NFL
Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano praised Tom Coughlin all week, but earned the New York Giants coach’s disapproval following Sunday’s game after he broke an unwritten NFL rule that could have cost the Big Blue’s injuries on the offensive line."I don't think you do that at this level," said Tom Coughlin calling out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ final defensive play. "You don't do that in this league.”
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning took an end-game kneel-down on the final snap of the game when he was knocked by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive players.
Tom Coughlin’s frustration was evident as the New York Giants coach met Greg Schiano at the midfield after his team won 41-34, yelling that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ coach pulled a dirty play on the Giants.
“You don't jeopardize the offensive line, you (don't) jeopardize the quarterback,” stated Tom Coughlin. “Thank goodness we didn't get anybody hurt, that I know of, a couple of linemen were late coming in (after end of game)."
That appeared to be the genuine consensus around the New York Giants locker room with players labeling it a “cheap shot” after Eli Manning posed for the team’s “victory formation.”
"That was a first. Obviously I think it is a little bit of a cheap shot,” said Eli Manning. “Going down, we are taking a knee, in a friendly way. They are firing off, and it's a way to get someone hurt.”
Tom Coughlin’s players weren’t expecting to be rushed and as New York Giants guard Chris Snee noted such moves aren’t acceptable “at this level” in the league.
"I've played in a lot of NFL games and really never been around that,” stated Chris Snee. “It's just one of those things where you have respect for the opposing team."
New York Giants’ Sean Locklear too identified the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ move as a “dirty play” at the end of the game.
“When we're all telling them we're going down, they're not gonna get the ball,” said offensive lineman Sean Locklear. “They're not gonna get the snap, we're not gonna fumble the ball. But it's a play that they did."
However, the former Rutgers coach Greg Schiano who lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers through his second game coaching on NFL contested there was “nothing illegal about it” as the Rutgers, who are familiar with the play may have noticed. Greg Schiano also revealed he had no hesitation implementing the play as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play “clean, hard football.”
“We crowd the ball – it's like a sneak defense and you try to knock it loose,” Greg Schiano explained the play.
“Some people were upset about it… (But) I don't know if that's not something that's not done in the National Football League,” continued Greg Schiano. “What I do with our football team is we fight until they tell us game over…We're not going to quit.”
But the Tampa Bay Buccanneers’ move was looked down upon by the New York Giants at all levels after franchise owner John Mara too revealed his displeasure with Greg Schiano’s decision.
"You just don't do that in the NFL," said John Mara.
