Evan Mathis - Remember Him?

[xooberon]

Well apparently he's having a really good season with the Bengals and in a recent interview he gave some thoughts about why he felt he failed here.

PFF: You've plied you trade up to now as a back-up lineman, which has involved you playing multiple positions on the line. How has the chance to settle on one position allowed you to improve your performance?

EM: I never wanted to be the sixth man who could play all the spots well. I wanted to be a guy who could play one spot great. I haven't played the same position for two years in a row since high school. I moved between LT and RT while also doubling as the backup center my first three years of college. I was moved to LG my senior year and that gave me my best shot at the NFL. When I was drafted, Carolina moved me to the only position I had never played, RG. After not playing my rookie year, I started my 2nd year at RG, only the next year to be moved to tackle and not play a snap. They bounced me to third team center the next year only to cut me at the end of camp. I got picked up by Miami and practiced every spot with them and splitting reps at RG on Sundays. They cut me after week 12 and that's how I ended up in Cincinnati. The Bengals had me practicing at every spot on the line every week for the rest of the season. After the season, I called Marvin Lewis and told him I wanted to play defensive end. He ultimately laughed at me and told me he thought I could compete for one of the inside spots. I conceded and vowed to do what it takes to get the job done. They had me working the inside three spots in mini-camp and OTA's. When camp came around, I worked mostly LG and was able to settle in and get comfortable. Personally, I believe that staying in one spot is much better for players than having to bounce around. If I play a few weeks in a row at LG and then make a sudden move to RG, it will feel kind of awkward and takes a minute to get used to again, even though I've taken thousands of reps at that position.

PFF: How does the coaching staff assess your performance on a week-by-week basis and how is this fed back to you?

EM: Our offensive line coach, Paul Alexander, has a complex grading system that breaks down each play with each player. If one wants to strive for perfection on the field, all they need to do is keep doing what Coach Alexander says they did well and correct things that they didn't do well in each game.

PFF: Was this a similar process to the one used by the Panthers?

EM: When I was with the Panthers, it was hard to know if your play was up to par with what the coaches expected on each play. There were no grades handed out and rarely did I hear if I played well or didn't. It was like studying to take a test every week, taking that test, then never knowing what grade the teacher gave you. I'm a numbers guy, give me a number and tell me to make it better. Tell me to weigh a certain weight, tell me how much to lift, how fast to run, and tell me what I need to grade. When I have those things in my sights, I can break down what it is I need to do to reach my goal.

http://profootballfocus.com/articles.php?tab=articles&arc=&id=76

so what does everyone think? is it fox's fault as to why this guy failed here, that last quote seems pretty telling if true, and worrying as well.

[bigdog10]

Interesting read.

He definitely isn't the first back up we've had move on to higher success

*Jovan Haye and Tony Brown come to mind

[Urrymonster]

I imagine the way they do the offensive line coaching is a matter of opinion. Some will like it and others will not. I see it in the same vein as the Rip experiment with Delhomme, in that Jake had too much information going on in his head. Some will thrive in it, others not.

With regards to being bounced around I can believe that would hurt his development. The problem was that he was getting out performed at every position and they frantically tried to find somewhere to fit him in.

Oh and if you can only spring the same Haye and Brown then the franchise is doing well. They are literally the ONLY names that are ever chucked up as 'ones that got away'.

[AceMan]

Meh...we had Mike Wahle at the time so there was no way he was going to be our LG. Glad to see he is playing good though. He had awesome potential coming out.

[pantherfan49]

He didn't have the head for the NFL game. He had so much talent but Hangman came in and beat him out as a rookie even though Mathis was the much higher drafted lineman with much more upside. Hangman had no problem learning to play multiple positions.

[Davidson Deac II]

He didn't have the head for the NFL game. He had so much talent but Hangman came in and beat him out as a rookie even though Mathis was the much higher drafted lineman with much more upside. Hangman had no problem learning to play multiple positions.

Obviously he does have the head for it if he is doing well in Cincy. Sometimes, its a case of not being a good fit for a particular team or coach.

[rayzor]

even gross was doing a lot of complaining about getting bounced around. they have done that with several players but it was only when they were put into one position and kept there that they could excel.

the lack of grading and feedback is troubling. seems like the way fox and his staff talks to the team the way they talk to the media. no specifics. you just go out there and do what i tell you and let the grownups do all the thinking.

i'm glad he's doing well over there.

[PntherPryd]

I was on the fence about Fox. Until reading this.

Fox may or may not be a good game day coach, but he is responsible for getting this team prepared. When the other side is consistently better prepared than your guys it is on the head coach.

[Cyberjag]

Interesting read.

He definitely isn't the first back up we've had move on to higher success

*Jovan Haye and Tony Brown come to mind

Jovan Haye and Tony Brown played a position where we were loaded when we let them go. Haye was actually a DE here, it wasn't until he got to Tampa and switched to DT that he started to shine. Players who do well elsewhere after failing here are very, very rare in the Fox era.

He didn't have the head for the NFL game. He had so much talent but Hangman came in and beat him out as a rookie even though Mathis was the much higher drafted lineman with much more upside. Hangman had no problem learning to play multiple positions.

This. Mathis was a starter at guard next to our best tackle, and failed to succeed. I guess the differences between Right Guard and Left Guard are massive and intense, huh? This guy couldn't beat out a seventh round pick, was given every chance to succeed, and was eventually reluctantly let go. Now that he's managed to settle in he's throwing stones at Carolina?

Stay classy Evan. I give you a D- since the only way you can get better is by being told how you did.

[rayzor]

I was on the fence about Fox. Until reading this.

Fox may or may not be a good game day coach, but he is responsible for getting this team prepared. When the other side is consistently better prepared than your guys it is on the head coach.

they are consistently unable to make adjustments to what the other team does prior to a game or in the middle of a game. i would find it hard to say that fox is a good game day coach.

adjustments and change are not his friends. i think he tries but he tinkers with the wrong thing. this is a case of that happening. what was best for mathis was to be given a job and let him stick with it...letting him know what they were looking for and what he needed to accomplish to reach his goal.

basic good management. i can't remember who it was that suggested fox read 'who moved my cheese?' but i would also recommend to him 'First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently'.

[GRWatcher]

Now that he's managed to settle in he's throwing stones at Carolina?

Stay classy Evan. I give you a D- since the only way you can get better is by being told how you did.

:iagree:

Some people need hard number/grades and some are better with hearing feedback. Grades would point out the situation to the player instead of the player hearing feedback and then thinking about how/what he is doing. Different strokes for different folks. I wouldn't in any way take this as a slam on Fox or our coaches. They expect big boys to be grownups and know their jobs. They don't spoon feed anyone.

[Snake]

Interesting read.

He definitely isn't the first back up we've had move on to higher success

*Jovan Haye and Tony Brown come to mind

We tried our best to keep Haye and even tried to stash him on the PS but he was taken from us on wavers. Same goes for brown but are you gonna tell Jenk he has to be cut cause we want Brown???? Jordan Carstens was up and coming also until his health problem. Fact is some players do better in other systems and thats just a part of the game.

[Butterflyj30]

He is doing great because we never give rookies a shot. I know I will get grief for this but D.J. will probably go somewhere and be a great talent

[klumme]

Moron!!