![]() The Giants, meantime, have ho-hummed their way to 3-0: beating two bad teams (Washington, Tampa Bay) and one mediocre team (Dallas). And unlike the Giants, typically diplomatic in victory, the Jets have happily shared their innermost feelings of invincibility. Then the Jets handed Tennessee, a 13-win team just last year, their third straight loss. They chased Tom Brady around the backfield the way the other team did, blitzing him from all directions, forcing another limp, no-look post-game handshake from Bill Belichick. They yielded nothing to the New England Patriots in Week 2, same way that other team did in Super Bowl XLII. It's true excitement over there, and normally the true excitement is for us.''Įven the hard-core Giants fan has to appreciate the way the Jets have captured the spotlight. I mean, think about it - both teams are 3-0. "Oh, man,'' Tuck said, "they are playing great football - great football - especially on defense. They are the biggest surprise of the young NFL season, the underdog with a stadium-sized chip on their shoulders, in many ways similar to that other New York team in 2007. They have a Super Bowl-winning coach and a Super Bowl-MVP quarterback.īut the Jets, 9-7 last season, are a better story. The Giants have most of the components from last year's 12-4 team. Most folks would agree the Giants are still a better football team than the Jets. If the two teams were assigned to the same classroom, the Jets would be the ones standing on their desks exchanging spitball fire. "But that's OK if they want to deflect some of the attention from us.''ĭeflect some of the attention? The Jets vaulted past deflecting attention some time ago. "I just worry about this locker room,'' Giants guard Chris Snee said at his stall when asked to measure his interest in the Jets. Who can change the channel when Rex Ryan steps to the podium or when Mark Sanchez steps back to pass or when it's time for the Jets' defense to step up? The results won't always be ideal, but they are guaranteed to be interesting. Yet it's the Jets, 3-0 themselves heading into unbeaten New Orleans on Sunday, so often forgotten or ridiculed, who have forged the most interesting chapter in New York sports. The Giants travel to winless Kansas City with a 4-0 record waiting at the other end. The Yankees enter the playoffs as a favorite to go the distance. They are the brash sibling to the buttoned-down Giants, demanding an audience, basking in the bright lights of a celebratory time in New York sports. The Jets have quickly graduated from a compelling curiosity to a captivating group of characters. "He continues to let me know how great they are,'' Tuck, a Giants defensive end, chuckled at his locker on Wednesday, four days before the local pros could move to a combined 8-0. These are exciting times for the Jets, you bet they are, and Rhodes just can't help himself. Just in case the Giants forget that another team is using their stadium, Jets safety Kerry Rhodes regularly clutters Justin Tuck's inbox with text-message pronouncements.
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