Derek Carr, Erik McCoy downplay on-field spat
Saints quarterback Derek Carr and center Erik McCoy downplayed a yelling match the two had during the second half of Sunday's game.
Of course, everyone is happy after a win, and the Saints won 28-6.
McCoy said in the postgame locker room that he "lost his cool" and apologized publicly for the spat caught by Fox cameras.
"Me and Erik have no issue," Carr said, via Katherine Terrell of ESPN. "In the moment, something happened. The reason doesn't matter. Everybody wants to know the why. It doesn't matter. We were both right; we were both wrong. At the same time, we both were like 'My bad,' . . . and that was it. And I've done that with my two older brothers probably 50 times in my life, and it happens. When it's in a frustrating moment and that kind of happens, it is intensified, as I've learned. Because people want to know 'Oh no, what's wrong?' There really is nothing wrong. We had a moment. I've had moments in my 10 years a lot of times, with a coach, a teammate, somebody . . . and I always learned you circle back, you make it right and you keep going."
Carr was sacked on third-and-two with 3:43 left in the third quarter, with Carr saying something to McCoy that sparked an argument. Offensive lineman James Hurst stepped between his teammates and placed a hand on McCoy's arm as the players walked off the field.
McCoy slammed down his helmet.
After giving McCoy time to cool down, Carr eventually walked over to McCoy and sat next to him for a conversation. Carr would not elaborate on what prompted the argument.
"I think if you're ever in a highly competitive environment, and things aren't going the way that you want it to go, yeah, there's sometimes that you get frustrated," head coach Dennis Allen said. "You lash out a little bit. I'm glad that both of them have the balls to at least stand up and fight, you know what I mean? . . . My wife and I argue. It happens. So let's don't make too much of it."
At least two other times this season, Carr has expressed his frustration during a game. . He had an animated conversation with offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael in a Week 6 loss to the Texans, and in Week 7, Carr yelled toward receiver Chris Olave.
"I have been showing my emotions a little too much on my sleeve," Carr said. "I have got to kind of chill out, and that's me holding myself accountable because that's not going to help anything."
