Sac Quarterback Clay Mathews Funny Videos

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GREEN BAY, Wis. — Packers linebacker Clay Matthews has added to his diversity over the past year. He has gone from being one of the best edge pass-rushers in the league to also playing effectively from the inside linebacker position. His play helped turn around the Green Bay defense last year on the way to the NFC Championship Game.

Aside from his on-field talent, Matthews has used his good looks and sense of humor to become an effective pitchman in the advertising world. Throw in the fact that he's a third-generation NFL player, and you have a guy with some interesting takes on playing the game. Bleacher Report caught up with him recently to get those takes.

Bleacher Report: If the seven members of the Matthews family (you, Clay Sr., Clay Jr., Bruce, Casey, Kevin and Jake) played a game against the seven members of the Geathers family (Jumpy, Robert Sr., Robert Jr., Clifton, Kwame, Jeremy and Clayton), which Manning would you pick to quarterback your side? Or does somebody from your family try to line up under center?

Clay Matthews: No, no one in the Matthews family can play quarterback. We all suck at throwing footballs, believe it or not. That's why we stick to either protecting the quarterback or trying to sack the quarterback.

I think you just have to admire what Peyton has done throughout his career. I know I do. It's always fun watching him. But Eli has won two Super Bowls, so there is something to be said for that. It's very elusive, as we have seen over the past couple of years. You get one and you think you're going back. You have a chance last year, you come up short. I don't know; I guess I'll pick Peyton. But definitely not a Matthews.

B/R: Yeah, I'm not sure any of the Geathers would be quarterbacks either. Almost all of them are like 6'7", 280 pounds.

Matthews: Yeah, they should probably stick to whatever they do.

B/R: Do you and Aaron Rodgers have a competition over who does the funniest commercials? It does seem spirited.

Matthews: We do enjoy the opportunities we have outside of football, being in front of the camera. And we both have the same type of personality, outgoing and kind of dry sense of humor. So anytime we can have involvement in the type of commercial we're putting out, we try to put out the best product as opposed to the this is the product you're plugging. We have fun with what we're doing. We have input on it.

To say we're competing? I wouldn't quite go there. But we both have pride in what we're doing. I always give him props on the State Farm commercials, bringing all the old SNL skits back to life. And with my Fathead skits and other commercials, we get a good laugh. In fact, I just asked him the other day what he's going to do this year. We'll see what he has in store. I think everybody in this locker room looks forward to what we're going to put out.

B/R: There is supposed to be an element of truth to good comedy to really make it work. With that in mind, how many Fatheads do you really have at your house?

Matthews (laughing): I'll tell you what, I really don't have any in my house. But I actually purchased one of my father [Clay Jr.], and we put it up in his office one day. So every day that he goes into his office to handle his business back in California, he has a nice Fathead of himself, looking all ripped in his Cleveland Browns jersey. He has yet to take it down. So I think, really, he'll just blame it on me for putting it up there, but I think he can live his glory days again from that Fathead.

B/R: How did you get a Fathead of him?

Matthews: They actually had it online. You can submit your own photo now, and initially I wanted to send a photo of him, but they already had one of him and I thought I'll just buy one of those.

B/R: Life-size?

Matthews: Oh yeah, life-size. If you go on there, they have a big inventory now. A few years ago, it was just growing, but now they have it for movies, musicians. It's not just athletes anymore.

B/R: So you really are a trendsetter?

Matthews: I like to think so.

B/R: Excellent delivery.

Matthews: I appreciate it.

B/R: So you've done half a season of the inside/outside linebacker thing.

Matthews: So, serious questions, now.

B/R: Yes, you know the whole routine, ask a few warm-up questions.

Matthews: Yeah, make me feel good.

B/R: Journalists, we're pretty obvious. But how much did it actually help your second half of the season? How do you explain the drastic improvement in production for you after making the shift to play both spots?

Matthews: It's hard to attribute. They say that sacks always come in bunches. I think I had two-and-a-half in the first half of the season, but then in the second half, I had a couple of multi-sack games. Whether you attribute that to continuing to develop as a pass-rusher and coming into my own at the end of the season or the position change providing a different dynamic like the offense not knowing exactly where I'm going to line up…I don't know.

As opposed to knowing that 52 is either going to be right or left and [they] just slide the protection that way or have a back chip or rub on the way out, now it's a legitimate threat that he can line up all over the field and create pressure from all over the field. So I think it does create a level of difficulty for offensive coordinators, as well as those on offense who are trying to figure out where we're trying to get creative.

And I think it presents a number of mismatches, too, for myself. Not only can I rush off the edge, but I can be successful in the middle, and when I'm not rushing, I can drop into coverage and man the middle of the field. I think I can do that as well as anybody, so I do think that presents some issues for the offense and I think it brings a little energy when you learn a new position, so to speak, and have a little success with it.

B/R: The first time you lined up there, was it anxiety or excitement?

Matthews: My train of thought going out there on a week's notice after they said, "We're going to try you out at the inside spot," was not excitement. There was a little apprehension and hesitation, because I've had success for five-and-a-half years at the outside linebacker position, and why change something that's not broken? You can say that about my game, but at the same time, we needed to improve on defense and they obviously saw something that I didn't see in my game. That was lining me up in the middle and letting me have a little more free rein to make plays.

