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Baltimore Ravens rookie safety Matt Elam seems determined to get his hometown team into the playoffs. No, not the "hometown" where he now works, but rather his actual home town. Elam is from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, 60-miles north of the Miami Dolphins' Sun Life Stadium, and, with the comments he made this week about wide receiver Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions, Baltimore's next opponent, it's clear he is just asking for problems.
The Ravens and Dolphins are currently tied for the final AFC Playoff, with Baltimore holding the head-to-head tie-breaker. For Miami, that means they have to win one more game than the Ravens over the last three contests in order to move ahead of them and into the postseason. Which is where a comment like Elam's comes into play.
Speaking to the Associated Press yesterday, Elam said of Johnson, widely considered the best wide receiver in the game, "He's pretty old, so I don't know how physical he'll be. 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."
That shouldn't serve as any added motivation for Johnson, who is second in the league in receiving yards this season and has a 14-reception, 329-yard performance this season when Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant tried to compare himself to Johnson.
Unless Elam, who as a safety should never have to cover Johnson one-on-one or be physical with the 6-foot, 5-inch, 235-pound receiver nicknamed Megatron, has turned into Optimus Prime, he should never say anythign about Johnson. As a Dolphins fan, all I can say is "Thank you!"
