The Sports Xchange

GREEN BAY — Clay Matthews is accepting of his ever-expanding role in the heart of Green Bay’s defense.

“I think it’s just about the team’s needs right now,” Matthews said Thursday.

Two weeks into this season, however, the All-Pro outside linebacker is in uncharted territory as a hybrid linebacker who has been featured a lot in the middle while periodically moving around.

Matthews ranks third on the defense with 12 tackles (nine solo) and had a big interception late in the Packers’ hard-fought road win against the Chicago Bears to start the season. Yet, Matthews doesn’t have a sack.

It’s the first time in his decorated seven-year pro career Matthews is without at least a half sack after the first two games.

“It’s part of the deal,” said Matthews, referring back to the middle of last season, when defensive coordinator Dom Capers moved his prolific pass rusher to inside linebacker for the rest of the season.

That proved to be a boon for a previously struggling defense.

“I think I’ll still have my opportunities, as we saw last year in those last eight games – I had pretty good production,” Matthews added. “The production might not come from having a great statistical game. But, you have to look at the game film and see individually and collectively as a unit to see how we did out there. For the most part, we’re trending in the right direction. Hopefully, that’s due to some position changes and me making a switch as well and putting our best 11 guys out there.”

Still, Capers acknowledged this week what was obvious in the Packers’ 27-17 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night – that Matthews was next to invisible as a pass rusher. He played exclusively as an inside linebacker and rushed quarterback Russell Wilson only a couple times.

“Not as much as he’s used to rushing and not as much as I’d like to rush him,” Capers said. “What you have to do week in and week out is you have to do what it takes to win the game, and Clay knows that. That could change one week to the next. We didn’t have a lot of alternatives (Sunday).

“It’s going to kind of depend on who we’re playing and who’s available to us.”

Meanwhile, head coach Mike McCarthy also had an interesting comment Thursday about Matthews and what his evolving role has become.

“I want to see Clay chase after the guy with the football,” McCarthy said. “I think that’s the best thing for our defense. And, I think the more we move him around, I know from an offensive perspective, targeting issues will help any player’s productivity. But, at the same time, teams know where he’s going to line up, and he’s obviously a focus point for our opponents. But, the more we can move him around, I think it will help us.”

With McCarthy’s desire to get the supremely athletic Matthews flowing to the football, he could wind up in the vicinity of star running back Jamaal Charles more than quarterback Alex Smith on Monday night, when Green Bay hosts the Kansas City Chiefs.

Matthews touched on the dual threat posed by Charles.

“We’re going to have to make sure we’re on top of our Ps and Qs and make sure we know where he is at at all times,” Matthews said, “because not only can he do it out of the backfield in regards to running the ball but also in the passing game as well. He should give us a big matchup, probably similar to what we saw with (Matt) Forte in Week 1” against the Bears.

In that season-opening win, Forte gashed the Packers defense for 166 yards from scrimmage with 29 touches of the football, highlighted by 141 yards in 24 carries.