The
New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the
Northeastern New
Jersey
part of the tri-state New York
metropolitan area
. They are members of the
Eastern Division of the
American Football Conference
(AFC) in the
National Football
League (NFL).
The team plays its home games in East Rutherford,
New Jersey
, at Giants Stadium
. The team's training facility and corporate
headquarters, which opened in 2008, are located in Florham Park,
New Jersey
. Previously they had headquartered and trained
at Hofstra
University
in Hempstead
, New
York
, on Long
Island
.
The team began in 1960 as a charter member of the
American Football League under the
name
Titans of New York. It was renamed after a
five-man syndicate bought the team in 1963. The Jets later joined
the NFL as part of the
AFL-NFL
Merger.
The Jets hold the distinction of being the first AFL team to defeat
an NFL club in an
AFL-NFL World Championship
Game when they defeated the
Baltimore Colts in
Super Bowl III.
Franchise history
Originally
known as the The Titans of New York, the team
played home games at the Polo Grounds
. But they had trouble attracting crowds
despite fielding respectable teams that finished .500 (7–7) during
their first two seasons. After a 5–9 season in
1962, the team's future was in doubt. It was
saved from
bankruptcy by a five-man
syndicate —
David A. "Sonny" Werblin,
Townsend B. Martin,
Leon
Hess, Donald C. Lillis and
Philip
H. Iselin, who purchased the
New York franchise for $1 million from
Harry Wismer on March 13, 1964. Leon Hess
eventually bought out his partners with the exception of Lillis'
daughter Helen Dillon, with whom he co-owned the team until
February 1984 when Dillon, a partner since 1968, sold her 25
percent interest in the club.
Hess retained sole ownership until his death,
and his estate then sold the team to Johnson &
Johnson
heir Robert Wood
Johnson IV in 2000.
After
Werblin, Martin, Hess, Lillis, and Iselin took over, the team was
renamed the New York Jets as they planned to relocate from the Polo
Grounds to Shea
Stadium
, home of the New York
Mets, one year later. Shea Stadium was so close to LaGuardia
Airport
that the sound of jets roaring overhead was a
common sound heard during games played there. The colors of the team
were also changed from blue and gold to kelly green and white,
which also were the colors of Hess' gasoline stations
.
Exactly one month after the sale of the team, the Jets hired
Weeb Ewbank as head coach. Ewbank had
won back-to-back NFL championships in
1958 and
1959 with the
Baltimore Colts, and was one of the most
respected coaches in the game.
Broadway Joe
1965–69
The Jets improved steadily on the field after
Joe Namath's arrival. In 1967, the former
Alabama quarterback
led the Jets to an 8–5–1 record, their best record yet. Namath
reached a milestone by passing for 4,007 yards in
1967, a 14-game season, making him the
first-ever professional quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards in a
season. This was especially remarkable considering that at the
time, 3,000 yards passing was considered an excellent year.
In
1968, the Jets would reach the
pinnacle of their existence and provide the moment that would
indicate the AFL's coming of age. Under Namath's guidance, the Jets
rose to the top of the AFL, defeating the
Oakland Raiders in a thrilling
AFL
Championship Game, 27–23, on December 29. The win qualified
them to represent their league in a game that was being referred to
for the first time as the
Super Bowl (and
referred to retroactively as
Super Bowl
III) on January 12, 1969. They were pitted against the
champions of the NFL, the
Baltimore Colts. At the time,
the AFL was considered to be inferior to the NFL, and most people
considered the Jets to be considerable underdogs and treated the
Jets as such. That would change three nights before the game while
Namath was being honored by the Miami Touchdown Club as its Player
Of The Year. Namath took exception to a heckling Colts fan and used
that moment to lament the lack of respect his team had gotten to
that point. He then said "We're gonna win the game. I guarantee
you." His audacious remark proved correct, as the Jets created one
of the greatest upsets in football history by defeating the Colts
16–7. This victory showed that the AFL
was capable of
competing with the NFL.
It also gave Shea Stadium the first of two World Championships teams in the
1969 calendar year , as the New York
Mets won the World Series nine
months later.
In the
1969
season, the Jets won a second consecutive Eastern Division
title with a record of 10 wins and 4 losses.
In the playoffs,
they lost to the Kansas
City Chiefs, 13-6, at Shea Stadium on December 20.
1970–76
Namath's career mirrored the Jets after the AFL-NFL merger became
final in
1970. He missed
much of the 1970,
1971,
and
1973 seasons due to
injuries, most notably to his ravaged knees, which robbed him of
his mobility and much of his effectiveness. He would not throw more
touchdowns than interceptions in a season after the merger, and in
fact only had two post-merger seasons (
1972 and
1974) where his performance could
have been classified as reasonably successful (the Jets also had
relative success in those years as well, finishing 7–7 both years).
