jets & giants... here we goooo ~ ~ ~

[kelly]

No one likes excuses, but everyone's always looking for explanations. I think we can safely throw the fact that the New York Giants had to play Sunday's game with three backup interior offensive linemen into the latter category.Starting left guard Justin Pugh (concussion) and starting center Weston Richburg (high ankle sprain) didn't even make the trip to Washington. And starting right guard Geoff Schwartz (who actually started at left guard in this game) fractured his ankle during the fourth quarter. That meant Eli Manning was playing quarterback behind a line that featured Dallas Reynolds at center and John Jerry and rookie Bobby Hart at the guard spots. Manning would never admit it was an issue, but it obviously is.

"Everybody is aware of who's on the field, but has it affected his play?" Giants coach Tom Coughlin said Monday. "Maybe, to speed up and not have an opportunity to see the entire pattern the way you normally would. But I did like the way he came back battling in the fourth quarter."No doubt, but anyone who's watched Manning's career could tell you he gets jittery when he doesn't trust his protection. And no offense to Reynolds, Jerry and Hart, but it's human nature to wonder about whether you can trust the backups the way you trust the starters. The Giants' offense could not get in rhythm in the first half of Sunday's game. Manning threw a season-high three interceptions. The Giants didn't score until the fourth quarter. It was ugly, and Manning's comfort level was a big part of it.

The bad news is that things aren't going to get any better any time soon. Coughlin said Monday he was "sure" Schwartz would be placed on season-ending injured reserve due to his injury. That's a terrible break for Schwartz, who initially injured his ankle exactly one year ago Monday and said Sunday that the plate he had inserted last year actually caused his latest fracture. But at least from a replacement standpoint, the Giants are comfortable playing Jerry in Schwartz's place.The problem grows exponentially worse when the Giants are forced to dig deeper into their bench. Reynolds has had some issues with snaps in the past two games and doesn't possess Richburg's strength or athleticism at the center position. And Hart is a completely untested seventh-round rookie who's been inactive for almost every game this season and surely isn't ready to handle a full-time role. If Richburg and Pugh have to miss additional time, the Giants likely would look to add a player from their practice squad or from outside the organization who's more ready to play than Hart is.

Coughlin said Monday he had no idea whether to expect Richburg or Pugh back for next Sunday's game against the Jets.

"I'm hoping that's going to be the case, at least with one of them, but I don't have any evidence of that just yet," Coughlin said. "With Pugh, I'm going to have to wait, obviously, for the protocol to be completed and for some successful rendering of the various examinations. With Richburg, it's going to be, 'How much improvement is there?' He tried it once, it wasn't very good, so we did the best we could to keep him off his feet. So I'm hoping that helped, but we'll see."

It's that time of year when everybody's dealing with injuries. Unfortunately for the Giants, theirs are striking at the heart of a vital unit that's key to their ability to operate their offense. This is a problem that's not going away any time soon.

>     http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-giants/post/_/id/45165/giants-offensive-line-issues-arent-going-away-anytime-soon

[faba]

Put Eli on his back- defensive line has to step up and play like last week

[kelly]

-- Ten serious and not-so-serious things to know about the New York Giants-New York Jets rivalry, which resumes Sunday  :

1. The highlight occurred in '69 (if you root for the Jets): It was only a preseason game, but there was playoff-like intensity on Aug. 17, 1969, at the Yale Bowl. The upstart Jets were coming off a Super Bowl championship, but they felt disrespected because the old-guard Giants were perceived as the top team in New York. More than 70,000 watched the Jets win a blowout, 37-14."To defeat the Giants meant a lot to us because the Giants were -- and still are, believe it or not -- the club around New York," former Jets running back Emerson Boozer said last week. "That year, we went into training camp after the Super Bowl with one thing in mind: to defeat the Giants in preseason. Whatever you do, you don't win the Super Bowl and lose to the Giants."

2. The highlight occurred in '11 (if you root for the Giants): Victor Cruz made one of the most significant plays in Giants history, turning a short catch into a 99-yard touchdown on Christmas Eve in 2011. It was a game-changing, season-altering moment. The Giants, on the verge of elimination, never lost again, winning six straight, including the Super Bowl. The Jets blew their playoff chances that day and they haven't returned since. The two teams haven't played since in the regular season; the Giants lead the series, 8-4.

3. So much for sportsmanship: The intensity of the Christmas Eve contest spilled into the postgame. After a week of running his mouth, Jets coach Rex Ryan got a face full of Brandon Jacobs as he walked off the field. "Shut up, fat boy," the Giants running back yelled at Ryan. They nearly came to blows. That day was a turning point in the Ryan era. He was 28-18 before losing to the Giants, 18-31 after.

