Jake Matthews grade from preaseason

[SteveBrown]

OT Jake Matthews, Atlanta Falcons (-3.5)

Jake Matthews was the presumed “favorite” of Jeff Fisher for a good junk of the offseason. With unmatched NFL pedigree, experience at both right and left tackles, and arguably the most balanced combination of run blocking and pass protection skills in the draft, many thought the St. Louis Rams would favor the Texas A&M stud over Greg Robinson with the No.2 overall pick.

Matthews first “start” in the NFL went rocky, to put it kindly. Pro Football Focus (PFF) gave the rookie a -3.5 overall grade, ranking him 103rd out of 109 qualifying offensive tackles in Week 1 of the preseason. Not only did Matthews allow a hit on $100 million quarterback, Matt Ryan, he was flagged twice in only 24 offensive snaps, one of which brought back a 75+ touchdown run. Obviously, one game is not the end-all, be-all of the conversation for Matthews, but it should be noted that offensive tackles taken in the Top 10 have not fared well on the outside over the last two years.

 

[Rams and Gators]

Jake Matthews was the presumed “favorite” of Jeff Fisher for a good junk of the offseason.

Hopefully no pictures are necessary to illustrate that spelling mistake

 

[theramsruleUK]

What was gregs grade?

 

[tklongball]

Wanted Big-G over Matthews all along. Glad we picked him at #2. I just think he fits what we do better.

 

[Thordaddy]

I wanted Matthews and still after one preseason game don't think we absolutely got the better lineman ,I gotta know more before I make that decision,NOT THAT I;m not happy we got Gregor the Barbarian ,he's gonna make it I have no doubt.

 

[Rams and Gators]

If it came down to a choice between the two I was on the Robinson train due to his versatility and the fact he can be devastating in the run game, but I was and still am a Watkins guy.

 

[Ballhawk]

I don't think that Watkins would grade out well at either LG or LT.

 

[Rams and Gators]

I don't think that Watkins would grade out well at either LG or LT.

But what a DT he would make.

 

[blue4]

To be honest, I leaned towards JM pre draft, but I was happy to have gotten one of them. If we'd have taken someone else, we'd have 3 injury prone starters on the line and no viable replacement other than a injury prone Joseph.

 

[Thordaddy]

To be honest, I leaned towards JM pre draft, but I was happy to have gotten one of them. If we'd have taken someone else, we'd have 3 injury prone starters on the line and no viable replacement other than a injury prone Joseph.

Not lookin for a fight here man but the damned game is injury prone,the NON injury prone players are so rare,IMO the term IP is somewhat unfair, but point taken we gotta be healthy or were gonna struggle

 

[SaneRamsFan]

If you cant beat em join em-I sat mortified as g-Rob single handedly demolished my beloved Tigers. That was before he started getting hyped or had declared. I wanted him from that moment on. To be honest after that game I couldn't have told you Tre Masons name because it didn't matter and I wasn't impressed with the running back. A 12 year old could have hit those holes he was opening.

 

[Boston Ram]

What was Greg Robinson's grade? I think Matthews had he been drafted by us would of been starting at LG also.

 

[theramsruleUK]

If it came down to a choice between the two I was on the Robinson train due to his versatility and the fact he can be devastating in the run game, but I was and still am a Watkins guy.

Who needs watkins when you have veltung

 

[Irish]

You mean to tell me a rookie playing in his first NFL game, albeit preseason, going full speed in pads against someone not wearing his logo on their helmet may not have played like a future hall of famer?

Who knew

 

[DCH]

I'd still take Matthews on my team any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Dude will be a good tackle for a decade or so. Robinson looks like he could be better, but still...

 

[Ram_Fan]

Matthews seems a little bit more polished at the moment with not much more ceiling. Robinson on the other hand has more upside in my opinon. This is a passing league, but our offensive philosophy it's running the ball. Robinson is perfect for this, and can work on being a solid pass blocker.

 

[Angry Ram]

Grades for the preseason?

Really?

 

[Fatbot]

What was Greg Robinson's grade?

I hate PFF grades, but for what it's worth, Robinson -0.4.

 

[lockdnram21]

I was for Robinson from the get go. I would have been ok with Watkins but since we invested so muck I figured he wasn't a option.

 

[junkman]

I hate PFF grades, but for what it's worth, Robinson -0.4.

I love PFF grades, but most people don't understand what they are. In theory it's a tally over the course of the year of whether you whipped the guy in front of you or whether he whipped you. But it doesn't consider strength of opponent. It's not cited on a per snap basis. It favors flash over a perfectly executed assignment, which is to say it does not consider schemes. They have a tendency to downgrade the whole team on an unfavorable play, which is to say that 10/11 guys could whip the man in front of them, but the 11th guy fails (CB loses a jump ball to a WR) and the 10 other guys lose their favorable rating. Imho, the weighting of penalties is too high. Imho, the cumulative grading can work against is probably not the best method, that it should have some method for dealing with statistical anomalies (e.g Chris Long getting ejected from a game).

That said, PFF grades when used properly (which is to say in a way that paints the Rams in a good light), I'm all for them!