This Baltimore Ravens game on Thursday will be a big game for Eagles rookie middle linebacker Casey Matthews. He’s shown me that he can do a good job of defending the pass at the Eagles middle linebacker position.
The youngster has proven that he can call the defenses in the huddle and get everybody lined up correctly before the snap. That’s not an easy job for a rookie to do. Some where during the season when the defense has a bad series or two, Matthews will be challenged in the huddle until he earns his stripes by making some big plays.
“Juan [Castillo] has thrown a lot of things at him,” said Reid. “He’s able to handle, he’s able to spit it out, it looks like he has a good relationship with [LB Jamar] Chaney and [LB Moise] Fokou, and he’s competing for that spot…Are there things he needs to work on? Absolutely, absolutely, but he’s willing to work hard, he plays aggressive, and he plays smart.”
Matthews knows about how offenses try to attack zones and also how they try to attack man-to-man coverages. He very sharp for a rookie. The youngster looks up pass routes in zone defense and he does a good job of using his strength and quickness to cover in 
man-to-man.
The big question I have regarding Matthews is his ability to play the run. Can he consistently make tackles in the open field? Can he step up in there and take on the big fullbacks, tight ends and offensive linemen in the NFL, then get off the blocks to make a tackle? He must not only be able to do it for one or two plays, but he’s got to be able attack these guys on play after play.
We haven’t seen much of Matthews against the run. There’s so little hitting at training camp that I haven’t been able to focus on Matthews through some extended run drills. The Ravens have a big offensive line and they’re going to run the football.
Baltimore also a good of running play action passes along with the running game. I would like to have seen Matthews try to stop a tight end like Todd Heap on those play action passes but he signed with the Cardinals.
Still, the Ravens game will be a decent test for Matthews and you can believe that I will be eagerly checking him out. I’ll have a detailed report for you on Friday.
Well, glad that Heap is in Arizona now. Glad to hear your take on him G, since that is one of the glaring unkowns on the team.
Honestly he’s got the bloodline and he might as well be just as good if not better than Clay by the end of the season!
He put on 15lbs after being drafted. Maybe Desean should take notes.
I would love to hear how his family has coached him up and prepared him for the NFL experience.
I just saw a commercial for season tickets for the Lions. Most of the video includes shots from the eagles game last year. They are offering season tickets for less than what I paid to attend 1 game at the linc with my sons.
What a dream it would be to see the Eagles with a All-Pro linebacker, to go with the all pros in the secondary and defensive line.
This team, the coaches and players just seem so much better than last year it’s hard not to be thinking Superbowl. No wonder McGiggles was mad.
We should sign Randy Moss since Maclin might not be healthy. But I think Riley Cooper might surprise some people. He’s only going to get better.
There is always some sneaky team that comes out of nowhere. Who will it be in the NFC. Might be Detroit. They ended the season with a bunch of wins and have drafted well. They are 3 deep at QB and they have a great coaching staff. They gave the Eagles all they could handle last year, and was cheated out of a season opening win with Chicago.
You are right the Ravens will be a nice test. Just wish we could skip the preseason this year and avoid any injuries.
Andy Reid this team is loaded.
If you screw this season up with your stupid predictable play calling. I am going to give 1 million dollars to an unnamed former eagles player with access to your press conference, to throw a pie in your face the second you say “you have to do a better job of putting the players in position to win”
G, The D-Line is gonna make life alot easier for Matthews then you can imagine, I think the bigger test in this game is for Castillo, This will be his first game calling plays for the D, Thats one of the main things we should keep our eye on.
bsm, how big do you expect desean to be…..he is built for speed, getting huge will not help his game or his ability to take hits. He is only 5’8(on a good day), muscle mass on him, yes even 15lbs of it, will not benefit his game.
Man, I told myself if I saw another post/comment about how good the Lions would/could be THIS SEASON (on any website), that I would dedicate an entry to my blog to it. Looks like I’ll have that one up later in the day, because I can’t believe how many fools there are out there.
I do like what the Lions are doing, and kind of root for them because they are young and improving. But seriously, they are nowhere near being competitive enough for a division, let alone any elite team. I don’t care how hard they play or how close a game is with them, they are still one of the worst teams in the league, and are improving to catch up to the average teams. That is when you can improve to catch up to the good and elite teams of the league.