4. There was bickering before the game, too: The Jets' inferiority complex came shining through about two hours before kickoff. Pulling rank as the "home" team, the Jets used black curtains to cover the Super Bowl logos painted on the wall outside the Giants' locker room. A couple of players attempted to remove the curtains, but they were stopped by a security guard. Needless to say, the Giants were infuriated. "I won't mention what I thought," coach Tom Coughlin said afterward.

5. They once got into it over a coin toss: To determine which team would host the first regular-season game at MetLife Stadium, the NFL conducted a secret coin toss in March 2010. Neither team was present. The Giants won it, and Jets owner Woody Johnson flipped out, questioning the lack of transparency in a scathing statement. Many perceived it as Jets paranoia. In the end, there was a compromise of sorts. The Giants hosted the first game. The next day, the Jets hosted the first prime-time game in the stadium. That the two teams were able to work together to build the stadium was a small miracle.

6. Toon-ed out in '88: They faced each other in the 1988 season finale, with the Giants needing a win to clinch a playoff berth. The Jets, playing the familiar role of spoiler, sacked Phil Simms eight times and scored the game-winning touchdown with 31 seconds left, Ken O'Brien to Al Toon. To make the playoffs, the Giants needed the 49ers to beat the Rams in a late game. It didn't happen, prompting this memorable quote from Simms: "I'm just sitting here staring and watching the 49ers lay down like dogs."

7. Best buds: The late owners, Wellington Mara and Leon Hess, were actually close friends. Occasionally, they sat together at a game if one of their teams wasn't playing at the same time. Mara sat in Hess' suite in January 1999, when the Jets defeated the Jaguars in a home playoff game. Late in the game, the crowd started chanting Hess' name. Mara said it was the happiest he'd ever seen his old friend.

8. The big hurt: The rivalry hasn't been kind to Jets quarterbacks. In the 2013 preseason contest, Mark Sanchez suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. Ryan was heavily criticized for inserting his presumptive starter into the fourth quarter of a meaningless game, behind a second-string offensive line. In a bizarre and contentious postgame news conference, Ryan explained that his goal was to win the Snoopy Trophy, presented annually to the winner. In the 2003 preseason game, Chad Pennington suffered a gruesome hand injury and missed the first six games of the regular season.

9. Clandestine competition: After the '96 season, both the Jets and Giants pursued coach Bill Parcells through back channels. Parcells, available after a bitter divorce with the Patriots, was targeted early by the Jets. The Giants made a late push, hoping for a reunion with their former Super Bowl coach. It almost happened, but they ended up hiring Jim Fassel.

10. Shades of green and blue: No fewer that 40 players have played for both teams, including some big names. They include Don Maynard, Leonard Marshall, Plaxico Burress and Pepper Johnson, currently the Jets' defensive line coach. Jumbo Elliott is unique in that his career was split between the two teams -- eight seasons with the Giants, seven with the Jets.

>    http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/56635/giants-jets-rivalry-memorable-tds-silly-spats-and-the-fat-boy

[kelly]

How Eli Manning fares vs. savvy Jets vet could decide game

Each day this week, The Post will break down a key one-on-one battle in Sunday’s Jets-Giants showdown at MetLife Stadium.

Eli Manning vs. David Harris

The bios

Manning

One of five quarterbacks in NFL history to be named Super Bowl MVP twice, Manning holds Giants’ franchise records for most passing yards, touchdown passes and completions in a career, and is the NFL career record holder for most fourth-quarter touchdown passes in a season. The first overall pick in the 2004 draft and a two-time Pro Bowl selection, Manning is the NFL’s active leader for most consecutive starts, with 188.

Harris

A lifelong Jet, Harris has been the quarterback of the Gang Green defense for years, an anchor as the team’s heady middle linebacker. Other than 2008, when he missed five games, Harris has led the Jets in tackles every year since he was drafted in the second round in 2007 — and he’s No. 1 again this season. The former Michigan star was the first Jets rookie to lead the team in tackles since linebacker Stan Blinka in 1979, and was brought back last offseason on a three-year deal worth $21.5 million.

The numbers

Manning: 6-foot-4, 218 pounds, 34 years old, 12th NFL season

Harris: 6-foot-2, 250 pounds, 31 years old, ninth NFL season

The 2015 stats

Manning: 11 games, 23 touchdown passes, nine interceptions, 3,021 passing yards, 63.0 completion percentage, 92.5 rating

Harris: 11 games, 2.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 passes defensed, 75 total tackles

The history

The two career New Yorkers have faced each other just twice in the regular season — both Giants victories. The most recent matchup was Dec. 24, 2011, a 29-14 Big Blue victory. Manning connected on just 9 of 27 passes, but hit on the play of the game, a 99-yard scoring strike to Victor Cruz in the second quarter that gave the Giants the lead for good. Harris had a quiet game, four tackles and one pass defensed.

