One of those players is Cincinnati Bengals Left Guard Evan Mathis, who has been sitting amongst the leaders in our Offensive Guard rankings all through the season. Unfortunately he’s missed some time recently with an injury suffered during the Nov 8^th clash with Baltimore but that isn’t going to stop us highlighting just how well he’s played.

Mathis came into the league in 2005 when he was drafted in the third round by the Carolina Panthers after a successful college career at Alabama. He was seen as more of a utility lineman who could play all 5 spots, rather than be allowed to excel at one. Now at Cincinnati he has moved into the starting line-up at Left Guard and has settled into the role nicely with Mathis being one of the key pieces of a line that is both keeping Carson Palmer clean, and paving the way for Cedric Benson.

In the 255 drop backs that Mathis has been pass protecting for, we have recorded just 4 QB pressures, 5 QB hits, and no sacks on the season. That’s pressure in just 3.5% of his pass protecting snaps. The numbers also look good in the run game, with Cedric Benson’s rushing average on runs to the left side of the line sitting at a healthy 4.8 yards per carry, thanks in no small measure to the run blocking of Mathis, who sits firmly in the top 10 of all run-blocking guards according to our grading.

We have been so impressed by the way Mathis has performed this season that we selected him as our Left Guard in our Mid-Season All-Pro team, joining Cleveland Brown Joe Thomas and the New York Jet Nick Mangold, both of whom are at the top of the class at their respective positions. That alone shows you the kind of company that Mathis has been keeping with his performances this season. That he has done this in a division that pits him against The Steelers and Ravens as well as Shaun Rogers in Cleveland makes his performances all the more impressive.

Evan was kind enough to sit down and answer some questions for us where his answers were so detailed and insightful that we had to print the entire unedited transcript here for you to enjoy. If you think we were being rude by not asking how his injury is coming along we’re not, players simply aren’t allowed to talk to the media regarding injuries. So let’s get straight into it.

PFF: Talk us through a typical day for you when the season's underway.

Evan Mathis: The heavy workdays are Wednesdays and Thursdays and those days are very similar in structure so I'll take you through them. I typically wake up around 6:45am and arrive at the stadium at 7:15. The first meeting is at 8:30 so before that I get dressed, eat, and grab the playbook to get a good look at that week's plan of attack. After we absorb the playbook, we head to the field for a 10:30 walk-through of everything that we just installed. Most guys get a lot out of doing this and it usually gets out any wrinkles that may come up before we take it to full speed practice. When we come in it's time to hit the weight room followed by lunch and more meetings. We then hit the field for practice, which usually lasts about two hours. When we come in from practice we have time to hit the hot/cold tubs if need be, some of the guys also choose this time as their lift time, and then we have our last meeting with the coaches which ends at 4:30. The offensive line meets as a unit for about an hour after this and it's players only. We watch film and talk through anything that could come up. This is a great time for us to pick up on opponent tendencies and build on our communication. These days can be demanding physically and mentally so it's best to come well rested while bringing the right attitude.

PFF: We obviously think you’re having a great season to date. How do you think you’ve performed?

EM: Since January I've been doing everything I can to make this the best season of my career. Things didn't go very well in 2007 and 2008 with me not getting much playing time. I'll elaborate more on my early years in the NFL later, perhaps in a book. For now, it's time for me to keep doing what I'm doing and help my team keep winning. To do that, I have to keep doing what I've been doing and that's been putting everything I have into this game and playing with maximum effort.

PFF: You've plied your trade up to now as a back-up lineman, which has involved you playing multiple positions on the line. How has the chance to settle on one position allowed you to improve your performance?

EM: I never wanted to be the sixth man who could play all the spots well. I wanted to be a guy who could play one spot great. I haven't played the same position for two years in a row since high school. I moved between LT and RT while also doubling as the backup center my first three years of college. I was moved to LG my senior year and that gave me my best shot at the NFL. When I was drafted, Carolina moved me to the only position I had never played, RG. After not playing my rookie year, I started my 2nd year at RG, only the next year to be moved to tackle and not play a snap. They bounced me to third team center the next year only to cut me at the end of camp. I got picked up by Miami and practiced every spot with them and splitting reps at RG on Sundays. They cut me after week 12 and that's how I ended up in Cincinnati. The Bengals had me practicing at every spot on the line every week for the rest of the season. After the season, I called Marvin Lewis and told him I wanted to play defensive end. He ultimately laughed at me and told me he thought I could compete for one of the inside spots. I conceded and vowed to do what it takes to get the job done. They had me working the inside three spots in mini-camp and OTA's. When camp came around, I worked mostly LG and was able to settle in and get comfortable. Personally, I believe that staying in one spot is much better for players than having to bounce around. If I play a few weeks in a row at LG and then make a sudden move to RG, it will feel kind of awkward and takes a minute to get used to again, even though I've taken thousands of reps at that position.

PFF: How do Offensive lineman compare themselves with other offensive lineman around the NFL?

EM: When I see guys that have made the Pro Bowl, All-Pro, or have huge contracts, I watch film of them and try to see what it is that they do so well. I feel that if I can emulate what they do well, then I can achieve the success that they have achieved. Sometimes I can see good things and sometimes I'm wondering how the hell some guys get recognized like they do.

