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Ravens safety Matt Elam is 5-foot-10 and 210 pounds, while Lions receiver Calvin Johnson is 6-foot-5 and 236 pounds. So it wouldn’t seem to benefit Elam to try to get physical with Megatron when the two meet on Monday night.

But Elam, a 22-year-old rookie, says that when taking on an old guy like the 28-year-old Johnson, you always have to get physical.

“He’s pretty old, so I don’t know how physical he’ll be,” Elam said. “He’s a big guy, but he’s older. I guess when they get older they’re not going to be as physical, you know what I’m saying? We’re going to have to be physical, make him uncomfortable.”

Elam also said that Johnson is a “Big, fast, athletic, unstoppable, freak,” but you can bet those “old” comments will make their way to the Lions’ locker room. The Lions have previously acknowledged getting motivation from opposing teams snubbing Megatron, such as the time then-Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan said Johnson would only be the third-best receiver on the Cowboys. After Ryan made those comments, Johnson scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns in leading Detroit to a come-from-behind victory over Dallas.

In a big game for both teams’ playoff hopes, Ravens fans will have to hope Johnson doesn’t make Elam eat his words.