Collins, a six-year veteran with 47 career starts, has yet to allow a sack in his three starts this season, which is impressive in its own right, but especially so when you consider he faced future Hall of Famer Julius Peppers in the opener and NFL sack leader Robert Mathis on Sunday.
Collins has a perfect record when it comes to interviews as well. The Kansas University product is always entertaining and informative, so he was an easy pick for this week’s Bengals High Five:
Is that something you really enjoy, going up against someone as good as Robert Mathis?
I love it. He was on my side and he’s a go-getter, the NFL sack leader. I’ve got to stand up tall and take a challenge and be a man. That was grown man’s work.
Do you feel like you’ve proved something this year with the way you’ve played when given the chance?
No, because the year’s not over yet. When the year’s over with, then you come back and ask me the same question and I’ll let you know.
What does moving Andrew Whitworth to guard do for you guys?
Knowing that he’s a beast. If you know you’ve got a left guard that’s a beast, that makes my job easy. I talk to him. Put him in his zone. Tell him what he needs to hear. When you get all five of us in the zone, plus our tight ends — don’t forget about our tight ends — when you get all those boys in the zone and push their buttons, we know we’re going to be all right.
What did you see on BenJarvus Green-Ellis’ controversial touchdown right before halftime?
That was big. That turned the game around. That was real big. I saw something on the screen, but we won’t reveal any of that. We’re just going to learn from it and get better.
How big was that drive you guys had to score right after Indianapolis got it to 21-14?
It was like the Miami game when we threw an interception on the 1-yard line and they ran it all the way back and then we went down and scored again after running 20-some plays and then another 20-some plays. That’s when I said ‘OK, we’ve got an O line.’ So when (the Colts) came back and scored and made it a close game, I could trust our line from that game in Miami. I knew we were going to take care of our business and score right back.
About the Author