In the first encounter, a 35-24 Giants win on Oct. 7, 2007, Manning threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns, one apiece to Jeremy Shockey and Plaxico Burress, while Harris was credited with five tackles.

The breakdown

Two smart players, both know what this game is all about, having spent their entire careers in New York. Manning is a symbol for what the Jets have lacked since Joe Namath — the franchise quarterback able to lift up his teammates.He has won two Super Bowls, both over Tom Brady and the Patriots, the team the Jets still can’t get past. The Jets will no doubt try to make Manning uncomfortable by mixing up coverages and blitz packages, and by relying on their stout front four to wreak havoc in the backfield.

But Manning likely will be ready.

“I’ve gone on record a bunch of times saying Eli is the smartest player I’ve ever played with,” ESPN analyst Tim Hasselbeck, the former Giants backup QB, said in a phone interview. “The reason I say that is he’s very good at preparing, studying during the week and understanding the looks he’s going to get, seeing things pre-snap.”Harris is the unsung star of the Jets’ defense, a cerebral player who has been a constant since 2007, missing just six snaps last year, according to Pro Football Focus. A major factor in the Jets’ stingy run defense, he is quiet by nature, but his play is often loud.

“He’s a really smart player, he’s a really good player,” Hasselbeck said. “He’s one of those guys, earlier in his career, he probably didn’t get his due for how good of a player he was because he didn’t make ‘SportsCenter’ plays, if you will."But when you look at the stat sheet, you say, ‘Oh my gosh, he had that many tackles?’

He’s in many ways similar to a guy like Antonio Pierce. I don’t think he’s often fooled.”

>    http://nypost.com/2015/12/02/how-eli-manning-fares-vs-savvy-jets-vet-could-decide-game/

[kelly]

Team Report: Stakes Are High for Jets & Giants

Senior Reporter Eric Allen Believes the Continued Development of Devin Smith Could Prove Critical During the Stretch Run

 

>   http://www.newyorkjets.com/videos/videos/Team-Report-Stakes-Are-High-for-Jets--Giants/f007ef24-048c-4d06-952f-9d0a0b308aad

[kelly]

Most history lessons in advance of this Sunday’s Giants-Jets showdown will begin with Victor Cruz catching a football from Eli Manning and racing 99 yards for a touchdown, a Christmas Eve miracle just before halftime four years ago that shaped both franchises going forward.

The Giants rode the momentum to the NFC East title the following week on the way to a Super Bowl XLVI coronation with Manning’s second MVP award and the second Vince Lombardi Trophy for Tom Coughlin.The Jets failed to reach the postseason after their 29-14 loss to the Giants, and they have not been to the playoffs since, a span that includes the final three seasons of Rex Ryan’s coaching tenure with Gang Green.

In a way, Todd Bowles’ Jets might never have been if not for Coughlin’s Giants.

"There’s no question it sticks with you," Ryan, now the coach of the Bills, recalled earlier this season. "If you could point at one play that turned not just a game around but maybe a season around … Changed their fortune that season, and it certainly changed ours."So here we are again, the Giants and Jets, ready to face off with far more at stake than the statue of Snoopy for which they play every August.

The winning team isn’t guaranteed a playoff berth.

The losing team won’t be eliminated, at least not mathematically.

But make no mistake: This essentially is a must-win for both.

Some of the faces have changed. Some have returned.

There is urgency and a bit of desperation. Well, there better be.

And for the two men who will lead their teams onto the field Sunday at 1 p.m., this undoubtedly will represent a big moment for the MetLife Stadium co-tenants as well as Bowles and Coughlin, the way it did for Ryan and Coughlin back in 2011, even though neither coach will admit it publicly."The fact that we’re in the same city and the same stadium makes it very interesting for the fan base," Bowles said Monday, hours after the Jets posted a much-needed triumph over the rival Dolphins to stay in the AFC wild-card hunt.

Coughlin had yet to start preparing for the Jets when he spoke with reporters via conference call, his team still smarting from Sunday’s 20-14 defeat to Washington during which it failed miserably to seize control of a divisional race in a maddeningly uninspired performance."They won [Sunday]," Coughlin said of the Jets (6-5). "They’re a good football team. We did play them in the preseason, which is a long time ago."

And that brings us back to the history lesson.

What many forget from the 2011 encounter: the Giants were 3-point underdogs.

They had lost five of their previous six coming in and their defense was a weak link, not the one that ended up overwhelming Tom Brady on the sport’s biggest stage six weeks later.Like the current Giants (5-6), the Super Bowl XLVI champions were embarrassed by rival Washington the week before they played the Jets.Their pride was questioned. Manning threw three interceptions. There was talk that Coughlin’s time on the sideline might be over.