After a terrible
1976 season in
which Namath only threw 4 touchdown passes against 16 interceptions
(six of them in a 38–24 loss to the
New England Patriots) in 11
games, Namath was waived by the Jets when a trade couldn't be
worked out to facilitate his move to the
Los Angeles Rams. He would play only four
games for the Rams before announcing his retirement at the end of
the season, at the relatively young age of 34.
Although Namath would
make the Hall of Fame
, it was widely acknowledged that he made it on his
performance through the 1969 season
and his role in leading the Jets to a victory in Super Bowl III.
Post Joe Namath
1977–1983
After Namath's departure,
Walt
Michaels was hired for the 1977 season and stayed with the team
for six years. In Michaels's first year, the Jets finished 3–11 for
the third straight year. However, the Jets were rejuvenated for the
1978 season, with unheralded quarterback
Matt Robinson replacing
Richard Todd and
throwing for 2,000 yards and the team finishing 8–8. The Jets were
actually 8–6 after the first 14 games and had a chance at a playoff
berth, but they lost their final two games. Richard Todd again took
over under center for the
1979
season and did even better, but the
Jets again finished 8–8.
Todd imploded with a 30-interception season in
1980, and the team went down with him,
finishing 4–12, last place in the AFC East. The lowest point was a
21–20 loss to the then 0–14
New Orleans Saints, who would
eventually finish 1–15.
The
1981 season was the Jets' first
winning season since the AFL-NFL merger. The Jets would finish
10-5-1 and make the playoffs for the first time since 1969 on
Richard Todd's 3,231 yards passing and 25 touchdowns, most of them
to
Wesley Walker and
Jerome Barkum. A late comeback in their first
playoff game, against the
Buffalo Bills, was stopped when
Todd threw an interception deep in Bills territory in the final
minute, and the Jets were eliminated. One of the Jets' bright spots
for the 1981 season was their defensive line.
All-Pro's
Mark
Gastineau and
Joe Klecko anchored the
"
New York Sack Exchange" and
combined for more than 40 quarterback sacks. The line also featured
Marty Lyons and
Abdul Salaam.
In
1982, powered by the Sack
Exchange and running back Freeman McNeil, the Jets went through
Cincinnati and the
Raiders in the playoffs
for a meeting in the conference finals with the
Miami Dolphins. Richard Todd
almost single handedly ruined this game for them by throwing 3
interceptions. The Dolphins would wind up winning this
controversial game in the mud of the
Orange Bowl (game would be known as the
Mud Bowl). The Dolphins ownership and coaches decided not to tarp
the field during heavy rains the day before the game, slowing down
the Jets pass rushing and their running game.
Joe Walton became the new coach for the
1983 season, and he led the team to
a 7–9 season.
Move to the Meadowlands (1984–1989)
After the
1983 season, the Jets' lease with
the city for the use of Shea Stadium expired, and the Jets would have needed to cut a
new deal to remain at the stadium. Due to the complexity of
switching Shea from baseball to football configuration, the Jets
had faced onerous lease terms at the stadium until 1978 when they
weren't able to play home games until the Mets completed their
season. Often the Mets' status as the stadium's primary tenant
would necessitate that the Jets go on long road trips early in the
season.
Giants Stadium has been home to the
Jets since 1984.
The Jets
failed to reach an agreement with the City of New York about
improvements to Shea Stadium, and instead reached an agreement with
the New Jersey Sports and Exhibition Authority to play their home
games at Giants
Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey beginning in
1984. The Jets played their last game at Shea in 1983, a
34–7 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Jets first game at Giants
Stadium in 1984 was a loss to the Steelers as well, 23-17.
Despite the move to Giants Stadium, the Jets organization made the
decision to remain the "New York" Jets, mirroring the decision made
by the Giants in 1976 when they moved, thus staking a claim to fans
throughout the Metropolitan New York Tri-State area.
Furthermore, despite
being in a different state, the Jets' new home was closer to
Times Square and midtown Manhattan
than Shea Stadium was, as the crow flies across the Hudson River;
although considerably farther from the team's Long Island fans and
Hofstra University offices and training facilities. In their
first season at their new home,
veteran quarterback
Pat
Ryan would start,
1983 first round
draft pick
Ken O'Brien would
eventually take over at quarterback; but the team stumbled to a 7–9
record. It is worth noting that the Jets passed over
Dan Marino in the draft, in favor of
Ken O'Brien.
In
1985, O'Brien threw 25 touchdowns
(including 7 to
Mickey Shuler and 5 to
Wesley Walker) with only 8
interceptions, and four different rushers combined for 18
touchdowns on the ground. The Jets made the playoffs with an 11–5
record, and hosted their first playoff game in 16 years; however
they were defeated in the first round by the eventual AFC champion
New England
Patriots 26–14.
