For the first time in his NFL career, Clay Matthews is going into a season with a team other than the Green Bay Packers, as the veteran linebacker joined the Los Angeles Rams in free agency this offseason.
Matthews is already loving how Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips runs the defense, saying that he knows how to take advantage of his players' strengths.
“One of the things I noticed is he puts his guys in positions to succeed,” Matthews said, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “You can’t help but for me personally look at what he was able to do in Denver with Von [Miller] and DeMarcus [Ware]. DeMarcus serving nine, 10 years with Dallas and then going over there and having the same amount of success.”
Given that Matthews has been on a rather sharp decline over the past several years, he could certainly use some of Phillips' genius in 2019.
“One of the things he allows us to do as playmakers is to play to our ability,” added Matthews. “Sometimes when you’re in certain defenses they want you to do certain things, but here, it’s all about making plays and playing to your ability and making plays. He allows us to do that and I think that’s what allows his defenses to be so successful.”
Matthews is coming off of a 2018 campaign in which he played all 16 games and finished with 43 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and a forced fumble, a far cry from the types of numbers he used to post during his prime.
The 33-year-old made six Pro Bowl appearances while earning a First-Team All-Pro selection during his 10 seasons with the Packers.
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