The New York Giants and the New York Jets are squaring off this weekend in a showdown that’s imperative to both teams’ playoff hopes. They only play once every four years, but because they have to share the New York (and New Jersey. And parts of Connecticut.) spotlight, there is a built-in rivalry there.

The other day, Giants WR Victor “I haven’t even been good for a full year yet” Cruz popped off about the Jets elite cornerback duo of Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie.

“Teams aren’t really scared [of Revis] anymore,” Cruz said. “He’s got to earn his money this year. Teams aren’t really backing down. I feel like we’re going to do the same thing. We’re going to go out. Until he physically stops us we’re going to throw the ball on him.”

When Hakeem Nicks was asked about how good Revis is, Nicks replied, “he’s decent.”

Not usually the adjective associated with Revis, but okay. Well today, Revis and Cromartie have returned the fire, which makes us happy because we like this sort of thing.

Revis was asked about Cruz’s comments about people being scared of him.

“I’m not a monster,” Revis said. “So why would anyone be scared?”

Overall, Revis just didn’t even seem to care what they thought, which is an indication that he knows he’s a much more talented player than either of them.

“These guys can say whatever they want,” Revis said. “You just laugh at it…We’ll see.”

Cromartie was predictably a little nastier.

“You got guys that are not even Pro Bowl material,” he said. “Who really cares what they have to say?“

Better yet were Cromartie’s comments about Mario Manningham. “He let a guy named Victor Cruz come in and take his job.”

That’s great. Let’s hope this continues until the 2012 preseason when they play again.

This is pretty funny. Not just for some of the jokes, but for the amount of big-named stars that they crammed into this thing.

It’s a takeoff on “Field of Dreams” (uh duh), but with loads and loads of football players and other celebrities. It’s got DeSean Jackson, Ray Lewis, Shawne Merriman (even though he isn’t a star anymore), Kirk Morrison, Marshall Faulk, Rich Eisen, Taylor Lautner, Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Cromartie (hey, it’s work and he’s got kids to feed) and lots of others.

Check it out, it’s definitely worth watching. Although I can’t say it’s great enough for me to watch it over again. But with some of the awful crap that Funny or Die puts out, the fact that I liked it once is saying something.

Remember 2007? Remember when San Diego Chargers CB Antonio Cromartie was a one-man wrecking crew in the defensive backfield? Kind of a long time ago.

Last year, Cromartie played for the New York Jets and was actually pretty good. Especially when you consider teams like to avoid Darrelle Revis and pound it on the other guy.

However, now Cromartie is hitting free agency in 2011. And there has been much talk about what the Jets plan to do with the over-sized corner. They also have guys like David Harris, Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards to get back in the fold.

And according to Mike Lombardi of NFL Network, Cromartie won’t be one of the guys that the Jets are able to bring back. GM Mike Tannenbaum already said that he didn’t care for Cromartie’s comments about Tom Brady, the NFLPA, the NFL and the labor situation in general (we actually agree with Cro).

It’s not a huge deal for Cromartie, he’ll find a home. The Oakland Raiders will be in the market for a cornerback after they watch the door hit Nnamdi Asomugha’s ass (ironically, Asomugha could be a fit in New York. Could you imagine him and Revis?). The Philadelphia Eagles will be in the market for a corner after they saw some absolute hamster vomit opposite Asante Samuel this year. Plus, dealing with Hakeem Nicks, Miles Austin and Dez Bryant twice a year means they could use a big corner.

Cromartie’s biggest problem in getting signed to any one of the 32 NFL teams will be the CBA or lack thereof.

While the media and fans have to sit and listen to the endless posturing of both sides of the NFL labor dispute, nothing continues to get done. There is no new CBA, and the NFLPA and NFL don’t seem to be in any hurry to strike a deal.

That will mean that everyone loses. Players, owners, executives, coaches, stadium workers, fans. Everyone. So, we don’t blame New York Jets CB Antonio Cromartie for being a little pissy about the whole mess. After all, he’s got seven kids to feed, dammit!

“You got our head union rep acting like an a-hole,” Cromartie told the New York Daily News. “They got their guys acting like a-holes. So they just need to get their sh– together and just get it done.”