The Jets won 9 straight games during the 1986 season en route to a
10–1 start. Wesley Walker caught 12 touchdowns, with second-year
player
Al Toon catching 8. The team slid
through December, losing five straight to finish 10–6. Pat Ryan was
named the starting quarterback for the playoffs, and they defeated
the
Kansas City
Chiefs handily in the first round.
In their
divisional playoff matchup in Cleveland
against the Browns, the Jets lost in
double-overtime on a field goal by Mark
Moseley, denying them a berth in the AFC Championship
game. In the fourth quarter of this game, the Jets held a
10-point lead when they inexplicably shifted to a
prevent defense which enabled Browns'
quarterback
Bernie Kosar to lead his
team downfield easily. The comeback effort was enhanced when Kosar
threw an incomplete pass on 2nd down and 24, but
Mark Gastineau was penalized for roughing the
passer to give Cleveland a first down at their own 33. On that
drive, the Browns would get a touchdown and, eventually, a
game-tying field goal in the closing seconds of regulation.
1990s
In
1990, the Jets hired
Dick Steinberg from the New England Patriots
to be the franchise's General Manager. One of his first moves was
to hire
Bruce Coslet, offensive
coordinator of the
Cincinnati
Bengals as head coach. Coslet's offensive schemes had helped
lead the Bengals to the
1988 Super
Bowl where they nearly defeated the
San Francisco 49ers.
Steinberg and Coslet let most of the key players from the 1980s go
and built from scratch.
In
1991, with
Brad Baxter tallying a career-high 11 rushing
touchdowns, the Jets improved to 8–8, winning their season finale
against the
Miami
Dolphins to earn a trip to the playoffs and deny one to the
rival Dolphins. Despite their modest regular season record, the
Jets played a close game against the
Houston Oilers in their
opening-round playoff game, losing 17–10.
After their successful 1991 season, Jets fans expectations were
high. Coslet chose second-year quarterback
Browning Nagle as their starter over Ken
O'Brien, which came as somewhat of a surprise at first, but Nagle
had shown some promise and seemed to be ready to take the job.
Unfortunately for the Jets, Nagle was not up for the job, and the
Jets disappointed fans with a 4–12 finish. The year was marked by a
near-tragedy in November when defensive lineman
Dennis Byrd was temporarily paralyzed when he
collided with teammate Scott Mersereau in a home game against
Kansas City. Thanks to what—at the time—was a relatively untested
steroid treatment, Byrd was able to walk
again in a matter of months.
After the 1992 season, having again identified the quarterback
position as a position of need, the Jets traded a third-round pick
for longtime Cincinnati Bengals quarterback
Boomer Esiason. Coslet and Esiason had worked
together successfully in Cincinnati, and the hope was that they
could continue that success with the Jets. Although a mid-season
winning streak gave Jets fans hope, they missed the playoffs at 8–8
with a loss to
Houston in
their final game. Coslet was fired as head coach and replaced by
Pete Carroll.
Off the
field, the Jets also enjoyed a boost in their local profile when
WFAN-AM
, one of the highest profile stations in the
country, acquired the radio rights to the Jets. Although WFAN had
contracts with other New York-area professional teams, they lacked
a contract with a pro football franchise, and when WCBS-AM
decided to not renew the sports rights packages
they had acquired, WFAN took advantage of the opportunity to cover
the Jets. The strength of the clear-channel WFAN signal (it
should be noted that WCBS is itself clear-channel), as well as the
fact that the Jets would be carried on a dedicated sports-radio
station with a rabid and loyal following, gave the Jets a broader
reach and visibility with their potential audience that they had
not enjoyed previously. WFAN and WCBS are now sister
stations.
The Jets started the
1994 season 6–5
and played
Miami on
November 27. In a game against the Dolphins, Dan Marino fooled Jet
defender
Aaron Glenn into thinking that
he would spike the ball to stop the clock, then threw the winning
touchdown to
Mark Ingram with less than
a minute left for the victory. The play came to be known as "The
Fake Spike." The Jets would lose their last four games, finishing
the season 6–10, last place in the AFC East. Carroll was fired
after only one season and replaced by former
Philadelphia Eagles coach
Rich Kotite.
1995–96
During Kotite's two-year term in New York, the Jets won only four
games: a 3–13 record in
1995, and
1–15 in
1996, in both cases the
worst in the NFL. Having lost his last seven games as the Eagles'
coach, Kotite finished his NFL head coaching career with a 4–35
record in his final 39 games—one of the worst prolonged stretches
for an NFL head coach in history.
Kotite did set the stage for a franchise rebirth under Bill
Parcells by drafting Keyshawn Johnson and signing Neil
O'Donnell.
