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A s the Jets made their way down the field earlier this month to a potential game-winning touchdown, Rex Ryan literally was following along, logging plenty of yardage on the sideline as he excitedly ran downfield with his offense.
And it’s not as if Mark Sanchez, LaDainian Tomlinson and Santonio Holmes were leading the way. It was third-string quarterback Greg McElroy and a collection of reserves trying, ultimately unsuccessfully, to win the preseason opener at Houston.
So as much as Ryan doesn’t care about the results of preseason games, the coach within him often takes over in the heat of the moment. However, he and his players will have to wait a few days for such a situation, as the Jets-Giants game was postponed until Monday at 7 p.m. at MetLife Stadium because of concerns about onrushing Hurricane Irene, which is supposed to hit the area sometime Saturday night.
The Jets said their Sept. 1 game against Philadelphia will be played as scheduled. That means the Jets only will have two days to prepare for that contest.
Ryan said the outcome of Monday’s game doesn’t matter, mainly because the teams will play for real Dec. 24, with the Jets as the host.
"If we weren’t playing each other in the regular season," Ryan said, "then I think it would be (more special) because it’s more bragging rights. These guys go eat at the same restaurants, same establishments and all that kind of stuff, so you definitely want to win that one. But the fact that it’s a preseason game and we’re (also) playing a regular season game, I don’t think so."
Of course, Ryan said in his book, "Play Like You Mean It," released last spring, that he considered the Jets to be "big brother" to the Giants.
"I am not backing down," Ryan said when asked about that. "I believe we are the best team in New York and the goal is to be the best in the National Football League, not just in New York.
"I am not backing down one bit from that statement. I believe that will be the case."
Hype and trash-talk aside, the main goals for the Jets in this game are to avoid injuries and to be as sharp as possible for the Sept. 11 regular season opener against Dallas. Ryan expects to have both his starting offensive and defensive units intact after being beset with several injuries on both sides of the ball during training camp.
Ryan said both starting units will play into the third period.
"We need to play well through half time, maybe the third quarter," said Sanchez, who played into the fourth quarter of the third preseason game last year against Washington.
"You play into the third quarter and we get to work a lot of different situations, maybe another two-minute drill, hopefully a couple red-zone situations and third downs, maybe goal-line stuff. It’s a good opportunity for our team to rep those situations and be comfortable with them by the time we play (Dallas)."
"Now we’re able to have everybody, hopefully, on the field at one time," said wide receiver Derrick Mason, who missed the Cincinnati game because of a knee injury. "It’s critical that we put on a good showing (and) give Dallas something good to look at."
"Both teams like to run the football and play aggressive defense," Ryan said of the Giants, "so I always think that makes for a great matchup.
(c)2011 The Record (Hackensack, N.J.) Distributed by MCT Information Services
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