Photo Caption: Cromartie will make a play on the ball and then tell you why he has disdain for your business practices.

Cromartie probably realized at that point, that many of his fellow players may not appreciate him calling out NFLPA leadership. They are supposed to be all in this together.

“Honestly, I don’t give a damn if they get mad at me or not,” Cromartie continued. “But it’s getting to the point where it’s getting ridiculous when everything is always dealing with money. You’re basically dealing with people’s livelihoods.

“You’re dealing with hundreds of thousands of other people in this workplace from the venues to everyone else. To me, you need to stop bitching about it. If you want to say that you want to get into a room and meet. Then, do it. Don’t just talk about it.”

While Cromartie has come off like a chowderhead in previous interviews, we have to agree with him here. He’s exactly right, and more people should call out these people who have everyone’s future in their hands. The CBA issues didn’t just crop up last night. This has been looming for a while and everyone thinks it’s okay to sit down in a room every 3-4 months or so.

Lock yourself in a Denny’s bathroom and don’t come out until you have a new CBA. You’re f’ing with all of us. Just ask Antonio.

You can say whatever you want about the New York Jets, but they aren’t boring. Rex Ryan made a reference to Tom Brady’s finger pointing after touchdowns (he likes to point to the other team’s sideline. At least the Jets anyway) earlier this week saying it was just “Brady being Brady.”

Well, cornerback Antonio Cromartie took it to a different level. He clearly does not have a Tom Brady Fathead on his bedroom wall.

“We see that a lot. He does it a lot,” Cromartie said, when asked about the finger pointing. “That’s the kind of guy he is. We really don’t give a damn, to tell you the truth.”

And just what kind of person would Tom Brady be exactly?

“An asshole,” he said. “Fuck him.”

Sweet! This almost guarantees that Cromartie will get lit up by a mediocre Patriots receiver this week.

Hopefully for the New York Jets, newly acquired CB Antonio Cromartie is better at handling opposing wide receivers than he is at handling his finances.

A league source tells NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora that the Jets are restructuring Cromartie’s $1.7 million salary for 2010 to make $500,000 available to him immediately as a bonus payment.

Apparently, Cromartie really needs it. He supposedly owes some $32,000 to an agent and another $25,000 or so in back child support (these things happen when you have seven children with six women and you are only 25-years old). And that’s just what’s been reported, we’d have to think that mismanaging money is an issue that results in far more problems than just these two occurrences.

According to La Canfora, Cromartie needs the money now and can’t or doesn’t want to wait until game checks start arriving in September. And he also says that the Jets have no plans to draw up an extension for the cornerback before the 2010 season so he’d be waiting regardless of a new deal.

Cromartie better really hope he regains his 2007 form. Otherwise, he’s headed for a financial mess that no amount of trading card show appearances will get him out of.

The New York Jets have traded a conditional third-round pick to the San Diego Chargers in exchange for used-to-be stud CB Antonio Cromartie. The Jets just cut Lito Sheppard and would like to have another good corner to go opposite Revis Island.

The Jets are taking a bit of a gamble with some of Cromartie’s off-field issue (seven kids?) and his laziness on the field. But the boy has insane physical talents and was at one point a freakin’ stud. If Rex Ryan can get him to straighten up and fly right, we just can’t imagine what kind of a corner tandem he and Revis would be.

The third-round pick in 2011 can jump to a second rounder based on playing time and the Jets performance. If this works out, a dominant Jets defense just went to a new level.

San Diego Chargers beat writer Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune says that he’s hearing out at the NFL Combine that CB Antonio Cromartie could be a member of the Detroit Lions soon. The Chargers were supposedly looking for a running back in return, but they might be willing to take a mid-round draft pick at this point.

“Not a done deal, but I’m hearing Cromartie could be a Lion soon. Regardless, Cro has almost certainly played his last game for Chargers–ka,” he tweets.

Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham would want Cromartie to play a lot of press coverage where he can excel. Cromartie is too much of an awful tackler to play as much zone as they do in San Diego. This doesn’t excuse his lousy effort on tackling, but it might help to play to his strengths.