They will finish 3rd or 4th (last) in the NFC North and be where the Cardinals were before they won it with Kurt Warner, and where the Texans have been (The Texans are a team that is overdue, they have been underachieving, this might be their year by default because of the Colts downfall).
They will put up some nice offensive numbers, and their d-line is something to reckon with. They shored up their LB core, but their secondary will get handled, much like their offensive line. That weak o-line, along with Stafford’s lack of toughness, is enough to see the obvious. They will be fine without Leshoure, they still have Best, and signed Jerome Harrison, Mike Bell, and also have Maurice Morris. All will be fine in splitting time, however it is split. Calvin will always get his, Pettigrew had 800+ yards, much of that from Shaun Hill that checks down every other play. They are more than adequate at the skill and flashy positions (WR Titus Young, Nate Burleson, TE Tony Scheffler) but without an o-line, secondary, and proven/healthy QB, I won’t hesitate to burst their bubble. It’s not easy being a playoff team, and it’s “unbearable” that people continue to write off the Bears because they are just a blue-collar team. Chicago is another topic in itself. Oh by the way, the Superbowl Champions are in their division, and last time I checked, McNabb is still capable (especially with A.P. and a Leslie Frazier-run defense.
Root for Detroit, maybe even cheer them on because they are fun to watch and root for. But don’t be a “prisoner of the moment” because they are not the Tampa Bay Buccaneers yet, and they are not even close to being the Oklahoma City Thunder of the NFL. Nope!
awolwest.wordpress.com
Wmonell, Do you realize this is a Philadelphia Eagle site and thats all we care about? Who cares about the Lions and what place they come in? Were talking Super Bowl over here in the land of Eagledom !
what leach doesnt do ray rice will finish. so dumb not to sign stewart bradley. im not kidding probably thee worst decision this front office has ever made and simply for the fact of this is our year and they chose to cut a corner.
As much as we missed Stew when he was hurt, he couldn’t cover that well in the passing game. He lost a step after the injury and couldn’t stay healthy. I liked him but it just didn’t work out. He didn’t have a killer instinct.
this >kid< cant tackle for shit. he goes to the side and hangs on. but dont worry we have the next bill gates as a linebacker. shift this kid to weakside, make him the play caller and sign someone with some freaking mass and has a screw loose. honest to god, why do the fans know more than this front office and coaching staff, year in year out?
runtheball09, I agree with you 100%, We should of kept Bradley and let him split time with Matthews, It would of kept Bradleys chances of getting hurt low and it wouldnt of put too much pressure on Matthews but i still believe Matthews will be fine an they will bring in a vet to help.
@run…calm down man…”the worst decision this front office has ever made”?
Come on man…going a little overboard there..remember Dawk? Anyway, I don’t know if now is the time to be getting on the FO….that have done a whole lot RIGHT this year. I like Stew also, and question the lack of an experienced veteran LB in the middle, but wonder if they know more about his injuries then we do.
Way overstated rtb09
run – You just have to find a way to hate dont you? How many NFL games have you seen Mathew’s play? The answer is the same for me – 0. But you have him all figured out. The reason ‘the fans know more than this front office and coaching staff’ is because (SOME) of the fans are IGNORANT and ARROGANT. Hope that clear that up for you.
I’m happy with our team.
I like Bradley, but 2 injury-plagued seasons is enough. Good luck to him and Kolb in AZ.
I liked how we went for a player with a pedigree, always wanted one of those players and we got him.
We’ll see what happens, I think for you to assume is ridiculous, because I watched 75% of his games at Oregon out here in the West Coast.
He is a rookie like all the other rookies, of course you have to wait and see.
Realize, rookies are not in their primes…
I truly think we’re gonna be an elite defense, and that our LBs will be fine, being sandwiched between a great d-line and a great secondary.
And, after watching a Moises Fokou interview, it seems that he and Chaney will be the physical LBs and Matthews will hang out in the middle.
Chaney will probably lead the team in tackles.
