I have wondered/ wished for this on IE for quite some time. Not only might it open up playing time for John, but mainly because I believe that it is a symbol that the DC sees SPEEEED as the dominant desirable quality of 21st century linebacking rather than brute force, and certainly not mass-for-mass sake.
The underlying "faith" which supports this going-for-speed is that if your Linebacker gets rocked by an OLineman, the rest of your ultra-fast athletic "werewolves" fill the gap and you still make the play. [and this to say nothing about pass-defense.]
The movement of Farley is different of course. The new DC and Bobby Eliott know that they have a superman in Redfield, but need the Safety General to go along beside him. I doubt that anyone views Matthias that way. Collinsworth, yes. Baratti, yes. Perhaps Hardy. Probably not Shumate, as he seems to have some trouble "getting it" General-wise, too. Matthias DOES have great athleticism by the way... he was a good soccer player and very fast. But he's no General, and would be looking uphill at Redfield, Shumate, and Hardy. His best shot to play?: back up Russell, and contend [unsuccessfully ] with Riggs and Luke. {AND the two sophs, who seem to be pretty good}.
But Kelly is a good guy: he's giving a vet a chance.