We’ll see what happens. The Chargers clearly don’t want any parts of him anymore.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune says that the San Diego Chargers are really looking to move cornerback Antonio Cromartie sooner rather than later and that talks at the NFL combine are heating up. Supposedly, the team is looking for a draft pick or a running back in return.

Cromartie has seriously falling out of favor since a couple of years ago when he was considered one of the best in the business. The Chargers are seriously more comfortable at this point with Quentin Jammer and Antoine Cason (both former first-round picks just like Cromartie) as their starting tandem. We clearly saw against the New York Jets in the playoffs that Cromartie doesn’t like to get his uniform dirty, but there is no way that they all of a sudden feel like they have to ship him out based on one game. Things went south on this project a while ago.

We think that someone could get a steal if the Chargers sell low here. Cromartie is an elite athlete and is probably worth a flyer.

San Diego Chargers CB Antonio Cromartie is a busy man. He’s busy not doing a lot of things. On the field, he doesn’t like to tackle. And off the field, he apparently doesn’t like to pay child support. Run support, child support, it doesn’t matter to him.

As far as being busy, Antonio clearly likes to “get busy.” As in, he is 25-years old and has seven children by six different women in five states. We don’t care what your job is, that’s beyond irresponsible. Thanks for contributing to society, Antonio. Now, please, stop contributing to society; you’ve given us enough.

So anyway, a lawyer for one of the myriad of broads he’s impregnated says that Cromartie owes some $25,000 in back child support.

Photo Caption: Cromartie spots his children on the sidelines and heads away from them towards a fertile woman in the stands.

“My client would like to see him live up to the commitment he made to his children in the interviews he’s given about being a committed father and make sure he shares the benefits of his lifestyle,” said Steven Bishop, an attorney for one of the mothers.

Cromartie was a first-round pick in 2006 and signed a five-year deal with $7.35 million guaranteed. Let’s hope he saved some of it. Bishop says that he was current until this month and since hasn’t paid any of the mothers he owes.

Cromartie admitted that all this off-the-field stuff that he created on his own contributed to him playing poorly in 2008.

“My head wasn’t in there,” Cromartie said then. “I was dealing with my kids and their moms. It had my mind somewhere else.”

Well, Cromartie has been playing poorly and now it seems the Chargers have been trying to trade him. He better get his head in there if he wants to be able to pay for all the kids he brought into this world.

Once considered one of the elite cornerbacks in the NFL, Antonio Cromartie could now be looking at playing elsewhere in 2010. Sources tell ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson that the San Diego Chargers could be looking to move Cromartie for a running back.

The Chargers really need to add to their backfield considering all-world stud Ladainian Tomlinson is all but gone. They will be paying undersized restricted free agent Darren Sproles $7.3 million if they tender him a contract considering he was franchised this past year.

Photo Caption: A long time ago?

There were rumors a couple weeks ago that Cromartie could be moved for Dallas Cowboys RB Tashard Choice, but nothing ever came of that. The Green Bay Packers are rumored to want to increase their secondary depth, but we doubt that the Chargers would accept the likes of Brandon Jackson in return. That would most likely fetch the Bolts a draft pick.

It’s funny how quickly Cromartie has fallen out of favor. In 2007, he was a Pro Bowler who grabbed 10 picks. Then in a recent playoff loss to the New York Jets, he’s seen repeatedly avoiding tackles. It wasn’t much short of pathetic.

We’ll see what happens, but if this is a dedication issue, some team could get a steal if Cromartie decides to prove his doubter wrong.

If this doesn’t get San Diego Chargers CB Antonio Cromartie ridiculed by his coaches and teammates I don’t know what will. Was he playing with glass pads? Glass helmet? Cromartie clearly wants no parts of tackling New York Jets RB Shonn Greene. Wow, and this guy is supposed to be a baller. Keep in mind this was a three-point loss, not a blowout.

San Diego Chargers CB Antonio Cromartie should have kept his mouth shut. With a ton of conflicting stories from people who were drinking in a dark club, there most likely would have been no way that charges could be filed against Cromartie due to lack of evidence.

