ATLANTA — Nickell Robey-Coleman kicked off Super Bowl LIII week by attempting to add some context to the eye-popping comments he made about New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
The Los Angeles Rams cornerback told Bleacher Report’s Tyler Dunne that “age has definitely taken a toll” on the 41-year-old Brady, whom he’ll be tasked with defending this Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Asked about his barbs during Super Bowl Opening Night on Monday, Robey-Coleman said his comments were “taken out of context” and “distorted.” He has nothing but respect for Brady, he said.
“Tom Brady’s a great quarterback,” Robey-Coleman said. “I wasn’t trying to say nothing bad about him. I respect him as the GOAT. He is a legend, and I think words just got misconstrued. …
“I’m not taking nothing away from his game. I can’t take nothing away from his game. This is my first (Super Bowl) appearance. He’s been in this place many a time. So I’m not going to make a big deal out of this situation. Words got taken out of context. I respect him, and we’re going to go out there on Sunday and play football.”
Robey-Coleman, who played against Brady and the Patriots twice a year during his four seasons with the Buffalo Bills, said he “was just asked a question about the difference between (Brady) in the past and him now.”
“I just said the age,” he continued. “There wasn’t no big deal about, ‘Oh, he’s old.’ No, it ain’t about that. He’s still got the same skills. He’s still got the same arm. I’m not taking nothing away from him.”
During a later response, Robey-Coleman said he actually feels “a little disrespected that people think I would disrespect Tom Brady.”
“I’ve got nothing but respect,” he said. “I’m a class act when it comes to that.”
Robey-Coleman’s supreme confidence did shine through during his hourlong meeting with reporters, though. He acknowledged Brady might attempt to exploit him Sunday and said he’s ready for the challenge.
“It ain’t no backing down from anything,” the 27-year-old said. “… I’m Nickell Robey, I’m the Slot God, and I’m going to come bring my next game. There ain’t no backing down. It ain’t nothing. We’re going to see on Sunday. He’s going to throw them, and I’m going to try to deflect them. That’s the name of the game.”
This certainly has been an eventful week for Robey-Coleman, who’s now taken heat from both Patriots fans and New Orleans Saints supporters. He drew the ire of the latter after officials in last Sunday’s NFC Championship Game inexplicably missed his blatant pass interference on Saints wide receiver Tommylee Lewis near the goal line in the final minutes.
Robey-Coleman’s social media mentions have been a dumpster fire, with angry fans flooding his various accounts.
“Death threats — all type of threats,” he said. “… I had over 3,000 direct messages on Instagram. I had over a thousand messages on Facebook. I had, like, 500 Snapchat messages. A lot of social media traffic, that’s it. … I can’t even look at my phone right now.”
