Bucs DB Zyon McCollum gives Joe Burrow and the Bengals some bulletin-board material
· Yahoo Sports
Every sport has its unwritten rules, and one of the most universal is simple: Don’t give your opponent “bulletin-board material.” Don’t say something that can be printed out, slapped on a wall, and pointed to by a coach looking for a little extra motivation. Don’t give the other team a reason to make the game personal.
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In the end, almost anything can be twisted into locker-room material in one way or another. When Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive back Zyon McCollum was asked how he felt about playing against one of the most talented offenses in the league in Week 1, he had plenty of ways he could have answered.
And he made a decision.
“We’re going to have opportunities, guaranteed opportunities,” he said when asked about his Week 1 opponents. “I mean, they want to get their season started off right. They want to get in rhythm early, so the ball is guaranteed to go in the air. And a ball in the air belongs to us. You know, that’s the mentality that we have. That’s what we’re going into the game thinking. We know we’re going to get tested early, so it’s an incredible opportunity for us.
“There will be no better feeling than when we take away three, four interceptions.”
But it’s that last sentence that sticks out.
There will be no better feeling than when we take away three, four interceptions.
That, to me, sounds like McCollum has already determined Burrow will be turning the ball over several times. While I wouldn’t be shocked by an errant throw here or there—it is Week 1, after all—assuming a quarterback of Joe Burrow’s caliber is going to hand you three or four interceptions is pretty wild and more than a little disrespectful. Maybe. I have a feeling fans take this sort of thing much more personally than the players do.
Professional athletes don’t need extra motivation. They’re where they are because they’re the absolute best at what they do. It’s not like NFL players are all Seabiscuit and need someone to dangle a quote in front of them before they’ll run faster.
Still, a little bulletin-board material to get the blood pumping never hurt anyone.
Well, outside of the guy who provided the material.