HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ sparks Jets’ Aaron Rodgers & Giants’ Jihad Ward beef. What happened?
It’s a case of ‘shots fired’ after the Giants’ DE took issue with his portrayal in HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ where he appears to clash with Aaron Rodgers.
Who doesn’t like a good feud? The Jets and the Giants are increasingly becoming the showdown we all want to see this coming season after a testy exchange between Aaron Rodgers and Jihad Ward took center stage.
Aaron Rodgers and Jihad Ward are not friends
While he’s never been one to mince words, one has to admit that Aaron Rodgers’ latest soundbite was a bit of an eye-opener, but first, let’s get some context. Rodgers as you know was front and center during this week’s episode of HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’, which as you also know is focused on his team, the New York Jets. As such, viewers were at one point treated to a relatively long clip of the four-time MVP talking trash to New York Giants defensive end, Jihad Ward, in a recent preseason game that the Jets won 32-24. It’s definitely worth noting that Rodgers appears to start having a go at Ward only after the Giants player appeared to shove Rodgers after passing the ball.
Fast forward to earlier this week when Ward was questioned about the clip, and as you can imagine, he wasn’t feeling it. Not one bit. The Giants player seemingly took serious issue with the way in which he was portrayed and alluded to the idea that the clip in question didn’t tell the full tale. To hear the DE tell it, the whole thing kicked off because Jets wideout Randall Cobb leveled Bobby McCain, which in turn led to the Giants’ safety having to enter concussion protocol. Following the hit, the Jets appeared to be laughing as they huddled, something that Ward apparently couldn’t stand. “They know what they did. I know what [Cobb] did, coaches know what he did, my teammates know what he did,” Ward said. “I’m the only one sticking up for [McCain].” The 29-year-old then explained that the entire Giants sideline was angered by the Jets apparently laughing. “Everybody going to get pissed off at that. The whole team was pissed off, you know what I’m saying?” Ward said. “It’s preseason and all that stuff and you’re going to do some reaction like that? It’s cool, though. That’s how they roll. I think we play them soon, it is what it is.”
He said, he said: Aaron Rodgers & Jihad Ward clash
Now that you’re up to speed, let’s focus on what Rodgers had to say on Thursday when he was asked about Ward’s accusation. “So he thought we were laughing at his teammate? That never happened and I think he’s making shit up,” the Jets QB said. Simple and without room for interpretation one could say. Now, to be fair, the clip appears to show the Jets laughing at Cobb for making a hit due to the idea that nobody thought the veteran had it in him to do so. On the other hand, if you’re in Ward’s position and carrying a grudge, one could make a case for his take. At any rate, Ward also made it clear that the Jets were not in fact the good guys that the episode seemingly shows them to be.
“See, the thing is, they’re going to entertain. They’re going to show his part -- HBO, whatever stuff is going on, ‘Hard Knocks.’ They’re going to show his part,” Ward said of Rodgers. “They weren’t even in the whole scenario of what really went down. They’re going to show his side of the story. ...It’s all about Aaron Rodgers at the [end] of the day. They sign him, it is what it is. They’re going to show his part and make me look like a sucker. But I ain’t going for that.”
October 29th in Week 8 of the 2023-24 NFL regular season at the MetLife Stadium in New York. Mark the date because while it would be true to say there has been little to no tension between the Giants and Jets for some years, there definitely is now, and we like it.