Chicago Bears fans wouldn’t lie. As much as they hate going against Aaron Rodgers, they feel a pang of empathy for the Packers fans when he gets hurt. However, the same cannot be said for Clay Matthews. The longtime Green Bay outside linebacker has acquired nothing but contempt from opponents over the years for his aggressive and sometimes cheap playing style.
That’s why people so often delight in his pain. The many playoff losses over the past eight years were especially appetizing. Since he couldn’t even get that far in 2017, perhaps it’s better to tide over that sweet tooth with his annoyances regarding the Packers 2018 offseason. Say this for Matthews, he’s never afraid to offer his opinion.
One would think a team leader would say the corny line about working hard and all that. Not Matthews. He was recently asked his thoughts about the Packers’ current state at the edge rusher position. Let’s just say he didn’t exactly come across in favor of it.
Clay Matthews trashes Packers outside linebacker situation
The Packers edge rush has constantly been a sore spot for the team over the past few years. Aside from one or two moves to give it some help, the position has stayed one of their weak points, especially in big games. Matthews finally couldn’t hold his tongue on this reality, stating that he doesn’t feel the team has done enough to ease the burden on him.
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“You look at the depth at the outside linebacker position, and it’s not that great. That’s not a slight to the guys who are behind Nick and myself, but you look around the league, a lot of times they’re rotating in pass rushers. You can look a couple years ago when we had Mike Neal and Julius [Peppers] here, Datone [Jones] as well. We had a pretty good rotation.”
Matthews knows his peak years are fading. He’s missed six games over the past two seasons and just turned 32-years old. He hasn’t produced double-digit sacks since back in 2014. Nick Perry regressed from his standout 2016 and continues to have health issues of his own. After them, the well starts to run dry with Kyler Fackrell and Vince Biegel combining for two sacks last year.
The Packers seem to be banking on their additions at defensive line (Muhammad Wilkerson) and cornerback (Jaire Alexander and Joshua Jackson) to supplement their pass defense issues. That’s a sizable gamble considering Wilkerson was just cut by his previous team and both those corners are rookies.
So yeah. It’s easy to see why Matthews might be upset.
