What was Baltimore Ravens rookie safety Matt Elam thinking when asked about Calvin Johnson, aka Megatron…THE best wide receiver in the National Football League?
Obviously he wasn’t or he wouldn’t have said Johnson is “old”. Yes, he called the 28-year old Johnson “old”:
“He’s pretty old, so I don’t know how physical he’ll be,” Elam said. “He’s a big guy, but he’s older. I guess when they get older they’re not going to be as physical; you know what I’m saying? We’re going to have to be physical, make him uncomfortable.”
Later Elam tweeted “I will never disrespect greatness…”
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was not amused by Elam’s comments:
“I don’t appreciate it. It doesn’t help us,” Harbaugh said. “You get a guy like Calvin Johnson all fired up, that’s really not the idea. … I don’t think they needed that to get fired up. But we didn’t need to give it to them, either.”
When reporters asked Johnson about the comment, he replied:
“It doesn’t surprise me because he doesn’t have to see me on the field, so he can talk all he wants,” Johnson said. “I don’t see him every play unless I run past him, so I’m not worried about it.”
Elam should keep his mouth shut. While he was a first-round pick out of Florida this year, he hasn’t lived up to the expectations the Ravens had for him. He started most of the season since Michael Huff did not live up to the hype; he has not made one interception.
Elam won’t even match up against Johnson, cornerback Jimmy Smith will.
I guess no one ever told Elam not to poke the bear…Please stop talking about your opponent and focus on what you need to do on Sunday.
Zennie Abraham