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There's no hiding Jets-Giants strain
Monday, August 22, 2005
BY DAVE HUTCHINSON
Star-Ledger Staff
HEMPSTEAD. N.Y. -- Jets rookie safety Kerry Rhodes spoke to Giants wide receiver Willie Ponder on his cell phone several days after his helmet-to-helmet hit during a joint practice in Albany, N.Y., early this month left Ponder spitting blood and sidelined him the rest of the day.
Rhodes, who has quickly made a name for himself with his playmaking ability, said yesterday he called Ponder because he was concerned about Ponder's health and wanted to let him know the hit wasn't intentional.
"Apologize for what?" Ponder said Saturday night after the Panthers game. "He didn't do anything wrong."
As Jets-Giants week kicks off, both teams are making nice, careful not to slip up and be the player who provides bulletin board material for the other team.
Too late.
The damage was done in the days immediately following the fight-marred practices, when emotions were raw and fuses short. The Giants felt the Jets crossed the line with some aggressive play and cheap shots. The Jets said they always practice that way -- which isn't the case -- and the Giants weren't prepared for their tempo.
"They're going to get hit -- hard," Giants linebacker Barrett Green said of Friday's game. "In a preseason game, there's no question about hitting people. ... There's going to be plenty of animosity our there. Trust me."
Giants quarterback Eli Manning accused Jets defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson of using complex blitz schemes in what was suppose to be a vanilla practice session. Running back Tiki Barber called Henderson a "maniac."
The next day the Jets fired back.
"Talk is cheap. Tell the Giants to 'bring it,'" said Jets fullback B.J. Askew, who body-slammed Giants linebacker Carlos Emmons. "We went up there to have a hard, physical practice and that's what we did. Things got out of hand. If they want to be all juiced and use that for motivation, we'll be ready."
Page 2 of 2
Added middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma: "Please. This reminds me of college when teams would talk trash after we whup up on them. They can talk now. They knew what time it was, we knew what time it was. ... We'll see them again in three weeks. No one's going to run, no one's going to hide."
The Jets said if the Giants were so upset after the morning session, they had the afternoon practice to get their revenge and didn't. Besides the players, Giants coach Tom Coughlin and Henderson exchanged words.
Green is still recovering from knee surgery and is doubtful for Friday night's game. He has yet to play in the preseason and didn't play in the joint practices, either.
Jets coach Herman Edwards, who admitted that a couple of his younger players were a bit overzealous, said yesterday he expects a clean, hard-fought game. He has undoubtedly instructed his players to cool the rhetoric because every player said the same thing yesterday.
"What happened in Albany, happened in Albany" was the line.
"It'll be a very physical football game," Edwards said. "Players talk, it's no big deal. These guys know each other. They'll play hard and they'll play by the rules."
Asked if he was concerned about the Giants taking a cheap shot at Jets quarterback Chad Pennington, Edwards said, "No! No way! I'm never concerned about that at all. I just think our players and their players respect each other and they play hard. That's what I anticipate."
That's what Giants center Shaun O'Hara anticipates as well.
"(Fights in training camp scrimmages between different teams) always happens," he said. "It's a given. It's because players know they can get away with fighting. There are no penalties. You're not going to get fined and you're not going to get kicked out of the game. It was just guys taking the frustration of training camp out on each other.
"Believe me, they're not thinking about the fight and neither are we. It's water under the bridge. There's no more animosity towards the Jets than any other team."
Said Jets safety Oliver Celestin, who squared off with Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey: "There's nothing in the air (to clear). It's nothing personal between me and Shockey. ... I don't know (if the Giants have a chip their shoulder). I can't control their emotions. That's on them. We'll come with our game and they can come with their game and we'll play football."
Staff writer Mike Garafolo contributed to this report.
http://www.nj.com/jets/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1124689314164520.xml&coll=1
Monday, August 22, 2005
BY DAVE HUTCHINSON
Star-Ledger Staff
HEMPSTEAD. N.Y. -- Jets rookie safety Kerry Rhodes spoke to Giants wide receiver Willie Ponder on his cell phone several days after his helmet-to-helmet hit during a joint practice in Albany, N.Y., early this month left Ponder spitting blood and sidelined him the rest of the day.
Rhodes, who has quickly made a name for himself with his playmaking ability, said yesterday he called Ponder because he was concerned about Ponder's health and wanted to let him know the hit wasn't intentional.
"Apologize for what?" Ponder said Saturday night after the Panthers game. "He didn't do anything wrong."
As Jets-Giants week kicks off, both teams are making nice, careful not to slip up and be the player who provides bulletin board material for the other team.
Too late.
The damage was done in the days immediately following the fight-marred practices, when emotions were raw and fuses short. The Giants felt the Jets crossed the line with some aggressive play and cheap shots. The Jets said they always practice that way -- which isn't the case -- and the Giants weren't prepared for their tempo.
"They're going to get hit -- hard," Giants linebacker Barrett Green said of Friday's game. "In a preseason game, there's no question about hitting people. ... There's going to be plenty of animosity our there. Trust me."
Giants quarterback Eli Manning accused Jets defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson of using complex blitz schemes in what was suppose to be a vanilla practice session. Running back Tiki Barber called Henderson a "maniac."
The next day the Jets fired back.
"Talk is cheap. Tell the Giants to 'bring it,'" said Jets fullback B.J. Askew, who body-slammed Giants linebacker Carlos Emmons. "We went up there to have a hard, physical practice and that's what we did. Things got out of hand. If they want to be all juiced and use that for motivation, we'll be ready."
Page 2 of 2
Added middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma: "Please. This reminds me of college when teams would talk trash after we whup up on them. They can talk now. They knew what time it was, we knew what time it was. ... We'll see them again in three weeks. No one's going to run, no one's going to hide."
The Jets said if the Giants were so upset after the morning session, they had the afternoon practice to get their revenge and didn't. Besides the players, Giants coach Tom Coughlin and Henderson exchanged words.
Green is still recovering from knee surgery and is doubtful for Friday night's game. He has yet to play in the preseason and didn't play in the joint practices, either.
Jets coach Herman Edwards, who admitted that a couple of his younger players were a bit overzealous, said yesterday he expects a clean, hard-fought game. He has undoubtedly instructed his players to cool the rhetoric because every player said the same thing yesterday.
"What happened in Albany, happened in Albany" was the line.
"It'll be a very physical football game," Edwards said. "Players talk, it's no big deal. These guys know each other. They'll play hard and they'll play by the rules."
Asked if he was concerned about the Giants taking a cheap shot at Jets quarterback Chad Pennington, Edwards said, "No! No way! I'm never concerned about that at all. I just think our players and their players respect each other and they play hard. That's what I anticipate."
That's what Giants center Shaun O'Hara anticipates as well.
"(Fights in training camp scrimmages between different teams) always happens," he said. "It's a given. It's because players know they can get away with fighting. There are no penalties. You're not going to get fined and you're not going to get kicked out of the game. It was just guys taking the frustration of training camp out on each other.
"Believe me, they're not thinking about the fight and neither are we. It's water under the bridge. There's no more animosity towards the Jets than any other team."
Said Jets safety Oliver Celestin, who squared off with Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey: "There's nothing in the air (to clear). It's nothing personal between me and Shockey. ... I don't know (if the Giants have a chip their shoulder). I can't control their emotions. That's on them. We'll come with our game and they can come with their game and we'll play football."
Staff writer Mike Garafolo contributed to this report.
http://www.nj.com/jets/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1124689314164520.xml&coll=1