[sebastian0622]

"If you are going to a race, you'll take a guy like Erasmus James with you. On the other hand, if you are looking for a fight, you better bring Matt Roth." - NFL Scout

-Roth on his tattooes, which his mom despises: "Well, my mom, she hates my tattoos. She absolutely hates them. She cries every time she sees them. She made me promise her no more but maybe if I get her a new car she'll relax."



You may know Matt Roth as an undersized, all-American possible first round pick at DE from the University of Iowa. But if that's all you know of him, you're missing out, my friend, on some funny stuff.

From nfldraftscout.com

Originally Posted by Dave Te' Thomas

Roth is a colorful character who plays the game as if he is on a "search and destroy" mission. He is the source of a campus urban legend, as many Hawkeyes talk of the time Roth challenged and cleared out an entire bar in a fight.

Even in practices, the coaches have to pray he stays under control. They will generally blow the whistle early on plays, so Roth does not hurt any of the offensive players. There are times where he plays with such intensity in practices that the coaches must sit him down, even for walk-throughs.

When asked if that draft preview fit him, Roth said, "That's me! I like that. I like that A LOT!"

This thread will be dedicated to all of the gems that come from the straight-shooting, non-PC Roth: quotes, stories, and his infamous "insight." And I guarantee there will be a lot to go around. I'll try to break it up into seperate posts so as not to be overwhelming.

-Roth on injuries: "I've had no injuries. Nothing."

source: http://www.nfldraftscout.com/news/in..._from=&ucat=2&

[sebastian0622]

-On his NFL jersey number: "Hey, whatever number they want to strap on my back is fine with me. It don't matter to me at all. Just as long as I got a pair of shoulder pads and a helmet and maybe some spikes, I'm good to go."

-On pro wrestling: "Pro Wrestling as in WWE? No, that stuff is garbage. I like to watch real wrestling and fighting. The Ultimate Fighting stuff I love to death; I love the real deal stuff. That's what I love about football and wrestling. The respect, the warfare, being tough, going 100 miles per hour, letting it all fly, man against man. That's me. In the game of football, that's the type of person I want to be remembered as. That's what I believe in."

-On whether he talks trash: "Actually no, that's one thing I never do. I'm so focused and even out of breath so to talk would be foolish. Unless someone says something to me first, I just get right back in the huddle. I never talk to the ref, I talk to my teammates only. I'll scream and let loose when I get a sack because it's just so much fun for me, I have such a great time doing it."

source: http://www.nfldraftscout.com/news/i...t_from=&ucat=2&

[sebastian0622]

-On being a Playboy pre-season all-American: "I thought my mother or my sister would be in Playboy before me."

-From a friend at Iowa: Matt had a knack for just walking into friends' dorm rooms and rummaging for food. My co-worker was sleeping one day and woke to Roth eating hotdogs out of his dorm fridge. He asked what the hell he was doing. Roth looked at him and said, "eating lunch, what the fu*k are you doing?"

-From another friend who plays football there: Matt calls every freshman "freshman." He'll tell them, "I'll call you by your name, freshman, but you have to put me on my back in practice first. So you're gonna be 'freshman' all year."

edit: I found out that apparently freshman Nyere Aumitaire didn't put Roth on his back, but he did take a swing at him during a heated moment in a drill. Roth referred to him as "Nyere" the rest of the year, saying, "I like that kid."

-Matt is known for flying around campus with reckless abondon on his moped. One common story is the time that Roth lost control of his moped and hit a curve head on by Carver Hawkeye Arena which sent him over the handle bars. He then stood up, looked around, hopped on the moped and took off like nothing happened.

[rudel.dietrich]

He is in for a shock the first several dozen times a vetrern NFL offensive linemen knocks him ass over heels or a RB lowers his shoulder into him and knocks him into next week.
I bet his attitude will change quite a bit.

[sebastian0622]

I don't think that getting knocked down a few times is going to make him less intense. I'm sure he's been knocked down before--this is a guy who went head-up against Robert Gallery and took on a pulling Eric Steinbach for the past few years, as well as getting double-teamed in every game in the Big Ten and against LSU and Florida in the bowl games.

He's just nuts. I don't see that changing just because he gets his butt kicked on a few plays.

[Muppetus Galacticus]

Keep it coming sebastian0622, just made me a fan of this guy!

[cinredsfan2000]

Dola me too maybe the colts grab him .

[sebastian0622]

Originally Posted by cinredsfan2000

Dola me too maybe the colts grab him .

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft0...ory?id=2041659

Scouts Inc. and ESPN.com think they will. The Colts love Hawkeyes, having taken one with each of their top picks in the past two years (Dallas Clark, Bob Sanders).

[cinredsfan2000]

well i guess were not taking roth but marlin jackson is a nice/need pick for us .

