GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Clay Matthews had some hesitancies about moving to inside linebacker -- and still does -- but the Green Bay Packers' Pro Bowler admitted it's hard to argue with the results from his first foray into his new role.
Matthews recorded a career-high 11 tackles and had one sack -- which came from his old outside linebacker position -- in last Sunday's 55-14 rout of the Chicago Bears.
"I think anytime you're put in position to make plays like that week, it's not only going to benefit yourself, but it's going to benefit the defense as well," Matthews said Thursday. "Yeah, in a perfect world, I'd love to line up outside 100 percent of the time, get sacks, but we were able to do that from a different position. It worked out."
But it's still a work in progress heading into Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lambeau Field.
"I don't just like going out there and kind of freelancing, so to speak," Matthews said. "With that being said, I'm still learning. I'm still learning the nuances of the position, just from a different aspect and viewpoint. That being said, obviously I'm getting more comfortable with it, but there'll still be some bumps along the way."
Packers coach Mike McCarthy came to Matthews with the change following the Packers' bye, but even then Matthews had no idea how the divide would work between his two positions.
He ended up playing 38 of his 53 snaps at inside linebacker in an effort to help the run defense, which was ranked last in the league. After holding the Bears to just 55 yards on the ground, the Packers jumped out of the basement and up two spots in the rankings.
"You put someone in position to make plays like that, and you come up with making those plays, you're obviously a little more warm to the idea of playing those different personnel changes," Matthews said. "So, I mean, if I had no action the other night, I'd probably be saying, 'Hey, put me at safety or somewhere where you can figure out how I can get after the ball.' No, I think that's what we were going for. I think it worked out."
Matthews' brother, Casey, a linebacker for the Eagles, told reporters in Philadelphia this week that Clay wasn't crazy about the move, saying "I don't think he liked too much about it."
"I told him to look at it this way: He's the highest-paid inside linebacker in the league," Casey Matthews said. "He got a laugh out of that."
But don't call Matthews an inside linebacker around McCarthy.
"Clay Matthews is not an inside linebacker," McCarthy said earlier this week. "He's a football player."