PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf had a great game against the Eagles on Monday night and afterwards revealed that he had a chip on his shoulder about something Philadelphia defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz told him that night.
What was Schwartz's faux pas? He complimented Metcalf by comparing him to the great Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson.
It was "much ado about nothing," says Voice of the Eagles Merrill Reese says, who recounted Schwartz telling his side of the story.
It's not unusual for coaches to chat with players during the warmup, Reese said. And Schwartz seemed shocked that it became what did. He said Wednesday that he was just trying to pay Metcalf a compliment.
"Said I read his story, knew he had overcome injury, heard he was a hard worker, and said he reminds me a little bit of Calvin and congratulated him after the game. At the time he told me, 'Hey, thanks, Coach. That means a lot to me,'" Schwartz said.
The way Metcalf told it later, it seemed as if Schwartz had told him he's no Calvin Johnson.
"One of the defensive coaches came up to me and kinda made me mad that he was like, 'I was in Detroit with Megatron, but you’re not there yet.'" Metcalf said Monday night. "In my mind, I’m not trying to be Megatron. I’m trying to be me. So, I had a little chip on my shoulder the whole game."
"But it was completely different," Reese said.
"I can't believe paying a compliment to a player has become such a big thing," Schwartz said Wednesday.
Schwartz called coaching Johnson the honor of his career.
"Calvin was not only the best player I've ever coached, he was the best player I ever coached against," he said.
"So if anybody wants to take offense to being compared to who I think is one of the greatest players in the history of the National Football League, ... then fine," Schwartz continued, "but we're not going to worry too much about that."
Later on, Reese said, Schwartz made light of the situation when he was saying something complimentary about Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who Carson Wentz and the Eagles will face on Sunday.
"Now, giving a compliment to a player, that might get me -- maybe he takes a slight in that. But it's a sincere compliment," Schwartz said.
In the end, it seemed, Schwartz wasn't too worried about upsetting Metcalf.