Who says the NFL can’t resemble professional wrestling? This past week, fans were treated to pregame buildup that rivaled a WWE title fight ahead of Sunday’s Jets-Patriots playoff game. From passive-aggressive barbs to direct threats, the New England Patriots and New York Jets players took their trash-talking to the media, despite assurances from their head coaches that the players would let their actions speak for themselves on Sunday.
NFL Playoffs: New England Patriots, New York Jets Engage In Week-Long War Of Words
Nothing was sacred in the war of words, with deeply-personal shots, threats to end a career and a t-shirt that featured a mascot flipping the bird.
Wednesday: Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie took a shot at the golden boy, Tom Brady, calling him as asshole among other choice words. If we’ve learned anything about this Patriots team, it’s that you don’t come after Brady, no matter how silly his Bieber hair looks. Terrell Suggs also wore this, a visual representation of what the Ravens think of the Pats.
Thursday: Wes Welker was a great foot-soldier and spoke for the team on Thursday, working in an astonishing amount of feet references into his press conference.
Friday: Welker’s creativity should be applauded, but didn’t go over well with the Jets. Rex Ryan, target of the foot press conference, took it like a man, brushing off the subtle jabs. Center Nick Mangold, on the other hand, stood up for his coach on Twitter, dropping a veiled Spy Gate reference aimed at the Patriots. Even the papers got in on the action with a Star Wars themed front page in New York and a foot-filled front page in Boston.
Saturday: Bart Scott took a more direct approach on Saturday, threatening to end Welker’s career over a few foot references. Kids these days just don’t have a sense of humor like they used to.
By the time the Pats and Jets actually take the field on Sunday at 4:30 p.m., they’ll have already spent a week doing a promotional tour that would make Don King blush. All that’s left is the game itself, which features more than enough subplots to go around after a long week of trash-talk.
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