Andrew Whitworth isn't surprised by Anthony Collins 'amazing' performance

The latest craze in Cincinnati football was how Anthony Collins held his own against defensive end Julius Peppers, limiting the defensive end's impact while offering chest-pounding reminders that "I'm a grown man". Peppers didn't register one tackle or sack on Sunday.

Collins credits Andrew Whitworth for helping him prepare for the 6’7" Pro Bowl $100 million man. Now, Whitworth is giving some praise back to his teammate for playing so well on Sunday.

"He was amazing," Whitworth said appearing on Cincinnati's ESPN 1530. "Honestly, I’m sure a lot of people were surprised. But, myself and Andre Smith weren’t at all."

The entire Bengals offensive line seems to have formed a special bond. When Collins made a public appearance at The Holy Grail in downtown Cincinnati on Monday night he was joined by Andre Smith and Whitworth.

"Our offensive line group is extremely close and we had actually all been together right before that," Whitworth said. "We had a bite to eat after our Monday meetings and AC doesn't really do that kind of stuff and never really has. We told him ‘hey man we’ll go with you and be there’. We got to go there and support him and really let people know how important he is. The job he has done has been nothing short of spectacular."

It may be a surprise to some about the friendship that Whitworth and Collins share. It started when Collins was a rookie and Whitworth took him under his wing.

"A lot of people got to see on Hard Knocks me taking in Tyler Eifert, but they didn’t realize that started a long time ago with Anthony Collins," Whitworth said. "He was the first kid I mentored, invited over and fed on a daily basis."

Whatever Whitworth fed Collins must have worked because he is showing how valuable he is.