Vinny and the Jets 1997–99
After the 1996 season, the Jets would go on to enjoy a sort of
resurgence in relatively short order.
New England Patriots coach Bill Parcells, fresh off of leading the
Patriots to a Super Bowl, left Foxboro
to take the Jets' coaching job for the 1997
season. Parcells was attracted not only by a return
to the New York
area
, where he had enjoyed his greatest success with the
Giants, but also by the opportunity to both coach and have full
control over personnel decisions. Parcells had craved this
dual role in New England, and was quoted as saying that "if (he)
cooks the meal, (he) should be able to buy the groceries."
The draft set the stage for a quick turnaround in the late 1990s,
most notably
Keyshawn Johnson, a
wide receiver from
USC who was picked #1 overall in the
1996 draft. The pick of Johnson not
only gave the Jets a skill position player they desperately needed,
but an on-field identity and swagger the team had lacked since the
days of Joe Namath. The results of Parcells' takeover were
immediate.
Neil O'Donnell, formerly
of the
Pittsburgh Steelers,
threw for 17 touchdowns in his only full year as the Jets' starting
quarterback, and
Adrian Murrell ran
for 1,000 yards. The Jets finished 9–7, but missed the playoffs, in
part because of a somewhat curious call by Parcells against the
Detroit Lions. Parcells
had Leon Johnson throw a halfback option, which was intercepted.
After that play,
Barry Sanders took
over the game and went over the 2,000-yard rushing mark on the
year. Overall, the Jets enjoyed an eight-game turnaround and
quickly won back the respect of the league and their fans.
Looking to build on his 1997 success, Parcells signed Patriots
running back Curtis Martin and, which at the time, seemed
like a move to secure the backup quarterback position,
Vinny Testaverde as
free agents in time for the
1998 season, which turned out to be the most
successful for the team since the 1960s. At Parcells's urging, the
Jets also reverted to their classic logo and uniform style,
although with a darker shade of green. Parcells said that when he
was a young coach, he would see the successful late-60's Jets
practice in those uniforms, and Parcells associated that uniform
and logo with those of a successful team.
Parcells's personnel moves paid immediate dividends. After starting
Glenn Foley in the first couple of games, Parcells went to
Testaverde, who ended up throwing 28 touchdowns, Martin ran for
1,287 yards and 8 touchdowns, while both Keyshawn Johnson and
Wayne Chrebet had 1,000 yards
receiving. The Jets won 10 of their last 11 games and finished the
season 12–4, setting a team record for wins in a season. After a
first-round bye, the Jets beat the
Jacksonville Jaguars in
their divisional home playoff game, winning 34–24 with a
game-ending interception by Keyshawn Johnson, who had previously
scored on a pass and a run. The playoff game was the first home
playoff game the Jets had since 1986, when they defeated Kansas
City 35–15 in a wild-card game. Although New York enjoyed a 10–0
lead in the third quarter of the AFC championship against the
Denver Broncos,
Testaverde threw two late interceptions and Denver running back
Terrell Davis burned the Jets for 167
yards and a touchdown as the Broncos won 23–10.
The Jets high hopes for the
1999
season were greatly compromised in their first game against the
New England
Patriots, when, on the first play of the second quarter,
Testaverde ruptured his
Achilles
tendon. Backup QB
Rick Mirer took
over, quarterbacking the Jets to a 2–6 record, after which
Ray Lucas became the starter. Lucas sparked the
team by winning five of his eight starts, but it was not enough as
the Jets finished 8–8 and outside of the playoffs.
Before the 1999 season,
Leon Hess,
longtime owner of the Jets, died at age 85. Hess had hired
Parcells, and Parcells's role under the new ownership was unclear.
As had happened when Parcells was in New England, the ownership
that hired him soon was succeeded by new ownership. Despite new
owner
Woody Johnson's desire to keep
Parcells as head coach, Parcells stepped down as head coach at the
season's end. However, he remained the team's Chief of Football
Operations.
2000-present
2000-2007: Chad Pennington
In the
2000 NFL Draft, the Jets had
four first-round selections. They drafted defensive ends
Shaun Ellis and
John Abraham, tight end
Anthony Becht and quarterback
Chad Pennington. Parcells' handpicked
successor,
Bill Belichick, resigned
after one day on the job (infamously writing on a napkin "I resign
as HC of the NYJ") and ended up taking the head coaching job with
the Patriots. The Jets would eventually receive a first-round draft
pick for Belichick's rights. After Belichick's departure, Parcells
promoted longtime assistant
Al Groh from
linebacker coach to head coach for the
2000 season. Once Al Groh became Jets head
coach the first move was to trade Keyshawn Johnson to the Tampa Bay
Bucs for a first-round pick. Rumors circulated in New York that
Groh didn't want to handle a guy like Johnson who had such a strong
persona.
