Individualized On-Field Assessments

A Detailed Look Into Individualized On-Field Assessments

by Shawn Myszka, Explosive Edge Athletics

Editors Note: This weeks show Shawn visited his thoughts on the power and validity of detailed, individualized on-field assessments. Here is a post from his website on the subject.

For the interview only on Group Thinking vs Individualized Training, click here.

For the opening of training camps, I have spent each day in Mankato, MN for the Minnesota Vikings camp. For next 2 days, I decided to travel to the Viking’s next door neighbor rival in WI, the Green Bay Packers. Getting to see only 1 true practice, I obviously couldn’t spend a significant amount of time breaking down multiple players but I wanted to give any interested readers more insight on the team as they do have some interesting athletes across this roster. Luckily, of 2 of the players that I plan to evaluate (Clay Matthews and Randall Cobb) I have already taken some time to get to know them during the offseason by viewing their film (even though neither one is an athlete of mine). I do this frequently simply because I am intrigued by some of the movement that they have displayed in the past when I have seen them make plays on Sundays.

Today, I will start with All-Pro, All-Everything, Linebacker, Clay Matthews. Any trip to Lambeau Field that entails live football would be incomplete without giving rightful justice to #52. Unlike Chad Greenway who BTS evaluated last week at training camp, anyone who seriously watches football already knows who Clay Matthews is. Some of this comes from his freak athleticism and game-changing playmaking, some of it because he got paid straight-cash homie money in the offseason, and some because of his personality and unique look that has given him significant TV time. Though I am only a year removed from having long-flowing locks that some would argue would rival 52’s (no one would say about my hair, at all), I am not here to give any analysis on that piece of who he is. Instead, I will talk about the former because that is something I am actually an expert in (his unique athleticism).

To start, one look at his trademark flexing post-big play celebration and you quickly realize we are talking about a different breed of athlete here. He presents a special blend of speed, size, and strength that is immediately noticeable to witnesses. He flashes off of film (or to the eye in person) as soon as a ball is snapped (and even sometimes before). Like many of the hybrid outside backers playing in the league today, he is not asked to do many of the things that most other LBs across the league who play in more traditional defenses are required to do play-in and play-out. Instead, the defensive scheming by the Packers defensive staff really allows him to show off his strengths which revolve around go hunting by allowing him to be put in positions to show off by frequently running people down (esp. quarterbacks and much lighter runningbacks). His explosive linear burst for someone his size is unparalleled among his peers in the league. I don’t know what his combine times (not the 40, you fools…more like the 10!) were back when he entered the league but I would be more interested in his current (during game) 3 to 7 yard distance times. I believe that these quantitative figures would blow people’s minds if compared to others in similar roles across the league.

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