Freischaltung » Marcus Peters stood at a podium Wednesday and spoke

THOUSAND OAKS Greedy Williams Jersey , Calif. (AP) — 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 http://www.brownsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-sione-takitaki-jersey , 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, 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 Sheldrick Redwine Jersey , 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.” Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy might reduce his offense for Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay.What hasn’t been reduced is his support or long-term expectations for quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.Nagy has Trubisky’s back, even as pressure mounts for more offensive production to assist linebacker Khalil Mack and a special defense. Trubisky comes into Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay following one of his most inconsistent performances, but maintains full support from Nagy even if it means scaling back the offensive approach to account for inexperience.“He’s had my back and I love coach Nagy for that,” Trubisky said. “He’s just been very supportive.“I believe in him and this process that we’re going through, and we’re going to have a breakthrough. Who knows when? But it’s going to come, and I believe in that.”Trubisky starts for the 16th time Sunday http://www.brownsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-austin-seibert-jersey , the equivalent of one full NFL season. His passer rating is 77.8, just 0.3 better than during his first 12 games as a rookie under former coach John Fox.Several ill-advised decisions last Sunday led to suggestions earlier this week Trubisky could need the attack simplified until he understands it better. Nagy didn’t dispute this.“So whatever they decide to put on my plate I have to study, I have to do my job on the field, and if they feel like we have to pull back this week or next week or whatever it is, and just simplify so we can play faster, they’re going to do what’s best for this offense and what they believe,” Trubisky said Wednesday.Nagy sees a Bears offense still trying to fit better and operate fluidly rather than more deep-seeded personnel problems, including Trubisky.“He’s where I thought he would be at,” Nagy said. “What I’m doing now is understanding what the plays are that he’s doing well with, that might have been different with me in the past.”Nagy brought in an offense similar to the one he coached as offensive coordinator with the Kansas City Chiefs.So far, the offense has reached the end zone four times in three games while experiencing trouble scoring from inside the red zone. They’re 27th in red zone touchdown percentage (.400).Nagy took his share of the blame but said Trubisky isn’t the only one learning.“What’s neat is that there are concepts that weren’t as good to us in Kansas City that are good here, that are working,” Nagy said. “I’m learning that, and now those are the ones I’m going to start to go to because I see that. And vice versa, there’s some that we did well in Kansas City that might not be as efficient now.“So I have to adjust to how I do that, and that’s OK.”Trubisky said he understands better through repetition Trysten Hill Jersey , and believes production will improve as he runs more plays.“Especially in a new offense, sometimes you have to think about it,” Trubisky said. “But when you’re playing in an offense for years over and over, you don’t have to think about the (passer) drop, you don’t have to think about where your guy is about to be.“You’re more just seeing the defense and where you’re going with the ball. So those are some of the things I’m working through.”Trubisky called any scoring problems an outgrowth of getting better acquainted with the attack. The suggestion the Bears need to scale back wasn’t viewed by Trubisky as a slap at his abilities.“If a teacher goes, ‘Do you guys want an easy test?’ you’re going to say heck yeah,” Trubisky said. “Less you gotta study, I’m gonna ace this test. Maybe that’s a comparison you make.“(If) we’re going to pull back this week, do I play faster, do we play better? I guess we’re all going to see. I’m going to do whatever they ask me to do to the best of my ability.”As the second pick in the 2017 draft, it’s expected Trubisky will be a special player. So far, evidence has been spotty.“I know this: I know he made a special throw to Trey Burton on the deep cross the other day that not many quarterbacks in this league can make,” Nagy said. “And so I’ll take that as special.”Nagy argues even special players need to learn an offense with a good deal of volume.“I know he’s going to just continue to keep growing,” Nagy said.NOTES: Starting cornerback Prince Amukamara and backup Marcus Cooper did not practice Wednesday due to hamstring injuries. Bryce Callahan or rookie Kevin Toliver would man the starting right cornerback spot if Amukamara and Cooper cannot play Sunday. . Wide receiver Anthony Miller (shoulder) did not practice, which could mean more playing time for 2015 first-round draft pick Kevin White. . Safety DeAndre Houston-Carson had full practice participation for the first time since suffering forearm and back injuries in preseason. … The Bears added cornerback John Franklin III to their practice squad.___