COMMENTARY
AFC East foes not at a loss for words
It was a pretty quiet offseason for the Buffalo Bills, a development even Terrell Owens found surprising given the ruckus his presence usually brings. But silence has not been golden for the rest of the AFC East.
The trash talking has been fast and furious, with one team one-upping the other.
Miami linebacker and Pro Bowl trash talker Joey Porter got the ball rolling when asked about the New England Patriots being the overwhelming favorites to win the AFC East. He let it be known that the road to the title goes through Miami because, in case people forgot, the Dolphins won the division last year and they’re champions until proven otherwise.
Owens’ arrival in Buffalo didn’t stop New England’s Randy Moss from proclaiming himself “the greatest wide receiver of all time, hands down.”
But that’s nothing compared to the verbal sparring sessions last week between New York Jets rookie head coach Rex Ryan and Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder.
It all began when Crowder took great offense to Ryan telling New York radio station WFAN that he didn’t come to the Jets to kiss Bill Belichick’s rings. Ryan also anointed the Jets as the new beasts in the AFC East.
Belichick brushed off the comments, but Crowder couldn’t let it go.
“Oh, he’s going crazy,” Crowder told the Sun-Sentinel. “I know it’s his first chance to be a head coach, and I know he’s excited about life. But, like I said, I’ve never played a football game in June in my whole life. So congratulations to him. He’s the OTA, the OTA Super Bowl winner.”
Ryan offered this response: “I don’t know this Channing Crowder, but all I know is he’s all tatted up so I guess I should be nervous about him. He’s right about one thing. I am a first-time head coach. But I’ve been around the game all my life, and I’m no different now than I’ve ever been. It’s just that more people are listening.
“I think he’s wrong because I do think you win in June. I think you win with your preparation and all that kind of stuff. And if I was younger I would probably, you know, handle him myself.”
Crowder wasn’t going to take that sitting down.
“He says he’d take care of me if he was younger? I’d have to beat the hell out of that big old joker,” he said. “Or if he really wants to get retro, my daddy or my uncle could have handled him.”
“The only thing I can say is—and let’s see if he can top this one—I’ve walked over tougher guys going to a fight than Channing Crowder,” Ryan fired back before breaking down in laughter. “The dude is going to kill me.”
Such banter is hardly on par with the likes of, say, Muhammad Ali, but it’s entertaining nonetheless.
Crowder was right to point out that no games are played in June. Winning a war of words at this time of the year doesn’t mean a whole lot. What matters is winning games in the fall.
Which brings us back to the Bills’ muted offseason. There have been no bold statements, no predictions of the playoffs that Donte Whitner made a year ago.
“We don’t really worry about what somebody else says,” said Owens, the surprising voice of reason. “We’ll do our talking when the time comes.”
Talk is cheap in the spring. When fall arrives, Crowder, Ryan or anyone with something to say better make sure their mouths don’t write checks their performance can’t cash.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments
Learn more about our moderation system.