Lane Johnson is excited by the chilly welcome he anticipates from Patriots fans during the preseason game on Thursday in Foxborough.
"Oh yeah. I hope so," Johnson said after Tuesday's practice via espn.com. "I hope they raise hell. They can cuss me, they can say whatever they want. At the end of the day, I'm not blocking them, I'm blocking guys on the edge, so it really doesn't matter what they say."
"I know that I'm not going to be well-liked, this team is not going to be well-liked going there, so it's going to basically bring out our best."
Johnson has been outspoken about his distaste for the Patriots organization, stating that the players "act like (expletive) robots". The right tackle has also has been particularly critical of the Patriots leadership, insinuating that owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick talked trash to Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and coach Doug Pederson.
Earlier this week, Johnson revisited his comments and explained the feelings behind them. "I just felt like we weren't even given a chance going into the game. I felt like we were disrespected, and we were by them," Johnson said. "I made plenty of comments about why I said what I said. It's not like I was coming out of the blue just to talk. It's because I felt like I've been disrespected and the team's been disrespected. It's not like I'm coming out here running my mouth because I want to."
The team knows how to leverage this type of situation to their advantage. It's great to see this type of emotion from the Eagles. Thursday may be just a preseason game, but it's going to be a fun one.
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