Los Angeles Rams rookie Jared Verse let Philadelphia Eagles fans know exactly what he thinks of them ahead of their Sunday matchup.
‘I hate Eagles fans,’ Verse told The Los Angeles Times on Thursday. ‘They’re so annoying. I hate Eagles fans.’
Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley believes the Rams’ talented rookie made a misstep in admitting that. Barkley was asked about Verse’s comments during a media availability Friday. The 2,000-yard rusher chuckled and suggested Verse may have poked the proverbial bear with his barb.
‘Probably not the smartest thing to say when you’re coming to Philadelphia,’ Barkley told reporters through a smile. ‘I’ve been on the other side (when he played for the New York Giants), and even if I felt some type of way, I probably wouldn’t give them any extra fuel. Pretty sure Philly fans have seen that comment, and it was only going to be loud and rocking and this is only going to add to it.’
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
Barkley has a point, as NFL teams and fan bases have a habit of responding to bulletin-board material given to them by opponents. The Rams provided a recent example of this by using Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell’s ‘see you in two weeks’ hot-mic comment to Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell as motivational fuel in their 27-9 wild card win over the Vikings.
With that in mind, Philadelphians will likely respond accordingly to Verse’s insult and heckle him more vigorously than they did during the first meeting between the two teams in Week 12. Verse was given ‘an earful of obscenities’ during that contest, according to the Los Angeles Times.
‘I didn’t even do nothing to ’em,’ Verse said of the Eagles faithful. ‘It was my first time playing. Oh, I hate Eagles fans.’
Verse spent three seasons of his high school career in Pennsylvania, so he has had more exposure to Eagles fans than most. That’s part of the reason that he dislikes the team so much, even its color scheme.
‘When I see that green and white I hate it,’ Verse said. ‘I actually get upset. Like I actually genuinely get hot.’
Verse will need to channel that rage into production during the Eagles vs. Rams game on Sunday. Specifically, he will need to work hard to help contain Barkley, who racked up 302 scrimmage yards in their last meeting.
Meanwhile, Eagles fans will be focusing on getting into Verse’s head as the rookie looks to follow up his two-tackle postseason debut with a quality showing.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
