Fitzgerald Cecilio

Tempers flare at Jets camp

The New York Jets were at it again, fighting among themselves three times during closed practice, one day after the infamous 20-player brawl that made headlines.

Coach Rex Ryan was forced to stop practice twice and issued five-minute running punishment to the players involved.

Tempers first flared in an 11-on-11 drill when rookie running back Terrance Ganaway was tackled by rookie linebacker Demario Davis. The tackle resulted to a jawing and shoving between offensive and defensive players but no punches were thrown.

The fight was immediately broken after Ryan interceded and stopped practice.

Fifteen minutes later, cornerback Antonio Cromartie yelled at rookie wide receiver Stephen Hill, threatening to punch him during a 7-on-7 passing drill,. When the ball was snapped, Cromartie grabbed Hill.

On the next play, Cromartie blasted tight end Dustin Keller on a pass. Once again, Ryan halted practice. This time, he ordered the running punishment.

When the punishment sprints were done, Ryan called the team together and delivered another profanity-laced lashing. But Ryan's message did not seem to get across as another confrontation happened a short time later

Guard Brandon Moore screamed at defensive tackle Marcus Dixon after tackle Dennis Landolt was injured while blocking Dixon in a pass-rushing drill. Moore apparently was upset because he felt Dixon tried to hurt Landolt, who was carted off the field.

The fights happened moments after Woody Johnson addressed reporters on the sideline to downplay Monday's brawl that started with running back Joe McKnight and safety D'Anton Lynn and quickly escalated into a pile-up with several players.

"No, not at all," Johnson said. "This is camp. They've been hitting each other for two weeks now, so things are going to boil over. They boil over every year in every camp. I mean, it's not just the New York Jets. To me, that was pretty minor."

"It brings a fighting attitude," Holmes said of the feistiness in practice. "It shows that our offense won't be a pushover this season. We just have to understand we can't do anything detrimental to our team by doing those types of things."

"He's doing a great job of keeping us in line," Hill said. "We don't want to have people saying we're an undisciplined team. We're not undisciplined. It's camp. The fire is going up and we're tired of playing each other."

For his part, Dixon claimed the Landolt injury was a freak accident. "I just did a bull rush and I guess his knee got caught up under him or something, I really don't know," he said. "It wasn't done on purpose. That's my teammate. Why would it be malicious? I'm not out here to hurt anybody."

Tempers flare at Jets camp - Jousting Jets Draw Coach Rex Ryan's Ire