Sound familiar  ?

>     http://www.northjersey.com/sports/football/must-win-game-1.1465069

[kelly]

—The quarterbacks who call MetLife Stadium home have spent much of this NFL season staring at their star receivers, then throwing to them. The simple plan has worked so far, as the Giants’ Odell Beckham Jr. and the Jets’ Brandon Marshall rank fourth and sixth, respectively, in the NFL in receiving yards.

So in Sunday’s battle for East Rutherford, the objective for each defense is simple: Stop the guy with the disproportionate amount of catches.Neither the Giants nor the Jets have relied so heavily on a single receiver in years. Jets passers have aimed at Marshall on 29.2% of targeted pass attempts this season, according to Stats LLC. In the past decade, only Laveranues Coles (31.4% of targets in 2006) has had a higher share of passes thrown his way.Meanwhile, Giants quarterback Eli Manning has thrown 28.4% of his passes toward Beckham this year, up from 21.7% during Beckham’s injury-shortened rookie season of 2014, according to Stats. Manning hasn’t been this dependent on a lone receiver since he and backup David Carr targeted Steve Smith on 29.4% of their pass attempts in 2009.

All signs point to the trend continuing Sunday. Marshall led the Jets with 11 targets in last weekend’s win over Miami, catching nine passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns and prompting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to call him “our go-to guy.” Meanwhile, Manning threw at Beckham a remarkable 18 times in the Giants’ loss to Washington, with Beckham catching nine balls for 142 yards and a spectacular one-handed touchdown grab.

The simplest way to slow down Marshall and Beckham, of course, is to double-team or even triple-team them. Then again, perhaps not.“Coverage is always going to dictate where your first read is, who your first receiver is, what your progression will be going forward,” Manning said Wednesday, adding that he threw so often to Beckham on Sunday because he was often covered one-on-one.

Jets head coach Todd Bowles said Wednesday that double-teaming Beckham doesn’t guarantee success because the receiver is talented enough to “catch himself open.” That is, Beckham’s instincts and gigantic hands can render a double-team useless.“You can have him covered and he can still catch the ball with one hand,” Bowles said.

Bowles also suggested that double-teaming Beckham the entire game could make the defense too predictable. “It’s a chess game,” he said.Making matters more complicated is figuring out how to cover Beckham without All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis, who hasn’t practiced or even attended team meetings since suffering a concussion in Houston a week and a half ago. Another cornerback, Marcus Williams, is recovering from a sprained knee ligament.If the Jets can find a way to neutralize Beckham, the Giants have few alternate options. No. 2 receiver Rueben Randle has 40 catches and 511 yards this season, about half of Beckham’s total of 1,005 yards. Tight end Larry Donnell is still out with a neck injury and might miss the rest of the season.

On the other side of the field, if the Giants double-team Marshall, the Jets can resort to a much better Plan B in receiver Eric Decker, who has 51 catches for 700 yards and eight touchdowns. Marshall has said he has seen more double-teams as the season has progressed, but that he hadn’t become a decoy just yet.

“Nothing changes,” he said. “Always try to get open.”

>   http://www.wsj.com/articles/jets-giants-look-to-avoid-double-trouble-in-battle-for-east-rutherford-1449104009

[kelly]

— It's December. The Jets are 6-5. They have five games remaining, starting with Sunday's game "at" the Giants, who can probably be considered their rivals if everyone really wants to pretend badly enough.

But what else do we know about the Jets? A few thoughts :

• There's a lot we don't know. The Jets are squarely in that sweet spot of being perfectly mediocre. Twelve teams, or more than a third of the league, have records of 6-5 or 5-6. They win if they can force turnovers (19 in the six victories); they lose if they don't (two in five losses). They win when quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick plays well (100.7 QB rating, 13 TDs, four interceptions); they lose when he doesn't (67.7 QB rating, seven TDs, seven interceptions). What's hard to gauge is which variation of the Jets will show up on any given Sunday. Like, would it shock anyone if the Jets won or lost against the Giants on Sunday, either in a close game or by a wide margin?

• The Bowles factor. Bowles, the head coach, showed his decisiveness again last week by waiving underperforming first-round pick Quinton Coples. Bowles had also laid into the Jets after they lost for the fourth time in five games the week before. But the Dolphins stink on ice, and the Jets have shown themselves to be wildly inconsistent this season. Who's to say whether that emphatic response to Bowles will carry over?

