“Over the past four seasons, he has graded first, first, first and second in the PFF guard rankings. That second overall ranking in 2014 he achieved in nine games after his injury. Over his four seasons with the Eagles, he was downgraded once every 16.4 snaps as a run blocker.
“PFF isn’t the gospel of football, and certain schemes will like Mathis more than others, but the bottom line is that he is consistently one of the best performers in the game in the trenches and despite his age is showing no signs of slowing down.”
A fair enough assessment, but I hadn't quite seen Mathis's game that way, at least of late. Based on the tape I watched from last season, which comprised the games against Jacksonville in Week 1, Seattle in Week 14 and Dallas in Weeks 13 and 15, I wondered if Mathis will play at the level PFF presents into the future.
I also asked Bleacher Report's Mike Tanier, an Eagles expert and an old Football Outsiders colleague of mine. Mike's evaluation ran more in line with my own:
“Mathis wins as a run blocker when he uses initial quickness to get great positioning on his defender and pin him away from the play. The Eagles' system helps in this regard: Mathis is usually firing off the ball without a huddle against a defender who had to hustle to get into position. Mathis handles his assignments well on inside zone plays, where he can use his experience to peel off double teams to the second level. In pass protection, he has wily veteran 'find-a-way' skills. A defender may beat him off the snap or overpower him, but Mathis will find a way to ride him away from the quarterback. Again, scheme helps here, as the Eagles' pocket is often rolling, and Mathis can give a pass rusher a wide berth to the right if the quarterback is rolling left.
“Mathis is disciplined and crafty enough to be a stabilizer at guard. There's a horizon coming where he won't be able to make up for his lack of brute strength or top athleticism with positioning and orneriness."