Clay Matthews can be a disruptive force, so it’s not surprising that ahead of their game against the Packers on Sunday, the Rams had a player simulate the linebacker during practice. However, it wasn’t just his play on the defensive side of the ball St. Louis mimicked; they emulated his looks as well.
Rams LB Daren Bates committed to playing the part of Clay Matthews in practice today with the wig and jersey. pic.twitter.com/OAOr7WDD0l
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) October 9, 2015
As seen above, linebacker Daren Bates not only wore Matthews’ uniform No. 52 during practice on Friday, he was also flying around the field in a blonde wig.
Rams head coach Jeff Fisher explained the reasoning for having Bates dress the part.
“He’s a little shorter than Clay,” Fisher said, according to ESPN. “He moves around; he’s watched Clay. I’m sure he grew up watching Clay and has a great deal of respect for Clay. Obviously we need to know where he is every snap so that’s why we dressed him up a little bit.”
Matthews has 14 tackles, three sacks, two tackles for loss, and one interception through the first four games of the season, so it’s understandable why Fisher and the Rams would have Matthews as part of their focus leading up to Sunday’s game. Hopefully, for the Rams’ sake, Bates (and his hair) did a good job getting the offense ready for the real Clay Matthews. Maybe he even did some of Matthews’ trash talking as well.
Photo: Nick Wagoner
