Mathias Kiwanuka: ‘Absolutely there’s tension’ within Giants team
By Mike Dyce
The New York Giants were shut out at home, 23-0, by the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Giants head coach Tom Coughlin called it “a pathetic offensive performance,” essentially putting the blame on their shoulders. During a radio interview, giants defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka said there was some real tension between teammates.
“Yeah. Absolutely there’s tension,” Kiwanuka said on ESPN Radio, via Dave Hutchinson of the Newark Star Ledger. “We’re human. We’re a team. We consider ourselves like a family. Any family there are going to be issues that come up. It’s about how you deal with it.
“In the heat of the game, things need to be said if somebody’s not getting the job done. Somebody needs to step up and tell them what is going on so we can get out of that fight with a win.”
“I have no problem with that. I think where it starts to get into trouble is where you get into things that are said, not behind somebody’s back, but when the other person isn’t there or (you) say something to somebody else about another player.
“That becomes an issue because that can get misconstrued and it takes a lot longer to get resolved whereas if you just go to somebody’s face, . . . you can get it settled much faster.”
There seems to be some validity to it. Giants tight end Brandon Myers said he was “cussed out for encouraging people” on his Twitter account. Then he said that teammates questioning his passion are mistaken.