The (5-0) Chiefs and (3-2) Patriots are set to square off in Foxborough on Sunday night, in a pivotal matchup that could decide home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs.
Both teams are well-coached, and they tend to let their play on the field do the talking, rather than attempting to provide their opponents with bulletin-board material. There hasn’t really been any trash talk, and instead, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick actually heaped praise on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
And given that both teams have remained quiet, a former Patriots linebacker is picking up the slack, as it relates to trash talk. Rob Ninkovich, who played for the team from 2009-16, recently made an appearance on XTRA 1360 AM Fox Sports San Diego’s “Hardwick and Richards,” and he absolutely blasted Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
“I mean I’ve played against Kelce, and I’ve thrown him around like he’s a little doll,” Ninkovich said on Friday. “The guy doesn’t want to block, so when you’re a tight end and you don’t want to block, you’re not really a tight end.”
He then pointed out that Kelce doesn’t like to block, calling him a “glorified receiver.”
“He just wants to catch the ball and do his little dance and, you know, put the stripes in the side of his head with the haircuts he gets,” Ninkovich said. “So, I just think that he’s a glorified receiver.”
Ninkovich also said he believes Rob Gronkowski is the best tight end to ever play the game, when asked to compare the Patriots tight end to Kelce.
It’s unclear why Ninkovich has a bone to pick with Kelce, but he clearly isn’t a fan of the Chiefs tight end. Maybe he’s just trying to support his former team by getting in Kelce’s head, or maybe he’s just trying to stay relevant. Whatever the reason, Sunday night’s game figures to be the most entertaining matchup thus far this season, and it should feature a plethora of points.
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