Ignorance about opponents’ personnel in the NFL, especially a well-established Pro Bowl wide receiver, is traditionally interpreted one way.
As disrespect.
So, when Tennessee Titans cornerback L’Jarius Sneed repeatedly replied “Who?” with a smile when asked about matching up against Texans star wide receiver Nico Collins, it raised eyebrows.
And it may have provided even more motivational fuel for Collins.
“I’m a dawg, you know what I’m saying,” Collins said when KPRC 2 asked him what should someone know about him after Sunday’s game against the Titans at NRG Stadium. “I’m just me. I don’t say much. I just play. You can talk all you want. I’m not hearing it. Just line that s— up.”
Collins is 6-foot-4, 222 pounds worth of bad news and matchup nightmares for most secondaries. He has 14 catches for 181 yards and two touchdowns on 25 targets as arguably the most dangerous threat on a stagnant offense.
He has 232 career receptions for 3,411 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Yes, Sneed undoubtedly is aware of Collins’ identity as an elite wide receiver.
“He knows who I am,” Collins said. “It’s gonna be fun. Can’t wait for the matchup. Can’t wait to get back on the field with the guys and play again. That’s the most important thing. I’m most excited about getting back at it with my teammates, my brothers. Going out there, rocking out, getting that swag back.”
A day after Sneed’s comments, Titans secondary coach Tony Oden tried to put the toothpaste back in the tube without much success, if at all.
“It definitely wasn’t an egging on,” Oden said. “Obviously, I respect Nico, and so does he (Sneed) and everyone in our room.”
The Texans are off to an 0-3 start. They rank last in scoring offense, averaging just 12.7 points per game. They are 0 for 4 in the red zone and are the only NFL team that has failed to score a red-zone touchdown. They are last in third-down conversion percentage with a 24.2 percent success rate with eight first downs on 33 third-down attempts.
“We’re right there, but we got to show that we’re right there,” Collins said. “We got to make it go around. The entire team, both sides, offense and defense, we got to continue to make plays, continue to ball out. Have that swag, have our confidence that we know what we got and just go out there and be us.
“It all starts with your mindset and your confidence. You got to know that you’re going to go out there and make them pay. We got to find it. We got to find our swag, man.”
With both teams off to winless, 0-3 starts, the tenor of Sunday’s game figures to be intense. Barring the rare occurrence of a tie, someone is going to get their first victory of the season and someone is going to be 0-4.
“This is going to be a good game,” Collins said. “It’s the biggest game. We’re all itching for that win. We can’t go out there searching for things and just doing things that’s not us. We got to take one play at a time, which I know we will.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com