Seahawks receiver Ricardo Lockette not afraid to play a little dirty

A Seattle wide receiver says sometimes doing the little things also means being willing to throw a cheap shot.

BY ERIC MANDEL

Oct 22, 2015, 2:17 PM Updated: 7:08 pm

Ricardo Lockette said smack-talk wasn't necessary after his acrobatic touchdown catch vs. Carolina. (AP)

(AP)

Ricardo Lockette said he came into the NFL expecting to be a “rock star receiver.” Five years in, that hasn’t exactly happened, which means he’s needed to change his mindset to “What can I do to be a Seahawk?”

“Make tackles, go down there to block, whatever it takes then that’s what I do,” Lockette told 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny, Dave and Moore.” “A lot of guys aren’t used to being in these situations where it doesn’t go their way, but it’s really comfortable for me.”

Doing the little things also means being willing to get a little dirty.

Lockette has been flagged for personal foul penalties in the past, including an ejection for punching a Kansas City Chief last season. He described the hidden on-field extra-curriculars as being like “having a huge argument with your husband or wife and then have to go to work and do a presentation or really focus.”
Lockette said it’s all about getting inside somebody’s head.

“If I can say something or if I could get away with like hitting you in the neck, or something like that, that’s really gonna tick you off,” he said. “So, it takes you from your total mental focus and your focus is on me, and then I run by you and make the tackle and do my dance.”

Lockette said the cheap shots come with some consequences, such as when he was flagged for a personal penalty against the Carolina Panthers after slapping an opposing player in the helmet.

“The stuff that I do to them, it comes back on me,” he said. “… (The Panthers) were pulling my facemask, they were doing a lot of other stuff, and I was trying to refrain, trying to refrain. But sometimes it backfires on me. You live by the sword, you die by the sword. But I’m getting a lot better at it and I’ll just handle it like a professional and do better.”

After an acrobatic, leaping touchdown grab in a flea flicker over Panthers safety Kurt Coleman, Lockette said smack-talk wasn’t necessary.

“Actions speak louder than words,” he said. “Nothing to be said. Nothing to be said. He watched film, so…”