Giants, Jets fight at joint practice (Surprise: Shockey involved)

[Bob burns]

Giants, Jets fight at joint practice

http://images.tsn.ca/images/stories/20050806/shockey_59636.jpg

Canadian Press



8/6/2005 4:32:58 PM

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey got into a fight with two Jets players on the second play of a joint practice between the New York 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 offence against the Jets defence, 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 receiver Willie Ponder on a route over the middle, forcing Ponder to leave the practice early with bruised ribs.

Brandon Jacobs, the Giants rookie six-foot-four, 265-pound running back, retaliated by bowling over six-foot-two, 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 10th 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 practise 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 practise 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."

Source (http://www.tsn.ca/nfl/news_story.asp?id=132649)

[leaferfan87]

J-E-T-S

Jets Jets Jets

I have a place in my heart for them.

[Mel]

The Giants are well known for hazing their rookies... I guess all teams do, but I hear about the Giants because that's the team I follow. Michael Stahan loves to pester the rookies (funny I remember when he was a rookie) but anyway...

When Jeremy Shockey joined the Giants, there was a lot of friction between the offense and defense... the offense was anemic, the defense was one of the better in the NFL. Towards the end of that season (pre-Shockey) it got to a point where it was painfully obvious the Giants inept offense was costing them games...the comments would slip out here and there, it got bitter towards the end.

Enter Jeremy Shockey, a rookie new in camp sitting down to eat. A few veterans come over to make him sing on top of the table, Shockey says, "after I'm done eating" and next thing you know a wild brawl breaks out between Shockey and linebacker Brandon Short. When it was all over 2 tables and 2 chairs were broken. And the whole dynamic of the New York Giants changed forever. :pimp:

Now the offense with the swagger, and a lot of hopes pinned on the Shockey / Manning combo. If you've followed the NY giants over the years... swagger and offense almost never went together. I hope there's a lot of swagger in their future. :thumb:

[LiAmTrAnSdEmOn]

Even though I'm from Philly and the Giants are one of our bitter rivals, I kinda like Shockey. Even though he is real arrogant and cocky he can back it all up. I remember watching a game a couple years ago when he was in his rookie year. He caught the ball and plowed over two guys and drug someone else at least 5 yards before the rest of the defense caught up and tackled him.

[Bob burns]

The Giants are well known for hazing their rookies... I guess all teams do, but I hear about the Giants because that's the team I follow. Michael Stahan loves to pester the rookies (funny I remember when he was a rookie) but anyway...

When Jeremy Shockey joined the Giants, there was a lot of friction between the offense and defense... the offense was anemic, the defense was one of the better in the NFL. Towards the end of that season (pre-Shockey) it got to a point where it was painfully obvious the Giants inept offense was costing them games...the comments would slip out here and there, it got bitter towards the end.

Enter Jeremy Shockey, a rookie new in camp sitting down to eat. A few veterans come over to make him sing on top of the table, Shockey says, "after I'm done eating" and next thing you know a wild brawl breaks out between Shockey and linebacker Brandon Short. When it was all over 2 tables and 2 chairs were broken. And the whole dynamic of the New York Giants changed forever. :pimp:

Now the offense with the swagger, and a lot of hopes pinned on the Shockey / Manning combo. If you've followed the NY giants over the years... swagger and offense almost never went together. I hope there's a lot of swagger in their future. :thumb:

That's pretty interesting stuff Mel. It will be entertaining to see what Eli can pull off this year. That last game of the season he really showed that he has the skill and it will only be a matter of time before his talent will have some results. My old roomie and I are going to Seattle in November to catch the Giants-Seahawks game. He's gonna be wearing his Strahan jersey so it will only be a matter of minutes before we're devoured by the crowd...Should be fun. :)

[Mel]

That's pretty interesting stuff Mel. It will be entertaining to see what Eli can pull off this year. That last game of the season he really showed that he has the skill and it will only be a matter of time before his talent will have some results. My old roomie and I are going to Seattle in November to catch the Giants-Seahawks game. He's gonna be wearing his Strahan jersey so it will only be a matter of minutes before we're devoured by the crowd...Should be fun. :)

Ha ha. Cool.

I have high hopes for Eli. Some say he has the potential to be better than his older brother. Only time will tell. You just need to keep in mind that very rarely do star QB's shine immediately. IIRC Payton had a pretty rough go his first 2 or 3 years... throwing tons of interceptions.

What impressed me about Eli Manning when he was given the Giants starting role was his command on the field. Even if his game still needs polishing... he is the boss out there and it's clear to see. He is not intimidated. That's a star's attitude. Whether or not he reaches the star level remains to be seen... but the foundation is there.

This year will probably be a development year for Eli. But I'll tell you this, I've been a Giant fan for over 20 years.... It's been a very long time since I was eagerly awaiting week 1 of the regular season.

If all stay healthy the Giants could make some noise. Shockey, Burress (recently aquired), Tiki Barber... Strahan on D with Gibril Wilson in the secondary. Hell with Tom Coughlin running the ship and keeping these guys in line... The Giants could quietly make a move on the NFC East... while all the media attention goes to T.O. and the Eagles soap opera / disaster.

[Bob burns]

Yeah I'm kind of excited about the potential for the Giants this year too. I don't think they will make the playoffs but they will make a huge step forward with the coming of some soon-to-be stars.

