Brian Mitchell Offers Praise For Josh Norman, Takes Shots At Cruz, Giants
New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. and Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman have been engaged in a not-so-friendly rivalry since meeting in Week 15 last season when Norman was a member of the Carolina Panthers.
After Norman signed with the Redskins, the animosity was increased now that these two gridiron antagonists are in the same division and will be facing each other twice a season.
The first such meeting will be on Sunday when the Redskins make their annual trip to MetLife Stadium. The fact that the Giants are tied for first place in the NFC East and the defending division champion Redskins are winless make this game a must watch.
The Beckham/Norman trash talking has been brewing for months with both players taking not-so-subtle digs at one another in the media. The war of words was taken to another level after the Redskins’ season opening loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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Wide receiver Victor Cruz and cornerback Janoris Jenkins openly questioned the way the Redskins used Norman, specifically noting how Norman (who has claimed on many occasions that he is the best cornerback in the NFL) was not covering Steelers All-World receiver Antonio Brown.
Now, a former Redskins player is adding his two cents to this already volatile mix.
Brian Mitchell spent the first decade of his 14-year NFL career in the nation’s capital. Taken by the Redskins with the 130th overall pick in the 1990 NFL Draft out of Southwestern Louisiana, Mitchell is considered one of the greatest return specialists in NFL history.
He is ranked first among non-wide receivers in combined yardage. His 13 special teams touchdowns are second only to Devin Hester’s 20.
Currently Mitchell is a co-host on ESPN 980’s Inside The Locker Room. In advance of Sunday’s Redskins/Giants matchup, Mitchell took the opportunity to defend Norman and toss some verbal grenades at Cruz and the Giants in general.
“Cruz is about to get his ass lit up,” Mitchell said on his radio show. “Just believe what I’m saying. See the one thing about it is, if somebody means absolutely nothing to you and you think they’re trash, you don’t discuss ‘em. You understand?”
Of the Giants, he said, “So if someone is on the other team and you’re that concerned about them, how in the hell can you be getting ready for your own performances and your team? It makes no sense.”
Mitchell was much more complimentary of Norman.
“Look, Josh Norman played in the Super Bowl last year. They lost it, but there were a lot of guys that didn’t play in the Super Bowl. Victor Cruz can’t even stay on the field long enough,” Mitchell said.
“So my whole thing is Josh, whenever they are constantly are constantly talking about you, I have never seen nobody talk trash and hate on somebody that’s a piece of crap. They always hate on the good ones. The damn good ones are who they hate on. So let’s get it straight. Jesus, they hated on him. And he was a great one.”
Mitchell’s equating Josh Norman to Jesus is misguided, inappropriate, and just plain wrong.
Yes, Norman and Beckham engaged in trash talking last season. What is lost in the rhetoric is that Norman is alleged to have threatened Beckham with a baseball bat before the game.
Yes, Norman did get under Beckham’s skin enough to make him snap and engage in physical contact that got him a one-game suspension. To Beckham’s credit, he did score a game-tying touchdown with a 1:46 left in the fourth quarter. (The Panthers would win on a field goal).
Yes, Norman did play in Super Bowl 50 but was the Panthers’ appearance in the final game of the 2015 season more about their MVP quarterback and the overall strength of the defense? Norman is good, but let’s not put him in Canton just yet.
It is worth nothing that Mitchell spent the final season of his career with the Giants. As a radio host in Washington, D.C., he is supposed to rally for and cheer for the Redskins.
At the same time, the questions posed by Cruz and Jenkins are probably questions he asked himself. If Norman is this All-World cornerback, why the hell wasn’t he on Antonio Brown in the season opener?
Brian Mitchell’s comments have helped make this upcoming Redskins/Giants matchup a must watch on Sunday. It’s a throwback to the times when teams genuinely disliked each other, but with a 21st century twist.
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