"Casey Matthews' rookie season ended, fittingly, at middle linebacker.

He moved from his nickel role to the middle in Sunday's season finale against the Redskins after Jamar Chaney went down with an injury.

Matthews ended up with five tackles and the defense held the Redskins to 10 points, a totally different reflection of his capability in the middle than earlier this season.

The same can be said of the entire group of linebackers, who showed more potential in the final four games than they did in the first 12 weeks."