Big Ben. Buckingham Palace. The Tower of London. They might all remain unchecked on many New York Jets players’ “must-see” lists.
The team left for London on Thursday night, but this is no European vacation.
Coach Todd Bowles wants his Jets players focused on the task at hand — playing the Miami Dolphins on Sunday — and not sightseeing.
Photo: AP
“They’ve got enough money, they can make it in the off-season,” Bowles said with a laugh on Thursday. “They will be OK, they’ll be all right. They get a little bit of free time, they can do their tour. We’re on a business trip. They want to go back in the off-season, hey, have at it.”
The Jets will be playing their first game overseas since a pre-season game in Japan against Tampa Bay in 2003. While he was coach of the Buffalo Bills, Jets offensive coordinator Chan Gailey traveled with his team to Toronto three times — but that did little to prepare him for this type of trip.
This trip was seven-plus hours in the air, and the Jets planned to practice yesterday at a London-area facility. They hold a walkthrough today at Wembley Stadium and then play the Dolphins there tomorrow.
Along with Cleveland Browns tight end Gary Barnidge, right tackle Breno Giacomini co-founded the nonprofit American Football Without Barriers in 2011 and they host camps in underprivileged countries. The Jets offensive lineman thinks the Jets and Dolphins game in London can help the game expand globally.
“American football fans are growing all over the world,” Giacomini said. “This gives people a chance locally over there the chance to travel three, four, five or six hours and go watch an NFL game, and not just watch it at 3am or on replay when you already know the result.”
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