• Defensive adjustments. The Jets beat the Dolphins—who, again, stink—without star cornerback Darrelle Revis, who continues to recover from a concussion. And they did it by playing exactly the opposite sort of defense they played the first time against the Dolphins. In that first meeting, the Jets blitzed quarterback Ryan Tannehill on 35 of his 48 dropbacks, a whopping 73 percent, according to Pro Football Focus. But this time, Bowles and defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers only brought extra pass rushers on 15 of 61 dropbacks, or 24.6 percent. The Jets rarely play their base 3-4, and while Bowles' reputation for constant blitzing is well-deserved, he's willing to change that game plan depending on the opponent. Something to keep in mind if you're worried the Jets might try to contain Giants wideout Odell Beckham Jr. one-on-one. Chances are, they won't.

• Lineup changes. Bowles also shook up the lineup a bit last week by having veteran backup Erin Henderson platoon with starter Demario Davis at inside linebacker, and by using Mike Catapano and rookie Lorenzo Mauldin as the edge rushers on third down. "Both have decent speed," Bowles said. And if both Revis and backup Marcus Williams (knee sprain) can't go, the Jets will have to turn to some combination of Darrin Walls, Dexter McDougle, or Dee Milliner. The Jets frequently play with five defensive backs, but they used six a bunch of times against the Dolphins, with Walls on McDougle as the extra corners along with Antonio Cromartie and Buster Skrine.

• Offensive line. Nick Mangold's return at center was certainly a plus for the offensive line, and right guard Brian Winters had a solid game for the second time this season against Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. Running back Chris Ivory broke about 63 tackles (OK, five) on his 31-yard touchdown run last week. And the O-line has mostly struggled with run blocking: 26th in the league in adjusted line yards, per Football Outsiders. But on the flip side, they're second in adjusted sack rate, as good a sign as any that the pass blocking has been better than expected. But Fitzpatrick (2.48 seconds to throw, per PFF) also is getting rid of the ball fairly quickly. Only seven quarterbacks are making throws faster.

>     http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/12/5_thoughts_on_jets_as_december_begins_giants_week.html#incart_river_index

[joewilly12]

Lets go. LETS DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!

[kelly]

-- Jason Pierre-Paul has played three games since returning from his horrific hand injury. He has yet to record a sack. You might say he's a sleeping Giant.

"Those are your words, not mine," New York Jets left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson said.

He's right, but the point is this: The Jets don't want to be the team that allows Pierre-Paul to re-discover his old groove. They're one of the best pass-protecting teams in the NFL (only 14 sacks allowed), and it needs to stay that way Sunday against the New York Giants.They don't see Pierre-Paul as a diminished player as a result of his July 4 fireworks accident. They see a pass-rusher with a proven track record, inching toward his past form.

"It looks to me like he's getting better every week and that's a little unnerving," offensive coordinator Chan Gailey said.

The burden of blocking Pierre-Paul falls to Ferguson, who faces elite pass-rushers on a weekly basis."He's a very talented player, athletic," said Ferguson, who has allowed four sacks this season, according to Pro Football Focus. "I know he's coming back from a serious hand injury, but I see him out there. He's still somebody we need to watch and make sure he doesn't wreck the game."

Ferguson isn't buying into Pierre-Paul's sackless streak.

"How many games has he been back? Three?" he asked. "He's trying to get into a rhythm. I think he's a very capable player. We know what he's accomplished in this league. He's just trying to get back into a rhythm after being out."

>     http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/56703/jason-pierre-paul-still-sackless-but-presence-is-unnerving-for-jets

[kelly]

Giants quarterback Eli Manning is not easy. The Jets' defensive linemen recognize this, as they prepare to face Manning on Sunday. 

The Giants' offensive line has a sack allowed rate of 4 percent — the NFL's fourth-best figure. (The Jets are tied for second, at 3.4 percent.) Sack rate is the percent of drop-backs on which the quarterback has been sacked.in terms of raw numbers, the Giants have allowed just 18 sacks, the seventh-best total in the NFL. The Jets are tied for first, with 14 sacks allowed.

Manning is having a very solid season: 23 touchdown passes, nine interceptions, and a 92.5 quarterback rating (his highest since 2011 and the third-best of his career). The Jets have a talented defensive line, with Sheldon Richardson, Leonard Williams, and Muhammad Wilkerson — plus nose tackle Damon Harrison. But the Jets might not be able to sack Manning, because he gets the ball out so quickly.

Harrison said the Jets see a possible way to get around this, by batting down passes at the line — something Wilkerson does well. This could factor in "a lot" against Manning, said Harrison. "He has some balls that come out a little low," Harrison said. "As every quarterback does. Mo, Sheldon as well, and a couple other guys do a good job of getting their hands up and possibly causing some turnovers. So that'll be huge as well."

