Viktor
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Polamalu told Vikings.com’s Mike Wobschall during a recent interview that Mattison fit everything the team was looking for in the position: an ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, a physical runner, stamina.
“He gets stronger and stronger the more touches he has. He can drop his hips. He can lower his pads. And he’s smart,” Polamalu said. “And then off the field, all the boxes are checked. He’s a good young man, he’s a good teammate, accountable, and he’s going to be a young man that I think will make an impact.
Added Polamalu: “He’s no surprise because that’s what we saw on film, and he’s added more by his character.”
Asked about learning from Polamalu, Mattison said it’s been an adjustment – but a positive one.
He recalled the few meetings with Polamalu and feeling at first that he wouldn’t be able to keep up and digest all of the information. With time, however, the teaching style has instead been a motivator for Mattison to study even more on his own.
“He moves very fast, but he does it for a reason. He wants us to be able to play fast,” Mattison said. “I like it. At first, it was kind of like, ‘Oh, I missed that. I don’t know half of the stuff that he just went over.’ So I have to go back and look at it. But that’s part of the responsibility upon us, to go back and review things on our own and to catch things that he’s saying at a fast pace because the game happens so fast.
“His coaching style correlates with the way the game is played,” Mattison continued. “He’s definitely hard on us, but he shows us a lot of love, too. I think he has the perfect blend and mix of style of coach that you want.”
While learning a different system has been challenging, it helps that he isn’t doing it alone. The entire Minnesota offense is operating under the new leadership of Offensive Coordinator Kevin Stefanski and Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Advisor Gary Kubiak, and Mattison described it as a group effort in the classroom.