[sebastian0622]

Originally Posted by cinredsfan2000

well i guess were not taking roth but marlin jackson is a nice/need pick for us .

Yeah, I was kind of questioning a Roth pick by them because they aren't too bad up front and need the help in the secondary more. Hopefully Jackson will help them out with their coverage woes.

[cinredsfan2000]

well it's official roth is a dolphin .

[sebastian0622]

Originally Posted by cinredsfan2000

well it's official roth is a dolphin .

Damn, I missed it. What did the guys say about him?

[cinredsfan2000]

Nothing sebs. they havent said anything about him after the phins picked roth the jets upstaged them by taking a kicker .thats basically all they been talking about the jets somewhat checkered picks in past drafts.

[sebastian0622]

Matt Roth goes to Miami at #46 overall. Believe it or not, there is a story behind this one as well.

Iowa beat LSU on a last-play touchdown pass in this year's Capital One Bowl. The LSU coach was Nick Saban, now Miami's coach and one of the men who decided to draft Roth. Ok, big deal, right?

Only thing is, just five months ago, in the days leading up to the bowl, Roth was asked by a reporter if he had a message to send to Saban and LSU. No doubt spurred on by the LSU's player and media comments that LSU was more athletic than Iowa and should win the game, Roth had something to say (of course). He raised his arms and said, "I've got two words for LSU."


http://www.hawkcentral.com/apps/pbcs...1058/HAWKS0104



It must not have bothered Nick Saban too much.

[Spielman]

Am I the only person here who thinks this guy just sounds like an *******?

[Slackker]

Originally Posted by Spielman

Am I the only person here who thinks this guy just sounds like an *******?

Nope. You can count me in that group. Personally, I'm looking forward to someone bumping this into a "Where are they now?" thread in a couple years.

[QuestGAV]

He sounds like the love child of Jeremy Shockey and John Rocker.

Guys like that can burn hot and bright for a few years but burn out quickly because they don't know how to pace themselves.

[MrWorkrate]

Originally Posted by QuestGAV

He sounds like the love child of Jeremy Shockey and John Rocker.

I missed the "I hate gays" quote in there.

Anyway, while I understand where those that don't like him are coming from, from a playing standpoint, I look forward to his intensity and desire to play. There are a lot of players who do great in college and get their pro contract and half-ass it, never living up to their potential. Roth seems to have confidence, and if he does get kicked around, seems liket he type of guy who'll study game film and spend all kinds of time in the gym and on the practice field in order to get better and protect his ego.

I'm a Dolphins fan, and while I'm disappointed we still haven't addressed the offensive line (and that DE is something we have plenty of right now), I look forward to seeing him in a Dolphins jersey.

[sebastian0622]

Originally Posted by QuestGAV

He sounds like the love child of Jeremy Shockey and John Rocker.

Guys like that can burn hot and bright for a few years but burn out quickly because they don't know how to pace themselves.

He's definitely a "spaz" when it comes to the energy with which he lives. I suppose he can come off looking like an a-hole to a lot of folks, but the fans and students at Iowa love him despite (because of) all of his antics. They say he's a nice guy, just not the brightest bulb in the package, and he's impulsive. He doesn't go around saying things about people, he doesn't talk trash on the field, and he hasn't had any trouble with the law. He just says and does what's on his mind. That's why I like him. I think he says what a lot of folks want to say and does what a lot of folks want to do.

He figures, "This is me, and if you don't like me, f*** you, but I'm going to be me and give 100% to everything I do." Add in that he's an ultra-competitive former undefeated state-champion (Illinois) wrestler, and is never running at less than full intensity, and I can see how he rubs folks the wrong way. I love him though. He leads by example on the field, and no teammate or coach has ever even hinted at Roth causing any problems with team chemistry. Maybe there's a little bit of Shockey in him, but no John Rocker.

[QuestGAV]

Originally Posted by MrWorkrate

I missed the "I hate gays" quote in there.

The two quotes that raised my eyebrows were these two:

-On being a Playboy pre-season all-American: "I thought my mother or my sister would be in Playboy before me."

-Matt is known for flying around campus with reckless abondon on his moped. One common story is the time that Roth lost control of his moped and hit a curve head on by Carver Hawkeye Arena which sent him over the handle bars. He then stood up, looked around, hopped on the moped and took off like nothing happened.

The first one is pretty funny, but shows a lack of class that could get blown out of proportion if he's struggling. If he's productive it'll get blown off, but if he's not then this sort of stuff gets magnified and becomes a big deal.

The second one is scary - take that same attitude and put him in a sports car instead of a moped and he's dead or seriously injured. I agree that he's probably got more Shockey than Rocker in him, but it's stuff like this where a reckless attitude can translate into missed games.

And I can see how having a guy like this to root for could be fun, it'd be like John Belushi's Animal House persona suiting up and knocking heads. It just doesn't lend itself to long-term success IMO.