Remember the Jets' Week 2 win at the Colts? In that game, Wilkerson got into the backfield, stuck his hand up, and tipped an Andrew Luck pass that cornerback Darrelle Revis intercepted. (Here's a look at how Wilkerson did it.) Manning actually hasn't had a lot of passes batted down or deflected this season — just five, which ranks 18th in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is tied for first, with 12 batted/deflected passes.Wilkerson has batted down two passes this season. He batted down five last year. So it's something he is clearly skilled at doing. 

How quick is Manning's release of the ball?

The Patriots' Tom Brady and Bengals' Andy Dalton are tied for first in the NFL in average time to attempt a pass — 2.21 seconds from snap of the ball to throw, according to PFF. Manning is eighth (2.37). Fitzpatrick is fifth (2.31). To make Manning uncomfortable, the Jets must "push the pocket, like you do [with] all the good quarterbacks," said Harrison. "You get him off his spot." 

>       http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/12/jets_defensive_line_sees_throwing_flaw_from_giants.html#incart_river_index

[kelly]

7 Points: Jets-Giants for the 13th Time

Why Should the Green & White and Their Fans Want to Win Sunday's Game? Let Us Count the Ways...

If all the green and blue talk this week showed one thing, it's that there may be 50 shades of rivalry in the NFL.

As Jets head coach Todd Bowles said, "I don't think it's a rivalry because we don't play the Giants as much." True, Sunday's meeting at MetLife Stadium is only the teams' 13th since 1970. (As an aside, not once have both teams come in with winning records.)Yet since these organizations have shared the same stadium since 1984, played each other in the preseason every year since 1969, and split up the New York metro area since 1960, this is a different breed of spat. And although the players jump through hoops to downplay it, the fans of both teams — and especially Jets fans, who haven't tasted victory in this, well, rivalry, since '93 — want this one bad.

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick said when he left the Rangers game he attended this week, "There were a couple of chants going back and forth, whether they were for the green team or the blue team — some animated fans. That was one of my first tastes of maybe some of the hostility between the fans. That was a cool experience for me. That was fun."But it will be more fun if the Jets can survive the hostility of being the road team in their own building, improve to 7-5 (two games over .500 this late in the season for the first time in four years), and elevate their AFC playoff profile, all at the same time.

"I know how much we're putting into each week, how much we care about this game, and how much it means to us," Fitz said. "I think that’s the focus."

Here are seven more points of consideration about Jets vs. Giants:

1. Uneven Playing Field

The series has tilted the Giants' way since the Jets' last win — they've won the last five to take an 8-4 lead. Of small comfort for Green & White fans: The Jets have played better as the road team with three of their four wins, including their 26-20 win at the Yale Bowl in 1974 on Joe Namath's tying keeper and winning OT pass to Emerson Boozer, a nine-sack game of Phil Simms in a 26-7 win in the Meadowlands in '81, and a rainy 10-6 triumph with Boomer Esiason besting Simms in '93. Yeah, we know. Ancient history.

2. Ivory's Run

What did Chris Ivory think of his 31-yard TD run vs. Miami? "I was impressed with it," he said with a smile. He should've been. In breaking five tackles, he unfurled one of the highlight runs of his career. And in first being hit 2 yards behind the LOS, the play was typical of his day: He absorbed first contact behind the line on 10 carries, gained only 1 yard before contact, yet had 86 yards after. He's still 234 yards away from his first 1,000-yard rushing season, but another milestone is within reach against the Giants: 54 yards rushing/receiving will give him his first 1,000-yard scrimmage season.

3. Battle Turnover

What makes the Giants so dangerous? Perhaps it's their takeaway talents. Their 23 TAs are second in the NFL and their plus-10 turnover margin and 73 points off turnovers are both third. The Jets can go toe-to-toe in TOs, except that their top two pickpockets, Darrelle Revis and Marcus Williams (6 takeaways each) could both be injury scratches. But Eli, they're comin' — the Jets lead the NFL with 11 fumble recoveries, with five of them coming on strip sacks and three of those occurring in the past four games.

4. Rockin' Red Zone O

OC Chan Gailey said Bowles had the Jets "start working on red zone from almost the third day we got here. He really believes in situational football." It showed up against Miami with four RZ touchdowns, giving the Jets a 73.0% TD rate that remains first in the NFL and, if it holds up, would set the team season record, as would the 5.8 points/RZ drive. The Big Three — Eric Decker (8), Brandon Marshall (5) and Ivory (6) — have scored 19 TDs and Fitzpatrick has 16 TD passes, no INTs and a 105.8 rating "in the zone."

