The Miami Dolphins and New York Jets continue to ramp up the trash talk in advance of their game at the Meadowlands on Sunday. A day after Jets LB Aaron Maybin told ESPNNewYork.com that New York wants to "knock out" Miami running back Reggie Bush, Dolphins center Mike Pouncey fired back.
Maybin issued the rejoinder "but we're out to do it legally," but that did not please Pouncey.
"I don't even know why Aaron Maybin is talking," Pouncey told reporters in Miami. "He's done nothing in this league to even open his mouth. I don't even want to talk about him. He's a joke.
"I think it's just him just wanting to get his name get said in the NFL. I think that's all it is."
Maybin had no reply to Pouncey's comments, saying he had "no thoughts, no words." He also said he never intended to cause an uproar, though it is hard to comprehend how he could have though no one would react to his comments considering the two teams' ongoing sniping.
On Wednesday, Jets coach Rex Ryan suggested Dolphins RB Reggie Bush should apologize for saying an injury to Jets CB Darrelle Revis was the result of bad karma. Jets safety LaRon Landry also told the media, "I'm grateful for another opportunity to play [Bush], and he will remember that hit."
"There was no trash talk coming from this side," Maybin said. "Basically, I'll say the same thing I said yesterday: In order for us to beat Miami, we have to stop the run and that means eliminating Reggie Bush. However people wanted to take that out of context, that's fine, but I'm not going to get into it."
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"Trash talk, it's all for the newspapers," Maybin said. "I didn't have any of that for you yesterday. I don't have any today."
Several Dolphins said Thursday that they will back up their teammates if they see things get out of hand on Sunday.
"We'll protect our own guy," defensive tackle Randy Starks said. "It's a brotherhood in here, so if something happens, you can expect some retaliation."
Starks added of the Jets' statements this week, "If that's what they want to do, go ahead and do that. We'll do our talking on the field and we'll see what's going to happen on Sunday."
