National Football League

Reggie Jackson rips Jets' trash talking

Published Jan. 13, 2010 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Reggie Jackson delivered a simple message to the New York Jets on Thursday after an outbreak of trash talking before their postseason clash with the Patriots: "Shut up and play football."

The Yankees great called in to a radio show to give his thoughts on cornerback Antonio Cromartie's decision to label New England QB Tom Brady an (expletive) earlier this week — and he didn't mince his words.

"What are you talking about? What are you doing? Shut up, play football," Jackson told 1050 ESPN Radio. "What are you talking about [Patriots coach] Bill Belichick and these people for? Spend your time looking at film, spend your time knocking down a pass. What are you doing? You're not affecting Brady; you're wasting time."

He said Cromartie, who has since said he didn't regret his comments about Brady, simply doesn't have enough trophies in his own cabinet to talk about the three-time Super Bowl-winning Patriots.

"Go look at the hardware, dude. Walk through the lobby up there and look at the stuff that's there," Jackson said. "You don't have that, you don't have anything close to that.

"You might want to shut up, you might learn something. Read, you might figure something out. Watch film, you might get educated. If not, you have a chance to get embarrassed on Sunday. I hope you don't, because I like the Jets."

And while Jackson said he enjoyed listening to Jets coach Rex Ryan, he said Ryan had made a mistake by questioning Brady's decision to attend the Broadway play "Lombardi" last Saturday instead of watching the Jets' 17-16 wild-card win over the Colts.

"This guy [Brady] is an automatic Hall of Famer. Making fun of him is like making fun of [Yankees legend] Mariano Rivera," Jackson said. "What are you doing? What are you doing?"

Brady, speaking to reporters on a conference call Wednesday, said he was unfazed by Cromartie’s remarks.

“I've been called worse," he said. "In fact, [Bill] Belichick and my offensive coordinator have called me that and I know they like me, so maybe [Cromartie] really likes me."

The Jets match up with the Patriots on Jan. 16 at 4:30pm ET in a Divisional Playoff at Gillette Stadium in Mass.