Keyshawn made a comment before the Jets
traveled to Florida
to face the Bucs that he was like a star in the sky
and Wayne Chrebet, his former
teammate, was like a flashlight. In the game down in Tampa,
Chrebet went on to out-play Johnson, scoring a touchdown on an
option pass from Martin to win the game for New York. For the rest
of the year Chrebet was known as the Green Lantern. The Jets won 6
of their first 7 games, capped by the biggest comeback in
Monday Night Football
history against the
Dolphins. Down 30–7
entering the fourth quarter, the Jets exploded for 30 points in the
last 15 minutes, and
John
Hall kicked the winning field goal in overtime. It came to be
known as "
The Monday Night
Miracle". It was the highlight of the season, but they only won
three of their last 9 games, finishing at 9–7 and out of the
playoffs. Behind the scenes, the Jets' players, because they felt
overworked and fed up with Groh's militaristic style, staged a
near-mutiny against their coach.
Groh resigned after his first season to
coach the team at his
alma mater, the University of Virginia
. Parcells also left the organization after
the 2000 season, to be replaced by
Kansas City Chiefs executive
Terry Bradway.
Under new coach
Herman Edwards, who
had been the assistant head coach and defensive backs coach under
Tony Dungy with the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Jets were
streaky through the
2001 season in a
highly competitive AFC East. The team managed to salvage a wild
card playoff berth with a 53-yard game-winning field goal against
the
Oakland Raiders in
the final minute, forcing a rematch with the Raiders in the opening
postseason game. The results were different, however, as Oakland
running back
Charlie Garner sealed
the game with an 80-yard touchdown on third down to extend the
Raiders' lead to 38-24 with 87 seconds left. During that play, many
Jets fans felt that safety
Victor Green
was held to allow Garner to break through the line, but no penalty
was called.
The AFC East proved to be even more competitive in
2002, with all four teams in the race well
into December. Testaverde was benched early in the season with the
team at 1–4, and replaced with Chad Pennington, who proved to be
the spark the Jets needed. Pennington threw 22 touchdowns and only
6 interceptions, and a final-week win over the
Green Bay Packers, coupled
with a
Patriots win
over the
Dolphins, gave
them the AFC East title at 9–7. The Jets would cruise through their
opening playoff game at home with a 41–0 blowout of the
Indianapolis Colts, but
collapsed in the second half and lost the to the eventual AFC
champion
Raiders in the
divisional playoffs with the score of 30–10.
The Jets lost several players to free agency before the
2003 season, many to the Washington
Redskins; these players were known as the "Jetskins", including
starting wide receiver
Laveranues
Coles (Coles would later return to the team through a trade
with the Redskins for another young Jet WR,
Santana Moss.) Additionally, a pre-season
injury to Pennington, a broken wrist during a game against the
Giants, would adversely affect the Jets throughout 2003. It would
be Testaverde (whose injury in the 1999 season opener similarly set
the tone for the year) who was called upon to take over. Though
Testaverde gave his best effort, and Pennington came back midway
through the season, it was not enough. The Jets finished
6–10.
Pennington and the Jets started the
2004
season 5–0 before losing 2 of their next 3. Despite struggling
down the stretch and having Pennington miss three games (later
revealed to be an injured rotator cuff), the Jets finished with a
10–6 record and earned a wild-card berth. Herman Edwards' team then
faced the AFC West champion
San Diego Chargers in the
wild-card round, a team that featured
Pro
Bowlers Drew Brees,
LaDainian Tomlinson, and
Antonio Gates. The Jets took advantage of San
Diego miscues and what some felt was an overly conservative
strategy by the Chargers. But with the Jets leading, 17-10, with
less than 20 seconds left in regulation, Jets linebacker
Eric Barton was penalized for roughing the
passer, nullifying Brees' fourth down incompletion and giving San
Diego a first down from the one-yard line. Brees threw a touchdown
to tight end Gates on the following play, setting up overtime.
Chargers rookie kicker
Nate Kaeding
missed a 40-yard field goal late in the extra period, allowing the
Jets to come back down the field. Kicker
Doug
Brien won the game for the Jets with a 28-yard field goal with
five seconds remaining in overtime to beat the Chargers
20–17.
The game sent the Jets to the divisional round against the 15–1
Pittsburgh Steelers.
While the offense struggled producing only a field goal, a punt
return by Santana Moss and interception return by
Reggie Tongue kept the Jets in the game. With
the score tied at 17–17 late in the fourth quarter, Doug Brien
lined up for a 47-yard field goal attempt that would have put the
Jets up. However it hit the crossbar of the goal post just short of
being successful.