All our LBs have to do is play their lanes and gaps, our safeties have their backs because our corners won’t need much help.
I imagine us playing with the lead a lot this season, making teams throw against us anyways to catch up.
Don’t sleep on the Raven’s young TE’s
They drafted 2 in 2010 Draft who I see a lot of upside and potential
TE Ed Dickson is a 6-4 250 lbs pass-receiver who is very atletic and I think can be a real good one and the other is TE Dennis PItta who is 6-4 245lbs and more of a possesion type of receiver.. Both these players have a bright future
Garry. Im in agreement with you.We need to see how he holds up in the run game. How he gets off blocks etc etc.But what we do see is that hes always around the ball. He is always in a position to make a play. Now he just has to make the play… As mentioned hes bulked up alot, has been on his brother Clays offseason workout (as i mentioned before and after the draft)…Hes primed for a good season, that DL is gonna be ferocious, that secondary will be lock down, and honestly i wouldnt be shocked if casey get 60-100 tackles this yr with 4 or 5 sacks…
no i dont have to find a way to hate. you have to find a way to get dave spadaro out of your bed. i waited patiently to see who they were going to bring in to replace stew bradley but apparently the gold standard geniuses think this kid from Oregon is there answer. the brother is not the brother. seattle slew had many siblings but none were seattle slew. So why do I “hate”? because the front office is obviously going all in and yet they want to make a suberbowl run with a midget rookie in the core of our defense. you can surround a turd with goldleaf but its still a turd. i dont know what it is with philadelphia coaches and the front office. its like a disease that they leave one area to suck.
you think im jumping the gun? how the hell is this kid going to walk through nfl players when he couldn’t even do it at little rinky dink oregon?
schiller you really are a dave spadaro butt lover.
please tell me schiller that if a true eagles fan were to make all decisions about our team that they wouldnt have done everything that has been done so far? you guys all get on your knees and suck this front office for doing their job. it would be like if obama decided to stop spending our money, raise incentives for businesses to hire, and cut taxes etc. and then everyone would be like “wow how amazing” >NO< thats what he should be doing. Its called due diligence and common sense.
run – ok, sorry to acuse you of ‘assuming’ things. On that note, interesting how you keep acusing me of ‘spadaro’ love when I really haven’t been on that website much at all and I stopped reading ‘on the inside’ – his column – years ago and I skip his videos and only watch the press conferences…. so basically you are sure you know something, but you have no knowledge base for it and you are in fact wrong….hmmmm what’s the word for that…. oh yeah, assume…
run – and I find it funny that Garry – an NFL LINEBACKER – says he doesn’t know/has questions about Mathews – so unknown – but you – a fan, are 100% sure.
Again, ignorant and arrogant.
believe me i hope im wrong but if you handicap players by there performance of what they were in college then i dont like this kid as our starting mike at all. i repeat; he couldnt walk through players. he tackles like asante. the only way this kid makes it is with help. if he doesnt get support i’ll guarantee the player shakes off and goes deep for yardage. i just dont like it. so you guys can all sue me for sharing my thoughts but i waited for this front office to replace stew but they didnt and now i’m pretty pissed off to head into our season with this question mark. sorry for wanting more for our team. sorry for wanting dominance. i’ll become complacent and optimistic and not judge a player by what they’ve shown 4 years in college. i’ll expect that they changed in 2 weeks of training.
run – what da hell is a ‘true Eagles fan’? One that agrees with you? Seriously, there’s no such thing as a ‘true Eagles fan’. I hope you can grasp that.
And really, you wanna talk politics!? Show me one time when lowering taxes helped America – IT NEVER HAS. That’s why its funny you mention common sense in that sentence – common sense says – look at what worked in the past, what didn’t. What hurt the country, what helped. During the Bush cut taxes – and OBAMA sustained those cuts! NEITHER WORKED. Hell, if Reagan where alive today he’d be a Democrat. Cutting taxes helps the rich – that’s all the republican’s care about. Our economy did best under Clinton. So don’t talk bullshit and then tell me about common sense.
run – I hear you and those are valid concerns about Mathews – if he can’t tackle, they’ll shift Chaney over and plug in Jordan at Will – he was effective there. Or try something else.
