The preseason still means something for the Giants-Jets rivalry

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ --€” It was a near 90-degree day on Wednesday with dogged sun and the practice was ferocious. It was Giants offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan who labeled it “an old-fashioned training camp day.” The Giants seemed prickly.

Maybe it was over the Josh Brown domestic violence suspension and fallout.

Or maybe the Giants are seeing red over their patchy preseason performance. Maybe the Giants are simply seeing green.

The Jets are up next in preseason fare, a Saturday night meeting in the stadium both call home. An annual preseason turf war. A macho meeting.

Giants/Jets serves as an NFL reminder that breaking up can be hard to do.

Across the league, quarterback Brock Osweiler shoved his old team, Denver, aside to sprint to Houston. Safety Eric Weddle told San Diego to get lost on his way to Baltimore. Quarterback Robert Griffin III endured a bitter split with Washington en route to Cleveland. Cornerback Josh Norman is still angrily chirping about bolting from Carolina to Washington.

For new Giants defensive tackle Damon “Snacks” Harrison, this is his first meeting with his old team. Same stadium for Harrison, same city, but a whole new uniform.

Last week when the Giants played at Buffalo, Harrison said he was not traveling there “to rekindle things” with his old coach, Rex Ryan. This week, with the Jets across from him, with four seasons as a Jet behind him, he might be reminded that breaking up can be hard to do.

In this scrappy city, in this contrary rivalry, the shift from green to blue can require more than a New York minute.

A Giants/Jets preseason game six years ago provided the breakout moments for Giants receiver Victor Cruz. Oddly enough, it might serve this time as a spark in his return from grisly injury.

It is always a pinnacle moment for rookies on both sides. They enter the league full of verve and wonder, wade through mini-camps and training camp and two preseason games and then enter this den at this time each season with their most impactful, regular-season like encounter. Starters play longer in the third preseason game. The competition for roster spots is full throttle. The New York crowd energizes the spectacle.

Two rookie linebackers on each team are worth watching.

For the Jets, it’s Darron Lee, who has hit it hard and fast, impressing his teammates and coaches. For the Giants it is B.J. Goodson, who has hit it slower, who is coming, who seeks to emerge in this clash.

Lee was a first-round pick from Ohio State, the 20th overall selection. Goodson was a fourth-round pick from Clemson, the 109th selection. Lee is fast and quick and smaller. Goodson is stout and strong and not as fast. Both play in the middle.

Lee already has a local TV car dealership commercial. Goodson is toiling in anonymity.

Giants/Jets gives Goodson a chance to rise.

Giants coaches say he started slowly learning the defense, learning the pro game but is elevating now. Goodson says there is room for Lee and him to shine on Saturday night.

“I thought I would be drafted higher, but it is a blessing to have the opportunity to play in the NFL,” Goodson said. “A lot of college players do not make it to this position. I think the Giants are beginning to see what I can bring. They want me to adjust what I bring and turn it into what they want.”

Lee is 6’1, 232 pounds. Goodson is 6’1, 243 pounds.

Has he seen Lee’s commercial, he is asked?

Is Lee the better linebacker?

“No,” Goodson said, “I haven’t seen it. But that’s cool he has it. No, he’s not the better linebacker. I’m a true linebacker. At the combine, I saw how he uses his speed and explosion, and that’s great. They put No. 50 on him, a big number. I guess that makes him look bigger. But where you’re drafted now doesn’t mean much. And the fact we’ll be on the same field for the first time doesn’t mean much. I don’t think in terms of competing with him at all. I think in other terms. I keep it simple. When my number is called, I want to be prepared to do my best with the opportunity. And you do that best by keeping it simple.”

Not much is simple when the Giants play the Jets every year in the preseason. Veterans know the story. Players who have switched sides feel the tug. Rookies awaken.

“I’ve learned quickly in the NFL that we use each others’ energy,” Goodson said. “I’ve learned how the veterans demand that you bring yours’. Young guys have a role to play in this game. Even in the preseason, it means something to everybody.”