Despite this the Jets came through yet again, with an interception
by
cornerback David Barrett on the next
play. Rather than try to drive for a touchdown or otherwise get
closer for a game-winning field goal, the Jets seemed content to
settle for a 43-yard field goal attempt that would have given the
Jets the win—ironically, the same unsuccessful strategy the
Chargers had employed the previous week. Brien's kick missed, wide
left, forcing the game into overtime. The Jets would lose on a
33-yard field goal by Pittsburgh kicker
Jeff Reed, as the Jets fell just
short yet again. In the days following the loss, many people and
pundits opined that the Jets lost this game by not being aggressive
and being too willing to settle for a risky field goal attempt,
ignoring the fact that Brien had been 10-11 in field goal attempts
between 40-49 yards on the season. Others, however, contend that
none of those field goals had been in the notoriously unpredictable
winds of Heinz Field, voted by the league's special teamers as the
worst field to kick in every year since 2000.
The Jets entered the season with high hopes of contending for the
Super Bowl, but their hopes were
dismantled in week three against the
Jaguars when Chad
Pennington reinjured his shoulder. Even worse, their backup
quarterback
Jay Fiedler was injured six
plays after Pennington. They were both placed on injured reserve
for the remainder of the season. The injuries caused previous
third-string quarterback
Brooks
Bollinger to take the role as the team's starter and Vinny
Testaverde was brought back out of retirement as Bollinger's
backup. After a poor showing by the Jets' offense in a loss,
Testaverde would start the Week 5 game against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His
steady hand led the offense, and Curtis Martin scored two
touchdowns, giving the Jets just enough to earn a 14–12 victory
over the previously undefeated Buccaneers.
But the season got very sour after the victory over Tampa Bay. They
would lose their next 7 games before finally beating the
Oakland Raiders in Week 14. The
injuries of several key players, including running back
Derrick Blaylock and cornerback David
Barrett, and season-ending injuries of wide receiver Wayne Chrebet,
tight end Chris Baker,
right tackle Jason Fabini, and
Pro
bowl starting
center
Kevin Mawae, among others, severely
hampered their ability to play competitively.
Even in the victory against the Raiders, the Jets suffered another
morale-sagging injury. Running back Curtis Martin did not play in
the game due to a season-ending knee injury that required
arthroscopic surgery. The Jets' only noteworthy accomplishment of
the remainder of the season would be their participation in the
final Monday Night Football game aired on
ABC, a 31-21 home loss to the
Patriots. They
ended the year with a 4–12 record and "earned" the fourth pick in
the
2006 NFL Draft, which they used
to select
D'Brickashaw
Ferguson.
On January 8, 2006, Herm Edwards ended his time as head coach of
the Jets and he signed a 4-year, $12,000,000 contract to become the
new head of the
Kansas City
Chiefs and succeed his original mentor
Dick Vermeil, who was Edwards' head coach with
the
Philadelphia Eagles. The
Jets received a 4th round draft pick from the Chiefs as
compensation for Edwards, who was still under contract with the
Jets at the time.
That pick, ended up being used to select the
dynamic running back from Florida State
, Leon
Washington.
On January 17, the Jets-Patriots coaching pipeline reared itself
yet again, as New England defensive coordinator
Eric Mangini was hired by the Jets.
The Jets finished the regular season with a record of 10–6, having
defeated the
Minnesota
Vikings,
Miami
Dolphins, and the
Oakland Raiders in their last
three games. The Jets earned an AFC Wild Card spot in the playoffs,
the number 5 seed and surprised most pundits who predicted a
rebuilding year. Players celebrated afterwards by saying the word
"playoffs", a word Mangini banished during the regular season to
focus players on the regular season.
On January 7, 2007, the Jets played rival AFC East champion
New England
Patriots. The Jets had both beaten and lost to the Patriots in
the regular season. While the Jets took an early 10–7 lead after a
field goal and a 77-yard touchdown catch and run by
Jerricho Cotchery, which was the second
longest pass play in Wild Card history, the Jets were not able to
score another touchdown, and the Patriots closed out the game after
two turnovers by the Jets offense. The Jets postseason ended with a
37–16 loss. One notable aspect of the game was the rivalry between
Patriot head coach
Bill Belichick and
Jet head coach Eric Mangini. The two were not on good terms, and
their relationship was widely publicized before the game.
Regardless, at games end, the two embraced.
On September 10, Bill Belichick was accused by the Jets of
authorizing his staff to film the Jets' defensive signals from an
on-field location, a violation of league rules. The Jets
confiscated the video camera used by video assistant Matt Estrella
to film the signals during the game and filed a complaint to the
league office, detailing the accusations.