But college is just college – you know who was great in college – Jamarcus Russell. Chris Gocong…etc.etc…
I think its stupid to write off a guy’s abillity to play in the NFL when he HASN’T PLAYED IN THE NFL
Another thing that continues to crack me up is when everyone says the Eagles should have signed Bradley.. How about if Bradley didn’t want to stay and be a 1 Year Stop-Gap player and saw the writing on the wall with 5 LB’s drafted the last 2 Drafts, He may have wanted the security and longer term committment that the Eagles just weren’t going to offer him due to history of injuries.. (4 or his last 7 years of Football going back to his College days, did Bradley miss substantial time due to injury) I wish him well , but I called Bradley moving, on back a few months ago before there was even a holdout which I think was the right call for the Eagles moving forward..
when did i say im 100% sure? if anything this front office is arrogant for acting as if they could release stew knowing full well that matthews is our guy without any practice whatsoever? so theres your arrogance right there. and your a dave spadaro butt lover because anytime anyone is critical of question marks with our coaches and front office you run to their aid and defense. just like a good little dave spadaro butt lover.
Arrogance is you saying Reagan would be a Democrat. That is the most arrogant thing I’ve ever heard. I don’t have the time nor the patience to explain Adam Smith’s philosophy of the wealth of nations to you because you’re obviously a demagogue and a drone. Whether you know it or not you’re a Herbert Croly/ Georg Hegel/Immanuel Kant, Keynsian idealogue, and their philosophies are what have driven economies and nations into the ground. I hope you flip burgers in life and have no influence over anyone and don’t vote because you’re a disease to this great nation because you obviously side with out of control charlatans. Good day.
run – they didn’t release Bradley – he was a free agent. Did you see him fall after that concussion? I liked his play a lot – I really did. But he was damaged goods and they really like Chaney/Mathews apparantely.
Dude, and seriously, why do you have to hate on a huge percentage of HUMANITY all the time when it has nothing to do with our conversation. What’s your infatuation with spewing homophobia? It’s really disturbing and contributes to a lot of what’s f-d up about our world. Grow up for gods sake. If you want to call me an Eagles apologist, go ahead. But to slip in hate for a ton of people casually in the process….it’s hard to take you seriously
runtheball09, I think you got it all wrong, If you remember, Chaney was suppose to be our starting middle linebacker this year and NOBODY had a problem with that, Matthews came in and they liked what they saw him do there, Lets give the team the the benifit of the doubt on this, He’s doing something they must like and as Schiller pointed out, If he doesnt produce we can always put Chaney back in that spot.
Again – I thought it was cool (I know Schill – over-rated) to like the front office now?
RTB – wow – dude – some serious rantings there my friend…keynesian ideologue – really – you come up with that yourself – or did you get it out of the article on this site about a week back? Come on now – be honest – very rare to have a person go from telling someone to get on there knees and suck the front office and then have the next comeback to be about keynesian ideologue
but now – help me out here – if you are the one advocating that the private company -i.e. the Eagles Management, can not make decisions without inefficiencies therefore the public sector (i.e. the fans) needs to have some form of control – – wouldn’t that make you the Keynisian.. wow – I’m good, I just related fiscal monetray policy to an interactive football posting site
LMAO. Runtheball after all that guess what. Matthews is still the starting MLB. You are entertaining though. Dont worry the Eagles have an idea of what vet will be cut in camp. I promise you a vet will be brought in for insurance.
RTB – one other thing – Herbert Croyl I don’t think was as Keynesian as you seem to imply – he believed in a strong federal government, but from the perspective of a stong Army and Navy – his work was very well read by Teddy Roosevelt and it is thought that – speak softly but carry a big stick came from Croyl’s thoughts…. In today’s terms he would be considered ‘conservative’.
