Chris Matthews: Number One Receiver
The Seattle Seahawks were one yard away from winning the Super Bowl. Had they done that, they likely would have one-upped themselves for the most unlikely Super Bowl MVP ever. Move over Malcolm Smith, Chris Matthews has arrived.
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Matthews, of course, had been mostly a practice squad receiver for the Seahawks. He’d seen such precious little NFL action that when he caught four passes in the Super Bowl, they were actually the first four receptions of his entire career. Not to mention that those four receptions totalled 109 yards and included a touchdown.
His first reception was for 44 yards and caught the entire viewing audience by surprise. “Who is this guy?” grumbled Patriots fans. “Who is THIS guy?!!” screamed Seahawks fans. The former Winnipeg Blue Bomber was released and re-signed three times by Seattle, and that’s just this last season. Not exactly the guy you’d expect to break out in such a huge way, in the freaking Super Bowl.
Matthews has had success before, outside of this one unbelievable game. In his first season with Winnipeg he was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Rookie, which is like the “Rookie Of The Year” award but with more syrup. But being the CFL’s top newcomer doesn’t guarantee you’ll end up playing like a star in the Super Bowl. And that’s what happened.
In fact, Matthews may be yet another gem of a Pete Carroll/John Schneider find. The Seahawks’ brass likes their guys to be adaptable and driven, motivated types who are willing to work hard to maximize their potential. The Seahawks have had great success with letting guys be themselves and not trying to change their players too much. And based on comments he made on Seahawks.com, it sounds like Matthews is one step ahead of his team:
"“That offseason, all I was doing was working out and every night I was studying Calvin Johnson and Andre Johnson and Brandon Marshall,€“ guys that I look up to. I was like, ‘I want to be like these guys.’ I tried to change things about me to try to be like them, from appearance to physical attributes and even the style of play. I feel like that hurt me because I ended up getting hurt. In practice, I was dropping balls when I knew I should have caught them. It was just tough for me. I had people telling me, ‘Just be yourself. Just be yourself.’€™ But it was too late by then.”"
That’s Matthews talking about the offseason after his Most Outstanding Rookie campaign. The next year didn’t go nearly as well for him, and so he made the most important adjustment possible.
"“This offseason, I’m just going to worry about myself. I still look up to those guys. Those guys are amazing players. But I’m definitely going to come back as myself, but as a different player.”"
It took Matthews until the last game of the year to get a chance to shine as himself, but when he got that chance he played like the MVP of the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl MVP was probably going to be Chris Matthews, if it hadn’t been Tom Brady. Brady is an inner-circle Hall Of Famer. Chris Matthews is Chris Matthews.
Most importantly, we’ve seen who Matthews is. He’s a speedy receiver with long arms and great reach. He’s not afraid to go all-out for a deep reception. At age 25, he’s still years from his physical peak. Matthews probably doesn’t belong on the practice squad anymore. He probably belongs in Seattle for years to come.
Matthews spent some time lining up as the number one receiver for Russell Wilson‘s Super Bowl-almost-winning offense. He quickly showed he has the talent to stay there, and by all accounts it sounds like he has the mentality to stay there. In Matthews, the Seahawks may have found an unlikely top receiver. His audition came during the Super Bowl. So bizzare. So awesomely bizzare.
If the Seahawks want to bring in a wide receiver this offseason they’ll be all the better for it. If they don’t, well, they could do a whole lot worse than Doug Baldwin and Chris Matthews. On Sunday morning that would have sounded like crazy talk. Then Sunday happened, and now it doesn’t even sound like a half-bad idea.