No one is saying what Hakeem Nicks said in the aftermath of the Giants’ terrible 38-0 loss to the Panthers is akin to high treason, but it did catch the attention of coach Tom Coughlin, who was not pleased.
“I’ll talk to him,’’ Coughlin said on Monday. “That’s not a smart thing to say. He’s on the field, the quarterback was sacked seven times, hit 15 times. Not a very smart thing to say.’’
What Nicks said was harmless enough, but could be construed as ripping some of his teammates, possibly his quarterback or even the coaching staff. Nicks was targeted one time and did not catch a pass in a game he played in his hometown of Charlotte, N.C, in front of more than 20 family and friends. It was his first NFL regular-season game back home, and he and his team came up empty.
“It’s part of the game,’’ Nicks said after Sunday’s game. “You’ve got to control what you can control. I can’t throw it to myself.’’
The guy who throws the ball, Eli Manning, said there was no intended slight to Nicks.
“Any time a receiver doesn’t get a reception, that’s tough,’’ said Manning, who was under duress the entire game. “I like for all my receivers to be happy and get a lot of catches. Obviously, the other day there weren’t a whole lot of opportunities. He knows I have great confidence in him and trust. We’ll get back and he’ll start having some big games for us.
“Receivers practice all week, and if they don’t have much to show for it, it’s frustrating. I think everybody after that game was frustrated, and obviously Hakeem going back to his hometown, his home state, he wants to play well and as a team we didn’t play well. Sometimes guys are frustrated and say some things. Hakeem and I are close, he knows when you look at the film, it’s just one of those things. It wasn’t us not going at him or not throwing his way or picking someone else.’’