Todd Bowles: Jets-Giants isn't a rivalry

Todd Bowles isn't feeling your 'New York rivalry' storyline this week.

The New York Jets' first-year coach said Sunday's matchup with MetLife Stadium co-habitant Giants isn't a rivalry.

"No, I don't think it's a rivalry because you don't play them as much," he said, via ESPN.com. "They're not in the same division. You only play them once every (four) years. The fact that we're in the same city, same stadium makes it very interesting for the fan base, but other than that, no."

Bowles grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, but he's been the Jets coach for less than a calendar year. He's only played in one preseason "Snoopy Bowl" -- a Jets win. Perhaps he just needs more time in New York to get charged up. His players certainly view it as a rivalry matchup.

"Because it's two teams in the same city, it's definitely a rivalry," Brandon Marshall - another newcomer -- said Tuesday on Sirius XM's Mad Dog Radio Show. "We definitely want to be known as the best team in New York, and we have to go out there and fight for that this weekend."

Around The NFL's Conor Orr worked on both the Giants and Jets beats and said there certainly is a MetLife rivalry. The heat was especially prominent when Rex Ryan was the coach. 

The last time the Jets and Giants tussled in a meaningful game -- 2011 -- Gang Green's bloviating coach went after Big Blue often in the week leading up to the clash. Following the Giants' win, then-running back Brandon Jacobs told Ryan "it's time to shut the (expletive) up, fat boy."

As far as Giants players are concerned, former guard Chris Snee said Big Blue always keeps track of the Jets.

"We're always keeping an eye on what they did," Snee said, via the New York Post. "I was never a guy that said, 'Oh, I hope they do great.' I didn't want them to do great. I know some guys say that, 'I hope the Jets do well.' Some Giants players say that, but I never felt that way...

"I looked at it like, listen, let's be honest, we share things but the Giants are still the team," Snee continued. "I can speak openly about it now that I'm not worried about having them across from me at the line of scrimmage. I always looked at it as: The Jets want to get where we're at. That's having won the championships and having won really over the area for the most part. I know there are a lot of Jets fans and they're loyal, but the Jets are in Giants country.

"Listen, it's definitely a game where you want the bragging rights. You don't want your little brother to beat you in anything, let's put it that way."

Little brother! That's more like it.

Whether the men between the lines view it as a rivalry or not, Sunday's game is pivotal for both squads, each of which is desperately clawing for playoff positioning.