September 22, 2012

With six sacks in the Green Bay Packers' first two games, Matthews has equaled his total from the entire 2011 season. And if Matthews has rediscovered the ferocious pass rush production that made him such a force when he came into the league, the Packers' plans to put some teeth back into their defense suddenly look a lot more realistic.

After switching back to the right side of Dom Capers' defense, and now surrounded by more promising young talent than he was last season, Matthews appears poised for a big year. He went through an extended lull in his pass rush that began in the middle of the 2010 season.

"Fortunately, I've got a group of young talent that's come in here and really wants to be good — and wants it bad," Matthews said.

Matthews isn't worried about facing a steady stream of double-teams the rest of the season, because he now sees teammates who can make opponents pay.

"We've got some talent now," Matthews said. "It's going to be harder to double just one guy and leave others single-blocked. If that's the case, then so be it. But otherwise, we've got some talent now to get after the quarterback, and hopefully that'll continue to stay."

Veteran defensive back Charles Woodson said after last Thursday's win over Chicago that he isn't surprised Matthews is back to his old tricks.

"There's not a guy in the league tackle-wise or lineman-wise that can block him," Woodson said. "His motor is so high and it's always going. Surprised? No. if we just let him go, he'd probably have had more."

Woodson called on Capers to keep turning Matthews loose.

"Nobody can block Clay," Woodson said. "That's a fact. I wish he could just have free rush every time. Nobody can block him. But when him and the rest of the guys are getting through and have an offensive line on their heels like they did (against Chicago), and having the quarterback moving around in the pocket, it makes a huge difference for us."

Matthews was unblockable for much of his first two pro seasons. He had 10 sacks as a rookie, 13 1-2 the next season, when Green Bay won the Super Bowl. But somewhere, he lost the touch, and the defense lost its stinginess.

The Packers gave up more yards than any defense in the league last season, averaging 411.6 per game. An inconsistent pass rush was one of their major problems, as opposing quarterbacks had too much time to pick apart a shaky secondary.

The Packers had 29 sacks last season, tying them for 27th in the league.

Matthews had only six sacks last year, continuing a slump that began in the second half of the 2010 season. Matthews faced frequent double-teams and the Packers didn't have anybody to pick up the slack.

"It's about opportunities," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "That's what the coaching staff sits around and game-plans for and spends extra time. It's always trying to create as many opportunities for your players as possible, particularly your playmakers. So it's part of every game-plan decision, discussion that eventually comes down to matchups. They're going to react to Clay, and how are we going to react to their reaction and be proactive with our schemes to try to combat, whether they're chipping or double-teaming or sliding, whatever their reaction's going to be."

Rookie defensive lineman Jerel Worthy wasn't around during Matthews' lull. He just knows what he sees right now.

"In the middle of a play, protection looks like it's holding up good, and then next thing you know, you see 52 sliding in there for a tackle and it's just like, 'Wow,'" Worthy said. "It's motivation, because you feel like you're not working hard enough and you want to get that extra gear when you see a guy out there laying it all on the line and enjoying what he does. Every time he comes back to the huddle, he's smiling and he's joking and he enjoys the game. You take bits and pieces of that and try to feed off of that."

Worthy figures Matthews is out to prove a point this season.

"Any time a player has a down year, they're going to come back out with that fire and try to prove people wrong," Worthy said. "I think we're playing a lot better defensively coverage-wise, and he's getting home with some coverage sacks, and he's getting home with his own effort. At the same time, I think the defense is playing a lot better and we're trying to get better up front to help out those guys in the back."

And if Matthews keeps pressure on the passer, it will help a secondary that is still sorting itself out. The Packers sacked Jay Cutler seven times last Thursday, forcing him into four interceptions.

"Even if you have a breakdown in the secondary, if you have guys getting after the quarterback, you don't get hurt," Woodson said. "This is a great game, but there's still a lot of things that we're going to look at from this film and say, 'Hey, those are things we can't do in the back end.' But when you have a Clay coming after the quarterback and other guys joining in and getting sacks, it makes our job a lot easier."

Associated Press