5. Rock-Walled Red Zone D

And let's not forget the defense inside the opponents' 20. Williams' interception of Ryan Tannehill last week was the Jets' fifth RZ takeaway, and marked the eighth time foes didn't score on a trip into the zone. And Miami's two late TDs couldn't knock the Jets from the No. 1 perch on the defensive side of the NFL's red zone ledger with a 38.5% TD rate that, if that holds up, would be the team's best rate since 1972.

6. Three-and-Out Algebra

The Jets have "ascended" to the worst 3-and-out offense in the NFL, averaging three plays and a punt on 28.4% of their drives. The Jets defense, however, has climbed to second-best in opponents' 3-and-outs (29.7%). The Giants, on the other hand, have the worst D in the league in forcing punts (30.2%) and third-worst in forcing 3-and-outs (16.7%). We're not sure if all of this cancels out, but it seems the Green & White offense might have a chance to extend drives while Manning and the blue team might not.

7. Air Fitz

This would be a fine milestone for Fitzpatrick. A win would mark the first time in his 11-year career that he won seven games as a starting QB. And coming off his 4-TD, no-INT, 118.9 rating against the Dolphins, he could continue his personal air raid in the same stadium vs. the Giants, who are last in the league in total yards allowed, passing yards allowed, and yards allowed on first downs (6.54). All he  has to do is outscore Manning-to-Odell Beckham et al. Should be a fun renewal of this rivalry.

> http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/article-7points/7-Points-Jets-Giants-for-the-13th-Time/1e99b33f-3e49-4e1b-95fc-5c99f99e9471

[Be_a_Jet]

Not feeling too good about this game to be honest. But if we can win 3/4 out of Dolphins (w), Giants, Titans, Cowboys games Ill be happy. 

[kelly]

‐ They're rivals by geographic proximity. They're frenemies because they share a stadium and gag reflex has some still calling the Jets home Giants Stadium.

The Jets and Giants represent the same New York/New Jersey area and have their home bases 30 miles apart. They can basically bump into one another retrieving punts or if they show up to MetLife Stadium on the wrong Sunday. With two teams confined to the same state, the same region, it would only make sense for them to be rivals. Except this isn't Mississippi/Mississippi State or Alabama/Auburn where they meet every single year no matter what.

The Giants and Jets rarely meet on the field in meaningful games. They have played 12 times in 45 years, and just twice in the last dozen."Do I see it as a rivalry? Me personally, no," said Giants long snapper Zak DeOssie, who has been with the team since 2007. "We don't play them often."The Giants played the Jets in October of 2007 and late in the 2011 season. They went on to win the Super Bowl both seasons.It's still not enough to add that true rivalry feel when they step on the field Sunday, especially without former Jets coach Rex Ryan and his oversized mouth sparking the fire.

"Right, yeah, we play them every preseason, but this is the third time I've played them," said quarterback Eli Manning, who joined the Giants in 2004. "So yeah, it's not all that often that you play them. A lot of these guys have never played them at all. I think sometimes it gets pumped up to make it a big game. I think this season being a little later in the year, it's usually a big game because of the effect it can have on the seasons of both teams."Manning has played more meaningful games against the New England Patriots (5) than the Jets (2). He's played more real games against the Seattle Seahawks (7) than the Jets, even though they're almost 3,000 miles apart.

Only a handful of Giants players have even faced the Jets with their current team.

"In the NFL, the rivalry is that division team that has been your nemesis for 5, 6, 10 years, however many running," former Giants running back Tiki Barber said. "That you always play intense games, and it doesn't matter if one team stinks and the other team is great. It's going to be a great contest."The Giants and Jets has evolved into more a matter of circumstance than rivalry. The Giants (5-6) need this game to remain in the NFC East race. They're currently tied for first place. The Jets (6-5) are in the midst of a wild-card logjam in the AFC.Ultimately, they're both playing to boost their postseason possibility. But they're also playing for another title, one that means way more to the fans than it does the players, many who are friends and know each other from events and offseason workouts in the area.

"At the end of the day, you're battling for the title of New Jersey or New York," said Giants linebacker Jonathan Casillas, a New Jersey native.That means something for fans, who spend days, weeks and even months arguing over which team is better. The Giants supporters with their four Super Bowls in the past 29 years always have that to fall back on. The Jets fans, well, they more often than not seem to be fighting the uphill battle.That used to stick in the craw of the Jets players. The Jets were the little brothers fighting for respect against the better respected Giants franchise. It was there in the past two meetings when Ryan declared the Jets were going to take over New York. DeOssie was part of a group of players that ripped down the Jets signs on the wall. It was there even before Ryan arrived, too. 

