Andre Williams has been in the NFL for exactly 104 days, yet the New York Giants rookie running back has already learned how to stoke the rivalry fire. The Giants play the New York Jets in their annual preseason showdown on Friday night, so Williams decided to toss the first grenade to make things interesting.
“I think the Giants are the real New York team,” he said Tuesday, per George Willis of the New York Post.
When a reporter asked Rex Ryan about the remark on Wednesday, he brought up one of Williams’ losses at Boston College.
“Last time I saw him he was getting smoked by Clemson,” Ryan said.
The Eagles lost to Clemson 24-14 last October, which wasn’t bad considering the difference in skill levels between the two teams. Williams has held to just 70 yards rushing in the game.
Of course, Rex’s son Seth plays for Clemson.
After the jabs were out of the way, Ryan did praise Williams.
“I will say that kid’s a good back, though. He is,” Rex said. “I was like, ‘Is anybody going to tackle him?’ It’s great. I have a funny feeling he’s going to get some Riddells [helmets] on him, but we’ll see. I have a feeling he’s going to be pumped up and trust me, our guys are going to be pumped up, too.”
Williams has rushed for 102 yards on 22 carries in the preseason and is making a solid case for a time share with Rashad Jennings. He said his comment about the Giants being New York’s real team was more about supporting Big Blue than ripping on the Jets.
“This is my first year and I’m not too sure about what’s going on with the rivalry thing,” Williams explained. “But there’s definitely a different feeling this week than last week. I’m just trying to buy into it.”
We wouldn’t have it any other way.
