By Mariel S. Clark
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — The Jets have made plenty of headlines with their bravado and smack talk this summer. Now, they'll have to back it up on the field as they take on the Giants in the first game at the new Meadowlands Stadium on Monday night.
"It will be a big-time rivalry game, us against the Giants,” Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez told the Associated Press. “That will be fun.”
It may only be the first game of the preseason, but Gang Green is eager to shed the second-class label they've worn for the last 50 years. A label perpetuated partly by playing in a stadium previously named after the Giants.
"I'm excited to see how the fans react,'' Sanchez said, according to the New York Post. "I'm looking forward to getting out on the field and seeing the stadium."
The Jets are the home team Monday, which means the shared $1.6 billion new stadium will be lit up in green for the 8 p.m. kickoff. The Giants will have to wait until their Aug. 21 game against the Steelers for the space to go blue.
The Jets grabbed most of the offseason headlines, adding big names to their roster: running back LaDainian Tomlinson, linebacker Jason Taylor, receiver Santonio Holmes and cornerback Antonio Cromartie. They also moved further into the national spotlight by appearing in the behind-the-scenes show "Hard Knocks" on HBO.
The Giants, who won the Super Bowl in 2007, went 8-8 last season and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2004. The Jets went 9-7 and fell a game short of making the Super Bowl, losing to the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game.
If the Jets have been flashy, the Giants have been just the opposite, which is perhaps just the way they want it heading into a brand new season.
"We're completely OK with being overlooked right now," Giants defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, told the AP. "I think the last time that we were overlooked, we came out with a ring."
