Clay Matthews has 6 sacks this year…6. That is terrible. Yes, he has two picks and two forced fumbles (including 1 pick six). Those plays were definitely huge. But Clay Matthews is in there as a sack guy and he’s not getting sacks. He is getting some pressures, but he’s not getting home. So, What else is going on besides Matthews simply underperforming?
The Packers are 26th in the NFL in sacks right now. That is also terrible. I don’t think it’s possible at this point to overstate how much we miss Cullen Jenkins. (Jenkins has 5.5 sacks for Philly – and he’s not even playing DE, he’s playing DT.) While TT and MM and Capers usually do a decent job of preparing guys to step up in the case of injury/departure, they have not made the kinds of adjustments needed to fill the void left by Jenkins. Walden isn’t cutting it pressure-wise. Wynn and Wilson don’t bring enough. Zombo is injury-prone and simply not that effective anyway. We need a beast on that side to disrupt the passer.
One thought I had about 10 seconds ago, was that the Packers ought to consider moving Bishop to the right side. Hawk apparently is entrenched in the middle (despite often being ineffective), but either DJ Smith or Francois seem to be solid enough to leave in there in place of Bishop in the middle. I particularly like Francois because he appears to be better in coverage than the other 3 MLBs. Bishop is a nasty pass rusher (5 sacks from a MLB position) and if he had a few more chances to bring it opposite Matthews, I think they could end up being a very disruptive duo. We’re at that point where we might as well consider something like this because if we don’t, our secondary is going to continue to get shelled by opposing QBs because nobody can cover WRs for 10 seconds on each play.
Or – I suppose we could also look at Francois or DJ Smith at ROLB. Both of those guys would be better than Walden.
packergeeks 
December 21, 2011 at 7:39 pm |
Andrew, good idea. The Packers should always try to get our best 11 on the field and if we have decent MLB’s then Bishop would be a huge upgrade on the right side. Seems like the coaching staff is very dedicated to their guys/schemes though to the point of it hurting the team at times.
December 23, 2011 at 9:15 am |
while matthews and the d in general definitely played better last year (#2 ranked overall i think?), they also brought up the level of play in the playoffs/superbowl. i wouldn’t be shocked if capers has a wrinkle or two saved up to give matthews more opportunities in the playoffs. here’s to hoping it wasn’t lightning in a bottle, but this team seemed last year like a team that gets better as the stakes get higher.
on an unrelated note, i’m quite sure i could now give myself a serious injury just by stretching. when leaning back in my chair to stretch my back a minute ago, i had to hold back from a fully-satisfying stretch because my body started to warn me it was about to tear apart and collapse. this is old man injury territory, and i’m only 29. it could have something to do with the fact that the last time i engaged in exercise on purpose was probably in a high school weight room.
December 23, 2011 at 9:09 pm |
This is a bummer: Derek Sherrod could be out for 7 months before he is ready to take part in training camp.
December 24, 2011 at 8:56 am |
I think you also have to consider that every team in the NFL were watching Packers game film in the off-season and our secret (Matthews) is now out. He’s picking up a lot more doubles than before (which makes me wonder why Hawk hasn’t seen any increase in pressures) so that’s the be expected. Still, if he’s a future HOFer Matthews needs to learn to overcome it.
December 24, 2011 at 10:52 am |
Matthews has still made big plays this year, he’s still been a player each team needs to account for. Numbers DO NOT always tell the whole story.
It’d be great if he was able to continue sacking the QB, no matter how many guys block him. But reality is, if he’s taking away blockers, other people need to be getting home. And that’s why we need an ROLB. They should have a much easier time getting to the QB, but continue to struggle. A guy with the talent of Matthews on the other side would be scary. Because when you throw in Bishops ability to rush, Woodson, and hopefully a more dominant Raji in the future, it would make an incredible difference.
December 27, 2011 at 6:57 am |
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