BALTIMORE – They have a right to talk. The Giants, as the vanquished, know this and were prepared to suffer in silence. The Ravens can crow all they want about how badly they thrashed the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV. The truth hurts. The Giants know this, too.

But they don’t have to like it.

“We lost, they beat us, we give them all the credit, but still, talking about it now, that’s ridiculous,” safety Sam Garnes said.

Garnes, like many other Giants, has heard how Shannon Sharpe, the Ravens’ talented, verbose tight end, said the 34-7 trouncing of the Giants on Jan. 28 was so easy it could have been even worse. Say, 50-0, according to Sharpe.

“Once you win, you win, I’m not the type of person who says you shouldn’t be talking,” Garnes said. “We’re not saying anything and they’re still talking. They have a right to talk to us and we got a right to respond. My response is going to be [today] when we’re out there playing. That’s how I feel.

“I’m tired of hearing the talking. I want to get some good hits while I’m in there.”

In this afternoon’s final preseason tuneup at PSINet Stadium, figure Garnes and the other Giants starters will be on the field for only the first quarter, and in that time expect a no-holds-barred approach. The combatants involved in last year’s Super Bowl in Tampa meet again, with the Giants still annoyed with themselves for their dreadful primetime performance. Throughout training camp, the Giants were reminded of their failures every time HBO’s Hard Knocks series aired and every last detail of the Ravens’ summer was recounted, time and again.

Many Giants say they could not bear to watch. Defensive tackle Keith Hamilton said every time he sees Ravens coach Brian Billick he “wants to throw up.” Center Dusty Zeigler, upon hearing of Sharpe’s boast, said: “Shannon Sharpe is a great player. Just ask him, he’ll tell you.” Asked about the 50-0 claim, Zeigler replied: “He’s right, they should have beaten us 50-0. If they were a better team they probably would have.”

Even the Giants coaching staff has gotten into the act.

“Brian Billick doesn’t think much of anybody,” defensive coordinator John Fox said. “That’s a real powerhouse offense they had. They had about 232 yards [actually 244] in the Super Bowl and punted 10 times and had three [actually 13] first downs, but I know they really could have run it up on us.”

It is difficult for any of the Giants’ offensive players to make a stink, considering how woeful they were in the Super Bowl.

“They beat our butt,” Tiki Barber said. “Hey man, that’s what happens when you win the Super Bowl.”

The more militant faction within the Giants is their defense, which certainly was able to handle the Ravens in the Super Bowl.

“I heard that 50-0 stuff,” Garnes said. “Definitely not from that offense last year. They got some new players now, a quarterback, [Elvis] Grbac, right? They’ll probably put 50 points on a couple of people this year, I guess. That’s what they said.”