Phillips, Tuck Sound Off On Autograph Controversy

Since Thursday, when Eli Manning confirmed that he autographed a concrete wall in the visitor's locker room at Cowboys Stadium following the Giants' 33-31 win in seek two, the reaction has begun, sound bytes rolling in to reinforce the very simple fact that these two teams do not like one another.

Whether Manning was asked by a stadium employee to sign the wall matters little now, for these purposes. This will serve only as a footnote in this, the next chapter of an increasingly heated rivalry. But for clarity's sake, head coach Wade Phillips has refuted the idea that Manning was asked to autograph JerryWorld.

"Eli is a classy player, a great player," Phillips said yesterday. "I really respect him and his family. I don't think he meant anything by it. But it wasn't a great thing for him to do, obviously.

"Things come back around in this league. I respect the teams we play and the players we play. That's the way I approach games, and I expect our players to do the same."

Not surprisingly, the verbose Justin Tuck had some thoughts on the situation, which he expressed yesterday on ESPN Radio's Galloway and Co., per ESPNDallas.

"Y’all made a lot of noise [about the stadium], then you get mad at us for writing on it when we come down and beat you," Tuck said. "Hey, just sounds like a little bit of sore losing. Hopefully, Dallas has an opportunity to write on our wall this week.

"If they want to make a fuss about that, we’ll write on the wall again next year."

Contact Us