Aqib Talib On Tom Brady: 'He Ain't Lost Nothing; He In The Super Bowl Again'
ATLANTA (CBS) -- Not every Rams cornerback thinks Tom Brady is over the hill.
Los Angeles Rams corner Nickell Robey-Coleman went off on his hatred for the Patriots and their 41-year-old quarterback in an interview with Bleacher Report, saying that old age has taken its toll on Brady. Those comments didn't sit too well with Patriots fans, though they're kind of happy that the chatterbox corner has given their team a little more bulletin board material ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta.
But during Monday's Opening Night festivities at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, one of Brady's former teammates came to his defense. Los Angeles cornerback Aqib Talib, who helped New England get to back-to-back AFC Championship games in 2012 and 2013, said he's a big fan of Brady, and that the quarterback is still playing at the high level he remembers during his time with the Patriots.
"He ain't lost nothing. He in the Super Bowl again," said Talib. "He Tom Brady. ... This is another year under his belt. I think he's just getting better."
Talib said he spoke with Brady last week, referring to his former teammate as a "good dude." He wouldn't say what the two talked about, only that the two notorious trash talkers refrained from slinging any smack during the chat.
As for his time with the Patriots, Talib said he learned how to be a pro under Bill Belichick.
"I watched the iPad a lot more in New England. Study harder. Set more alarms. Just little things like that," he said, adding that he didn't want to be embarrassed on national TV.
Talib also defended Nickell-Robey, saying the Bleacher Report interview didn't paint the complete picture of what his teammate was trying to say.
"Whoever wrote the story decided to X out all the positives that he said, and do what the media do," said Talib. "He said maybe like 45 seconds, a minute and 15 seconds worth of stuff, and they printed like .5 seconds worth of stuff. You know what I'm saying? He was saying some really good things about Tom, too. So that's what I think about that comment."
Many believe that Brady will now be throwing Robey-Coleman's way a lot next Sunday, singling out the corner and trying to embarrass him on the field. Talib said of course Brady will be targeting him, because he targets anyone that is playing defense.
"Tom gonna target everybody. He's gonna throw it to whoever's open. We've seen that on tape. He don't have no favorite receivers or nothing like that," said Talib. "Tom, that's why he's the best. He throws the ball to the open receiver, and he's been doing it for years in a row. That's why they in the 'chip for the fifth time since I've been in the NFL. He's gonna throw it to the open receiver whether I'm guarding him, Robey's guarding him, Marcus Peters is guarding 'em. Whoever's open, that's who he's gonna throw it to.
"Tom, he don't need no extra motivation," Talib added. "He Tom Brady."
And in true Aqib Talib fashion, the 32-year-old delivered an early favorite for the line of the night.
"It seems like whenever I get on a team, the jewelry goes up," he joked.
Tune in to Super Bowl LIII between the Patriots and Rams on CBS and WBZ-TV -- the flagship station of the New England Patriots. Pregame coverage begins Super Bowl Sunday at 11 a.m. with a two-hour edition of Patriots GameDay, with kickoff for the big game set for 6:30 p.m.! After the game, stay tuned for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!