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Clay Matthews celebrates a sack of Alex Smith

When the news came this off-season that the Packers would be moving Clay Matthews back to the right side, I did a little jig (ok, since I’m Italian, it was more of a tarantella).

Watching Matthews speed rush the passer from the left side the last year, there was something missing. The initial explosion was still there, but once engaging the right tackle, something strange was happening – usually one of two things. Either Matthews would get stood up and lose momentum, or lose his balance and end up on the ground. In either case, Matthews was easily handled and posed no threat to the quarterback.

Fast forward to this season and Matthews’ speed rush from the right side includes not only speed, but a violent punch, low pad-level and much better balance.

So is Matthews just a better speed rusher from the right side? Um, maybe…

In his rookie season, when Matthews played right outside linebacker, he recorded 10 sacks, despite not starting until game four. In 2010, the Packers’ Super Bowl Championship season, Matthews was moved to the left side and finished with 13 sacks in 17 games, with another four in the playoffs. As we all know, Matthews’ production fell off in 2011, with only six over the course of  the season.  Read more... (750 words + 3 images, estimated 3:00 mins reading time)

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As we told you here over a week ago, Clay Matthews has also done a State Farm Discount Double Check commercial with BJ raji. Here it is:

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Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.

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With his former USC teammate Brian Cushing earning an NFL suspension for using a banned substance, the whispers have started again about Clay Matthews. And lets be honest,  it’s understandable. One look at Matthews’ physique, after all the “skinny kid” stories, is enough.   But should we suspect Clay Matthews? Is he guilty by association? Of course not.  There are, however,  a lot of similarities in their stories and how they transformed themselves from scrawny kids to muscle-bound NFL warriors.

Brian Cushing was a multi-sport athlete, but in high school, he decided to focus on football after his freshman year. He hit the weight room hard and came back a much bigger player his sophomore year. The change was so dramatic, there were many whispers of steroid use from NJ high school football observers. Yet speak to anyone close to him, and they would emphatically defend him as an honest and incredibly self-motivated kid that would never cheat.

He accomplished the feat by hard work in the weight room, we were told. His development continued at USC, and those closest to Cushing came out publicly to defend him. Videos of Cushing working out were published on the internet:

His high school coach and personal trainer stood by him and still do, even after the recent developments. From an article written by Tara Sullivan of the Bergen Record, a local NJ newspaper:  Read more... (1049 words + 4 images, estimated 4:12 mins reading time)

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