The Rams have added linebacker Clay Matthews. Most assume that he’ll be playing outside linebacker exclusively. That apparently won’t be the case.
“Early in my career, I was predominately an edge rusher and have had success doing that,” Matthews said at his introductory press conference. “Then you saw, kind of in the middle of my career, switching to the inside because of necessity or whatever the reason was for. I thought I excelled at both positions. I thought when you allow me to play in space and you allow me to go play sideline-to-sideline and downhill, good things are going to happen. I expect it to be the same here. I expect my position to be fluid. I’ll have a variety of roles. I think the most important thing . . . is just pressing the quarterback, making him make bad decisions and keeping the heat and keeping the pressure on him.”
Matthews had 23.5 sacks in his first two seasons. Last year, he had a career-low 3.5. Can Matthews can get back to the form of his younger days?
“Absolutely,” Matthews said. “I know I have the ability to produce like I’ve done before. Not to make excuses, but there was some change last year in the Packers organization and unfortunately, it didn’t work out for me. 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 for these past 10 years is what you’ll get for the next two.”
If that happens, the Rams could be every bit as good in 2019 as they were in 2018. Maybe even better.
