Well, it's a little late and everyone already knows.Ryan Mathews is officially a San Diego Charger.
Sorry for pulling a DHB and dropping the ball by posting this a little late (;-) @ Raiders fans, couldn't help myself). But unlike Bill Williamson, I actually work for a living and couldn't break away to do the things I wanted to this past weekend.
At any rate, I'm sure I speak for all Charger fans when I say I'm glad to have Mathews finally under contract and practicing with his team. The price to obtain his services? Well... Does it really matter? It's a lot more than what most of us will see in our lifetimes even if we were to combine our total earnings! And at this point everyone knows what the particulars are concerning his contract. I think now that the formalities are out of the way the fans just want to see what the kid can do.
No doubt, there is a lot of pressure on this young kid. He is replacing his childhood idol and an iconic NFL legend. The anticipation is that he will restore some potency to what has been a relatively ineffective running game the past couple of seasons. Early thoughts from camp have been glowing. Coaches, teammates and the beat writers are all impressed with not only his game but his attitude.
Kevin Acee, a writer from the San Diego Union Tribune had this to say about Mathews: "Mathews showed vision, speed and an ability to get outside that has been missing for a couple years."
Personally, one of the things I love about this kid is how humble he is. He is very much aware of where he has come from (his mom, Trish, at one point raised him while working 3 or 4 jobs at a time while living in the back of their car). He understands it's a privilege to play in the NFL. He doesn't consider himself bigger than the game.
If you don't know Ryan Mathews then maybe you will get a better sense for him after reading this quote he made regarding the time he took to sign autographs following his first day of training camp practice: “It’s crazy. I feel bad for all the people I didn’t get to,” Mathews said. “It kind of sucks that you have people calling your name and you can’t get to every single one, but it’s amazing to see how many people recognize you and look up to you.”
I'll be going to the annual Chargers Fan Fest this coming Saturday to observe this young man in person. I'll be taking photos and making notes and posting them here next week.
(photo courtesy: San Diego Chargers, Chargers.com)
I got his autograph this past sunday. The dude looked good for a first day of practice. I'm already jealous of the money he got, but the dude got all the girls hollering at him as well. Let's just hope he doesn't become a Cromartie. *Knock on wood*
ReplyDeleteThe best thing going for Mathews is that he doesn't have to be a top 10 back in the NFL. With the Chargers highly proficient passing attack, Mathews only needs to be able to gain 3.5-4 ypc. He only needs to be able to do enough that defenses can't go with 6 in the box. I think this is going to be illustrated in the Monday Night game against KC. I don't doubt the ability of Flowers and Carr to cover San Diego's outside receivers. And with Berry and Arenas also added in, I think Drew Brees would have one of his weakest performances of the year. That's where Mathews comes in. KC won't be able to continuously play 6 in the box which means they can't keep 3 CBs on the field. That will allow Rivers at least one mismatch which I believe he will be able to take advantage of.
ReplyDeleteFinal Score: SD 27 KC 17
Of course, in my book that is dependent on Mathews being just enough of a force to demand attention from the Chiefs defense.
citadelchief05.... you said drew brees instead of philip rivers hehe. I for one am not calling this game to be blowouts like last year, actually have SD winning by a TD. But you're right though, Mathews just needs to do enough to keep the opposing defense honest.
ReplyDeleteHaha, sorry for the mistake. I'll own it though. Hopefully that just means my morning workout was good enough to get me off my game....probably not, but hopefully.
ReplyDelete