Matt Roth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Matt Roth | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | October 14, 1982 (age 24) |
| Place of birth |  Villa Park, Illinois |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 272 lb (124 kg) |
| Position(s) | Defensive End |
| College | Iowa |
| NFL Draft | 2005 / Round 2 / Pick 46 |
| Stats | |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 2005-present | Miami Dolphins |
Matthew M. Roth (born October 14, 1982 in Villa Park, Illinois) is an American football defensive end for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He played collegiately at the University of Iowa.
Contents |
[edit] High school career
Roth attended Willowbrook High School in Villa Park, Illinois. He was a consensus All-America pick as a senior when he played linebacker and fullback. As a senior, he compiled 161 tackles, four sacks, 23 stops for loss, 10 forced fumbles and a state-record 12 blocked kicks.
Roth also lettered four times in wrestling, where he captured the state title as a senior with a record of 31-0. Finally, he won school Academic Merit honors.
[edit] College career
Roth was a two-time First Team All-Big Ten selection and an All-America selection as a senior during his collegiate career at the University of Iowa.
He was regarded as one of the premier pass rushers in the collegiate ranks and one of the toughest players in the country. He was a blue-chip NFL prospect with a blue-collar work ethic. 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.
Roth began his Iowa career as a middle linebacker, recording 19 tackles (12 solo) in 12 games as a reserve in 2001. He shifted to the defensive line in 2002, as the coaches felt he played with too aggressively to be effective as a linebacker. Roth responded to the move by recording 48 tackles (22 solo) with 10 sacks, 11 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 11 quarterback pressures, despite starting only one game. Roth took over left-end duties in 2003, collecting 51 tackles (32 solo),12 sacks, 16 stops for losses and four forced fumbles. Only Leroy Smith (18 in 1991) had more sacks in a season for the Hawkeyes.
With an additional 10 pounds of muscle added to his frame in 2004, Roth put together a banner senior season, earning All-America honors. He ranked fourth in the Big Ten with eight sacks and registered 15 stops for losses (sixth in the Big Ten), eight pressures and 49 tackles (34 solo) while leading the conference with three forced fumbles.
In 49 games, he started 25 times, recording 167 tackles (100 solo) with 23 quarterback pressures, 30 sacks for minus-192 yards, 43 stops for losses of 224 yards, eight forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and a pass deflection. His 30 career sacks rank third in school history, topped only by Mike Wells (33, 1990-93) and Jared DeVries (42, 1995-98). Only Wells (54) and DeVries (78) registered more tackles behind the line of scrimmage in a career for the Hawkeyes.
[edit] Professional career
[edit] 2005
Roth was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the second round (46th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft. The team selected him with a draft pick obtained in the trade that sent cornerback Patrick Surtain to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Roth played in a reserve role in all 16 games of his rookie season in 2005. On the year, he amassed 22 tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery and a pass defensed. He posted a season-high six tackles against the Kansas City Chiefs on October 21. He had his most productive game of the season against the New York Jets on December 18 when he came up with his first NFL sack and the initial fumble recovery of his career . He scooped up a Cedric Houston fumble in the third quarter that was forced by Derrick Pope. The sack occurred in the fourth quarter when he tackled quarterback Brooks Bollinger for a six-yard loss.
[edit] 2006
Despite the presence of a handful of veterans on the Dolphins defense, Roth increased his production in 2006. In 16 reserve appearances, Roth had 37 tackles and 3.5 sacks for a total of 24.5 yards in losses. On December 10 against the New England Patriots, he had three tackles including 1.5 sacks for a total of 10.5 yards in losses, tackling quarterback Tom Brady for a five-yard loss and sharing an 11-yard sack of Brady with defensive tackle Vonnie Holliday. On November 23 at Detroit, Roth had three tackles including two sacks, tackling Lions quarterback Jon Kitna twice for a total of 14 yards in losses. It was the first two-sack game of his career. In fact, coming into the game he had just one prior career sack. On November 19 against the Minnesota Vikings, he had four tackles and a forced fumble, causing Vikings running back Chester Taylor to fumble that was recovered by Renaldo Hill and returned for a 48-yard touchdown to give the Dolphins their final lead in a 24-20 victory.
[edit] 2007
With the departure of Kevin Carter to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and free agent David Bowens, Roth appears to be in line for significantly increased playing time in 2007.
