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REX RYANSwipe at Belichick |
NFL notebook
Rex Ryan’s mouth is at it again. Yesterday the Jets’ brash new coach took another swipe at Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Ryan said during a radio interview a few months ago that he didn’t come to New York “to kiss Bill Belichick’s rings.’’ He explained yesterday at training camp in Cortland, N.Y., what he meant, and might have provided more bulletin board material.
“When I said that about Belichick, I’m just letting him know I’m not intimidated by him,’’ Ryan said. “He’s got the same position I have. We’re both head coaches in this league. He just happens to have a hell of a lot more Super Bowl wins. I don’t have a win. I understand that, but we’re not going to tiptoe our way through this thing.
“You don’t line up and beat a Bill Belichick-coached team by tiptoeing in there.’’
Ryan also didn’t shy away from any of the headline-grabbing comments he has made since being hired by the Jets in January.
“We’re going to be ourselves and I’m going to be myself,’’ he said. “How much more motivation are they going to get by putting a quote from me on the wall, saying I believe in my football team and I’m not going to be intimidated by a coach or anyone else?
“If that’s where you’re going to draw motivation from, hell, we’ll probably kick your [butt].’’
League looks in
Raiders coach Tom Cable went on the defensive yesterday and the NFL said it would investigate reports that the coach got into a fight that sent one of his assistants to the hospital.NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league is looking into the situation to try to determine what happened.
A day after calling it “an internal issue that we are dealing with,’’ Cable denied anything transpired at all with defensive assistant Randy Hanson earlier this month. Cable allegedly punched Hanson in the jaw.
“Nothing happened,’’ Cable told a large swarm of reporters when asked about it following a joint practice with the 49ers. “Listen, you want to talk about this football team and the players on this football team, I’ll talk all day. Otherwise, I’m not getting into it.’’
A report filed with the Napa Police Department describes an unnamed 41-year-old Raiders assistant coach being treated at the Queen of the Valley Hospital for a jaw injury, which the victim alleges was caused by an unidentified member of the Raiders coaching staff Aug. 5.
AOL Fanhouse reported that Cable was the coach who caused the injury.
Meanwhile, Chaz Schilens, projected to be one of the Raiders’ top two receivers this season, broke a bone in his left foot while running a route during practice.
Cable said the injury likely will sideline Schilens at least a month.
The 23-year-old Schilens made six starts for the Raiders during his rookie season in 2008, making 15 catches for 226 yards and two touchdowns. He was a seventh-round draft pick last year out of San Diego State.
Jackson suspended
Buccaneers safety Tanard Jackson was suspended for the first four games of the regular season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. The third-year pro’s suspension begins Sept. 5 and will continue through the Buccaneers’ Oct. 4 game against the Redskins. He will be eligible to return Oct. 11 against the Eagles. Jackson, a fourth-round draft pick out of Syracuse in 2007, has started every game over the past two seasons. Citing confidentiality rules, general manager Mark Dominik declined to discuss specifics about the suspension. “It’s disappointing news. He’s a good young player. It’s a blow to the team,’’ Dominik said . . . The NFL asked a federal appeals court in St. Paul to let it finally suspend Vikings Pat Williams and Kevin Williams for violating the league’s policy against performance enhancing drugs last year. NFL attorney Daniel Nash asked a three-judge panel of the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals to allow the league to enforce its anti-doping policy.Motion is filed
In Reno, a former Harrah’s employee has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit that accuses Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of raping another worker and alleges that managers of the Lake Tahoe hotel-casino covered up the assault. Stacy Dingman, the former director of hotels at Harrah’s, is one of nine defendants named in the lawsuit filed last month in Washoe County District Court. She said she is the former best friend of the woman who claims the two-time Super Bowl winner raped her during a celebrity golf tournament in July 2008.TO misses practice
Bills receiver Terrell Owens missed practice a day after testing his sprained toe during a 20-minute workout. Bills coach Dick Jauron said Owens required more treatment and was told to stay off his feet after he complained of soreness . . . Contract talks between the Bills and first-round draft pick Aaron Maybin, a defensive end from Penn State, are stalled, and neither side is offering signs a deal is close . . . Longtime Lions kicker Jason Hanson, a two-time Pro Bowl selection and the team’s career leading scorer, underwent what coach Jim Schwartz called a “fairly minor’’ procedure to treat a nagging knee injury. The coach wouldn’t say which knee was affected, offering only that the team hopes to have the 18-year veteran back on the field soon . . . Colts cornerback Kelvin Hayden left practice yesterday morning with a hamstring injury and coach Jim Caldwell said he would be out for 3-4 weeks.
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