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"GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Crimson Tide-tinted friendship of Landon Collins and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix will be tested on Sunday at Lambeau Field.Two of the game&#039;s top young safeties have known each other since college. Collins followed Clinton-Dix to Alabama, then to the NFL.They will get together again this Sunday when Clinton-Dix and the Green Bay Packers host Collins and the New York Giants in an NFC wild-card game, a day before Alabama plays for another national title .&amp;quot;I hope he goes out and has a tremendous game, and also takes an &#039;L,&#039;&amp;quot; Clinton-Dix said in a friendly voice.It&#039;s been quite the season already for Collins and Clinton-Dix. They each have five interceptions, tying for the league lead among safeties. They have each been named to their first Pro Bowl. They both wear No. 21.&amp;quot;We&#039;re like brothers. That&#039;s my boy,&amp;quot; Collins said. &amp;quot;We train together and almost do everything together.&amp;quot;They don&#039;t have quite the same roles, though.Listed at 6 feet, 225 pounds, the sturdy Collins plays strong safety in the Giants&#039; stout secondary after being selected in the second round of the 2015 draft with the 33rd overall pick.The 6-foot-1, 208-pound Clinton-Dix roams the field as a free safety for the Packers after being taken in the first round of the 2014 draft with the 21st overall pick.The Packers might especially need Clinton-Dix to fulfill his big-play potential on Sunday, with the cornerback position beset by injuries just as Odell Beckham Jr., and the Giants&#039; talented receiving corps arrive at Lambeau.Quinten Rollins has been ruled out with a neck injury, and after being placed in the concussion protocol this week. Fellow cornerback Damarious Randall, who is questionable with a knee injury, returned to practice as a full participant on Thursday after being limited earlier in the week.&amp;quot;We just find ways to finish ballgames, we&#039;re finding ways to stick together,&amp;quot; Clinton-Dix said Thursday. &amp;quot;We&#039;ve been playing ball, man. We&#039;ve just got to keep it up.&amp;quot;Just like in the teams&#039; first meeting in October, when the Packers beat the Giants 23-16. Clinton-Dix posted a picture on Instagram after the game in which he exchanged his green-and-gold Packers jersey for Collins&#039; white Giants jersey.&amp;quot;We WILL be on TOP SOON! Nick Saban Safeties,&amp;quot; Clinton-Dix wrote on Instagram, referring to the Tide&#039;s head coach.Wearing a knit hat with Alabama&#039;s scripted &amp;quot;A&amp;quot; logo after practice this week, Clinton-Dix spoke with pride about the strides that he and Collins have made this year.&amp;quot;I see him ballin,&#039; I also want to do it too. It&#039;s of kind of like — we always heard about &#039;Bama safeties not stepping up to the plate, or DBs period. That kind of put a chip on our (shoulders) as well,&amp;quot; Clinton-Dix said. &amp;quot;We&#039;ve been representing our program and where we come from well, so we&#039;ve just got to continue doing it.&amp;quot;Collins had 125 tackles and four sacks in this breakthrough season. He&#039;s a big reason why the Giants defense has been playing so well late in the year, and why New York has the stingiest red-zone defense in the NFL (39.5 percent).The biggest improvement over Collins&#039; first two years in the league has been on the mental side of the game, Giants linebacker Jonathan Casillas said.&amp;quot;It wasn&#039;t that he didn&#039;t have a high football IQ because he does, but it was that we gave him everything, we gave him the whole playbook and you got to call the defense,&amp;quot; Casillas said. &amp;quot;Then you come in this year and you see what type of person, what type of player he is, because he has it down pat and he&#039;s not thinking once or twice about it and that&#039;s a tribute to him.&amp;quot;Packers safeties coach Darren Perry has seen similar improvement in Clinton-Dix. Reactions are quicker on the field, while Clinton-Dix is also cutting down on missed tackles, Perry said.Clinton-Dix partners with Morgan Burnett to give the Packers&#039; a strong duo at safety. Burnett said communication is so seamless now between them that the teammates can tell what last-minute adjustments the other safety might make by just making eye contact.&amp;quot;I think the thing that you probably see now compared to his first couple years is that he&#039;s not afraid to make a mistake,&amp;quot; Perry said recently about Clinton-Dix. &amp;quot;I think you see him trusting his eyes and it may not be perfect and they&#039;re not going to grade out 100 percent, and that&#039;s OK. The name of the game when you play the safety position is big hits and interceptions.&amp;quot;"
<https://www.courant.com/sports/football/hc-giants-0107-20170106-story.html>