What Does Ryan Mathews Really Have To Live Up To?

May 27, 2010   ·   Paul Preibisius   ·   Jump to comments

 
There is the perception going around that Ryan Mathews is put in a difficult position because he is following in the footsteps of a future hall of famer after San Diego traded up 16 places in the first round to snag him.
The reality is, the expectations pundits seem to be putting on Mathews may not exactly stack up to what is truly needed out of the Fresno State Alum.
Gaudy regular season stats are nice, and putting up 1,200-1,400 yards looks great on paper for a team looking to add to an already high-octane offense.
But San Diego is a team that has not had issue with the regular season.  Even with the league’s second-worst running game in 2009, the team managed to put together a massive run en route to the AFC’s No. 2 seed and a first round playoff bye.
San Diego fans know that this has become Philip Rivers’ team, and will operate through him first and foremost. Where Mathews comes in is as an augmentation to keep defenses fr...

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