Darius Slay Might Tell Odell Beckham Jokes, But He Won't Talk Trash
By Will Burchfield
Twitter @burchie_kid
There's a whole lot of talk surrounding Darius Slay and Odell Beckham Jr. ahead of their potential showdown this weekend.
There tends to be a whole lot of talk from them, too. But if the two stars like to run their mouths, Slay feels they strike different tones.
"I'll laugh and giggle with you," he said, "but if you 'finna' talk crazy..."
At that, Slay trailed off and began laughing, always laughing, always the liveliest person in the room. It is his essence to smile, which might explain why he almost frowned when reminded Beckham's banter is known to be a bit nastier.
"Well if he's known, he can keep that to himself right there," Slay said. "I don't need all that."
Beckham is known, alright. His reputation as a trash-talker has risen in the past couple of years, highlighted by his feud with Josh Norman in 2015. In that matchup, the vitriol ultimately turned violent, resulting in a suspension for Beckman and a fine for Norman.
If Slay is tasked with covering Beckham on Sunday - must-see TV - he has no intention of going down a similar path.
"I can talk, but it ain't gotta be none of that kind of stuff he had going on with whoever. None of that," Slay said. "It can be a friendly conversation. I joke a lot, my joking is talking trash. So whoever's in front of me, if I got a joke for you, I'm gonna give it to you."
In some ways, Beckham is his own worst enemy. His emotional meltdowns - particularly another one against his nemesis Norman back in Week 3 - have revealed a chink in his armor. Opposing players have seized on this and tried to rattle him with trash talk.
But Slay has no such plan to get under Beckham's skin.
"Nah, that's not a game plan for me. I'm just playing ball," Slay said. "Me winning the down's getting under your skin, so I ain't gotta talk to get under nobody's skin."
History proves him right. Over the course of his four years in the NFL, the only time Slay has openly feuded with an opposing receiver was during his matchup with the Cowboys' Dez Bryant in the 2014 playoffs.
He chuckled when it was brought up on Wednesday.
"Yeah, me and Dez did a little bit, but you know," said Slay, breaking into a grin, "he's gotta humble up a little."
Otherwise, Slay's demeanor on the field has mirrored his smile off it. The closest he comes to taunting the opposition is with a playful wag of the finger when he breaks up a pass.
"I'm a good, humble, cool guy. If you make a great catch on me, I'm going to be like, 'Oh, that's a great catch there, daddy.' If I make a play, you're going to get the finger wave," he said.
"I don't know how you're going to feel about it, how you're going to feel about the situation when I'm waving my finger...but it's a game of plays. Everybody makes plays. So I just try to make them more than you do."
In the past, Slay has made his preference known for shadowing the opposition's top receiver - especially players of Beckham's ilk. But he'll be fired up on Sunday no matter who he's assigned to cover.
"I'm up every week - up," said Slay, too buoyant to ever be down. "I'm up, up, up, ain't matter who the guy in front of me is. It's not going to change my style of play."
Nor will any verbal jabs he takes along the way. After all, why snarl when you can flash a grin?
"I like to keep this smile bigger than what it already is," Slay said, "(and) winning makes it bigger."
