2005: Giants vs. Jets
Back in 2005, the New York Giants and New York Jets held joint practices up in Albany and it went about as well as you might expect.
On just the second day of practice, Jeremy Shockey got into it with defensive backs Erik Coleman and Oliver Celestin and the wild tight end decided to take on both by himself. In the blink of an eye, punches were being thrown from every direction.
“I was blocking somebody and I got shoved in the back, and the next thing I know, everybody’s fighting, Shockey told reporters after practice. “There’s no bad blood. That’s how football is. You might as well do it now, when you don’t get fined and Paul Tagliabue can’t take any money out of your pocket. Do it now, get it over with. I’m sure it happens at every other camp.”
The anger spread from there as running back Brandon Jacobs retaliated by running over Jets cornerback Pete Hunter. Jets safety Kerry Rhodes also unleashed a cheap shot on Giants wide receiver Willie Ponder, who suffered an injury as a result.
In fact, things got so heated during these joint practices that Giants head coach Tom Coughlin got into a verbal spat with Jets defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson.