Weston Richburg on spearing flag: 'That's football'
Giants center Weston Richburg (60) blocks against the Buffalo Bills during the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game Sunday, Aug. 3, 2014, in Canton, Ohio. Credit: AP / David Richard
Weston Richburg did not have much to say about the personal foul he drew for spearing Fletcher Cox while he was on the ground in the second quarter of the Giants' 27-0 loss to the Eagles on Sunday night. What he did say was nothing close to an apology.
"That's football," he said. "That happens all the time."
The NFL likely will see it otherwise and is almost certain to fine him for the play.
Cox had tripped and fallen while rushing quarterback Eli Manning on an incomplete pass. Richburg, the rookie left guard, dived face-first at him.
Asked if the play was the result of frustration from a game in which Manning was sacked five times in the first half and the offensive line seemed to regress, Richburg denied that had anything to do with his action. He also said there was no retribution toward Cox for any earlier plays the two might have been involved in.
"That's football. It happens all the time," he repeated.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
