Green Bay Packers: Week 10 ‘Silver Linings’

Clay Matthews. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Players, not plays

It’s players, not plays – the infamous catch phrase of Packers’ beat writer, Vic Ketchman.

Well, that theory is being put to the test and it was found to be correct on Sunday night. Low on depth at ILB and needing bigger bodies to stop the run, the Packers decided to take their best defensive player and plug him into the area of need.

Clay Matthews, a born and raised outside linebacker, was moved to the middle linebacker position, across from A.J. Hawk. The tandem tore it up. Matthews racked up a career high 11 tackles, two for a loss and a sack on the night.

He was flying around … anywhere and everywhere. It looked like he really enjoyed the freedom he was being given.

The experiment was a success.

Look for Matthews to spend even more time at ILB as the season progresses.

Though as McCarthy said, “Clay is not an inside linebacker,” and so he shouldn’t be labeled as one.

However, as a football player (and a good one), Matthews is willing and able to play where he is needed. It’s a testament to his abilities and resolve, but also to the Packers for identifying a need and thinking outside of the box to fix it.