But on the MLB question – who that was drafted this year would have made a good MLB? With offenses today you need a MLB that can cover the pass and stop the run. Bradley could not run in the passing game (plus he never turned his head to find the ball) We as a team got killed becuase our LB could not cover RBs or tackle the RBs after they caught the ball – #1 reason every LB from last year is gone (Jordan is a special teams guy)
i would llike to step in for a second to reming everyone that the birds went Hog Wild and grabbed stud after stud after stud a few weeks ago. I told you the birds were going to blow this D up and that they had the cap to do it. Pman of course said “not this year” not enough time to learn the system”. My friends…. I’d also like a monstor at MLB but im not freaking out yet cause i dont think they are done. Lets see who gets cut… or maybe we trade for. Who knows…. maybe Dan Klecko wants to play MLB and return punts this year.
navy – AWESOME POINT about RTB, economics/government, and the Eagles.
I hope I’m not the only one that feels that there is going to be little difference between starting Bradley and starting Matthews. Bradley was severely overrated. I wish him and Kolb the best in Arizona, but like McNabb, Bradley ultimately could not get it done (injuries didn’t help). I like what I’m hearing about Matthews and hope it turns out to be a steal in the draft. I need a new jersey and hopefully this kid comes through in true Matthews style
First of all it’s Croly you ignoramus. I’m so sick of listening to everyone with friggin google. It was an A and B conversation between me and schiller so if you’re going to interject a thought you might as well bring statements of fact not opinions. I’m done with you now navy, you can go away with your regurgitation of mindless plagiarized drivel.
LOL wow that little spat between run and spill was AWESOME but uhhh yeah im not siding with anyone here but its a football site gentleman so ummmmmm lets keep it that way huh. For the record though run you seem to be WAYYY to angry bud chill we have a great team this year and you should be excited. Plus even if matthews does have some growing pains we do have three pro bowl corners to pick up the slack. For that matter to anyone who thinks the eagles r going to get run all over this season news flash our LB sucked for the most part last year to. Even with that fact i remember us holding MULTIPLE PRO BOWL running backs to very minimum gains. I THINK the lbs this year will be fine but NONE OF US KNOW YET. So lets chill everyone and GO BIRDS
RTB – Croly, I promise to type slower – really, a spelling foul is all you got for a comeback – that’s it – that’s your snappy retort – like I said – really interesting a guy can go from homophobic slurs to contrasting free market theories and the downfall of nations ….
Rev Stevo…well said
Navy, you sound so hypocritical, remember when you went after someone’s mother in a post. What’s the difference other than you think you are exempt from
being as ignorant as anyone else on the site.
Once is an error, two times exposes you as a blatant fraud that proves you don’t know what you’re talking about, and your lame attempt to try and correlate my free market philosophy to my use of a derogatory name has no substantive point. Again this was an A and B conversation, so if you want to put on your big boy pants and make an attempt to prove you know what you’re talking about make sure you actually know what you’re talking about. Otherwise you’ll just be capitulating against a well read opponent who’s lived long enough to have seen it all.
Run the ball, how does a free market help anyone but the rich?
Blah blah blah Run, you made your point. You are in fact smarter than everyone else in here. So smart that you are wasting all of our time talking about politics in a sports blog site. If you don’t think that Matthews can play, fine, I get it. If you don’t think that the front office did a good job, fine, I get it. But go ahead and jump off your high horse when you are writing your posts.
The facts are that the front office did a great job of managing the cap and signing star players for less than their market value. Why didn’t every other GM do that if it is so easy?
Stop being that guy who has to have the contrary opinion to everyone else. We are allowed to be excited about what has happened without guys like you shoving it in our faces. It doesn’t make you smarter to disagree with everyone else.
PS- Not much of an A and B conversation when you are posting it on the internet.
Casey mathews was a better college player than clay mathews.. I think he knows that and want to be even better than his brother.. Makes me wonder if clays on something he was not that good of a college player
Clay went to USC and played on a much better Defensive Team and Unit than Casey ever did.. and word from out in La La land is that Clay was more concerned about the women around USC Campus and having a good time in SOuthern California than working hard while he was in College but he sure has matured nicely as a Pro and has work extremely hard since being in the NFL..
Schiller i’m done with your retarded ass.
bugsy no one is forcing you to read, eat a dick and fuck off.
I could see that He had very poor stats though. How has dion lewis looked?
run – Wow – you kicked it up a notch – 2 irrelevant offensive and degrading cheap shots at separate large portions of the population. AND (record?) all this within 1 minute!