THOUSAND OAKS Germaine Pratt Jersey , Calif. (AP) — his respect for Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints. He insisted his feisty comments about the coach two months ago had been misinterpreted and blown out of proportion by controversy-hungry fans and media.And then his coach popped up in the back of the room.“Let me get some of that soup!” Sean McVay yelled.One way or another, gumbo will be served at the NFC championship game.As the Saints and the Los Angeles Rams began their preparation for Sunday’s showdown, Peters and Payton downplayed the importance of what occurred during and after the teams’ first meeting at the Superdome this season. The cornerback and the coach expressed a warm mutual regard and no hard feelings from November.“We’re trying to play a game,” Peters said Wednesday. “We ain’t trying to talk about no gumbo. We can talk about all that stuff afterward.”Still, here’s the backstory on the Creole kerfuffle, for those with an appetite:New Orleans beat the Rams 45-35, with Drew Brees shredding Los Angeles’ secondary for 346 yards and four TDs while handing the Rams their first loss of the season. In particular, receiver Michael Thomas appeared to dominate his matchup with Peters, who acknowledges he had a poor game.Afterward, Payton acknowledged the Saints had targeted Peters because they liked the matchup with Thomas — a bold statement to make about a former Pro Bowl cornerback. That drew the attention of Peters, who responded sharply back home in the Rams’ locker room.“Tell Sean Payton, keep talking that (stuff),” Peters said at the time. “We’re going to see him soon. You feel me? Yeah. ‘Cause I like what he was saying on the sideline, too. Tell him he can keep talking that (stuff), and I hope he sees me soon. You feel me? Then we’re going to have a good little, nice little bowl of gumbo together.”Peters is a personable athlete and an aggressive competitor. He is also an interesting character who isn’t afraid to let people know it — and that’s something of a rarity in the frequently buttoned-up, corporate world of professional football.Peters says his comments weren’t meant “to be disrespectful or anything like that. I was (ticked) off. I didn’t have the game that I wanted to have.”Before McVay made light of the situation with his shout, he put it in perspective.“I think it was all in good fun,” McVay said. “I think there’s a competitiveness that exists. There’s a lot of dialogue that goes back and forth when you have relationships or you have history with people. I think Marcus was having fun with it, and I know that he has a whole lot of respect for Coach Payton and the Saints.”Payton also was asked about the interplay repeatedly Wednesday, but the veteran coach only repeated his respect for the Rams and their volatile cornerback.“I’m a huge Marcus Peters fan,” Payton said. “A lot of it was friendly banter http://www.bengalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-ryan-finley-jersey , but he’s a tremendous player, a real talented player with dangerous ball skills. He’s someone that you have to know where he’s at all times.”Peters repeatedly refused to indulge in trash talk or any additions to a budding rivalry Wednesday, and he explained exactly why.“I see y’all trying to make it to be something that it’s not,” Peters told reporters. “All respect to Sean Payton and what he does. Like you say, before, during the game, things happen, but I just love the fact that he’s a competitor.”In fact, Peters and Payton might be kindred spirits of a sort.Payton is well known as an enthusiastic presence on the sideline, where he screams at players on both teams, berates the officials and sometimes even gestures at the opposing coaches. Over the years, he has made a choke sign at Devonta Freeman, mocked the Minnesota Vikings fans’ signature clap and had animated postgame interactions with fellow coaches including Dirk Koetter, who got slapped on the chest rather aggressively.The gumbo date might not happen, but what occurred in the teams’ first meeting should have reverberations into the playoff rematch, where fellow star cornerback Aqib Talib will be back alongside Peters after missing the first meeting with an injury.Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore thinks Peters should be much more concerned about Thomas than Payton — and Peters undoubtedly agrees.