Giants, Jets talk up preseason matchup

Starters usually play only into the third quarter in third preseason games. That's why the trash talking between the Jets and Giants has been at about 75 percent capacity. Not even the offseason assertions by Rex Ryan that the Jets are no longer the little brothers of New York football appear to be moving the needle on the rival-o-meter.

If you want the full-speed version, you're going to have to wait another four months. The teams are scheduled to play each other on Dec. 24.

"I go about it just like I would any other game," Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said Wednesday as he began preparing for Saturday's preseason game against the Jets. "Is it more intense than what the rivalry with the Jets was before Rex got here? In a preseason game? No. But come that game right before Christmas, that might be a different story."

That seemed to be the feeling in Florham Park as well, where the Jets were winding up their training camp.

"Once the regular-season game comes on, we'll probably feed more into it," receiver Santonio Holmes said when asked about the rivalry. "But as of right now, it's the preseason. It doesn't mean much to us right now. As long as we're getting our offense and our defense and our special teams on the same page, that's all that matters."

That hasn't stopped the two teams from trading at least a few verbal jabs, even if they aren't going at full speed. Tuck took delight in ignoring the new name of the shared home of the two teams, newly christened MetLife Stadium. "To me, it will always be Giants Stadium," he said.

This being 2011, those remarks were electronically transmitted from reporters covering the Giants to those covering the Jets and within minutes there was a response from the green team.

"It's the Meadowlands," Holmes said, "home of the New York Jets."

Come Saturday, the two teams won't be haggling over the moniker of the stadium they are playing in. And although the intensity will be downplayed, there are some deep emotions that will be flowing on the field.

"It's a city rivalry and something that we take seriously here," Mark Sanchez said. "You want to win the city, you want to win your division, you want to win the Super Bowl. So it's one of our goals each year."

Tuck compared playing the Jets to playing a rival high school where you might know some of the players on the other team from the neighborhood even though they are playing for a different team. The Jets and Giants might not socialize together much, but they certainly run into each other at functions throughout the city. As competitors, it's important for them to be able to hold something over the other guy.

"You have an opportunity to call the guy up after the game and tell him that I whupped your butt on this play," Tuck said. "That makes the game a lot more fun."

For the players and the fans.

"You've got two hometown teams," Bart Scott said. "It's bragging rights for your fans throughout the week. You want to go out and put on a great show for your fans, and of course when you play them in the regular season, it's for keeps. But you want to leave a lasting message when you play, that they know it's going to be tough sledding when they see us in the regular season as well."

With Roderick Boone and Kimberley A. Martin