The
2007 season opened with high
expectations from fans, as the lackluster 2006 running game was
boosted by the addition of former
Chicago
Bears running back
Thomas Jones. Chad
Pennington, who a year earlier had been named
NFL Comeback Player of the
Year, having overcome what many thought was a career ending
rotator cuff injury, began to be
hampered by a high ankle sprain that he suffered week 1 against the
New England Patriots & also made him miss week 2 verse the
Baltimore Ravens. After the team struggled to a 1–7 start, second
year quarterback
Kellen Clemens
replaced Pennington as the starting quarterback. Though Clemens
showed himself to be a strong, athletic quarterback, he was unable
to turn the ailing team around due to an offensive line that could
not keep him safe long enough to throw effective passes. Clemens
earned his first professional win on November 18, as the Jets
defeated the heavily favored Pittsburgh Steelers, 19–16, in
overtime. The Jets would go on to finish the season 4–12 and
obtained the sixth overall pick in the
2008 NFL Draft, which they used to select
Vernon Gholston. During the
offseason, the Jets made former
Pittsburgh Steelers left guard Alan Faneca the highest paid
offensive lineman in the National Football
League. The Jets then signed former
Arizona Cardinals linebacker Calvin
Pace, former
Detroit Lions
right tackle Damien Woody,
fullback Tony Richardson,
cornerback Andre Woolfolk,
tight
end Bubba Franks, and
running back Jesse
Chatman.
2008: Brett Favre
On August 6, 2008, the Jets acquired quarterback
Brett Favre from the
Green Bay Packers for a conditional 4th
round draft pick. The Jets had originally intended to pick Favre in
the
1991 NFL Draft, but the
Atlanta Falcons, who were one spot ahead of
the Jets, chose him instead. On August 7, 2008, the day that
Brett Favre had been traded to the Jets,
they decided to part ways with former starting
quarterback Chad
Pennington. He was released from the team later on in the day,
and eventually went on to sign with the
Miami Dolphins. The Jets finished the regular
season with a 9–7 record, eliminated from playoff contention.
The Jets had a league high and franchise record 7 Pro-bowlers
(Favre, Faneca, Mangold, Jones, Revis, Jenkins, Washington).
On December 29, 2008,
Eric Mangini was
fired as head coach of the New York Jets after 3 seasons, with a
regular season record of 23 wins and 25 loses.
2009: Rex Ryan and Mark Sanchez
On January 19, 2009, following Baltimore's loss in the AFC
Championship, the New York Jets offered Ravens defensive
coordinator
Rex Ryan a four-year deal worth
11.6 million dollars to become their head coach. Ryan accepted the
offer and he was introduced as head coach of the Jets on Wednesday
January 21, 2009.
On Wednesday February 11, 2009 Quarterback
Brett Favre announced he was retiring from the
NFL after 18 seasons. However, Favre came out of retirement for the
second time and signed with the Minnesota Vikings on August 18,
2009 .
On Friday February 27, 2009 the Jets signed linebacker
Bart Scott to a 6 Year, $48 Million dollar
contract.
In the
2009 NFL Draft, the Jets
drafted, with the fifth pick, quarterback
Mark Sanchez, from USC. The Jets also traded up
in the third round to acquire Iowa running back
Shonn Greene. On June 9, 2009 the Jets and
Mark Sanchez agreed to a 5-year/$50
million deal with $28 million guaranteed.
Season-by-season records
Logos and uniforms
NY Jets uniform combinations
NY Jets uniform: 1990-1997
The
uniform design was changed to white
helmets, white pants, and either green or white jerseys. The green
jerseys had white stripes on the shoulders and white sleeves. The
white jerseys had green stripes on the shoulders and green sleeves.
The Jets are often nicknamed "Gang Green" due to the color of their
uniforms, and possibly a
play on words as
well.
The team's logo in 1963 consisted of a green airplane with the word
"JETS" written on its side. The logo was changed a year later to a
football shaped oval with the letters "NY" superimposed, and
superimposed over that, both the word "JETS" and a football in
green. In 1965, the logo's colors were inverted so that the oval
became green, and the word "JETS" and the football became
white.
In 1978, the Jets changed both their logo and uniform design. The
new logo consisted of the word "JETS" with a futuristic jet above
it. The new uniform design consisted of green helmets, white pants,
and either green or white jerseys. The team wore their white
uniforms for every home game from 1985 through 1989. The uniform
was modified in 1990, when the team added a black outline, green
pants and a black face mask. A subtle change took place in 1996
when the green helmet became a metallic kelly green instead of flat
green.
In 1998, the team reverted to the 1965 logo, or rather, a modified
version, since the oval was now more rounded at the ends and no
longer resembled a football. A slightly more modern version of the
1963 uniform design was introduced along with the logo. For both
the logo and uniforms, the kelly green of old had been abandoned in
favor of a darker shade, essentially forest green. In addition, the
face mask color became green (compared to the gray face masks from
1963-1977).
