Teicher: No punches are pulled in physical game

tk13 · 11-14-2005, 02:29 AM

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/13160428.htm

No punches are pulled

By ADAM TEICHER

The Kansas City Star

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Trent Green and London Fletcher never had a cross word when they were teammates with the Rams.

But they squabbled as rivals Sunday in Buffalo’s 14-3 win over the Chiefs at Ralph Wilson Stadium. That incident touched off two others, and in the final moments, Eric Hicks and Lional Dalton of the Chiefs and Chris Villarrial of the Bills were ejected for their roles in a larger fight.

“When you go out and play so hard and you find yourself losing the battle, frustration builds up,” said Chiefs cornerback Eric Warfield, who was not involved in any of the skirmishes. “You could kind of tell it was coming because things were said the entire game. Some of the guys took action.”

It all began after Green threw an interception late in the second quarter. Fletcher, a Bills linebacker, blocked Green hard by the sideline.

“Their quarterback tried to make a tackle,” Fletcher said. “So once you try to make a tackle, you become a defender. I’m going to play within the rules of the game, and I went out and blocked him. Their guards took offense to it, which I would want our offensive linemen to come to the aid to our quarterback as well, except (Shields), he happened to do his after the whistle had blown. He thought I did something dirty. I don’t think I did.

Green said the two had never experienced any problems with St. Louis and didn’t know why Fletcher came after him. He indicated Fletcher hit him after the play was over and pleaded with the official to penalize the linebacker.

“They said it was part of the play,” Green said. “They said the play was still going on. I didn’t agree with it, but what are you going to do? They didn’t call it.”

The Chiefs’ Will Shields then hit Fletcher and drew a penalty for a late hit. Green said he appreciated the gesture.

“I went up and thanked him on the sideline,” Green said.

Shields and Fletcher hollered at each other as the teams headed off the field at halftime.

“I’m not going to back down from anybody,” Fletcher said. “That’s the way I play. I’m going to play within the rules of the game. It was a lot of talking in the tunnel (at halftime) and as you could see there was a fight at the end of the game. It was a physical football game.”

Things stayed heated in the second half. The Chiefs’ Marc Boerigter caught a short pass and was tackled by Nate Clements. The two tangled as Boerigter attempted to get off the ground and drew offsetting penalties.

“All I was trying to do was get up,” Boerigter said. “He grabbed my foot, and he was twisting it. He almost broke my leg.”

Late in the game, after the 2-minute warning, came a larger-scale brawl that snagged Hicks, Dalton and Villarrial.

“I tackled the guy and got up, walked away from the fight,” Dalton said. “The ref asked me to walk away. I followed orders. I think it was their team, one of their coaches, they wanted me and Hicks ejected.”

Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil said: “Eric Hicks was just trying to pull one of their guys off the pile to really stop the fight. That’s always the way it is. The guy that’s last to get in always ends up getting the brunt of the penalty and the ejection.

“Those things happen. It was an intense game. I don’t think it was a problem.”

Dalton and Hicks were serenaded by Buffalo fans as they left the field with the game still in progress. Dalton stopped to sign an autograph on a Chiefs banner on his way out.

“I had to do that,” he said. “It was a Chiefs fan. They were one in a million today.”

11-14-2005, 02:29 AM	Topic Starter
tk13 ... Join Date: Nov 2001 Casino cash: $1842500	Teicher: No punches are pulled in physical game http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/13160428.htm No punches are pulled By ADAM TEICHER The Kansas City Star ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Trent Green and London Fletcher never had a cross word when they were teammates with the Rams. But they squabbled as rivals Sunday in Buffalo’s 14-3 win over the Chiefs at Ralph Wilson Stadium. That incident touched off two others, and in the final moments, Eric Hicks and Lional Dalton of the Chiefs and Chris Villarrial of the Bills were ejected for their roles in a larger fight. “When you go out and play so hard and you find yourself losing the battle, frustration builds up,” said Chiefs cornerback Eric Warfield, who was not involved in any of the skirmishes. “You could kind of tell it was coming because things were said the entire game. Some of the guys took action.” It all began after Green threw an interception late in the second quarter. Fletcher, a Bills linebacker, blocked Green hard by the sideline. “Their quarterback tried to make a tackle,” Fletcher said. “So once you try to make a tackle, you become a defender. I’m going to play within the rules of the game, and I went out and blocked him. Their guards took offense to it, which I would want our offensive linemen to come to the aid to our quarterback as well, except (Shields), he happened to do his after the whistle had blown. He thought I did something dirty. I don’t think I did. Green said the two had never experienced any problems with St. Louis and didn’t know why Fletcher came after him. He indicated Fletcher hit him after the play was over and pleaded with the official to penalize the linebacker. “They said it was part of the play,” Green said. “They said the play was still going on. I didn’t agree with it, but what are you going to do? They didn’t call it.” The Chiefs’ Will Shields then hit Fletcher and drew a penalty for a late hit. Green said he appreciated the gesture. “I went up and thanked him on the sideline,” Green said. Shields and Fletcher hollered at each other as the teams headed off the field at halftime. “I’m not going to back down from anybody,” Fletcher said. “That’s the way I play. I’m going to play within the rules of the game. It was a lot of talking in the tunnel (at halftime) and as you could see there was a fight at the end of the game. It was a physical football game.” Things stayed heated in the second half. The Chiefs’ Marc Boerigter caught a short pass and was tackled by Nate Clements. The two tangled as Boerigter attempted to get off the ground and drew offsetting penalties. “All I was trying to do was get up,” Boerigter said. “He grabbed my foot, and he was twisting it. He almost broke my leg.” Late in the game, after the 2-minute warning, came a larger-scale brawl that snagged Hicks, Dalton and Villarrial. “I tackled the guy and got up, walked away from the fight,” Dalton said. “The ref asked me to walk away. I followed orders. I think it was their team, one of their coaches, they wanted me and Hicks ejected.” Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil said: “Eric Hicks was just trying to pull one of their guys off the pile to really stop the fight. That’s always the way it is. The guy that’s last to get in always ends up getting the brunt of the penalty and the ejection. “Those things happen. It was an intense game. I don’t think it was a problem.” Dalton and Hicks were serenaded by Buffalo fans as they left the field with the game still in progress. Dalton stopped to sign an autograph on a Chiefs banner on his way out. “I had to do that,” he said. “It was a Chiefs fan. They were one in a million today.”
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