By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston BOSTON (CBS) — Lane Johnson says he’s over the “disrespect” the Patriots showed the Eagles leading up to Super Bowl LII. But that doesn’t mean he’s done talking about it. If there’s one thing the Philadelphia offensive lineman loves to do, it’s talk about the Patriots. With the Eagles set to take on the Pats Thursday night in preseason game No. 2, Johnson is once again yapping about the team they beat for the city’s first Super Bowl. His main beef is that he believes Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick dismissed and talked trash to Eagles owner Jeffrey Luria and head coach Doug Pederson ahead of February’s big game. In the months following that Super Bowl win, Johnson has called the Patriots a “fear-based organization” and criticized their players for acting like robots, though he has a much more colorful description. “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 Tuesday, courtesy of ESPN. “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. No other teams really came out and ran their mouth. “People can discredit it all they want. I think it’s why I get so much recognition is because a lot of it is true and they don’t want to accept it. At the end of the day, man, I’m over it,” Johnson said. “… It’s a totally different year.” For someone who is over it, he certainly likes to keep bringing it up. And thanks to this endless stream of Patriots bashing, Johnson is ready for a hostile environment when he takes the field at Gillette Stadium Thursday night. “Oh yeah. I hope so. I hope they raise hell,” Johnson said of Patriots fans. “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,” he added. Hey, whatever it takes to get fired up for a preseason game.<doc-sep>AP The Eagles play at New England on Thursday night, and Philadelphia offensive lineman Lane Johnson is hoping for a rude welcome. Johnson, who ripped the Patriots this offseason after the Eagles beat them in the Super Bowl, said he’ll love it if Patriots fans get on his case at Gillette Stadium. “Oh yeah. I hope so. I hope they raise hell,” Johnson said. “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 said in February that he was looking forward to spending the offseason reading all the hate mail that was pouring in from New England. On Thursday night the folks in New England can tell Johnson how much they hate him in person.<doc-sep>AP Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson has thrown salt into the Patriots’ Super Bowl wound since the offseason began, repeatedly criticizing the Patriot Way and Bill Belichick. Johnson apparently isn’t approaching Thursday’s game at Gillette Stadium as a meaningless preseason game. “I’m ready,” Johnson told KYW Newsradio, via Ryan Hannable of WEEI. “I’ve been waiting on this ever since the Super Bowl was over with. It’s time.” Belichick was asked about Johnson’s repeated shots at what the Eagles player has called a “fear-based organization.” Of course, the Patriots coach had little to say. “We’re focused on what we’re doing,” Belichick said. “We need to have a good practice today and try to improve our team today. That’s what we’re going to do.” For months this offseason, Johnson took shots at the Patriots.<doc-sep>It’s clear that Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson is not a fan of the New England Patriots. Aside from celebrating his team’s Super Bowl all throughout the offseason, Johnson has also spent time publicly expressing his hatred for the Patriots, particularly for New England’s perceived arrogance. Despite Johnson’s loathing for the Pats getting quite the media mileage, New England head coach Bill Belichick barely had anything to say when asked about it, via Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. “We’re focused on what we’re doing,” Belichick said. “We need to have a good practice today and try to improve our team today. That’s what we’re going to do.” If you think you have heard this response from Bill Belichick before, it’s because it’s almost the same exact words he uttered a few months ago when reporters tried to get a quote from him with regards to Johnson’s shots. True to his unwavering commitment to a system, Belichick does seem to also follow the same narrative when trying to shield himself from tireless reporters who continue to shoot their shots in inducing quotes from him. This has been Belichick’s way for decades, and it’s unlikely to change anytime soon. Belichick has always made his disinterest to talk about topics which are inconsequential to the goal of his team clear, and Johnson’s comments seem to be one for the multi-titled mentor. Nevertheless, the Patriots’ showdown with the Eagles in Foxboro this coming Thursday will be as much of a must-watch preseason game as there is.<doc-sep>
Chris Szagola/Associated Press Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson isn't afraid of the hostile New England Patriots fans he will surely face in Thursday's preseason rematch of Super Bowl LII. "Oh yeah. I hope so. I hope they raise hell," Johnson said Tuesday when discussing the reaction he expects, per Tim McManus of ESPN.com. "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." He continued, saying: "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." McManus noted Johnson has not shied away from criticizing the Patriots in the past and suggested they are a "fear-based organization" with players who "act like f--king robots." The right tackle defended his previous comments and said they received so much attention because they were coming from a place of truth. "People can discredit it all they want. I think it's why I get so much recognition is because a lot of it is true, and they don't want to accept it. At the end of the day, man, I'm over it," Johnson said. "We are who we were last year. It's a totally different year." Johnson often lets his play do the talking, though, and was a 2017 Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro member and a primary reason the Eagles offensive live helped the team win the title. Video Play Button Videos you might like While he will draw attention during Thursday's preseason game given his past comments, NFL fans may get the opportunity to see him talk about New England at another Super Bowl media day if Las Vegas is to be believed. OddsShark had the Patriots and Eagles as the two favorites to win the championship in the 2018 season, meaning a rematch could be in store. Tom Brady reaching his fourth Super Bowl in five years and Carson Wentz bouncing back from last season's injury to play for the Lombardi Trophy would draw plenty of headlines, but Johnson would figure to be right in the middle of things again with a rematch. He already is for Thursday’s preseason contest.