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Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins can’t stand Jets defensive end Michael Clemons, and that is putting it lightly. Remember, they fought during a game in November and had to be separated leaving the field. while leaving the field after the Bills’ 32-6 win in Week 11.
“First of all, why are you talking to my quarterback? Don’t talk to my quarterback,” Dawkins said this week on Vlad TV “Stay over there. Don’t say nothing to none of my guys. Just stay over there, son. Don’t talk to 17. I’m really serious about that. Don’t talk to him. Don’t say nothing to him at all, right?
“If you’re going to run up on somebody, run all the way up on somebody. Don’t run up and stop 5 yards behind and just start talking. So, when he did that, I’m like, ‘First of all, you really don’t want to fight me. You’re really a bitch.'”
Obviously, Dawkins is going a little overboard here, but there probably needs to be more accountability.
Clemons behaved in a mercurial fashion on a few occasions late in the season, like when he tussled with Dawkins in the tunnel, got thrown out of the Miami game for a fight with a Dolphin that bloodied an official trying to break it up and cursed at fans in Cleveland.
Saleh added: “If you knew him, you wouldn’t have a problem with anything he did.”
Some would argue it’s not ideal to condone bad behavior because you like the person. That is perhaps not ideal in a strong culture rife with accountability. You can respect the person he is, but also hold him accountable by benching him for a game, or taking away playing time, to get his attention.
A few days after this quote, in New England, Clemons got into it with New England’s Pharoah Brown, banging helmets with the tight end during a skirmish involving several players, and should have been flagged. He’s lucky he wasn’t.
While the coach wanted to have his players back saying “If you knew him, you wouldn’t have a problem with anything he did” maybe wasn’t the best phraseology from a player accountability standpoint.
Clemons is a very,tough and powerful player, but he has a lot to work on. There is more to playing end then being tough and powerful, like setting the edge better.
While Dawkins was a little out of control with his commentary on Vlad TV, instead of totally killing the messenger and questioning his sanity, perhaps the Jets need to work with the player and have him change his ways a little.
*Tunnel fight with Dawkins.
*Ejection for fight against Miami that led to bloodied official.
*Cursing fans in Cleveland.
*Banging helmets with New England’s Pharoah Brown.
February 27, 2024
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