Giants, Jets brawl during joint practice

[LaTunaNostra]

Giants, Jets brawl during joint practice


ALBANY, N.Y. - Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey got into a fight with two Jets players on the second play of a joint practice between the teams Saturday that also featured an argument between Giants coach Tom Coughlin and Jets defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson.



On the second play of a 9-on-7 drill pitting the Giants offense against the Jets defense, Shockey got in a tussle with defensive backs Erik Coleman and Oliver Celestin, and soon all three players were throwing wild punches.


Coleman and Celestin pulled the Giants tight end to the ground and Jets linebacker Jonathan Vilma jumped on top, touching off a melee involving numerous players from both teams. Order was restored after a few minutes.


"I was blocking somebody and I got shoved in the back, and the next thing I know, everybody's fighting," Shockey said. "There's no bad blood. That's how football is. You might as well do it now, when you don't get fined and Paul Tagliabue can't take any money out of your pocket. Do it now, get it over with. I'm sure it happens at every other camp."


Later in the morning practice session, Coughlin got into an argument with Henderson after several plays in which the Jets appeared to go beyond the prescribed rules of the practice, which allow defensive players to bump or slow down ball carriers as they go by, without tackling them.


Jets safety Kerry Rhodes hit Giants wideout Willie Ponder on a route over the middle, forcing Ponder to leave the practice early with bruised ribs.


Brandon Jacobs, the Giants rookie 6-foot-4, 265-pound running back, retaliated by bowling over 6-2, 212-pound Jets cornerback Pete Hunter after catching a short pass.


And finally, Giants wide receiver Amani Toomer was knocked down by Jets linebacker Eric Barton after a short pass reception. Toomer struck Barton in the helmet, and the two players had to be separated.


"This is practice," said Toomer, who is in his tenth NFL season. "We don't want anyone to get hurt."


At one point Coughlin yelled at Henderson from about 20 yards away, causing Henderson to respond, "That's the way we practice, coach. We put our hats on people."


Jets coach Herman Edwards blamed what he called his team's "testiness" on getting up at 4:30 a.m. for a three-hour bus ride from Long Island to the Giants camp here.


Henderson defended his players.


"I don't think any of it was over the line," he said. "You push and shove, and sometimes people take it the second level. But I don't think anyone was intentionally trying to injure anyone. I don't think there was any misunderstanding about what the tempo was going to be. I just think we practice at a different tempo at our place than was expected here."


Coughlin was not amused by the antics.


"We don't want that. That's not what we teach, that's not why we're here," he said. "We're here to practice to try and get better. We certainly didn't come to fight. We understand that sometimes those things are going to happen, but there were too many occasions."

http://www.theredzone.org/news/showarticle.asp?ArticleID=2989

 

[LaTunaNostra]

From Newsday

Jets raise tempo, tempers
Giants' Coughlin isn't happy with opponent's heavy hitting during adversarial scrimmages as punches are traded


BY ARTHUR STAPLE
STAFF CORRESPONDENT

August 7, 2005


ALBANY - Tom Coughlin and the Giants were expecting two spirited but controlled practices with the Jets yesterday. But Herman Edwards' crew brought an edge with it on the early-morning bus ride up to the University of Albany. The morning turned into a physical, occasionally over-the-top workout that did not please the Giants' coach, who had a verbal exchange with Jets defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson.

From the second play of the morning between the Giants' offense and the Jets' defense, when Jeremy Shockey began exchanging punches with Jets defensive backs Oliver Celestin and Erik Coleman, there was a nastiness in the air that the Giants were not expecting. And were not pleased about, especially after wide receiver Willie Ponder left the field with chest and throat injuries after a helmet-first hit by Jets rookie safety Kerry Rhodes.

There were 10 shoving matches and two bench-clearing melees in the two 90- minute workouts.

"We try to keep our players healthy and I guess they don't," said Giants wide receiver Amani Toomer, who shoved Jets linebacker Eric Barton after Barton knocked him down after a catch. "We try to let our receivers run; it's more of a 'tag-off' situation. They're more of a 'beat the crap out of you' situation. We're not trying to hurt our own team, but I guess they take the shots."

"When we get to playing, we just let it all out - emotionally, physically, however," Jets linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. "If it bothers the offense, they can shut us up by driving on us and scoring touchdowns. Were they ready to play? You'll have to ask them."

Right after Toomer and Barton went at it, Jets cornerback Darrien Johnson knocked down Giants rookie receiver Brandon Smith after a catch. That prompted Coughlin to yell at Henderson, who was in charge while Edwards was on another field supervising his team's offense against the Giants' defense.

Henderson yelled an apology, saying on the field, "That's the way we practice." Henderson added later: "Our tempo was probably a little different than what they've seen. I don't think any of it was over the line."

Not for the Jets, who were challenged by Edwards on Friday night with a list of issues. No. 1 on the list was: How do we match up physically?

Coughlin, who said his team could use an intensity boost for its own practices, was clearly annoyed by the Jets' desire to finish off plays.

"We don't practice like that ... We just don't need any hits that aren't necessary," Coughlin said. "That's not why we're here. We're here to practice to try and get better. We certainly didn't come to fight."

The easily excitable Shockey said he was blindsided by Coleman during a running play. He traded punches with Coleman and Celestin, and even Vilma jumped in.

"We have an aggressive defense, too, but we're smart about it," said Shockey, who suffered a strained hamstring later in the morning workout and sat out the afternoon practice. "I could get the ball every time I wanted to and run it up on them, step on them every time in their faces, but I don't do it. This is how they're coached, how they play, and I respect that."

Not all of his teammates agreed. David Tyree, the usually placid receiver, walked past reporters between workouts and promised, "You're going to see some hitting out there this afternoon whether they like it or not."

Toomer, who has a boiling point despite his thoughtful demeanor, couldn't laugh it off.

Barton apologized, Toomer said, but "he said he thought I was a running back ... I don't know. I don't even know who the guy is."

Things were quieter in the afternoon, but Michael Strahan's tackle of Derrick Blaylock set off a scrum that was punctuated by Jets fullback B.J. Askew body-slamming Giants safety Brent Alexander, and Jets safety Jon McGraw twice slapping Giants backup center Andy Tidwell-Neal.

Notes & quotes: Giants CB Will Allen (groin) missed both workouts, and LBs Nick Greisen and T.J. Hollowell sat in the afternoon ... The Giants are off today. Their first preseason game is Saturday in Cleveland.