Calvin Johnson is ready for his opponents' best shots -- and trash talk.
The Detroit Lions wide receiver now is preparing to get an earful from the St. Louis Rams in Sunday's regular-season opener after he made the cover of "Madden NFL 13" in the offseason.
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"I'll probably get a little 'Madden' stuff from linebackers and linemen and stuff. They talk the most trash," Johnson said, via the Detroit Free Press. "Those are the ones who talk the most trash. You don't have to see them, so they talk trash all day."
Johnson was more concerned with his impending matchup against the Rams' new cornerbacks: Cortland Finnegan and rookie Janoris Jenkins. Though Johnson holds a seven-inch height advantage over Jenkins, he said the cornerback plays "like a ninja, an assassin."
Jenkins returned the praise, refusing to give Johnson any of the verbal jabs the wide receiver anticipates.
"He's physical. He's fast. Got a nose for the ball. Just a great receiver," Jenkins said, via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "They don't call him Megatron for nothing."
Though Johnson spoke highly of Jenkins, the wide receiver issued a warning to the first-year pro on the perils of smack talk.
"It don't matter if he talks or not," Johnson said, via the Free Press. "If he talks, that's just going to raise my intensity level on him. That's up to him."
