Lions cornerback Darius Slay’s numbers are good for 11th best in the NFL so far this season, having allowed just seven catches on 104 coverage snaps while holding opposing quarterbacks to a passer rating of 56.8.
He had himself a game on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys with three pass breakups in the first half (an NFL high). Of course, that will raise one’s confidence levels, and he didn’t mind engaging in a little bit of trash talk with his opponents.
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“I couldn’t believe it either, but you see the result,” Slay said. “I couldn’t believe it. I told Dak (Prescott), ‘Hey, don’t act crazy, like we didn’t go to school together.’ That’s why I got a little excited and crunk, because his sideline was just talking crazy. Like, ‘Yeah, we’re running at you all day today.’ I was like, ‘Y’all got to be trippin’ today. I’m on my bad today. Y’all are crazy. I’m ready.'”
“Some guy on the sideline was like, ‘We goin’ at you all day, Slay!’ And I was like, ‘OK?’ And then they went at me, and I’m like, ‘They must be really trying to go after me. Let me turn it up a little more extra.’
“Talking at me like I’m some kind of slouch out there? I ain’t now slouch. (Expletive), I’m a gangster.”
He’ll need to be this Sunday against the Green Bay Packers and star quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a game the Lions simply need to win in order to have any realistic hope of a playoff spot. However, he’s already earned the praise of Rodgers, something that didn’t go unnoticed.
“Every time after the game, he (Rodgers) comes up and says, ‘Slay, you underrated. You’re one of the top guys in our division, and this league. Keep playing, and you’ll get notarized,'” Slay said. “He’s one of the first — him and (Richard) Sherman — were the first people who told me that I’d get all the recognition.”
Of course, Slay returned the favor to Rodgers when asked what he thought of the quarterback’s strengths.
“Extend plays, very poised, very confident in all the throws,” Slay said. “It doesn’t matter where he’s at, he just feels he’s going to complete every ball that’s out there.
“Fast. I hate when he start running because the crowd get crazy crunk. I hate it, but he can do it.”
