Matt Kalil is being a jerk on the field and that’s a good thing
By Dan Zinski
Matt Kalil had a bad season in 2014 and when people criticized him he became kind of a jerk about it.
In one memorable incident, Kalil took issue with a heckling fan in the parking lot after a game and retaliated by knocking the fan’s hat off.
It wasn’t a good look for Kalil and it certainly didn’t do anything to quiet the criticism.
Fast-forward to 2015 and Matt Kalil is still being a jerk, but now he’s being a jerk on the field instead of in the parking lot.
Instead of knocking fans’ hats off, Kalil is knocking defensive linemen on their butts.
Sunday against the Lions Kalil let his emotions get the better of him and was called for unnecessary roughness after continuing to beat up on a Detroit player after the whistle.
The play may have resulted in a penalty and a loss of yardage but it didn’t bother me at all. I liked seeing that aggressiveness from Kalil.
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Kalil’s problem last year was not just that his knees were bad and his balance was off, it was that he played too passively and without confidence (likely as a direct result of his physical issues).
When Kalil was good in his rookie season it was because he was aggressive and attacking, and finished off his blocks with violence occasionally bordering on dirtiness.
I like Kalil when he’s being a border-line psychopath out there. That’s the Kalil I want to see. Not the back-on-his-heels Kalil we saw last year.
Obviously you don’t want Kalil to make a habit of being called for penalties but the occasional infraction is acceptable if it means Kalil is playing hard and physical.
Maybe it’s just a function of feeling better physically or maybe it’s a whole new outlook Kalil has learned after his struggles of 2015, but Kalil looks like a different player out there.
Frankly Kalil is playing like a jerk, and I hope he continues.
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