T.Y. Hilton said Brandon Browner’s trash talk motivated him
Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (13) warms up before the start of the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports
Indianapolis Colts No. 2 WR T.Y. Hilton has quickly become a dynamic threat in this league both in fantasy football and for opponents. Hilton has done an excellent job of making plays all year long, and Andrew Luck has a dynamic duo to throw it to in veteran Reggie Wayne and Hilton. The Colts were able to upset the Seattle Seahawks 34-28 yesterday afternoon, and T.Y. Hilton should receive a heap of praise for being at the forefront of the upset. Hilton was simply incredibly with five receptions for 140 yards and two touchdowns on just six targets. The Seattle Seahwaks touted “Legion of Boom” cornerback duo Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner are highly regarded for their talents, size, and trash-talking. It was the last of those three traits that seems to have backfired on them yesterday, based on comments Hilton has made.
According to the USA Today’s Jarrett Bell, T.Y. Hilton stated that one insult Brandon Browner threw at him set something off in his mind, and it’s what spurred the massive effort from Hilton.
“Browner said I’m light as (expletive).”
“He made me hit the light switch that nobody’s seen,” Hilton said. “He made that decision. So they should blame him.”
Wow. That first statement from Browner is quite crass, and it’s not even a good insult, to be honest. As some on online forums say, “That’s only level 1 trolling right there.” Browner’s insult on Hilton’s size totally backfired, and it’s quite ridiculous that Browner chose that as an insult. Who care if Hilton’s small? He’s wicked fast, and size isn’t a part of his game. It definitely is a part of Browner’s game, but bigger isn’t necessarily better; we saw that yesterday.
The interesting thing is that Hilton did his work on Sherman and Browner about evenly in this game, as he caught two of his four passes on each of the two Seahawks CBs, according to the Pro Football Focus. He caught one touchdown catch apiece on each defender, and he actually had double the yardage when matched up against Sherman than against Browner. It was a terrific game from T.Y. Hilton, and you have to be impressed with the way he effectively channeled his anger.
As far as trash-talking goes, let me say this. A story like this can be easily taken out of proportion (like that stupid Tom Brady trash talk story last year, especially since Brady basically had his trash talk deservedly backfire too), and trash talk happens all the friggin’ time in every sport. I will say that Browner needs to come up with better barbs, and it’s probably best for CBs to lay off of Hilton in the future; you won’t like him when he’s angry.
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