The Packers' Sack Machine

The Packers desperate gamble in 2014 to salvage their D has turned Clay Matthews into an entirely new breed of monster.

- David Fleming

Hustling through a twisty corridor deep inside Lambeau Field, Clay Matthews strides toward the players’ parking lot with the chilling, outta-my way intensity he normally aims at quarterbacks. The Pro Bowler’s explanation for racing off after this Friday practice includes a bit of breaking news: He’s trying to make a last-second appointment with his—gasp—hairdresser. A Packers employee and a reporter trail the linebacker, and the news stops all in their tracks, including Matthews. He massages the striped wool cap covering his iconic blond locks and imagines the apocalyptic-level response this news might inspire in Hollywood, on Madison Avenue and especially here in Green Bay, where just yesterday the local TV news led with a segment about stores selling out of the new Clay Matthews Christmas tree ornament.Matthews spins around and throws up a hand—wait. Just a trim, he clarifies with a chuckle. A little light grooming in preparation for his infant son Clay IV’s baptism in California, during the Packers’ bye week.

For the past seven seasons, Matthews’ trademark tresses have been everywhere: from a cameo a cappella battle this summer vs. the evil Das Sound Machine in Pitch Perfect 2, to the NFL sack leaders list this fall. Before Week 5, there was even a decent facsimile of Matthews’ locks streaking across the practice field in St. Louis: The Rams prepped for their game at Lambeau by having scout-team linebacker Daren Bates don a Christina Aguilera–style wig to help quarterback Nick Foles and the St. Louis offense identify Matthews’ whereabouts. (For good measure, this season Matthews has also added a beard that, honestly, makes him look like a cross between Vincent van Gogh and Yukon Cornelius.)