clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Michael Thomas Shouldn’t Wear His Chain, Unless He Wants It Snatched Off

Now that he’s back healthy, Aqib Talib is expected to cover Michael Thomas this Sunday. Outside of the much more important X’s and O’s, there is one small quirk to Talib’s game that Thomas might want to pay attention to.

NFL: NFC Divisional Playoff-Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleans Saints Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Everyone has heard the multitude of storylines surrounding the NFC Championship matchup between the Saints and Rams this Sunday. Young versus old quarterback. High powered offense versus high powered offense. Aaron Donald versus the Saints O-line. And of course, Aqib Talib versus Michael Thomas.

What some may have forgotten or never knew since it all took place in a hapless AFC West divisional rivalry, is that Thomas has something else to worry about in addition to beating his coverage…his No Limit gold chain.

Because Talib was injured in their last meeting, Thomas was able to take advantage of his matchup against the Rams number two cornerback Marcus Peters. You know, the gumbo guy. Though Peters claims the gumbo beef is dead, don’t expect his teammate Talib to go easy on Thomas in coverage.

Talib, in fact, has a dark secret. He’s a chain snatcher. A real, bonafide, chain snatcher extraordinaire. While Talib was with the Broncos and Michael Crabtree was with the Raiders, both players cooked up a pretty serious intra-divisional rivalry.

The story goes that Talib was annoyed Crabtree wore a big gold chain so he told the Raiders wideout to stop wearing it or he would snatch it off of him. “He’s just been wearing that chain all year. It’s just been growing on me,” Talib said. “I said if he wears that chain in front of me, I’m going to snatch it off. He wore it in front of me, so I had to snatch it off.”

Crabtree obviously didn’t want to give Talib his way, so he continued wearing the chain, until this happened.

Without bending completely to Talib’s will, Crabtree tried to protect his chain with an ill-conceived and eventually unsuccessful plan.

What the hell does this have to do Thomas, you ask? In the past, Thomas has worn a No Limit pendant gold chain and even sported it at last year’s Pro Bowl. During his time in New Orleans, Thomas has developed a friendship with Master P and feels a kinship with the way No Limit Records goes about its’ business.

“I love the No Limit Soldiers. I feel like I kind of play and approach my life kind of with no limit,” Thomas said. “People will tell you that you can’t do something, or you won’t be able to do this, kind of take it to the next level, and you get these believers. Then it’s kind of like, ‘Oh, wow, what can you not do?’ I like their energy.”

Because I never played a sport beyond college, I was never allowed to wear jewelry while playing, nor would I want to. It seems pointless to add extra weight or another object to grab a hold of onto oneself while they are about to push their body to its’ physical limit.

But that’s exactly why Thomas has worn his chain, because his game has no limits. Like he has this entire season, I hope he can prove that this Sunday with his performance. He doesn’t need to wear a chain to prove it. Besides, Talib will snatch it off anyway.