ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- No, no, no. Not in Darius Slay's house.
That's the message that Slay, a cornerback for the Detroit Lions, is sending every time he waves his finger at a receiver after breaking up a pass.
It's something he picked up from watching the GEICO commercial with Dikemke Mutombo, who responded the same way whenever he blocked a shot during his NBA career.
"I started this year with it," said Slay, a second-round draft pick last year out of Mississippi State. "Just spicing the game up a little bit. I knew I was coming in to dominate. I was coming in to make plays."
Slay confirmed that he got the finger-waving idea from Mutombo.
"Just cause of the commercial," Slay said. "I know you all have seen it. 'No, no, no. Not in my house.'"
Slay struggled through injury and poor performance as a rookie last year, but he is emerging as a quality cornerback these days.
Slay ranks tied for 17th in the league with 13 passes defended. He also has one interception.
He's gotten beaten at times, just like all corners in the NFL, but Slay's development has played a part in an improved secondary on a team that is allowing the fewest points in the league.
"In this league, a lot of it is confidence," defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. "He got off to a great start this season and that has done nothing but help him. He's playing with a lot of confidence right now. You can see it."
If you can't see it, you should be able to hear it.
Slay has always talked a good game and now he's backing it up, too.
Asked what the difference is for him from last year, Slay said, "I know the game, making it slow down.
"Last year I thought the ball was coming at 90 mph. Now I feel like it's coming about 10. Makes it easy for me."
The end result: "Big leap," Slay said.
There really isn't much that Slay isn't cocky about, but maybe that's a good thing.
He plays a position where failure is inevitable at times. It's all about keeping your confidence up even in the face of adversity.
Otherwise, cornerback is clearly the wrong occupation.
Slay can be humorous with some of this cocky trash-talking.
For instance, Kobe Bryant's name came up in a conversation. Slay said he had gone to see Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers play the Detroit Pistons earlier this week.
"Me and him are real tight," Slay said, presumably stretching the truth to a great extent. "I was the one who made him switch to 24."
Bryant made the switch from No. 8 to 24 in 2006, when Slay was 15 years old.
"He (Bryant) said 'I want to be a little above you,'" said Slay, who wears No. 23 for the Lions.
OK, so he's a little off the wall at times. Well, lot of the time.
But it all seems to be good-natured.
His mentor in the locker room is fellow cornerback Rashean Mathis, 34, who gives lessons almost on a daily basis to Slay, including sending him Bible scriptures.
Slay gives much credit for how he's evolving, both on the field and off it, to Mathis.
"I do see him as a younger brother," Mathis said. "I'm his biggest fan."
Mathis and Slay couldn't be more different in terms of their personalities.
Mathis takes the "say little when you win, less when you lose" approach while Slay is more of the "say whatever you can when you lose and even more when you win" type.
Nevertheless, Mathis seems to approve of the youngster's finger-waving antics.
"Everyone has his thing," Mathis said. "This generation of players now, they might be a little more boisterous than we were. That's the world period. I don't disapprove of it.
"I know it's part of his personality. He's not doing it to disrespect anyone. It lets me know that he's glued into the game, that he's locked in."
Slay was asked what "Old Man Shean," as he calls Mathis, thinks of the Mutombo imitation.
"He never said anything so I guess he likes it," Slay said.
And then in typical Slay fashion, he added the kicker:
"If he don't, I'll just do it to him when he tries to play me in basketball."
EXTRA POINTS
--- Ryan Broyles, who had suffered three straight season-ending injuries before this year, has played in only five of the Lions' 12 games.
He's been inactive the last four weeks and has only two receptions for 25 yards on the season.
Coach Jim Caldwell said the reason for Broyles being the odd-man out, despite having been a second-round draft pick by the Lions two years ago, is rather simple.
"Because he and Golden (Tate) play the same position," Caldwell said. "That happens sometimes. You get stuck behind a guy sometimes who never comes out of the game, never gets hurt, who's durable. It's just one of those situations."
"There's no question I think he's a talented player," Caldwell added of Broyles. "Typically, you don't go through an entire season without that particular guy in front of you having an issue or two, or a game or two that he might miss.
"But fortunately, knock on wood, we hope that continues. It's unfortunate for Ryan."
--- Several offensive players agreed that one of the biggest differences in their performance against Chicago on Thanksgiving Day was with the tempo.
It had nothing to do with going no-huddle or anything like that.
Just simply getting up to the line of scrimmage faster, with more time on the play clock, which helped quarterback Matthew Stafford in making his reads.
"It was the players getting on and off the field (between plays), the substitutions, getting in and out of the huddle, getting up to the line of scrimmage, down in our stances, that was much faster," offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi explained. "I think we just got better at it. It's been an emphasis all year. Hopefully, we can build on that.
"It was just guys hustling a little bit more. It's always been something we've been trying to instill. I think the more familiar guys get with the plays and what their jobs are (in the offensive system), the faster it will go."
