The NFL announced the Jets' 2014 preseason opponents this afternoon. Here are five things you should know about those games:
1. Colts Game: Sibling Rivalry
It will be brother against brother in the summer opener against the Colts — S Dawan Landry's Jets taking on the team of kid brother LaRon Landry, who was with us for the 2012 season. Dawan and LaRon have played against each other three times as pros, twice in the preseason and in the Jets' 17-10 regular-season win at Jacksonville in '12.
The Landrys are the fourth set of brothers to have worn Jets jerseys, following on the heels of DT Larry (1974-75) and OL Robert (1973-77) Woods, CB Aaron (1994-2001) and LB Jason (2001-04) Glenn, and RB Adrian (1993-97) and LB Marques (2007) Murrell.
2. Rex vs. Marvin One More Time
One interesting preseason opponent for Rex Ryan's Jets would have been the Cleveland Browns under new head coach Mike Pettine, who served with Ryan on coaching staffs with the Ravens and Jets from 2002-12. That wasn't scheduled, but that doesn't mean Ryan won't get to take on an old coach of his.
Marvin Lewis was Rex's defensive coordinator in Baltimore from 1999 through 2001 before becoming head coach of the Bengals. Since Ryan took the Jets controls in '09, he and Lewis have butted heads six times. Ryan won the first four (three regular-season) and Lewis the last two, both at Paul Brown Stadium ('12 preseason, regular season last year).
3. Road Team Rules — So Far — in MetLife Bowl
This will be the fourth year the Jets and Giants will meet in the MetLife Bowl and the fifth summer they will be facing off in their shared home stadium. Each time since 2010 the "visiting team" has won at MetLife.
Our last summer home game vs. the Giants, in 2012, was a 26-3 loss, with the 23-point losing margin the largest against the Giants in any game, pre- or regular season.
However, last year we prevailed on the road, 24-21, in overtime. Geno Smith and Matt Simms both threw their first pro touchdown passes in regulation (Geno to Ben Obomanu, Matt to Ryan Spadola). Then Billy Cundiff, in his last Jets kick before being released, hit the 32-yard game-winning field goal 6:56 into the extra session.
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- Next Stop After Eagles: Regular Season**
For the 14th consecutive summer, the Jets and Eagles will end the preseason against each other and then head into "the games that count."
Last year at MetLife, in our first game against a non-Andy Reid Philly team since 1998, we prevailed, 27-20, over Chip Kelly's Birds. S Antonio Allen first showed the big-play return skills that he took with him into the '13 regular season when he picked off rookie QB Matt Barkley and ran 20 yards for the cementing TD with 1:57 to play (video above). Kahlil Bell also ran for two touchdowns.
That made it 10 wins in the last 12 meetings for the Jets.
5. No Prime Time Games
This is the second summer in a row in which the Jets are not set to play in any national games. Our last nationally televised preseason game was in 2012 against the Carolina Panthers. The last time we went two years without a national primetime appearances: 1996-97.
