By Jordan Long
The L.A. Rams are looking to improve the team after a disappointing loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII. They agreed to a 2-year contract with linebacker Clay Matthews. This is a homecoming for Matthews who was born in L.A. and played his college football at USC.
Matthews was one of the top linebackers in free agency. He spent 10 years in Green Bay. With the Packers he made a name for himself by blitzing the quarterback and sacking them. Offenses needed to know where Matthews was lined up because he would find a way to disrupt the play. These could be sacks, tipped passes, or fumbles. He has forced 15 fumbles.
Last season was a down year for him. Matthews wasn’t able to sack the quarterback as much. Teams were smarter and double teamed him so he couldn’t make a play to change a game. Matthews ended up with 3.5 sacks, the lowest in his career. He has totaled 84.5 sacks in his time in the NFL which ranks #1 in Green Bay Packers’ history.
Matthews is one of the top tacklers at the linebacker position. When teams run the football, he is there to stop the running backs so it is not a large gain. He rarely misses tackling an opponent. Matthews has 483 tackles in his career.
The Green Bay Packers had their chance to sign him. They knew Matthews was a large part of what they do on defense. He was an unrestricted free agent. The Packers lost out and he agreed to a contract with the Rams.
The Rams know what kind of player Matthews is. He is going to improve their linebacker play, taking pressure off of the defensive line to create pressure on the quarterbacks. Defensive coordinator Wade Philips is going to call plays for Matthews to succeed. These will be blitz packages for Matthews to take down the quarterback or force a turnover which could be the difference in field position. The Rams are going to be a tough defense for opposing offenses to gain yards with this move. fffff
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