Saturday's preseason game against the Giants is now an afternoon affair.
The time of the opening kickoff for the annual Jets-Giants preseason game at MetLife Stadium has been moved to 2 p.m. ET on Saturday due to Hurricane Irene expecting to reach the New York/New Jersey area early Sunday morning.
The game, which this summer is the Giants' home game, was scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. but the NFL has approved the time change.
Rain is expected to fall Saturday morning through the 2 o'clock hour in the East Rutherford, N.J., area, according to accuweather.com. Then rain is forecast to start again at 5 p.m. and once more at 9 p.m. The effects of Irene will start to be felt around midnight as the winds are expected to increase to 30 mph and greater and the rain starts to fall heavier into the Sunday morning hours.
This was a no brainer. There is no reason to put people in harm's way., especially for a game that means nothing in the standings. This will give everybody a chance to get home safely before the storm hits and still be able to go to the game, which might not have been possible had it been moved to a different day. People blocked off Saturday to go. Another day might have been tough.