Evan Mathis Thoughts on OLine Schemes

[*bengalfan74*]

(11-21-2016, 04:44 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: So Evan Mathis couldn't get on the field here. He was a backup and he went to the Eagles and graded out as the Best Guard in football.

I read a Reddit Q and A with him in 2012 where he had some interesting insight:


User Question:
Hey Evan! thanks for doing this AMA. I know /r/eagles is gonna be psyched. A few questions
1) People talk about you as the prototype for someone who benefits from Howard Mudds scheme. Can you give us a better idea of some specific things he preaches that are vastly different? Most of the conventional wisdom doesn't go any farther than "he likes smallish guys".
2) How important is chemistry between you and your neighbors?
3) How much of a beast is Jason Peters?

Mathis Reply:
He doesn't like smaller guys, he likes athletes. More often than not it's just guys that aren't 340 who are the athletes. Take 40 pounds off of 340 player and I'll guarantee you he can move better. Howard's techniques are aggressive. It's not sitting back, it's attacking. A primitive caveman like myself thrives when I can attack somebody on every single play.
Very. Communication is critical to offensive line success.
If there's anybody you could consider a natural tackle in the NFL its Jason Peters. Extremely athletic for his size and willing to work to refine his techniques. He's the best in the game right now.

User Question:
Cool. Great stuff. Seems like a lot of pass protection is sitting back, does mudd not do that? Or am I wrong here?
One last question, how many of the players drink? It seems like so many don't. What's up with that?
Take care big guy, looking forward to seeing you again next year.

Mathis Reply:
Mudd teaches us to initiate contact whereas most coaches teach guys to set back. There's some that do, some that don't, some that do too much. Just like in most work environments I'm sure.

Paul Alexander disagrees 

While playing his rendition of Elton John's  "Don't let the sun go down on me" on the piano.