Every chance Bill Belichick gets, he subtly indicates that what we’re seeing with Collins is rare. That
Collins represents the model for off-the-line defensive players, but that there just aren’t any other models on the assembly line.
After living under the radar most of his rookie year, Collins emerged at the end of the regular season and in the 2013 playoffs. This year, his profile rose.
Still, Collins says he has no interest in embracing that. The
25-year-old from McCall Creek, Mississippi, is almost always out of sight when media has its allotted time in the locker room. After games, he’s usually dressed and gone before we stampede in with tape recorders, cameras and microphones in hand.
Thursday, Collins was at his locker when the media entered. Only a couple of us seemed to notice. I asked Collins whether he’s been hearing the high praise.
“I take all that in when I hear about it but I try not to get too deep into that,” he replied. “That’s not my cup of tea. I’ve never been that type of guy. It’s all good hearing things like that, but I try to stick to me. I always do me, regardless of the circumstance.”
Doing him means steering clear of attention.
“I’m just getting ready,” Collins said when asked why we see him so rarely. “I’m always to myself and getting ready.”
The amount of learning piled on Collins’ plate since coming to the league as a second-round pick from Southern Miss., has been unusually high.
A safety, linebacker and defensive end in college, Collins’ versatility meant he had to learn and play multiple spots. That’s carried over to the NFL so that now, Collins has as much defensive responsibility after the snap as any player on the team.
Diagnosing a play then falling into his responsibility – which could be to drop in zone of man coverage, rush, play the run, redirect receivers or a combination of those chores – means his mind has to work quickly and decisively.
The mental strides he’s made allows him now to play with the speed that will be the trademark of his game.
“
I’m really comfortable,” he said. “Once you learn the playbook then you can go out there and do whatever you have to do. And that’s one thing that I feel. I’ve learned the playbook, I’ve grinded it out. So it’s all paying off. I’m still learning right now, but once I learned some things and hit that playbook, it just comes to me.”
How much better can Collins get?
“A lot,” he said. “I can get great. I can get way better. There’s always room for improvement. You talk about all those things I can do but I can do it better. I’m going to continue to do it. There’s no settling.”
The speed, the stride length, the leaping ability and explosiveness that draw gushing praise? It’s not remarkable to Collins because it’s what he does.
“I hear about [people commenting on it] and I just go about my business because it’s just what I do,” he explained. “I don’t like to brag, I don’t do none of that, I just play ball, I just stick to me. Same old me.”
