A cornerback dubbing himself Optimus Prime the week before playing Megatron, aka Detroit’s Calvin Johnson, is not particularly original: Seattle’s Richard Sherman just did it three weeks ago. But Packers cornerback Tramon Williams, who will cover Johnson on Sunday, says he’s the real Optimus Prime.
“I’m definitely Optimus Prime,” Williams told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I’m the leader of the Autobots. I’m the leader of the young guys right now and when it comes down to the tough battles, I’ll lead those guys out there.”
Williams is 5-foot-11 and 191 pounds, so Johnson has about six inches and 45 pounds on him. But Williams said even Seattle’s big pair of cornerbacks couldn’t match up with Johnson’s size, and that simply being big isn’t enough to stop Johnson.
“Guys like Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman - they talk about how physical they are - but Calvin was pushing those guys around the field like it was nothing,” Williams said. “And those are some big guys. You definitely have to be careful with how you play a big guy like that.”
The last time Johnson played against the Packers, he had 244 receiving yards, the most any Green Bay opponent has ever had in the history of the franchise. Williams isn’t vowing to totally shut Johnson down, but he is promising a better game than last time.
“That’s what’s going down on Sunday - me going against Calvin,” Williams said. “He’s going to make some plays and I’m going to make some plays. We’ll see who wins the battle in the end.”
Packers fans will be rooting for the Autobots.