Jets offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo was less than congenial when he met with the media Thursday to talk football. (US Presswire) |
With a full moon rising in the sky, the Jets are once again making news without even trying. With the team trying to stop the death spiral of its 4-7 season, offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo spoke to the media for the first time since training camp.
And, when DeGuglielmo speaks, he leaves little to the imagination.
Asked about the season-long rotation at left guard between Matt Slauson and Vlad Ducasse, DeGuglielmo said he had nothing to do with the decision ... that it came from people above him. He made it clear that it wasn't a decision he would have made. "The directive came from high above me. What's best for me is to do what I'm told," he said.
Coach Rex Ryan said it was his decision.
When asked how he felt the rotation was going, DeGuglielmo said, "It's going. What are you going to do?"
DeGuglielmo complimented Slauson, saying, "Slauson's a big, tough, strong, smart kid. That's what he is." As for Ducasse, DeGuglielmo said: "He's playing well enough to be an every-third-series guy. Maybe."
DeGuglielmo's demeanor throughout the interview was hostile and defensive, based apparently on a formal complaint that the NFL had filed after it received a complaint from the Jets' media that DeGuglielmo had not made himself available all season. DeGuglielmo said that he had been working and available in his office during the bye week. The problem with that was the bye week fell during the week of Superstorm Sandy and the Jets facility was closed to media access.
As for the rest of the interview, it was mostly made up of short, abrupt and defensive answers. For example, a question on the development of RT Austin Howard yielded: "Doing great." A question on the improvement of the running game: "You'll have to ask [OC] Tony [Sparano]."
Asked why he seemed hostile, DeGuglielmo responded: "I have no hostility, I'm trying to get third-down, goal-line and short-yardage done. You have a job to do, I have a job to do."
A case of frustration at the season boiling over? Maybe it was the full moon.
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