NFL

Bradshaw, Coughlin, Cruz downplay emotional outbursts during Giants win

One day after the Giants wild comeback win over the Redskins, Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw responded to a couple of emotional outbursts he had in the heat of the moment Sunday.

Bradshaw slapped teammate Victor Cruz in the back of the helmet after a 15-yard run he made in third-quarter when the Giants receiver missed a block that might have sprung him for a touchdown.

Later, Bradshaw got into a brief jawing session with head coach Tom Coughlin on his way onto the field for an offensive series.

On Monday, Bradshaw, who was not seen in the locker room after the game, clarified the incidents as heat-of-battle situations.

More importantly, both Coughlin and Cruz passed the Bradshaw incidents off as him merely being intense.

“There has never been any question about Ahmad Bradshaw’s toughness or his intensity level,’’ Coughlin said Monday. “He plays the game hard. You like to have everyone play as hard as he does, honestly.

“He gives it all he’s got. You want people to recognize that fact, but sometimes you do have to control yourself and control your emotions, and that’s something he’s working on.’’

Cruz said he was “cool’’ with Bradshaw getting after him on that play.

“Ahmad is an emotional when he’s out there playing,’’ Cruz said Monday. “It was one of those things that happens. It was just him being emotional on that specific play. It happened and we moved forward from it.’’

Bradshaw said his sideline chat with Coughlin was “nothing’’ and that Coughlin “is animated just like I am.’’

“I was just saying, ‘Run the ball,’ going onto the field,’’ he said Monday. “(It was) a lot of my emotions kicking in. I just want to help my team win as much as possible.’’

Asked if he was worried about giving Cruz a concussion, Bradshaw laughed, “Nah man, we are all just trying to get better. I am trying to make each other better. I just want to help my team win and any chance I can get, that is what I want.’’

Bradshaw said he hopes his high emotion helps motivate his teammates.

“It helps our team, it pumps our lineup, it gives us a lot of emotion going out on the field in different jobs,’’ he said. “When we need it, I try to hype us up as much as possible.

“I try to take a place in our offense and be the emotional leader and I feel to help and motivate our line, to go out and be motivated for a certain job, I feel like speaking up helps.’’

There was speculation on Sunday that Bradshaw, who entered the game having carried the ball 57 times for 316 yards in the previous two games, was ticked off about not getting often enough. He finished with 43 yards and a TD on 12 carries and was spelled by Andre Brown, who had five carries for 17 yards and a TD.

That, however, turned out not to be the case. It was, as his teammates called it, Bradshaw being Bradshaw, which is to say in a word: Intense.

“I’ll take Ahmad’s passion however it comes,’’ Giants safety Antrel Rolle said. “I know he doesn’t mean any harm. He’s never been a disturbance to this team. I’ll take Ahmad’s passion every day of the week.

“You have to have constructive criticism; you have to be honest with each other. It may come across as you really messed this up. It’s in the heat of the moment, we understand that. We’re all brothers in this locker room and everyone knows brothers fight and get into it.

“At the end of the day, when it’s all said and done we’re still there to have each other’s back, and that’s what it’s all about.’’

Giants tight end Martellus Bennett called Bradshaw “a leader.’’

“Everyone leads differently,’’ Bennett said. “We have a lot of leaders in here. He’s not Obama, but he’s a leader.’’

Asked if there is an Obama in the Giants locker room, Bennett said, “I don’t know, maybe (Justin) Tuck.’’