From the Newark Star-Ledger’s Dave Hutchinson ;
Jets DE John Abraham cares deeply that he has been portrayed as an oft-injured player who wouldn’t take one for the team in the playoffs last season. He feels he was unfairly criticized because he was legitimately injured — a torn lateral collateral ligament in his right knee — through no fault of his own.
The Jets refused to give him his long-term deal this off-season, citing the fact he has missed 23 of 80 career games, two playoff games and nearly all of a third.
That deep and painful wound was reopened Wednesday evening when Abraham (above) heard ESPN analyst Darren Woodson say he was the most overrated player in the AFC, not just New York.
Former Eagles defensive tackle Mike Golic and ex-NFL quarterback Sean Salisbury have also ripped Abraham.
“He (Woodson) said I had a lot of potential but I let my teammates down by not playing in the playoffs,” Abraham said yesterday. “What hurts the most is when a former player talks about you. The Mike Golics and people who have played the game and understand that injuries happen.
“For them to still try to say that I’m a bad player because of the injuries. … I can’t control that. If I could’ve played, I would’ve played.”
Though he says he’s not, Abraham is still motivated by such criticism. He went out Wednesday night and bought a Yankees hat and had “OVERRATED” stitched on the back.
“It (Woodson’s comment) was funny to me,” Abraham said. “I thought it was a cute little name, let me put it on a hat.”
Abraham, whose Jets kick off against the Chiefs in a few minutes, clearly doesn’t want to admit what he really thinks of the New York Yankees.