Circle it: Hollywood vs. The Honey Badger on Christmas Eve.
Giants 2016 All-Pro safety Landon Collins and Cardinals 2015 All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu made clear on Twitter Saturday night that they will be in a battle this season to prove who’s the Boss of the Back in the NFC, culminating in Big Blue’s visit to Glendale, Ariz., to face Arizona on Dec. 24 in Week 16.
Collins, who goes by the nicknames Hollywood, Money and 21 Savage, sees a familiar SEC foe in Mathieu, a.k.a. the Honey Badger. Collins, 23, was a standout at Alabama, and Mathieu starred at LSU.
Now they’ve got NFL beef.
First, Collins posted an Instagram photo of himself wagging his finger on field with the caption: “Hold all that noise 32 straight and counting.” He then followed with the tweet: “Better yet I’ll show you week 16,” adding the number 100 and the hashtag of one of his many nicknames: “#21savage.”
It’s unclear what set Collins off. He may have been responding to Mathieu’s mid-July quote in The Sporting News that “any time I’m healthy, I feel like I’m the best defensive player in the NFL.”
Whatever the impetus, the trash talk escalated from there.
“What’s bracking then…” Mathieu shot back, using slang to tell Collins to step up and speak his mind.
“NYPD,” Giants defensive back Donte Deayon chimed in, referring to one Giants’ secondary nickname, which stands for “New York Pass Defense.”
“Man you know what it is…I’m here best believe,” Collins responded.
“Say less. That’s the only attitude to have, anything else make you lunch food,” Mathieu said.
“Naw I’ma run that lunch money from ya first…so I can eat better,” Collins said.
Collins then concluded with a knockout blow: “I don’t got much to say..stats speak for them(selves)… stay healthy so I can make you eat them words 100 come (week 16) #savagemode.”
Collins’ final comment was a shot at Mathieu’s inability to stay healthy. Mathieu was a first-team All-Pro selection as a free safety in 2015 and a finalist for the NFL defensive player of the year, but he tore two ACLs in three years from 2013-15 and appeared in only 10 games for Arizona in a disappointing year in his fourth NFL season last fall.
Collins, meanwhile, made first-team All-Pro in his second NFL season and was a finalist for the NFL defensive player of the year award.