My old roomie loved the Giants, had posters, jerseys and stuff like that so I was always up to date with what was happening with the team. nfl.com is really good for up-to-date info on the games which really comes in handy since there aren't too many Giants games on tv here. We get stuck with way too many Oakland games. I remember last season there was a Texans game on at the same time a Giants game was on. So we had to do a little comprimising with the tv to accomadate both games. What are the odds of that happening :]

[LiAmTrAnSdEmOn]

Didn't Eli sprain his elbow in a preseason game Mel??? That would suck if he had to stay out a couple games to put a damper on his progression. Eli does scare me a little bit because of all his potential. I don't like him for pulling an "Elway" and just refusing to play for the Chargers and watching Jerome McDougle crush him in the first game of the season was a pleasure.

[Mel]

I heard he did sprain his shoulder and is being re-evaluated today.

I have no idea of the severity at this time. But like I said, a realistic approach to this season is to hope for him to just develop and make strides toward becoming a seasoned veteran. He's got some pretty good targets now. He's got a capable backfield. The Giants concentration over the next few years offensively should be building a top-notch offensive line.

I thought I heard they picked up a few OL's in the off season. But I really haven't paid that much attention yet to be honest. I will be soon enough with opening day less than 3 weeks away now. :)

[J.R.]

My old roomie and I are going to Seattle in November to catch the Giants-Seahawks game. He's gonna be wearing his Strahan jersey so it will only be a matter of minutes before we're devoured by the crowd...Should be fun. :)Well that's not going to be the first time that you and some friends have gone against the grain to incite a large crowd of people. :stir: ;)

As for the New York football Giants, their future is of course literally resting in the hands of Eli Manning. If he is able to bring to the team what has been expected of him ever since San Diego drafted him from Ole Miss, then NYG will become a playoff team within a year or two.

They have brought in some talent for E. Manning to throw to, but it does still usually take about 20 games for a young quarterback to become comfortable and come into his own in the NFL. And their division is likely going to be tough to win, with the defending NFC Champion Eagles and the Cowboys looking at least a little improved. A wild card, perhaps.

[Bob burns]

Well that's not going to be the first time that you and some friends have gone against the grain to incite a large crowd of people. :stir: ;)


U-S-A U-S-A U-S-A!!!!! :nod:

[Bob burns]

That's pretty interesting stuff Mel. It will be entertaining to see what Eli can pull off this year. That last game of the season he really showed that he has the skill and it will only be a matter of time before his talent will have some results. My old roomie and I are going to Seattle in November to catch the Giants-Seahawks game. He's gonna be wearing his Strahan jersey so it will only be a matter of minutes before we're devoured by the crowd...Should be fun. :)

What a game that was, first game I've seen in over a decade. A little dissapointing all the penalties the Giants took (o man the crowd was loud) and the three missed field goals in the final minutes of the game but nonetheless was a good game. They should have won as they dominated. The missed field goals were aggravating, especially because of all the moronic fans who were laughing and pointing at the Giant fans. And there sure were a lot of Giant fans. There must have been a few fights because some people were really getting heated out there. And holy geeze people bought a lot of expensive food and drinks at the game, they must be loaded to the teeth the way they blew their money. The game was awesome, and we had pretty good seats as well, right by the tunnel where the visiting team comes out.

:boogie:

[Mel]

I was disgusted as were all Giant fans that the Giants handed this game away. It was theirs for the taking, even after 11 false starts. :curse:

On the bright side, your boy Shockey had a huge day and Manning threw for 344 (I believe that's a high for him) Plaxico Buress and Shockey were both over 100 yards and Tiki Barber ran for a buck and a half.

Ex-Giant Joe Jurevicius really tore it up though. He was pumped.

It's aggravating but you have to forget it and look to next week now with a first place showdown vs. Dallas at home... that should be a great game.

Manning has really stood up to the scrutiny of a poor game, by answering with two solid games in a row. Including another late drive, punctuated with a 2 point conversion to Shockey. He has great poise for a young QB.

Coming into this season, my hope was to see Manning develop into a solid NFL quarterback, and overall, he has not dissappointed so far.

[charlio lemieux]

So how long before a Manning v. Manning SuperBowl?

[LiAmTrAnSdEmOn]

So how long before a Manning v. Manning SuperBowl?

How long before Hell freezes over??? By the time that the Eli is good enough to get to the Superbowl, the Colts will be on the downside of their run after losing weapons to the salary cap. Edge and Reggie Wayne are both free agents after this year. The only way they keep both is if Peyton reworks his contract and I have the feeling that other guys, probably on the defensive side of the ball, that are on the short end of the priority list will be lost. This is just the way things work in the salary cap era, and I don't think that the Giants will be Superbowl contenders for a couple of years, after the Colts gain some age and start to decline.

[Bob burns]

Coming into this season, my hope was to see Manning develop into a solid NFL quarterback, and overall, he has not dissappointed so far.

I think it's safe to say he has exceeded expectations. For myself I was expecting for him to play below average but show us that he's got a gift, but he has played downright amazing on many occasions. He was getting taunted all game long by the crowd and he kept his composure for almost the entire battle. He did just about everything he could do to get the team to win. The start of what should be a great career...

[charlio lemieux]

How long before Hell freezes over??? By the time that the Eli is good enough to get to the Superbowl, the Colts will be on the downside of their run after losing weapons to the salary cap. Edge and Reggie Wayne are both free agents after this year. The only way they keep both is if Peyton reworks his contract and I have the feeling that other guys, probably on the defensive side of the ball, that are on the short end of the priority list will be lost. This is just the way things work in the salary cap era, and I don't think that the Giants will be Superbowl contenders for a couple of years, after the Colts gain some age and start to decline.

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: