Damontre Moore on Ereck Flowers: 'I've never felt somebody that strong'

Damontre Moore and Ereck Flowers got into a heated fight at the end of Monday's practice that required the two players to be separated by teammates and took several minutes to defuse. But the reason for the scuffle -- and Moore's frustration -- may have yielded some of the best news the Giants have gotten all camp.

Moore said he and Flowers worked out their differences later. Moore said he even told Flowers: " 'Man, I've never felt somebody that strong.' ''

Moore is going into his third year as a defensive end in the NFL and has gone against some of its best offensive tackles. He said he wasn't just blowing smoke when he praised the strength of the 6-6, 329-pound rookie left tackle.

"I'm not gonna lie,'' he said. "I've met some strong guys, but I've never been hemmed up like that. He's one of those guys where I legitimately tried to use both of my hands to get off of him [and couldn't].''

That's what led to the fracas.

"Tempers get flared in the heat of battle,'' Moore said. "Nobody likes to be a loser, and when you have two high-intensity, competitive guys, things get a little riled up.''

Moore came away from the confrontation acknowledging that he has to do a better job of controlling his anger on the field. He and general manager Jerry Reese spoke for several minutes after the melee, and Moore said he understands he has to "stay as close as possible to the line but also by the same token not tip over it.''

He also learned that Flowers is the wrong guy to mess with. The Giants are counting on Flowers to man that left tackle spot in place of the injured Will Beatty, and so far he has shown the ability to do so. He looked good in the joint practices against the Bengals. Tom Coughlin said he did "OK'' in the preseason game, and he certainly has left an impression on Moore.

"It definitely is good to have that guy on your side,'' he said. "Going against him and getting hemmed up like that, I mean, we're teammates, so obviously we all know that we hold back from each other. I can only imagine if he was going full tilt against somebody else. I wouldn't want to be on the other end of that.''


(newsday.com)