Quote Originally Posted by Fritz View Post
Some of this depends on how fast a learner he is. If he's picked up on the position, he can play fast(er) than he did last training camp, and we'll see if he has the skills to play ILB in the NFL.

I suppose we can't expect him to cover the speedy TE's or running backs coming out of the backfield, but maybe he can play in certain situations so Matthews can go back to his beloved outside.

Personally, I don't see why Matthews would care - he got more sacks from inside than outside last year. Maybe it's because he can't just roam free as much.
He's not particularly fast but he's in the right window for the position. He had a little weight to lose once the OLB dream was dead as well which should speed him up some. I think the bigger concern in coverage is his lack of length. He was forgettable in last years preseason at ILB but didn't embarrass himself or anything. What I'd like to see is the stuff you can't coach show up this year. The explosive hits and 2nd effort heroics and whatnot. That's what made him special at ASU IMO.

Sacks correlate with pressure and thus are used to measure it but they aren't the same thing. Clay can bring pressure every passing down as an OLB. He can draw double teams and free up teammates. He also has the incredibly rare ability to catch a NFL running play from the backside which he's not in position to do as an ILB. There is a reason he gets paid more than any ILB in the league and if he wants to continue to get paid more than any ILB in the league he'll have to not become one.