Daman Harrison Photo from cover32.com

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Damon Harrison likely wouldn’t last very long as a boxing promotor, judging by his tepid buildup to the annual Giants-Jets MetLife Bowl preseason showdown.
“I wouldn’t call it a rivalry,” Harrison said this week. “I think it’s more for the fans. And you know, a respect thing around the town, seeing each other out, the Giants and the Jets. But as far as Cowboys-Giants and Jets-Patriots, it’s not that kind of rivalry.”

Harrison is perhaps the foremost current authority on this matter. After playing for the Jets the previous four seasons, he signed with the Giants as a free agent on March 10. He teams with Johnathan Hankins to give the Giants a sturdy run-stopping tandem at defensive tackle. But Harrison is not exactly inciting enmity in what is often an emotional preseason game.

“I don’t hate them at all, I don’t hate too many teams in the league,” Harrison said. “It’s just a game. It’ll be fun to get out there and play with my former teammates and some guys I consider family.

“The funny thing is just to watch your former team on the field, and watch the guys you’re going up against and spoke to everyday for the past four years. That’s been weird, and you know, to actually hear opinions from other teams and what they think about guys, that’s funny man. That’s real funny.”

Harrison said he talks to his former teammates – Muhammad (Wilkerson), Sheldon (Richardson), Leonard (Williams), T.J. Barnes, Stephen Bowen – “every other day. I’m sure it would be more if we weren’t in camp. But I talk to those guys all time, not only the D-line but a lot of the guys on offense and defense.”

Harrison is also friendly with many of the Jets’ offensive linemen, with whom he butted heads in scores of practices.

“I’m excited to see everybody, but the entire O-line, it’ll be fun to have on a different jersey and go up against them,” Harrison said. “It’ll be weird at first, but hopefully (center Nick) Mangold gets to play, because we’ve always had some good battles. He’s still one of the better centers in the league, and you know that’ll be the last time before his last preseason game.”

Perhaps because he’s so close to old teammates, Harrison is still adjusting to his new surroundings and linemates.
“It’s coming along nicely,” he said. “Again, it’s still different. I’m a guy, I don’t like change at all. I like consistency, I like everything to be the same every single day. I definitely have been embracing it a whole lot more now.”

*Coach Ben McAdoo said kickers Josh Brown and newly-signed Randy Bullock will both play in the game.

*What is McAdoo hoping for from Victor Cruz in his first game in almost two years? “I would love to see him get his hands on a football and make some plays for us,” McAdoo said.

*The Giants will be cautious with linebacker J.T. Thomas III, who was activated off the physically unable to perform list this week.

“We’re going to work him in slowly,” defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said. “Sometimes, you rush him too quick there’s another injury. We have to get him up to speed quick, whatever the day is before we get to Dallas (for the Sept. 11 season opener). He’s a guy that helped us last year, so hopefully we can get him out there and get him some reps in the Jets game. Again, if you rush him too quick and the volume gets too high, you run the risk of him getting another injury.”

*The game tomorrow will provide another opportunity for Jasper Brinkley and Kelvin Sheppard to shown they deserve the starting middle linebacker job.

“(They’re) still neck and neck,” Spagnuolo said. “We’ve been repping it exactly that way. Even when you see in practice, Kelvin will go with the first team, first series and then Jasper will do the same thing. It’s been a great battle. Two guys that respect each other and that’s what the league is all about. The more you can get that at every position the better you’re going to be.”