To Reggie Bush, hearing that New York Jets coach Rex Ryan say his team needed to put “hot sauce” on the Miami Dolphins running back was inflammatory and insulting. For Ryan, it was a compliment.
And so goes the saga between two long-time rivals.
This all started when Ryan said his team needed to pour hot sauce on Bush.
Bush said on a South Florida radio station that Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis deserved to get hurt (he torn his ACL).
Ryan said Bush got perturbed for wrong reason.
“He definitely misinterpreted my comment,” Ryan said, quickly adding, “Next time we play them (Oct. 28), he’s going to get attention from us because he’s a great football player. It’s almost a compliment that’s taken a different way.”
Bush injured his left knee on a second-quarter carry, after ripping through the Jets for 61 yards on 10 rushes, and he didn’t return to the game.
What occurred after the injury fueled speculation that the Jets deliberately tried to hurt him.
Safety LaRon Landry emerged from the pile up clapping his hands, even as Bush was writhing in pain on the ground. Linebacker Calvin Pace walked past Bush and nonchalantly motioned to the Miami sideline, telling the Dolphins to send in the trainer.
After the game, Pace told reporters “we had to put him out,” sparking a mini-controversy. On Monday, Pace tried to clarify his remarks, saying there was “no bounty” on Bush and no attempt to hurt him.
As it turned out, the Jets lost their best player, Revis, in the third quarter, a season-ending knee injury that occurred on a non-contact play. In his radio interview, Bush showed no sympathy.
“It’s like the old saying, ‘What goes around comes around,'” he said. “They talked about all week about putting hot sauce and this and that, and they ended up losing their best player for the rest of the season. So, it’s sad that it happened because of that, but I’m going to be back.”
Ryan defended his team’s motivation. He said there was no intent to injure, but he said his players always want to be as physical as possible.
“I respect the game and I respect the players in the league,” he said. “The men who play this game are special people. I don’t ever want to see anybody leave the field due to an injury. But I want to be physical.
“We want to hit guys, there’s no question about that. We want him to go back to the huddle (and say): ‘Do I really want to go back and stick it in there hard, because I’m going to get hit?’ We want to be as physical as we can be, but I’m never going to injure players.”
