Faceoff - DE Robert Mathis, Indianapolis Colts

Posted 7/15, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Upside - by David Baker

I have long been a proponent of Colts DE Robert Mathis in IDP leagues. The evidence is so strong that it's an easy argument to make. Despite not playing in 12 games in his last five seasons, Mathis has accumulated 49 sacks. His 52.5 career sacks ranks him second in club history. And at various times throughout that period, Mathis has found himself playing only in passing situations. But what has been even more impressive for Mathis has been his ability to make other big plays. During that same five-year period, Mathis has forced an amazing 27 fumbles. He has also recovered nine fumbles. But in case you think that's all Mathis can do, he has also proven his ability to gobble up tackles, as evidenced by his 56 total tackles in 2005 and 64 in 2006, both among the league leaders at his position. In short, Mathis has proven to be one of the most disruptive defensive ends in all of football.

Mathis has always been underrated in my opinion, beginning in the college ranks and right through his pro days, based first on being undersized. At only 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds, Mathis is amongst the league's smallest defensive linemen. Many believed this would always limit him to playing exclusively on passing downs, and Mathis himself has stated being undersized has meant he would never make the Pro Bowl. Well, last year, Mathis made the Pro Bowl. Mathis has a non-stop motor, cat-like quickness, incredible instincts and nose for the ball that makes up for being smaller than other defensive lineman.

At the end of the day, it's awfully tough to knock a guy that has been a Top 7 fantasy DL in three of the last four seasons. While 2007 was clearly a disappointment, he missed nearly all of four games (25% of the season) due to injury yet still managed to gather seven sacks and four forced fumbles. Health might always be a concern for the smallish Mathis, but for the most part, even missing some action has not meant that Mathis doesn't end the season towards the top of the heap. As I suggested early on, the evidence speaks for itself. Mathis will score points for his IDP owners, and he'll do so in a variety of ways. He's by no means a one-trick pony, as he's stronger against the run than often given credit, and he'll get you points every week getting tackles as well as getting sacks and forcing fumbles. With fellow Pro Bowl lineman Dwight Freeney opposite him, it also means that opponents can not afford to emphasize one side of the defensive line. Mathis is simply one of the very best in the league, and I see no reason why he doesn't finish 2009 in the Top 7 at his position once again.

Downside - by John Norton

Looking at the staff rankings tells me that most of my peers here at FBG see Mathis as the Top 10 or at least a Top 12 lineman. It's hard to argue about his potential, but there are a number of factors that contribute to my slightly lesser opinion of him.

Mathis is very inconsistent on a weekly basis. He finished last season with 36 solo tackles and 11 sacks for a Top 10 overall finish, but a closer look reveals that over half of his total production came in just four contests, while in six other games he put up two or fewer solo tackles and five or fewer fantasy points. There are always going to be ups and downs with defensive linemen but low tackle numbers tend to make those down weeks show up even worse. Forty tackles and double-digit sacks are generally the mark that defensive lineman are measured by. Mathis meets the mark in the sack column but has averaged just fewer than 39 solo stops per 16 games over his career and just over 35 per 16 games over the past two seasons.

Playing time and games missed are also issues with Mathis. At just 235 or so pounds, he's one of the lightest defensive ends in the league. Fighting with 300-pound linemen will naturally take a toll physically. To lessen the pounding and keep him fresh the coaching staff decided to limit his snaps on early downs. As a result Mathis has averaged just over 2.2 tackles per game over the past two seasons. He's not particularly injury prone but has played a full 16-game schedule just once over the course of his six NFL seasons. What's most important here is when he misses games. The Colts are notorious for resting their star players at the end of a season if they are able to do so. That could change under the new regime but the fact remains that in four of his six pro seasons, including the last two, Mathis has not played in Week 15, 16 or 17. Nothing is more frustrating than losing a starter during the playoffs when you need him most. Until we see differently, I am going to assume that the new coaching staff will approach the last few games the same way. After all, most of these coaches simply moved up the ranks when Dungy left and are not new to the team.

I consider Mathis as a top tier No. 2 starter and rank him at No. 16, just a few slots below most of my peers. He is undoubtedly a productive player. I just see too many issues to trust him as my top dog at the position.