Some players say they don’t pay attention to the media. Cardinals rookie defensive back Tyrann Mathieu says one member of the media is providing him with motivation this year.
Mathieu wrote on Twitter that he’s thinking about NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock, who expressed some skepticism about Mathieu heading into the draft. And Mathieu even said that after his first game-changing play in the NFL, he’ll blow a kiss to Mayock to show that Mayock made him better.
I'll never forget what mike mayock said about me... I'll blow him a kiss on my first game changing play
— Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) July 17, 2013
For the record, Mayock was never outlandishly critical of Mathieu. Mayock did, of course, mention that there were questions about Mathieu both on the field and off the field, but everyone who talked about Mathieu mentioned those questions. And Mayock’s prediction that Mathieu would go in the third or fourth round proved to be correct: The Cardinals took Mathieu in the third round, No. 69 overall.
So Mayock didn’t really say much of anything that should have Mathieu upset. But if Mayock motivates Mathieu to make some game-changing plays, well, that will be fine with the Cardinals.