthews52 is officially a Ram! pic.twitter.com/Qw09phfAWd
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) March 21, 2019
==
A lot less than everyone speculated. https://t.co/1qFhrKFaML
— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) March 21, 2019
znModeratorDeadpool
Is edge a screaming need? Did the Rams not play in the SB with Ebukam and Fowler on the edges? Did they not just add the Claymaker to rush the passer?
Bosa, Allen, , Burns, Sweat, Ferrell (I don’t think he is a Rams target) Polite, Winovich. Those 7 are the only 34 edge draftees that would get into the Rams rotation of Fowler, Ebukam, Matthews and Obo. As long as they stay healthy. They are also long gone before round three.So unless you want a draft and stash like Obo was this year, you better hope an edge falls, the Rams trade up or down or the Rams reach.
This is all obviously only my opinion, and others may feel like a guy like Oshane Ximines, Christian Miller or DeAndre Walker could get some run, but I don’t. That’s all I have as far as my top 3 rounds Edge players.
BTW, I have no doubt that the team is looking at the edge position for the draft. They have personally met with: Sweat, Winovich, Polite, Reed and Hollins. So its on their mind.
Now tell me who was the weakest link on the OL? Sullivan? And Allen couldn’t beat him out? Yeah, OL is a need.
DL is a need because they have not replaced Such and frankly you need more then Brockers, AD, and JFM. Its called a rotation because you rotate players. The more I think about Jeffrey Simmons, the more sense he makes. He is a top 10 talent and SB contending teams don’t usually have shots at that kind of talent. He is a perfect fit in a 1 gap penetrating defense. And it makes Brockers expendable as his contract expires. After this season.
Kiser and Littleton are your only two ILB. So there needs to be at least 1 added.
CB is set for this year. But you should always add a CB in every draft.
There are 2 ribs on the roster until or if they match for Brown. Otherwise, knowing Turkey, you better have a third.
TE, 2 on the roster. Have to add a third.
Really should add a S if your begging for an edge because Matthews is old. So is Weddle.
You can’t force picks. That’s what Martz did with Robert Thomas and Trung. Its how you go from SB contender to 5-11.
So I will say this, if a worthy Edge is available when they pick, fine. But if a stud OC like McCoy or Bradbury is there and Winovich, they better take the OC. If they trade down, great. But if they start forcing picks, their SB window will disappear because you don’t win taking inferior talent. Esp. high in the draft.
znModeratorClay Matthews gives Rams options if he’s properly utilized
Vincent Bonsignore
https://theathletic.com/879476/2019/03/20/clay-matthews-gives-rams-options-if-hes-properly-utilized/
The Rams’ interest in adding veteran pass-rusher Clay Matthews III wasn’t all that surprising, given their needs and salary-cap situation. With recent big contract extensions — Aaron Donald, Brandin Cooks and Todd Gurley — felt in earnest this year, and Dante Fowler Jr. and Marcus Peters getting big bumps in pay, there were limited funds available to address roster concerns.
The plan going into free agency was to head straight to the bargain aisle, in the hopes of finding reasonably priced veterans who still had something in the tank. That’s where they found safety Eric Weddle, who was released by the Baltimore Ravens in a salary-cap-cutting move two weeks ago, and it’s where they secured Matthews on Tuesday to potentially add juice to their pass rush.
The idea of adding Matthews got a big boost last season — just like with Weddle. In many ways, the interest in Weddle started last August at the Ravens’ facility in Owings Mills, Md., where the Rams and Ravens went through two rigorous days of joint practices, and the 33-year-old Weddle displayed leadership, intelligence and playmaking. Across the line of scrimmage, Rams coach Sean McVay took note. McVay referred to those notes two weeks ago when Weddle popped onto the Rams’ radar as a possible addition. It’s part of the reason he was so eager to add Weddle.
Matthews made a similar impression on McVay last October, when the Packers pushed the Rams to the brink at the Coliseum in a hard-fought 29-27 Rams win that wasn’t secured until the closing minute. Matthews might not be as explosive and dynamic as he once was, but he was active and engaged against the Rams that day. He had six tackles and one sack in 49 snaps that saw him deployed as an outside, middle and inside linebacker and as a defensive end while being utilized as a pass-rusher and run-stopper.
It left an obvious impression on McVay, who required little swaying when the 32-year-old Matthews was brought up as a possible free-agent addition.
“Yeah, he didn’t need convincing after we played them,” a Rams source told The Athletic.
The Rams inked the longtime Packers linebacker to a two-year deal worth upwards of $16.75 million. Matthews reportedly spurned more lucrative offers for the chance to return home to help the Rams get back to the Super Bowl. He lives in nearby Calabasas and went to high school in Agoura Hills before emerging as an All-American at USC.
Given the Rams’ limited salary-cap space and need to inject more juice into their pass rush, Matthews makes plenty of sense. He comes at a reasonable price, and as he showed the Rams last year, when managed and utilized prudently he still brings something to the table. He finished last season with 43 tackles and 3.5 sacks, although he had another sack taken away by a controversial roughing-the-passer call against the Washington Redskins. The numbers aren’t great, and it remains to be seen how much gas Matthews has left, but the Rams believe he can produce respectable numbers as a rotational piece in Wade Phillips’ defense.
According to Rams sources, part of Matthews’ allure was versatility in playing outside or inside — he played inside linebacker for the Packers for most of 2014-15 — which gives defensive coordinator Phillips plenty of options when scheming packages for him.