So lining up on that first night game against Chicago…I didn't know what I was getting myself into, especially on a national spotlight like that. But I think it was one of my best games of the year. Double-digit tackles. I had two sacks…they took one away from me. A couple of [tackles for losses]. I had a good game, and of course going into that game you think of every excuse about why it's not going to work and then when you excel at it, you just keep your mouth shut and you keep on doing your job.

We went on week after week, and I found myself getting better and being involved in more big plays, game-changing plays—and found a little niche in that middle. I think that's going to carry over in that I can still rush from the outside and I'll still be plugged in there on numerous occasions. But if they need me inside, I can excel at that position.

B/R: Did you talk to your dad about playing inside?

Matthews: I did, actually. We were kind of on the same page at that time. I use this saying: "Just because you're a corner doesn't mean you can switch to safety just because you're a defensive back." The same thing goes for linebacker. Just because you're outside doesn't mean that you can switch to inside just because you're a linebacker. The two are very different positions. But I had some success, and as long as you're making plays and your team is winning, that's all that matters in this league.

B/R: Did it tick you off when your dad didn't play you that much in youth football?

Matthews: I think I realized from an early age that I wasn't the best athlete. As much as it makes for a good story about my dad not playing me, he had every right to not play me. I wasn't the best on the team or on the field at the time. It wasn't until my senior year [in high school] that I started to come into my own. Even going into college, I knew where I was. It wasn't a shock that this guy was playing ahead of me. I didn't start feeling that way until I was maybe four or five years into college, where knew I was better than other players on the field and deserved to be in the starting lineup.

B/R: Your uncle played 19 years. Your dad played 19 years. That's a long damn time in this league. Your uncle makes the Hall of Fame. Your dad is a four-time Pro Bowler. You have a Super Bowl ring. Who gets to talk the most trash?

Matthews: Oh, we never did talk trash. But I will say, growing up and you're born into this lifestyle of your grandfather, your father, your uncle all played in the NFL. Not only did they play, but they were successful at it. So you take it for granted and don't realize the work they put into it.

It wasn't until after my first year that I said to my dad, "I don't know how you did this for 19 years." He laughed and said, "With five kids, I had to," with money being what it was back then. But I told him I only want to play half the time he did and that will be a storied career.

I still think it's [strange] being considered a veteran in this league at seven years in and having a few accolades to my name, a Super Bowl. But it seems like my dad was in the very same position where he played in a 4-3 and a 3-4, and he has had to cover backs out of the backfield and wide receivers vertical, so I feel like we have the same skill set, just in two different eras.

B/R: So nobody says…

Matthews: No. As much as it may make for a good story, he's my biggest fan and advocate and showing up to every game that he's able to. The same goes for my brothers. I think he's having a blast carrying on the torch. He's not one of those guys to hold on to that, "Oh, when I played…". He's the most humble man you'll ever get to be around and [tries] to deflect the attention on to somebody else.

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

B/R: So what is he doing?

Matthews: Chillin'. He's actually coaching at Oaks Christian, a local high school out in California. He's helping out there, and during the season he's traveling watching my brother and I. In the offseason, he has a few business ventures he keeps track of. But really just enjoying the retired life.

B/R: The loss to Seattle. Tough losses like that, where you seemingly have victory sewn up only to see it slip away, they tend to linger with teams. How do you prevent that?

Matthews: You know what, that's only something that has been discussed by the media, and I have heard it a few times about how it can be devastating. But you look at our team: We don't have guys who are just going to kind of mail it in and be complacent with getting that close.

In my situation, winning a Super Bowl in my second year, it was a blessing and a curse in that you win a Super Bowl, which is so rare and so hard to do, but you don't realize how hard it is to win one, let alone get back there. But at the same time, I think it puts it in perspective about how close we were going getting back to another Super Bowl and getting another shot at New England, who we had some success against earlier here at Lambeau.

But it's part of the deal. I don't think anybody is thinking how hard it is to get back there. I think we're thinking we're going to get back there, and when we do we can't fall short.

B/R: So exactly how much pressure is there on the unborn future children of the Matthews clan to play in the NFL?

Matthews: People always ask me if I had big shoes to fill when I was a kid. I guess I just assumed that I was going to play in the NFL. I don't think anybody realizes the staggering percentages of those who play high school football to college to the NFL, just let alone making it. I found the hard truth along the way, but I never felt there was pressure to fill what my family was able to do before me. I kind of just wanted to do it and do it my own way. I didn't have these big aspirations that I do now. There was a point that I was just content with making a team as just a free agent and hopefully getting a nice enough paycheck to be well off for a few months. But that changed real quick.

B/R: Was that around freshman year of college?

Matthews: I think I told my brother one time…this is horrible. I told my little brother at some point in my college career when things weren't going as well as they are now or as in my senior year—I think I told him I'd love to get picked up as a free agent somewhere, quite possibly get cut, but have enough money to buy an old car and restore it. He always reminds me of that. He [says], "You remember when you told me that?" Yeah, I remember that. I can buy a few old cars now.

B/R: Have you actually bought an old car and fixed it up?

Matthews: Of course not. I'm the worst. I don't spend money at all. You see me going up asking for these gift cards that they handed out today. They handed out cards, and I'm like, "Hey, let me get that $20 pizza card." That will always stay with me. I'm frugal.

Jason Cole covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.

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Source: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2489888-clay-matthews-qa-packers-linebacker-motivated-by-pursuit-of-a-storied-career

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