“He still has to guard Mike at the end of the day,” Lattimore said. “You can do all the talking you want, but you still have to go out there and guard him. The last time, (Thomas) went for 211 (yards). You still have to go out there and get the job done, no matter how much you talk. That’s no dis to him or nothing like that. That’s just with anybody. I like Marcus Peters’ game, but you still have to go out there and play. That’s why I don’t really talk too much.” EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Thanks to Adam Thielen Renell Wren Jersey , Minnesota’s record book has already needed several revisions this year.Just past the midpoint of the schedule for the Vikings, Thielen leads the NFL in receptions (78) at a pace that would fall four short of the all-time single-season mark (143). He leads the league with 947 yards. Kirk Cousins, the new prize quarterback with the annual $28 million salary cap hit, without prompting recently called Thielen the best player on this standout-laden team.The accolades of this magnitude might not exist for Thielen, though, without Stefon Diggs.Thielen and Diggs are the only teammates currently in the top 10 in the league in catches, on pace for a combined 242. That would break the record for receptions by a pair of teammates, set in 1995 by Herman Moore and Brett Perriman for Detroit with 231.Opposing defenses are naturally less likely to apply double coverage on Thielen when Diggs is in a pattern at the same time, as evidenced by contrast in a victory over the Lions last week . With Diggs sidelined by a rib injury, Thielen didn’t have much space. He used one of his textbook double moves to beat cornerback Nevin Lawson for a short touchdown , his seventh of the year, but he finished with only 22 yards for his lowest total since the 2016 season.The mutual benefit of this dominant wide receiver duo, though, began on the practice field years ago.“We’re always competing, we’re always having fun, and we’re always giving each a hard time if we’re not performing at the level we know we can,” Thielen said.If Thielen makes a catch in practice, Diggs will often make it a point to create even more separation from the defender the next time he’s assigned to run the same route. That, in turn, frequently triggers playful yet spirited banter between the two.“He’s my brother. He’s a guy I love messing with, love having fun with,” Thielen said. “He’s even one of my best friends.”At a position that has long produced some of the NFL’s biggest personalities http://www.bengalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-michael-jordan-jersey , in some cases breeding a disruptive brand of selfish and boorish behavior, Thielen and Diggs are the anti-divas. Part of that is a product of their route, no pun intended, to the league.Thielen was the NCAA Division II player who went undrafted and needed a rookie tryout camp to make the team five years ago. He didn’t become a full-time starter until 2016. Diggs was the fifth-round draft pick who was a healthy scratch for his first three NFL games in 2015.“All the cute stuff, like records being broken and stuff like that, you like it and it’s good to hear, but we always want to win,” Diggs said. “We worry about the win column more than anything. So to see good things happen? Yes, it’s exciting. Yes, you congratulate your guys, because guys work extremely hard, you know? So it’s always good stuff, and it’s good stuff moving in the right direction, but we want to win.”The Vikings (5-3-1) have been doing that more lately after a rough first quarter of the season, entering their bye week a step behind Chicago (5-3) in the NFC North, with a prime-time matchup with the Bears up next on Nov. 18.Cousins has been as advertised, ranking in the top 10 in the league in most of the passing categories, including third in completion percentage despite being prone to a costly turnover here and there. The offensive line has again shown vulnerabilities, though, and the Vikings have averaged the fourth-fewest rushing yards in the league.Thielen and Diggs have been all the more valuable to the Vikings this fall, with an assist by new offensive coordinator John DeFilippo for aggressive and creative play calling that has helped spring them open so much.“He uses his playmakers, and he just lets them play. So I admire that Greedy Williams Jersey , and I appreciate that,” Diggs said. “As a player you just want to do the best that you can, and it’s good that he plays to your strengths.”The defense, which led the NFL in fewest yards and points allowed last year, was surprisingly one of the biggest problems in September. After that humbling loss in Los Angeles to the Rams dropped the Vikings to 1-2-1, though, coach Mike Zimmer has helped steer the group back into dominant form.With daunting road trips to Chicago, New England and Seattle looming over three of the next four games, the pressure will be on the offense to do its part.“When you look at it glass half-full, I’m thrilled about our locker room, the chemistry we have on this team, the quality of teammates, the quality of leadership we have in this organization. I think all that has probably even exceeded expectations from me,” Cousins said. “Certainly would have loved to be better than 5-3-1, but I’m grateful we’re not 3-5-1. You can look at it both ways. The point is, we keep saying, everything is in front of us.”