Matthews won’t start — the Rams are set at outside linebacker with Fowler and Samson Ebukham, two young players they believe have untapped potential. And second-year player Ogbonnia Okoronkwo also will be in the mix. But given that the Rams were in base defense approximately 30 percent of the time last year, there will be ample opportunities and ways to deploy Matthews. Perhaps that even will be alongside Fowler and Ebukam — to whom Matthews will serve as a mentor — to create multiple pressure points for opposing offenses to contend with. They’ll do so with Donald occupying multiple blockers on almost every snap, so there figures to be plenty of advantageous matchups.
Keeping Matthews fresh and healthy will be the key, which is why playing in a rotation with Ebukam, Fowler and possibly Okoronkwo should benefit him over the course of the season. The Rams have shown prudence and shrewdness in how they manage players’ bodies by giving them practice days off during the week — Andrew Whitworth, John Sullivan and Rodger Saffold come to mind — and that certainly will be part of the table for Matthews. Both Saffold and Sullivan missed significant time with injuries prior to working with McVay and his staff, but both made it through the last two seasons with only minor issues.
Is Matthews the player he once was? No, obviously.
Can he still contribute? If utilized prudently and managed accordingly, yes.
znModeratorMy co-worker is a Packers fan and he told me that at this age, Matthews is probably just a situational OLB pass rusher. Doesn’t think he can play ILB, but he could be a blitzer from there.
Yeah, I wonder if they see Matthews as a piece they move around to field different looks and attacks. A smart veteran like Matthews could be perfect for that. He doesn;t have to line up at just OLB or just ILB or just in the base 3/4. They could draw up all sorts of things for him and move him around. That’s something we know Wade just does and is good at–he draws up all these variations and subpackages and forces offenses to contend with that. Matthews could fit right into that kind of thing. Situational stuff, subpackages stuff, variations on the fronts they field, etc
znModeratorhttps://cheeseheadtv.com/sites/default/files/post/2018/09/usatsi_11218045_1
Despite his dip in production last season, Matthews can still be effective. According to ESPN’s pass rush win rate using NFL Next Gen Stats, he beat his block within 2.5 seconds on 26 percent of rushes in 2018, 27th among 91 players with 300 rushes.
znModerator
znModeratorRob Havenstein finished the 2018 season with the league's third-highest grade at tackle pic.twitter.com/toDeiiM5pS
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) March 19, 2019
znModeratorIan Rapoport@RapSheet
Source: Former #Raiders QB AJ McCarron is finalizing a deal with the #Texans. A new, experienced backup for Deshaun Watson.Michael Silver@MikeSilver
Had interest from Rams, who obviously chose Bortles insteadznModeratorRams bolster pass rush by adding Packers legend Clay Matthews on a two-year deal
Matthews departs Green Bay as the franchise’s all-time leader in sacks with 83.5. He earned six trips to the Pro Bowl and one first-team All-Pro selection during his 10 years with the Packers — in addition to helping them win a Super Bowl. He’s undoubtedly a franchise legend.
But he’s no longer the pass rusher he once was. Over the past three seasons, he’s averaged a little more than five sacks per season. In a full 16-game season in 2018, he generated a career-low sack total of 3.5. He’ll turn 33 in May.
So the Rams are not acquiring a game-changing pass rusher. Instead, what they’re getting is a veteran who can bolster what is already a decent pass rush after the Rams re-signed edge rusher Dante Fowler earlier this month. Matthews has also, at times, demonstrated the ability to play inside linebacker. He’s the kind of luxury signing a team like the Rams can afford to make as they look to get over the hump after falling short in the Super Bowl. And if anyone can get a little bit more out of an aging pass rusher, it’s defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.
It’d be surprising if Matthews cleared the double-digit sack threshold in his 11th season, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he finds a way to make an subtler impact on a defensive front that also, of course, includes Aaron Donald. For Matthews, he gets to spend the latter stages of his career in L.A. while playing for a Super Bowl contender.
Tuesday ended up being a difficult day for the Packers, who officially said goodbye to two iconic players from the past decade in Matthews and receiver Randall Cobb, who signed with the Cowboys. The Packers weren’t at all wrong to part ways with both players due to their diminishing outputs, but that probably doesn’t make seeing those players leave Green Bay any easier.
znModeratorPFF LA Rams@PFF_Rams
Clay Matthews is now on the LA Rams!Last season he had the most Tackles and Stops since his 2015 season, and should provide immediate sparks for #Rams rush defense & pass rush
znModeratorI think Mathews played both inside and outside last year.
Speak of the devil
***
Evan Silva@evansilva
Expect we may see Clay Matthews in ILB/dime/situational blitzer role for #Rams DC Wade Phillips. Less of an edge rusher but super flexible.znModeratorhttps://www.rotoworld.com/football/nfl/teams/gb/green-bay-packers
Rams signed OLB Clay Matthews, formerly of the Packers, to a two-year contract.
Edge pressure is a big need for a Rams team that is paying Dante Fowler $12 million this season. Fowler has never been a sack master, but Matthews’ addition should help in a big way, even if Matthews is embarking on his 33rd birthday (in May) and coming off a 3.5-sack season. Matthews was near the bottom of Pro Football Focus’ pass-rush productivity grades last season, generating just 30 total pressures on 356 snaps rushing the quarterback. Matthews and Samson Ebukam will team with Fowler off the edge for L.AznModeratorPeter SchragerPSchrags
Before free agency started, Rams brass told me at the Combine that their plan was to add veteran defensive players who can still compete at high leve, add smarts, and want the opportunity to compete ring.Weddle ✅
Matthews ✅ -
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