EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Giants coach Tom Coughlin was in no mood to be noble toward the Patriots for claiming tight end Jake Ballard off waivers.
Ballard, coming off ACL and micro-fracture surgery and unlikely to play this season, was claimed Tuesday, a day after being waived in order to sign defensive lineman Rocky Bernard. The Giants intended to re-sign him.
"Discouraged is a minor description," Coughlin said Wednesday. "Very disappointed."
When it was suggested the Giants should not have waived their top pass-catching tight end from last season (38 for 604 yards and four touchdowns), Coughlin shot back, "Don't ask me those questions. I don't have the answer for you."
Coughlin conceded the Patriots did nothing outside the rules, except, perhaps, those of front office etiquette.
"I don't think there's any question about that part of it," Coughlin said. "Whatever the options are based on what the rules are, based on the procedural circumstance, all is fair."
Patriots coach Bill Belichick wasn't concerned with etiquette.
"There are no unwrittens," he said. "(When) a player is on waivers, he's on waivers; ours or anybody else's."
A reporter brought up Belichick being upset when the Vikings claimed tight end/long snapper Garrett Mills from the Patriots in a similar situation in 2007.
"I don't know what unwrittens you're talking about," Belichick said. "Any time you put a player on waivers, you know there are 31 teams out there that can take them."
two Suspended: Lions running back Mikel Leshoure and Bengals linebacker Dontay Moch were suspended for two and four games, respectively, for violating the league's substance-abuse policy. Leshoure pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana in May. Details on Moch's suspension were not disclosed.
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