In 2002, the team introduced green pants which are almost always
worn on the road with the white jerseys and at home to form an all
green combination for 1 or 2 games a season. In that same season
the Jets wore white at home for their first three home games, which
included two in preseason and their first regular season home game.
This was due to the Jets success in 2001 on the road. Since that
time, the Jets always wear green at home except for home games in
the first week of the regular season due to the heat.
On October 14, 2007, The New York Jets celebrated their heritage
with a special “Titans Throwback Day.” The Jets wore the navy and
gold uniforms, in honor of the New York Titans (their previous
incarnation) during their game against the Philadelphia Eagles at
the Meadowlands. They also honored the four original Titans who
played as Jets in Super Bowl III.
The "Titans Throwback" uniform was again
worn on December 2, 2007, when playing against the Miami Dolphins in Miami
. The
Jets went 1–1 in their throwbacks. They dropped a 16-9 decision to
the Philadelphia Eagles at the Meadowlands on October 9 and then
defeated the Dolphins, 40-13, in Miami on December 2.
The throwback uniforms were also worn during the 2008 season.
Originally scheduled for the home opener against the Patriots, the
throwback days were changed to the second and third home games,
against the Arizona Cardinals and Cincinnati Bengals, respectively.
Victories over the Cardinals (56-35) and Bengals (26–14) improved
the Jets to 3–1 in Titan throwbacks. The Jets will wear white
titans jerseys with the same pants and helmets to celebrate the
50th anniversary of the old AFL for selected games of the 2009-2010
season.
At the October 26, 2008 home game against the Kansas City Chiefs,
the players wore a commemorative 40th anniversary Super Bowl III
patch on their left chests to honor the Jets’ 1968 championship
team. The team held a halftime ceremony to honor many of the
championship alumni.
Cheerleading squad
The Jets Cheerleading squad was established in 2006 as the
Jets Flag Crew. The
Jets Flag
Crew were not named cheerleaders until 2007 because the
only thing the squad was doing was carrying flags. In 2007 it was
official that the Jets will have a cheerleading squad named the
Jets Flight Crew with closed auditions. In 2008
the Jets partnered with
Marc Ecko founder
of
Eckō to design the uniforms.
Current roster
Pro Football Hall of Famers
.jpg/100px-Riggins,_John_(Navy).jpg)
John Riggins Hall of Famer
- Weeb Ewbank (coach, 1963–73)
- Don Maynard (WR, 1960–72)
- Joe Namath (QB, 1965–76)
- John Riggins (RB, 1971–75)
- Art Monk (WR, 1994)
- Ronnie Lott (DB, 1993-1994)
- Bulldog Turner (Coach, 1962)
- Ewbank, Maynard, and Namath are recognized based upon their
achievements with the Jets, although Ewbank coached the Baltimore Colts to NFL
championships in 1958 and 1959. Riggins is recognized primarily for
his seasons with the Washington
Redskins (1976–79, 81–85), as is Monk (1980–93), who won three
Super Bowl championships in his tenure with the team.
Retired numbers
Notable former players
Key:
- Bold: Played with the Jets for their entire
career.
- Italic: Player is still active as of 2009.
- *:
Member, NFL Hall of
Fame
[3474][3475]
Coaches of note
Head coaches
Current staff
Radio and television
As of
2009, the Jets' flagship radio station is WEPN
, 1050
ESPN, with Bob
Wischusen as the play-by-play
announcer and Marty Lyons as the color
analyst. From 2002–2008, games were simulcast on
WABC
, the former
sister station of WEPN and flagship, largely due to WABC's much
stronger signal. WABC took over the radio rights from
WFAN
, who aired Jet games from 1993–1999 after
purchasing those rights from later sister station WCBS
following the 1992 season.
Any
preseason games not nationally televised are shown on WCBS-TV
, channel 2 (using a slightly modified version of
the on-air graphics package used by CBS
Sports for their national AFC
telecasts), and rebroadcast on SportsNet New York. Ian Eagle calls the action on those
telecasts.
Notable past play-by-play announcers for the Titans/Jets include
the legends
Howard Cosell,
Bob Murphy,
Merle Harmon,
Marty
Glickman and
Howard David, who has
called the
Super Bowl and the
NBA Finals for
Westwood
One and
ESPN Radio.
Notes and references
- http://www.remembertheafl.com/AFL.htm
- He guaranteed it - Pro Football Hall of
Fame
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_playoffs,_1982-83
-
http://www.vikings.com/news/article-1/vikings-sign-brett-favre/b52a742d-ebfd-4eff-807b-ba1d8acef18c
See also
External links
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