Antonio Cromartie doesn't have much need for the high road when it comes to his former team.
In a classic case of adding insult to injury, Cromartie threw a dagger at the San Diego Chargers following their 27-21 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday.
"When you're up by 11 points in the fourth quarter, and you can't even finish the game up, that shows what kind of team you are: a team that can't finish," said Cromartie, who spent four seasons with the Chargers before coming to the Jets via trade in 2010. "And that's been San Diego the whole time. There it is."
There it is, indeed. While Cromartie isn't wrong that the Chargers have a history of coming up small, perhaps he should be reminded he played a role in the birth of that narrative.
After all, it was Cromartie who infamously shied away from contact on a Shonn Greene touchdown run during the Jets' 17-14 upset of the Chargers in the 2009 AFC Divisional Playoffs. Cromartie also was with San Diego as a rookie in 2006, when a 14-2 Chargers team lost to the New England Patriots in the divisional round.
Spurred on by tight end Randy McMichael's comments that the Jets had less to do with beating the Chargers than the Chargers themselves, other New York players couldn't help but pile on with Cromartie.
"He'll have fun watching the film today, we'll just say that," Jets safety Jim Leonhard said of McMichael. "He didn't really do a whole lot yesterday. He'll have fun."
On NFL Replay
NFL Replay will re-air the Jets' 27-21 win over the Chargers on Tuesday,
Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. ET.
Added cornerback Darrelle Revis: "Nobody was worried about McMichaels. Whatever his name is. McMichaels, McMichael. I don't know his name."
Leave it to coach Rex Ryanto dish out the best dig: "Stay classy, San Diego."
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers defended his tight end.
"I think anytime you're up 21-10 at halftime and you lose, you certainly feel like we let it get away from us," Rivers said. "The Jets had something to do with causing it to get away from us, certainly. I'm not speaking for Randy. Randy hates to lose, like all of us do in that locker room. There's not anybody who cares any more than he does. That's how you want it."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.