Giants can't wait to play Jets after tough loss to Bears
Photo credit: AP | Giants head coach Tom Coughlin during the team's 17-3 loss to the Bears on Saturday.
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ALBANY - Tom Coughlin was seeing red after Saturday night's preseason loss to the Bears. For the next few days, the rest of the team will be seeing green.
The annual Giants-Jets preseason meeting is always the most entertaining of the four warm-ups. Not only does it provide bragging rights for fans and even players who must live and work in the same area, but it is generally the third game on the schedule. That's the one when the starters play into the second half, providing the closest approximation of actual football before Labor Day.
This year, though, there's sure to be an extra charge in the Giants as they take the field. After being "embarrassed" in Chicago, this will be their chance to set things right. For the starters, it will be their last chance before the games start to count in the standings and not just in the psyche.
"Hopefully, we can have a great week of practice this week," Justin Tuck said. "I'm looking forward to it. I want to get back on the football field."
Translation: He can't wait to get a good, up-close look at Mark Sanchez on Saturday night.
"I think that goes without saying," Tom Coughlin said of the natural desire to take the frustrations of the Bears game out on the Jets. "When you don't play well, then you make it very important to see improvement next week. That goes with the territory. If you have vivid illustrations of areas that need improvement, then that's where you need to go."
The Giants had just finished dragging themselves into the quiet Chicago locker room Saturday when they already were talking openly about needing to rebound against the Jets.
"We know we'll be playing a lot," Eli Manning said. "With the Jets and that Rex Ryan defense, they're doing a lot of blitzes and different looks, walking around. We have to be prepared for a great week of preparation, get focused and come back and have a better outing."
One of the crutches the Giants could have used in the Bears game was the lack of prep time leading up to it. After playing their preseason opener Monday night, the team had just two full practices before traveling to Chicago.
Coughlin noted that crunched schedule several times leading up to the game, but he refused to use it as an excuse for the performance.
Still, there will be ample time to prepare for the Jets. What's more, this time the Jets will be dealing with a shortened week after playing the Ravens Monday night.
"We know that this week we'll have ample time to crank it up and to really get after it," Shaun O'Hara said. "I think we're looking forward to that."
O'Hara dismissed the idea of this being the last chance for the starters to find a groove before the regular season. Instead, he said he chooses to look at it as the next chance.
Still, in the aftermath of this most recent loss, the game does take on an even deeper sense of urgency. Or at least as much urgency as the preseason can present.
Said O'Hara: "It's a game that I know we'll be ready for."
