Clay Matthews Talks At Super Bowl XLIX

Aaron caught up with the Packers linebacker at the Super Bowl in Arizona on Saturday. 

I caught up with Clay Matthews for a few minutes tonight at the Verizon Power House at Super Bowl Central in downtown Phoenix Arizona.

Clay has been working with Verizon on the #WhosGonnaWin social program all week for Super Bowl XLIX. (You can find everything about the program here. There's a light show at the end of each night during Super Bowl week, powered by fans' Tweets. The Seahawks, whose fans are absolutely everywhere in Phoenix, have won each night.) 

Obviously, the biggest question on Packers' fans minds was about the final two drives in regulation two weeks ago in Seattle. I asked Clay about that and a few other things. You'll be able to hear our chat below. Apologies for the noise, as this was set up last minute and we spoke on a stairwell surrounded by fans gawking at Matthews from afar. (It is really odd to have a large group of people gather round to watch a conversation from afar that they can't hear)

To me, the biggest takeaways were: 

  1. Matthews indicates he was indeed evaluated for a concussion. Kind of. 
  2. Clay also says knee and rib injuries, along with lingering wooziness from the hit on Luke Willson, "caught up" to him on the final two drives in regulation. 
  3. Interestingly, he credits the Packers defensive backs, Morgan Burnett in particular, with helping him refine his technique when it comes to getting after a ball-carrier's stiff arm. 
  4. He says that without question, he is pulling for the Patriots in the Super Bowl. 

Click here for the audio. 

 

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Comments (8)

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4thand1's picture

January 31, 2015 at 11:08 pm

Still sounds fishy.................kind of?

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aussiepacker's picture

February 01, 2015 at 12:56 am

Well done Aaron. good to see you living the dream. Cant wait for the day you and QB1 sit down for a 1 on 1.

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Packer_Pete's picture

February 01, 2015 at 08:58 am

My least favorite player on the roster. Big potential, but Mr. Matthews is all about Mr. Matthews - striking difference between players like Peppers or AJ Hawk or Burnett, or anybody else on the roster really. Yes I know, AJ Hawk is over the hill, and there are other players we will not see again next season, but at the same time, those are team players and act as such. Clay Matthews, while a very good player, is not in that category, IMHO. Now of course I don't know what is going on in the locker room, but at the same time, one can always get clues from interviews. And things like Peppers being playoff captain, whereas Matthews never even was in that category..

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Denver's picture

February 01, 2015 at 03:25 pm

Well, I'll remain happy that CMIII is a Packer. One of the best moments of the season for me personally was seeing him start playing ILB regularly against the Bears. And play it pretty damn well. I really could not take it anymore with Jones, Lattimore and Hawk out there often.

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HankScorpio's picture

February 01, 2015 at 04:23 pm

As long as I've crossed the Rubicon of being the guy that is questioning Matthews, I might as well get it all out.

The biggest knock I have about him on the field is that he tends to crash down too much on run instead of holding backside containment. His penchant for ignoring assignment and freelancing is less of a problem inside where the assignment on run downs is more about doing what he wants to do...react and fly to the ball.

Moving him inside for run is not just about getting an athletic guy that can go sideline to sideline in the middle of the field. it is about getting an OLB on the field that just does his job without trying to be the hero. Both Neal and Perry hold backside contain better than Matthews. So the switch improved 2 spots on run plays. And the run defense went from bottom 1/3 to top 1/3.

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Allan Murphy's picture

February 01, 2015 at 11:09 pm

Boy that made the loosing feel so much better Pats 28-24 sweet !

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4thand1's picture

February 01, 2015 at 11:18 pm

One other thing that still eats at me is, why wasn't the PF penalty tacked on after Clay sacked Wilson for 16 yards? Capers probably would've rushed one on 2nd and 41.It was done twice in tonights game. Seachickens have no class. Should be some big fines for those scum.

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HankScorpio's picture

February 02, 2015 at 04:56 am

Seattle got a nice plate of karma yesterday. They were only in the SB due to the collapse of the Packers. Now they get to carry that same burden around with them all offseason just like the Packers. If their immediate reaction is any indicator, they are not going to carry it well. Starting a brawl after the final int. is the classless act of a punk team.

I'm not much of a play-calling guy but how the heck do you not hand the ball to Marshawn Lynch down there? Wilson throwing that pick ought to silence some of the talk about his greatness...which is mostly about the fact that the Seattle defense propels the Seahawks to wins. If I have to keep hearing about Wilson's record vs this QB or that one, I'm gonna puke. Last I checked, we're talking about football games, not QB skill challenges. I heard it phrased well on the radio the other day: The Seahawks win with Wilson. The Packers win because of Rodgers. The same applies to many of those QBs on the wrong side of the score vs Seattle that have pundits fawning all over Wilson.

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