"Those (preseason) games always ended up being a little bit more chippy for some reason," said former Giants and Jets offensive lineman Jumbo Elliott. "Whenever we'd roll out there and think we were superior to the other guys, we wanted to prove it to our fans. I have tons of great memories of Giants-Jets games."I know back in the day, you definitely did not want to be standing around lollygagging by a pile. You wanted to know what's behind you."But those days are gone. Many of the players are mercenaries in town for the quick paycheck or two-year stopover.  They're not in New York /New Jersey for the long-haul.

This hurts the feel of Jets-Giants.

"I think it's different now in the league. The league, the way it's set up, you're not going to have the same kind of rivalries. It's just not the same because players move and things are so transitional," said Elliott, who played eight seasons with the Giants, six with the Jets. "Guys are here today, gone tomorrow. You don't have the same foundation, year-in and year-out. But some of them are inherent. And if you're in the same city, it's going to be there. But it's different, without a doubt. I think they were nastier back in the day."Football, in general, was nastier. The game has transformed, and so has the Giants-Jets "rivalry." It's not what it used to be for the players, or maybe it never was. 

"It's not really a rivalry game because they don't play in the same conference or the same division," former Jets quarterback and current WFAN morning show host Boomer Esiason said. "But it is a local bragging rights game."

At least there is that for the fans.

>       http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2015/12/are_the_giants_and_jets_really_rivals_what_happene.html#incart_river_index

[kelly]

When the New York Jets and New York Giants take the field Sunday at MetLife Stadium, it won't be a turf war or a city championship or a battle for the Snoopy Trophy. It will be two desperate football teams, fighting to stay relevant in the playoff race."I don't know if it's a rivalry ... but I will say this," longtime Jets linebacker Calvin Pace said. "The Giants bring a certain type of physicality -- a mind state -- ever since I've been here. It's always one of our tougher games, even in the preseason."

Enough hype. Let's get to the top storylines:

1. Win ... or else: Right now, the Jets (6-5) belong to the Mediocrity Club. They're among six teams, separated by only one game, vying for the two wild-card spots. It will probably take 10 wins to make the tournament, and they still have a date with the New England Patriots ... so do the math. The Jets are operating with little margin for error. Worst-case scenario: They emerge  from the weekend one game behind three wild-card contenders.

2. In Todd they trust: Todd Bowles raised his head-coaching stock last season because of his ability to adjust on the fly, creating winning defensive game plans despite a revolving-door lineup with the Arizona Cardinals. The Jets could use some of that magic. Without Darrelle Revis (concussion) and backup Marcus Williams (knee), they have to face Odell Beckham Jr. with a gaping hole at cornerback. They will have to change the way they play.Predominantly a man-to-man team, deploying Revis on the No. 1 receiver, the Jets probably will double Beckham with a corner-safety combo, leaving Antonio Cromartie in single coverage on Rueben Randle. Or they could play more zone than usual. This is what coaching is all about. You plug different players into new roles, give them a plan and hope it's good enough. Rumor has it this Beckham dude is pretty good. The Jets have struggled with wide receivers in recent weeks, having allowed 10 touchdown passes against only three interceptions in the past five games. In the first six games, it was five touchdowns and seven  interceptions.

3. Affect Eli: Despite a patchwork offensive line, Eli Manning has been sacked only 18 times. He's tough to get because he doesn't hold the ball -- an average of 2.37 seconds from snap to pass, one of the quickest times in the league. The Jets are a hot and cold pass-rushing team. Their power-rushing wide bodies can be neutralized by a quarterback with a quick trigger. In this game, their goal is to pressure up the middle, forcing Manning off his spot. This game isn't about sacks, it's about generating pressure and disrupting his timing, particularly with Beckham. It's an absolute must, especially with a compromised secondary.

4. Ain't that a Shane: Beckham dominated the run-up to the game, but the X factor will be running back Shane Vereen. Bowles said Vereen is "a big mismatch for linebackers," and we all know the Jets have experienced a few coverage hiccups in that area. Demario Davis and Erin Henderson alternated series last week at weakside linebacker, but that doesn't really solve the pass-coverage woes. Look for the Giants to go after Henderson,   who is slower than Davis. Vereen doesn't split out that often (only nine targets), but he will burn the Jets if they get too preoccupied with Beckham.

5. FitzMagic tackles December: Everybody has been talking about Manning and Beckham, but the Jets have a prolific quarterback-receiver tandem as well. Brandon Marshall will be a handful for the Giants, especially if he draws Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in single coverage. Marshall already has nine touchdowns, the most by a Jets receiver since Santana Moss in 2003. Ryan Fitzpatrick, coming off his best game, should put up big numbers against a defense allowing a league-high 309 passing yards per game. That's 54 yards more than the Giants' franchise worst (2011). Fitzpatrick is looking to set a career mark; he's never won seven starts in a season.

>   http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/56738/jets-will-be-blue-not-green-if-they-cant-contain-odell-beckham