PFF: How does the coaching staff assess your performance on a week-by-week basis and how is this fed back to you?

EM: Our offensive line coach, Paul Alexander, has a complex grading system that breaks down each play with each player. If one wants to strive for perfection on the field, all they need to do is keep doing what Coach Alexander says they did well and correct things that they didn't do well in each game.

PFF: Was this a similar process to the one used by the Panthers?

EM: When I was with the Panthers, it was hard to know if your play was up to par with what the coaches expected on each play. There were no grades handed out and rarely did I hear if I played well or didn't. It was like studying to take a test every week, taking that test, then never knowing what grade the teacher gave you. I'm a numbers guy, give me a number and tell me to make it better. Tell me to weigh a certain weight, tell me how much to lift, how fast to run, and tell me what I need to grade. When I have those things in my sights, I can break down what it is I need to do to reach my goal.

PFF: In your opinion (or your coaches’) is one facet of your play better than the other at the moment? Are you a better pass protector than run blocker etc.?

EM: I believe that both my run and pass blocking has made a tremendous amount of progress this year. If there have been any weaknesses in my game, Paul Alexander has told me exactly what I needed to do to fix those things. Any time something comes up, he tells me, I fix it, the end. It takes this faith in your coach knowing what he's talking about to be able to carry it to the field successfully.

PFF: I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to have a look at our game-by-game ratings for you (available here). Do you recognize those games we’ve highlighted in which you’ve done particularly well and less so? For example, in your view (or that of the coaches) did you give up zero pressure in the Steelers game?

EM: Most of your games seem close to my actual performance. Coach Alexander can be a very strict grader and he gave me a few pressures on my grade sheet for getting close to the QB when I was popping behind the LT to pick up a bull rushing James Harrison. I made the block, he just wants it done better so he grades me down. He grades me down, I correct it, and I'll be more effective the next time that type of situation comes around. One thing that's hard for you guys to do is to know exactly who is responsible for each defender on any given play. For example, before I was hurt in the Baltimore game, there was a protection where the QB directed the line to a DB because he felt Ray Lewis wasn't coming. Well, Ray came and I barely hit him on my way to find the DB who ended up not coming. On film this looks like I let Ray hit the QB when in fact he was throwing hot off of him and I was just trying to slow him down on the way to my assignment. At least the way you guys break down games is light years ahead of most fans' understanding of the game. Most fans AND media actually.

PFF: What are your personal goals in terms of game-by-game performance beyond getting the W?

EM: I strive to grade out from 90-100%, allow zero sacks and pressures, zero penalties, zero missed assignments. Again, it comes down to numbers for me. Give me a goal and I'll do everything I can to achieve it.

PFF: You’ve already faced some elite defenses this year. Who have been the individual opponents who you been most impressed by?

EM: Baltimore's defense is stacked across the board. They are coached well and play very hard. Haloti Ngata, Terrell Suggs, and Jarret Johnson are pretty impressive. Shaun Rogers is a force in Cleveland. James Harrison of the Steelers is one of the best defensive players I've ever played against.

PFF: We’ve been big fans of Bobbie Williams for some time now (we thought he should have gone to the Pro Bowl last year). What’s your relationship like with Bobbie and what, if anything, have you been able to learn from him?

EM: Bobbie is as great a person as he is a football player. He is the force that holds the O-line and even the team together. He is a savvy vet and is a great example for any young player who wants to figure out what it takes to be successful in the NFL. Bobbie is in his 10th season but he plays as hard as any guy on the field. He does deserve some recognition and I hope he gets it.

PFF: The Pro Bowl selection process has become something of a mess recently, what do you as players think of it?

EM: Being voted into the Pro Bowl means a lot to the players. Usually when the coaches and players make their choices, they try to give it to guys who have been really deserving of it each year. With the fan vote, it usually looks like a popularity contest with the bigger market teams getting the bulk of the votes. When it comes to my position, I know that 95% of fans won't know what guard deserves a vote and will end up checking a name familiar to them. Guards like me have to impress the 66.67% of the vote that is held by the players and coaches. It's not always easy to do that as some coaches and players may never even see you on film. Just like you said about Bobbie, there are a lot of guys who don't go to the Pro Bowl who deserve it tremendously more than some of the guys that do go.

PFF: Thanks for your time Evan and best of luck with the return from injury.

Today fans of the NFL can vote for the Pro-Bowl, and their vote counts as 1/3 of the overall vote for Pro-Bowl rosters. It’s probable that many will simply use this facility to vote for their favorite players, or the linemen on the same team as Adrian Peterson. Whilst we’d never dream of telling you that our rankings are infallible or to automatically just pick the players at the top, they do provide a guide in areas that many people will stuggle with. As Evan told us, in spite of all this, the Pro Bowl still means a lot to the players, and we will do anything we can to highlight players we think should at least be considered. With this in mind we hope to do more of these type of interviews in the near future.

Evan Mathis is currently working his way back from an injury and we hope to see him back on the field shortly. He can also be found on Twitter: @ergoism

Have any thoughts on this interview? Let us know on our Twitter Page @ProFootballFocus or get in touch with the writer at sam.monson@profootballfocus.com