Carl Banks rips Giants, some players agree
Carl Banks looks on during a ceremony before a game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Giants in East Rutherford, N.J. Credit: AP, 2009
Carl Banks challenged the Giants' heart, intensity, fire and fight. He said he'd never seen a group "just line up and get punched in the face, and stand up and do it again and again and again."
So naturally, they took that verbal beating from the former All-Pro linebacker and current team broadcaster just like they were accused of taking the football beating from the Panthers.
"That's what happened," linebacker Mark Herzlich said. "They kept hitting us, hitting us and hitting us and we didn't stop them. Carl's right, we need to have more passion, we need to have that fire."
"I respect Carl Banks," fellow linebacker Jacquian Williams said. "This is his team, so what he says matters. It matters. I'll definitely listen to what he has to say."
About the only guy who was riled up by Banks' remarks seemed to be the one whom Banks exonerated: Tom Coughlin.
"I don't like that," Coughlin said. "That is a very strong thing for someone to say. It wasn't pretty, I will say that. But I don't believe they quit."
Banks was brutally honest broadcasting the game Sunday, and then in his weekly appearance on WFAN on Monday continued to blast the players.
"I don't think I've ever seen a team just not show emotion as they were just getting pummeled," Banks said. "I don't advocate fighting, but show some emotion. Show that you care that your quarterback was sacked six times in the first quarter."
Banks also implied that there might be a rift in the locker room.
"They don't like themselves," he said. "That's what it really comes down to. They don't like each other. They're not willing to fight for each other."
Coughlin rejected that notion. So did Cullen Jenkins.
"Everybody in here, everybody jells together pretty good," Jenkins said. "There's a lot of chemistry between guys in here. Games have not gone the way we wanted them to, but you don't see people fighting or arguing with each other. Everybody is trying to come together to find a solution."