But, Cromartie waived his right to zip it and explained to police at the time that the bottle slipped from his hand. So he admitted to being the guy who let the bottle go when it went flying and cracked some dude on his head and cutting him wide open. So, the case is being sent to the prosecutor’s office with a recommendation from police that he be charged with misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon.

It also doesn’t look good that he apologized on Twitter the following day, saying, “I want to apologize to Charger nation and my fans. There’s sum stuff out abt me that’s not true. It will come out. God Bless.”

Why would you apologize for something you didn’t do? Perry and I have never once apologized for causing the 9/11 attacks. The main reason? We didn’t do it.

A source with knowledge of the situation tells the National Football Post that there aren’t expected to be charges filed against anyone – including Antonio Cromartie of the San Diego Chargers – in the Bar West fracas on Sunday night in San Diego. A patron was indeed hit in the head with a bottle and was bleeding, but there are too many conflicting reports about what really happened.

According to the police report, Cromartie, Darren Sproles, Stephen Cooper and Travis Johnson were at a table getting table service when another party at another table claimed that the football players were being served champagne intended for their table.

So, Cooper gets up and goes over to the other table with Sproles watching comfortably from his booster seat. Cooper folded his arms and asked if there was a problem. At this point, OTR would have said “no, sir” and been done with it. But apparently this all led champagne spraying and then someone got hit with the business end of a bottle and had his head cracked open.

But, it looks like no charges will be filed due to too many conflicting accounts.

“I want to apologize to charger nation and my fans,” Cromartie wrote on his Twitter account, leading many to wonder what he’s apologizing for if he did nothing wrong. “There’s sum stuff out abt me that’s not true. It will come out. God Bless.”

Bar West issued the following statement about he incident: “There was a minor incident involving a few of our VIP guests when champagne was being sprayed back and forth between a few tables in a celebratory manner. SDPD interviewed all parties and witnesses, no positive identification could be made as there were conflicting accounts of the chain of events and persons involved.”

And then the Chargers said, “We’re aware of the story and are going through the process of gathering information.”

Cooper told reporters, “Nothing happened.”

Seems like it was a big misunderstanding, like a “Three’s Company” episode. But this is the episode where Larry gets a bloody head.

Our pals at TMZ obtained a photo of the victim’s head from the bottle smashing last night in San Diego.

The victim claims to have no recollection after being hit with the bottle, but his friends say they saw exactly what happened. Apparently, everyone was celebrating and people starting spraying the champagne at each other. Allegedly, Cromartie took things to the next level and smashed this dude in the head with a bottle of Moet.

Law enforcement officials tell TMZ that Cromartie is still under investigation, but so far no arrests have been made.

UPDATE: Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets that several sources have told him that Cromartie didn’t do it. “Before everyone jumps on Cromartie, several sources telling me it wasn’t him who threw bottle. Just saying we need to let facts come out–ka,” he tweets.

San Diego Chargers CB Antonio Cromartie is being investigated by authorities for assault with a deadly weapon after an incident at a bar last night, according to TMZ.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ that Cromartie was out with some teammates at a bar celebrating their win over the Broncos when people began spraying champagne back and forth (always a good idea). It got to a point where someone actual threw one of the bottles and it hit a patron in the head. Cromartie was identified by one witness as the bottle thrower, but there are conflicting reports.

Cromartie’s agent Gary Wichard says that his client wasn’t involved.

Photo Caption: Could Cromartie handle himself is the bottle was thrown in his direction?

At first, he told TMZ, “This is absolutely not a story. Antonio didn’t throw the bottle. There were actually three other players involved. Antonio is at a complex working out. Again, this is not a story.”

But then he changed his story to, “he was there with 2 other players … no one was involved in the fight.”

Stay tuned on this one.

Multiple league sources tell PFT that San Diego Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie has been fined $2,500 by the team for Tweeting about how bad the food is at camp. He Tweets:

“Man we have 2 have the most nasty food of any team. Damn can we upgrade 4 str8 years the same ish maybe that’s y we can’t we the SB we need.”

Supposedly Norv Turner already warned the team about talking about team issues on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.

Photo Caption: You keep making plays like this and you can Tweet whatever the hell you want.