No More Letdowns For Patrick Peterson

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On the games in which Patrick Peterson wears a microphone, he acknowledged he doesn’t remember what he says.


“I’m out there, pure emotions, pure fire, just me being the guy I am,” Peterson said, adding, “that’s the one thing I do look forward to (seeing the footage): What the heck was I talking about? What was going through my head when I was saying that?”


It was pretty clear what Peterson was saying when he was captured, post-interception against the Browns, grasping defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and telling him, “I will not (expletive) let you down again.”


Joseph wouldn’t say what the comment meant to him, but “it means a lot for our defense.”


“When your best players are playing their best ball, you have a chance to win games,” Joseph said. “Obviously, that was Pat’s best game of the year. We can see it coming back.”


Peterson, who asked to be matched with Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., admitted he was amped up for the matchup.


“I definitely felt like myself Sunday,” Peterson said.


There were other reasons Peterson looked like his eight-time Pro Bowl self. On an emotional level, Peterson knows criticism about his play has grown.


“I hear the chatter,” he said.


So it was more than just playing Beckham?


“No doubt about it,” Peterson added. “Like I said, I hear the chatter.”


Tangibly, Peterson said the missing six weeks in his season – leaving after the preseason with his NFL suspension – cost him some subtle changes all defenses go through in-season, a process he has just now caught up on. Peterson has improved on how Joseph wants him to play certain techniques and leverages in the context of the defense, which he said has helped.


“Playing corner in this league and matching the very best players in this league is tough not to see fastballs for a month-and-a-half,” Joseph said.


Peterson said he knows he had a different intensity level against the Browns and “I plan on keeping that.”


“I think I’m right where I need to be right now,” Peterson added.

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