A great read..."I am Indy, Indy is me" by Robert Mathis

[Yinkgo]

I haven't seen this posted...https://www.theplayerstribune.com/robert-mathis-colts-i-am-indy/

I think all Colts fans will enjoy this article.

[Yinkgo]

Love this photo of 98 and 93 getting after Grossman.

[The Peytonator]

I'm not crying there's just something in my eye.

[WoolMagnet]

Love the guy.

he gave his all... a true overachiever.

even when Freeney was here, many times i thought Mathis was the key to pressure.

i'm not really sure who my favorite acolt of all time is, but Mathis is right there.  He may be the one Colt player i would want guarding my back in a street fight.  The guy is both a bad-butt and total class.

i hope the organization finds him a permanent position on the "team."

[Clem-Dog]

30 minutes ago, The Peytonator said:

I'm not crying there's just something in my eye.

 

Damn allergies.

[Trace Pyott]

Them dang allergies must be all around the country because I too am having watery eyes just like the rest of you guys. What the heck is going on??

 

 

*

[ReMeDy]

lol its 3:00am EST and when I opened the link, I said to myself, "Urgh, this is a long read. I'll do it tomorrow." Then I blinked and somehow I had finished reading the whole thing! Robert Mathis sure has a way with words!

[Nadine]

What a wonderful perspective on life.  What a wonderful man

[coltsfeva]

What amazed me about both Robert and Dwight was their non-stop motors. It is frustrating to know that this team could have won more than one ring. But we remember key plays that ended our hopes: Terrence Wilkins stepping out of bounds by an inch on a return in 99, the inability of the defense to stop the run against Miami in 2000, the mauling of Marcus Pollard against the Pats in 04, Rothersburgers tackle in 05 and the subsequent shank by Vanderjack in 05, being unable to close the deal against San Diego, Hank Basket's fumbling of the onside kick in 09...so many plays that kept those teams from multiple rings. And to be fair, Peyton had some bad games but contrary to national opinion, I can't blame him for most of the losses. I'm hoping the current team can rise above expectations, and get those rings. I'm sure Mathis would be celebrating with us.

[Samu-Rye]

There have been a few Colts, that have come through the organization, with so much dignity and heart. But Robert "shines like a new dime" in that respect. Though he may have retired, I will never retire my 98 jersey. Thank You Robert Mathis, for giving all you had for the team and the fans. We all appreciate you, and we will always think of you, as the epitome,of a Colts Player.

[rockywoj]

Excellent read.  Thanks!

[HOZER]

Awesome read! Mathis is a class act and an asset to not only the Colts Organization but to the city of Indianapolis. He is a perfect example of someone who came from the inner city and worked hard to become someone......someone who many of the kids in Indy should look up to and see that there is hope and opportunity......Would love to see him run for some type of State or Government position, and utilize that same motor that drove him on the field to help turn things around in the city of Indianapolis. That is....of course, after he's done with his tenure as a Colts coach(hopefully a paid coach at some point.)

[21isSuperman]

Great read!

[CF4L]

I don't know looking back if they would've won more than one ring. I mean they should've won in 2009 (and maybe 2005) 

 

They were all about offense its fun to watch but its not enough to win it all. Plus there's luck and matchups the Colts were lucky to draw teams that were rather meh offensively our SB year(except for the Pats). They can matchup with them.

 

They couldn't match up with teams like the Saints and Chargers though.

[superrep1967]

2 hours ago, GOZER said:

Awesome read! Mathis is a class act and an asset to not only the Colts Organization but to the city of Indianapolis. He is a perfect example of someone who came from the inner city and worked hard to become someone......someone who many of the kids in Indy should look up to and see that there is hope and opportunity......Would love to see him run for some type of State or Government position, and utilize that same motor that drove him on the field to help turn things around in the city of Indianapolis. That is....of course, after he's done with his tenure as a Colts coach(hopefully a paid coach at some point.)

What great guy and yes what a great role model. The kids of today need a role model like Robert a father figure to lead them in the right direction. The inner city kids of today, for the most part, don't have that which makes them turn to joining gangs or other negative things. They need good guidance from people like Robert that could help a lot in that regard especially since he came from the inner city himself.   

[Lef]

Thank you. That was awesome!!!  

[southwest1]

Seriously, that was a better read then a Tom Clancy novel. I resonate with guys who are straight shooters & Robert is as authentic & poetic as you can get. I loved that line of his about Dungy being disappointed in you is more devastating than hearing profanity. 

 

I grew up  exactly the same way. You can call me names, throw colorful metaphors at me, tell me to go to hades & I didn't care. But, if a family member or close friend of mine said I disappointed them, it cut me to my soul like chopping down the tallest tree with 1 swing of an axe. Timber! Thud. 

 

I'm not gonna focus on his QB sacks just the good man he is with a tremendous mental compass & moral character. Robert you are beloved in Indianapolis & you can coach here for as long as you want. God willing Jimmy will erect a Mathis & Freeney statue to go alongside Manning's yrs later too. 

 

Fantastic article! Very profound & eye opening in a simple & yet resounding way. 

[southwest1]

The other thing that I like about this article is how much Mathis's own words humanize him. He's not a legend the way he tells his story. Just a dude ticked off he wasn't drafted sooner than he was, a man with something to prove, & it wasn't until Freeney showed #98 the ropes that Robert just learned to play fetch. Go sick' em son. 

 

The stick symbolically being the football & the opposing QB his treat for showing everybody on the field who the real alpha dog really was...Woof! 

