"Richard, this is Optimus Prime. When you see Megatron, you must tell him: 'One shall stand, one shall fall.' Wish you the best. Roll out!"      -- Voicemail left for Richard Sherman

Yes, Optimus Prime really called cornerback Richard Sherman this week. Or at least his voice did. Peter Cullen -- the voice of the Autobots leader in the 1980s cartoon "Transformers" -- called to leave a message for Sherman after receiving a tip from Sam Farmer, the L.A. Times reporter who was in Seattle last week reporting a story on game week in the NFL. Farmer knows Cullen through a mutual friend.

Sherman hears from Optimus Prime
By Sam Farmer | The Los Angeles Times

That's one more twist in the week-long build-up to the game in which Sherman changed his Twitter handle to Optimus Prime, a reference to Lions receiver Calvin Johnson, who is nicknkamed Megatron. That name switch ruffled some feathers in the Detroit locker room.

As for Sunday's matchup, here's Cullen's scouting report: "Optimus Prime always wins that battle, for sure. But not without tremendous adversity coming from Megatron, and sometimes we're left up in the air."