Matt Thomas over Tyler Matakevich

https://steelersdepot.com/2018/08/film-room-matthew-thomas-shows-speed/

 

Thomas, fort. Both playing their butts off in camp. Huguenin, OA. Keeping an eye on this grouping. 4 hungry players making noise. Watch out Vince, red, chickillo. Just saying.

 

There's a reason Bostic has been on all 32 teams in his short NFL career.

 

vince/Bostic = backups on any other team. red= 3rd stringer on our team. All 3 starters on ours lol

 

we can't do another year of chick or matakevich. i'm tired of these dudes being on the roster lol

 

Me too. Go with the young guys that are better athletes and get them reps.

 

I agree, they are "special teams only" type guys...

 

https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.c...at-steelers-ilb-vacancy-matakevich-bostic-nfl

This guy breaks things down a lot how I was seeing them with video for anyone that cares.

He is a proponent for LJ Fort, which honestly I didn't see much of; but he did have an excellent interception in camp.

I'm definitely for getting more athletic at ILB, and would definitely be cool with seeing a FA signing.

Navarro Bowman.

OR... drum roll..





my man Lawrence Timmons.. = still available for vet minimum << He would not have missed that tackle Bostic did. Never did in the past, and not sure why people would think he would now. I know I've been beating the drum, but think it'd be foolish to not check him out again if nothing else. Not convinced he's lost it one year out. Would work well in 3-4 base packages which we run now a minority of the time.

 

Definitely like it.

Would be interesting to see how he did against the first team offense.

 

Not so fast my friends, lets let the preseason play out and then see who should get job.
I have an idea all will see a significant amount of playing time this year.

 

First I will admit to being a fan of Dirty Red but I am a fan of the Steelers and I want the guy that gives us the best chance to win. It don't matter if it is a first string or a 3rd string I want the best guy. With that said I finally finished watching the Eagle game and while I was shocked at how bad TM looking in the first half, I was impressed how good he looked in the 2nd half. TM did look stupid on the missed sack but later on he did force a fumble and also filled the hole on another play for a TFL. As for Thomas I am a fan as well but where was his splash play, yeah he was around the ball but no big plays that I remember.

Where I am going with this is it is one game and it is nice to see us with options. You mentioned other players who had nice games as well and we will be keeping our eyes of them as well. Thomas #92 & 99 are guys that are making noise, I look forward to watching them over the next few games.

 

Dirty Red is twice the Football player Thomas is!

Tyler is the 7th player in FBS to record over 100 tackles in ALL four years. Freshman=101..soph=137...J=117 & S=138 with 4.5 sacks and 5 int. He was 2015 AAC DPOY..... Bronco Nagurski & Chuck Bednarick Award winner..!!

Thomas in 13' played 4 games due to a shoulder injury. In 14' he missed the 1st 6 games due to a failed drug test... In 15' he missed the entire season due to being Academic inEligible .... In 16 he played in 11 of 12 games and Chose to sit out the Indepence Bowl!!!!

First Pre-season game he played vs the 3rd stringers and was barely noticeable. Playing alongside Kelsey..#55 who not only was calling the plays but also showed more hustle and was around the ball more.

Yes, Thomas is faster than Red... 4.5 40( 4.58 pre-combine & 4.44/4.47 combine) vs a 4.8 40 but Red's Superior football intellect and Hustle puts him way ahead. This is Also Red's 1st yr vying for serious playing time at ILB since he was hurt last year when Shazier hurt himself .....

Cajun

 

Maybe, but at this level athleticism matters. Red is undersized and slow. There’s just really no place for him on an NFL defense (maybe special teams but that’s it). He’s just such a liability out there. Imagine him having to cover a speedy RB in the flat, or catch him on the outside. Or take a pass catching TE up the seam... I’m not saying Thomas is better as of now, but we as a team HAVE to do better than fielding a roster that sees Matakevich fielding meaningful defensive snaps. We just have to.

I love the underdog and I’m sure Tyler is a great kid that works super hard... he just doesn’t have it to be a defender at ILB in the NFL.

 

TM ran a 4.8 40. Rashaun Evans a 4.73. We tried to trade up for him. Vince runs a 4.80. TM isn't as slow as some make him out to be. No not a speedster but. Id still like to see thomas, fort tandum this preseason.