peppersjap":3391vyky said:
timmat":3391vyky said:
XxXdragonXxX":3391vyky said:
It's Incredible how many people are convinced that Mathews would be the savior if he was used properly, solely based off a solid performance in 1 game. 1 game.
But I think the frustration stems from the fact that he was only given consistent targets in one game too - and was successful. If he'd been targeted more and we saw some failure with our own eyes, then there would be less negative response.
I watch the games pretty closely (at least twice) and he gets zero separation! People act like he was some kind of rising superstar. He was a guy who finally made it in the CFL which is not saying much. He is 26 years old so not a kid. He was on our team all year last year and most fans had no idea who he was when he was fortunate enough to recover an onside kick vs GB. That recovery was not because of talent it was because a GB player was an idiot and he was in the right place at the right time. I think it is pretty telling that this player that most Seahawk fans think was our next budding superstar passed through waivers without anyone picking him up. When he was cut someone said the Patriots will jump at him but know way he makes it to them, well he made it to them and now he is unemployed. He had 1 great game because of a huge mismatch. The fact that he couldn't take Jerome Kearse's job should tell everyone everything they need to know.
Some good points here. However, I do believe that there were other opportunities to re-create the huge mismatch we exploited in the Super Bowl. At 6'5" with good hands - and assuming Baldwin or Lockett or Graham would be drawing #1 protection attention from the other team - I would just have liked to have seen a few high-point 1-on-1 attempts go his way and see what would happen. The separation Matthews creates is with his catch radius, not distance between defender. To me, he didn't seem like a guy with star power. But he did seem like a legit option to beat pressure based on the physical mismatch and potential 1-on-1 coverage if split wide.
As for beating out Kearse,
Jermaine has made some huge plays for this team over the past three years, and combined with Wilson's trust of him, Kearse gets a pretty big pass from this staff IMO. I'm not sure Matthews was ever in line to beat him out.
Matthews is gone, and was not going to be a difference maker in this season's woes. And maybe his lack of success was fully on display to the coaches during practice. I just think lots of fans expected the Hawks to at least TRY to get him some more opportunities this season.