Tempers flare at fight-filled Jets practice that Robert Saleh has to halt

0

The Jets turf wasn’t the only thing feeling the 90-plus-degree heat on Tuesday.

The blazing sun brought out heated tempers among the Jets, as various fights and skirmishes broke out at Florham Park.

Linebacker Marcelino McCrary-Ball started the first skirmish on the field during an 11-on-11 drill, and it carried all the way over to the notable big tree in the middle of the practice fields.

After the fight was broken up, the deejay decided to play “We Are Family,” but it wasn’t enough to cool tempers — which lingered on the field, Chuck Clark explained.

Jets coach Robert Saleh speaks to the media on Aug. 6, 2024. Bill Kostroun/New York Post

The second dustup came following an incomplete pass to Garrett Wilson, who immediately picked a fight with cornerback D.J. Reed after regaining his feet.

Finally, a third fight broke out in the middle of a team drill, but it was unclear where the spark came from.

“We love that, but we also want to have control about it too though,” Quincy Williams said of the feisty practice.

After the final fight, head coach Robert Saleh was forced to pause practice to talk to his players.

“Getting chippy is fine. It’s just being responsible to one another,” Saleh said. “There’s two types of fights. There’s fights because you think the other guy is going too hard and then you need to pick it up, and there’s fights because it looks like you’re being cheap. Those [cheap ones] are the ones we want to avoid.

“Just the overall message being that we got practice to finish. Just take care of one another, and continue to compete and continue to battle.”

Breece Hall said he couldn’t be bothered to be involved.

“For me personally, it’s too hot to be fighting,” he said while shaking his head. “I’m out there for five, six plays in a row. If y’all are fighting, you got it, that’s my rest time. … I mean, that’s what brothers do, so I think we can look at it as a positive. We’re competitive and we protect our teammates, so I think it’s a positive.”

Jets coach Robert Saleh looks on during practice on Aug. 6, 2024. Bill Kostroun/New York Post

Saleh said he isn’t worried about the behavior carrying into Thursday, when the Jets will hold a joint practice with the Commanders, who they’ll also face in their first preseason game Saturday.

However, this kind of acting out is why Saleh only likes to hold one joint practice a year with another team, rather than two on back-to-back days. It’s also the reason he made sense of the fights that took place in East Rutherford between the Giants and Lions on Tuesday.

“One [joint practice], to me, is plenty. I find that two is when guys get hurt, and that’s when traditionally the fights stop happening,” Saleh said. “At the end of the day, one team is celebrating their victory and the other is talking about how they got their butts whooped. On top of it, these practices are pretty heavy on the guys, and very rarely do you have a football player go through that much volume and intensity on back-to-back days. Not only are you subjecting our guys to injury on Day 2, and it’s just very little production because they’re fighting and aborting their techniques.”

“Getting chippy is fine. It’s just being responsible to one another”

Robert Saleh on the fight at today’s practice pic.twitter.com/GEi2k4fPez

— Jets Videos (@snyjets) August 6, 2024

Saleh said the preseason plan for LT Tyron Smith still needs to be discussed. A balance of reps and rest is needed due to his history of injuries.

“It’s something we will be judicious with,” Saleh said.

Smith sat out team drills Tuesday, which gave more reps to Olu Fashanu.

CB Michael Carter II (ankle) missed a third straight practice with lower extremity tightness.

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.

إنضم لقناتنا على تيليجرام
Quizatii

كويزاتي - Quizatii

هل تبحث عن التسلية والمعرفة في نفس الوقت؟ تطبيق "كويزاتي" هو الحل!

تحميل