Locker room buzz: Robertson steps up, Anzalone's impact, injury updates, record reactions and a coordinator chess match
Detroit — Here’s what I learned bouncing around the Detroit Lions’ locker room following the team’s 31-9 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Walking the walk after talking the talk
When I chatted with ultra-confident Amik Robertson on Friday, I asked him if he had requested to travel with longtime rival Justin Jefferson, but the Lions cornerback downplayed the possibility.
As it turns out, he didn’t want to tip the game plan. Robertson shadowed the All-Pro receiver most of the night and played on his head, holding Jefferson to three catches for 54 yards on nine targets.
“It was, what Tuesday, maybe Monday, Monday night,” Robertson said when asked when he first learned the plan. “I’ve been anxious for this opportunity for so long. Everything I did out there I expected (to do). I knew I was going to play that way. The only thing that kind of was shocking, I got (the game ball). I never got one of those, man. That was an unreal feeling.”
Robertson and Jefferson were high school rivals who competed in summer camps and in college before battling as pros. Although Jefferson is regarded as a different caliber talent, one of the league’s truly elite players, there’s always been a mutual respect between the two. But Robertson didn’t like how Jefferson reacted to the lopsided loss.
“JJ is a great player, man,” Robertson said. “The only thing that rubbed me the wrong way, after the first game, he scored on me and I told him, 'Good game,' and he was all like, 'I'm proud of you.’ After this game, he just walked off the field. It's OK, though. Maybe we'll see him again. Whatever.”