Throughout the season, the Eagles have tinkered the lineup to determine their best combination at linebacker.
In the first 12 games of the season, there have been four different arrangements in the base set and three in the nickel formation. Rookie linebacker Casey Matthews, though, has not been in the any of them since losing his starting position in the base defense after the Week 3 game against the Giants. Now, there will be a fourth different alignment in the nickel package.
At 4-8, the Eagles are looking for answers on defense and are willing to give Matthews, a fourth-round pick this year, another shot. The Oregon-alum will play alongside second-year linebacker Keenan Clayton in the Eagles' nickel package Sunday against the Dolphins.
The former first-team All-Pac-10 'backer is thrilled to have another crack at making an impact on defense.
"You always want to get on the field and help your team out," said Matthews, who is expected to wear the communication helmet. "I think the coaches took notice of the hard work I've been putting in over the last eight weeks and decided to give me another chance. I feel a lot more prepared than I was at the beginning of the year."
Because of the shortened offseason, Matthews, and the rest of the rookies around the NFL, had just over a month to learn an offseason's worth of terminology, scheme and technique. Being able to watch from the sidelines over the last two months has allowed the talented linebacker to see the defense with greater clarity and become more comfortable with it.
"I was able to step back and get a better grasp of everything," he said. "Now I fully understand it, whereas I was doing a lot of learning on the fly earlier in the season and in training camp."
Matthews understands that, in a lot of ways, this is an audition for a starting position next season, and he says that he won't let this opportunity pass him by.
"This is another chance to go out there and show what I can do, so I really need to take advantage of it," said the rookie linebacker. "That being said, in the NFL, you're always being evaluated, so you need to go out there and give it your all every day.
"It's a long season, so I knew that if I kept coming in and working as hard as I could, I would get another shot."
Fellow nickel man Keenan Clayton agrees with Matthews. He knows how important it is to make a good impression every time you stop out on the football field.
"At the end of the day, we still want to be here next year," Clayton emphasized. "And if things don't work out like that, we have to put our best play on tape for other teams to see. We're just going to go out there and play hard and play for each other."
The NFL, like no other business, is brutally Darwinian. If you can produce on the field, you'll always have a spot, but as soon as you stop producing, your team will be looking for your replacement. Matthews and Clayton understand this and are willing to do whatever it takes to make sure they are atop the proverbial food chain.
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