[ReMeDy]

My favorite part was when Mathis respectfully said winning against the Chicago Bears was a formality. I agreed, and I think most of Indy felt the same. The REAL Superbowl was against the Patriots, and having won that, we knew that was our year and no one was taking that from us.

Well, except Devin Hester, but thankfully he doesn't play QB.

[Fluke_33]

Wow.  Thank you for posting that.  

[AZColt11]

Really neat article!

[Farns01]

I was shocked by the part where both the Browns and the Chargers called him to say they were drafting him but didn't.  I can see a reason or a last second change i.e. last second trade, but why call the guy two picks early to say your going to draft him.

[Mr. Irrelevant]

Wow, this is an excellent read! Thanks for sharing!

 

So many great parts, but I really like this one for some reason:

 

Quote

 

Anyone who has played for Coach Dungy will probably tell you the same things about him. Essentially, what you see is what you get.

 

Coach never yelled at us. He never needed to. I’ve been cussed out by plenty of coaches, and generally it kind of rolled off my back. But having Tony Dungy walk up to you and calmly say, “You’re not doing your job out there. You’re killing us. I need you to be better” — well, that was much, much worse than getting cussed out. It was like having a parent say they were disappointed in you.

 

Our teams took on his persona. Our franchise did, really. Even after he left, it was still present. He was always poised and collected. He carried himself with a quiet confidence that was infectious.

 

 

[2006Coltsbestever]

The good ol' glory years and tears when you look at old video (2003-2009 that 7 season stretch was awesome = 89-23 and 2 SB's with a SB Championship). Mathis was a key part of that!

[BR-549]

Humble man who left it all on the field.  We were blessed to have him on our side.

[GoColtsWin]

Class act for sure. IMO, Indy and Colts fans everywhere were lucky to have him representing us. Even luckier that he decided to make himself a permanent fixture at the Colts complex!!

[RockThatBlue]

How can you not love Robert Mathis? He should be the LB coach one day.

[ColtsFanMikeC]

13 hours ago, Farns01 said:

I was shocked by the part where both the Browns and the Chargers called him to say they were drafting him but didn't.  I can see a reason or a last second change i.e. last second trade, but why call the guy two picks early to say your going to draft him.

 

Could also be that Cleveland was expecting Chris Crocker (Marshall) to come off the board or that SD was expecting Matt Wilheilm (Ohio State) in the pick(s) prior to their picks.  It does seem odd, though.

 

 

_______________________________________

 

My big question with Mathis now is: Does Robert Mathis make the NFL Hall of Fame?

 

He retired as the 17th all time leader in Sacks with 123, with 11 of the 13 non-active players ahead of him already in the HOF (IMO, John Abraham will get in, he's just not eligible yet and I don't know why Leslie O'Neal isn't in). 

 

I'd say 120 is just about the verge of the number needed for HOF in terms of pass rushers.  Simeon Rice, Clyde Simmons and Leslie O'Neal are the only 3 eligible for HOF who have broken 120 and not made it (Abraham is the 4th, but he's got another 2 years left until he's eligible).  It seems like 140 is number where you are set in stone to make it.

 

Mathis has the SB ring, is a 2x all-pro, a 6x pro-bowler, 1x defensive player of the year, and 1x NFL sack leader.  He is the all-time leader in strip-sacks (by far) in NFL history and had several instances where those came at huge moments.  The 2x all-pro (one first team, one second team) are good, but I don't know they are exactly HOF numbers, same with 6x pro-bowler (Marvin for example was an 8x all-pro and 8x pro-bowler).

 

Mathis has against him that he failed a drug test (for a masking agent, with controversy around it) right around the year where he lead NFL in sacks, was defensive player of year and was a first-team all-pro (to me, this has to put an asterisk next to that year for most voters), and he also will likely be judged as Freeney's understudy, and perhaps a product of the Colts' dominant years.  Freeney was really the first undersized DE to come in and change the game (and was a 4x all-pro, 7x pro-bowler, and 2000's all-decade team member -- so even though Mathis surpassed him in total sacks, he's still behind Freeney in HOF voting, IMO).

 

Anyway, I loved watching Mathis play and truly respect the guy as a person.  This was a great article and I wish him all the best, and look forward to seeing him interact with the Colts for some time to come.  However, in reading this article I got bored and started trying to figure out if I think Mathis will be a HOFer -- and IMO, he will fall just short.  If not for his PED (masking agent) suspension, I'd say he'd make it after a long time on the ballot, but I'm thinking we'll see Freeney get in and Mathis fall short.

 

[lollygagger8]

He and that team definitely deserved more SB rings. 

 

Speaking of rings, see you in the Ring of Honor Mathis!! 

 

Miss him already. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

6 minutes ago, lollygagger8 said:

He and that team definitely deserved more SB rings. 

 

Speaking of rings, see you in the Ring of Honor Mathis!! 

 

Miss him already. 

We should've won it in 2009, that would've been a great way to end the decade and gave us that 2nd Ring but it didn't happen. I guess some can say we underachieved in the decade of 2000-2009 but not sure we did? The Patriots in 2003 and 2004 probably took away a Ring from us, had it not been for them we would've won the SB in 1 of those seasons IMO. Pats are 1 of the best teams of all-time and were unbeatable in Foxboro. I will still take winning 1 Ring and winning more Regular Season games in a decade than any other team in history and run with that any day. At least we won a Ring, teams that have been borderline great in recent past like the Vikings, Eagles, Chargers have nothing to show for it. The Bills of the 90's don't either nor does Dan Marino. We do as that Ring validates our other wins.

[pgt_rob]

Good Gawd Robert.... That was beautiful.