Corey Sipkin/New York Daily News
Giants owner John Mara points to the bandage on his head and jokes with reporters that they should ‘see what Jerry Jones looks like.’
ALBANY â€" Jerry Jones has made it clear he's obsessed with the Giants. The Giants, though, aren't at all obsessed with him.
For the most part, the defending Super Bowl champions responded with a shrug of the shoulders and a zip of their lips on Wednesday when they were asked to respond to the Cowboys' owner's vow to "beat the New York Giants' ass." About the only response was a couple of one-liners from Giants co-owner John Mara.
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First, Mara walked to the team dining hall with a bandage on his forehead and when reporters noticed he said "You should see what Jerry Jones looks like."
Later, when asked about Jones' trash talk on "The Mike Lupica" Show on ESPN Radio, Mara joked that he wasn't even aware of the comment, thanks to all the noise coming out of Cortland, N.Y. from the backup quarterback of the Jets.
"We'll show up (to play the Cowboys)," Mara said. "But that is actually the first time I've heard that comment. I have been so caught up in the (Tim) Tebow coverage that I haven't had time for anything else."
That was it, though. None of the rest of the Giants even bothered to poke fun at Jones, who tried to fire up a crowd at the opening of Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, Calif. on Monday by telling them "we want you to come to (Cowboys) Stadium and watch us beat the New York Giants' ass, OK?" Justin Tuck, even re-used the "Talk is cheap, play the game" phrase that was the theme of the Giants' 2007 championship season.
LM Otero/AP
Jerry Jones
Not even Martellus Bennett, the ex-Cowboy who arrived at Giants training camp last week and immediately said "I just want to kick (the Cowboys') asses," would bite at the chance to bash his former boss.
"I have nothing to say about that," Bennett said. "Everybody has their point of view."
Jones' point of view apparently is more like tunnel vision and it's focused solely on the Giants. In an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday, Jones said his remark had nothing to do with confidence. It was about keeping his team's focus on the big target on the Giants' back.
"Confidence may not be the word, because they beat us twice last year," Jones said. "But the main thing is the opening ball game. It's a prominent game, because it opens the season in front of the nation. I want everyone on our team with their mind on the Giants because that's who we open up with, that's our first real deal, and that's why they're getting my attention."
Jones, of course, didn't promise victory when the Cowboys open the regular season at the Meadowlands on Sept. 5. He was only promised a win in the Oct. 28 game when Giants come to Cowboys Stadium. What he didn't mention was that the Giants are 3-0 at that $1.3 billion palace. They also beat the Cowboys in both buildings last year.
Jones said he's still bothered by those two losses â€" both of which came in the final four games of the regular season, including a winner-take-all season finale that left the Cowboys out of the playoffs. Had the Cowboys won either game, they would've made the playoffs and the Giants likely would've been out.
"I'm going on 24 years in the NFL, and the second-most disappointing year I've had was last year," Jones said. "(Tony) Romo had the year he had (and) you're supposed to be knocking on the door when your quarterback is playing like that. I thought we could do better than that."
Doing better this year apparently starts with giving the Giants a Texas-sized beating â€" a threat which didn't seem to faze the defending champs.
"Obviously, they haven't had the success they wanted down there the last couple of seasons," said former Cowboys defensive tackle Chris Canty. " We see something that obviously they wanted to do to excite their fan base and instill confidence in their football team. If that's how they choose to do it, then that's how they choose to do it. "
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