Rex Ryan fired the first salvo at the Giants this week, declaring the Jets are New York's best football team. If you thought Ryan would be silenced with his team a day removed from a 26 point beating, you are mistaken.
"Quite honestly, I never came here to be little brother to anybody," Ryan said. "So, it’s on."
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"Certainly, we were the better team the first two years," Ryan said. "We made the playoffs and went to the championship game. To say a team’s better than you that never made the playoffs, just is ridiculous. Clearly, we were the better team my first two years. And we get to prove it on Saturday who the best team is this year."
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"I recognize that they’re an excellent football team, but I think we’re better," Ryan said.
Although some Giants fans would have you believe it is their birthright to say they own the city, Rex is right. This is decided on the field. The Jets have been better since Ryan took over. The Giants will have the chance to claim superiority on the field if they win Saturday. If the Jets win, Gang Green is big brother in 2011.
I expect to hear plenty from the Jets this week. I think it is calculated. They want to create a distraction for the Giants. They want the Giants to have to answer nonstop questions about the way the Jets are talking to irritate them. We have seen the Jets deploy this tactic against the Patriots in recent years. Like the Pats, the Giants have a coach who likes to block out distractions and does not like his players generating headlines. Rex wants the Giants to focus on the sideshow instead of their plan. He wants them to get angry and too hyped up so they make mistakes. He wants somebody to slip up like Wes Welker did before the Playoff game last year and create a division. The Giants have lost their composure at times during preseason games in the Ryan era against the Jets perhaps because they were too hyped. A big regular season game will magnify this.
Of couse, this also opens the Jets up to end zone dances by people like Mike Francesa if the Giants win.