In a nutshell, Jets Oline those seasons were lousy due to age and injuries. And as someone else pointed out, O’Brien needed time to throw as he had a slow release. However, he was one of the most accurate passers I’d ever seen. There are some videos on YouTube of him doing accuracy drills and making some stunning throws during games. Check it out if you can He was also one tough SOB. I remember a game against Seattle as time was running out he got hammered and I mean hammered. He was staggering around. He got back under center and hit walker with a 30 yard game winner on the next play Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I think had O'Brien been the Jets QB during the Todd years ( especially with Michaels as the head coach ) a SB championship was not out of the question....OL was much better. Defense was in prime shape rather than just past prime. Bad timing for the franchise......
Was that the year the Giants sacked him 10 times in a game the Jets actually won? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I don't recall the Giants ever sacking O'Brien 10 times......the Jets did beat the Giants in the final game of the 1988 season with O'Brien as the QB. Googling the box score the Jets sacked Simms 8 times it looks like....
Ok must be thinking of something else. Ole memory ain’t what it used to be Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I will always remember one year where Ken O'Brien got benched for Pat Ryan. Ryan played a game or two and then got injured mid game. As Ken O'Brien was trotting on the field, the announcer, Marv Albert said, "And here comes O'Brien for his weekly beating." That pretty much summed up his career.
that was the year I got into the NFL as a kid and had picked the Jets as my team - when we were 10-1 i thought I had really lucked out in my choice of team to follow - I don't think I have ever been more wrong about anything
Yea...., Paul McGuire.....Hated the Jets and picked them to lose every week of the 85 season. Was finally vindicated when they went on the 5 game skid.
worse = when they were 10 and 1 he said live on the air that " The Jets won't win another game " even the guys on the show were like "are you sure " and he was freaking right
I'm getting sick just reading your recap. I'd forgotten about the long run by McNeil. I had buried it under the horrible pain that game has caused me. All i remember was that the were about 3 minutes left and they were still up 10, and they stopped the Browns on a long 3rd down, game was pretty much over.....then the flag came down. Then there was OT....and a missed Leahy FG....then a second OT, and a loss. Whenever someone on this board or the gazillion Facebook groups asks for all time heartbreaking losses, this one is always in the top couple ever for me. sent via wireless device
I absolutely remember that. I hated McGuire, but the dude called it right! The Jets were 10 and 1 and we finished 10 and 6. Another "Same old Jets" for the ages.
No, he was doomed by the fact that our division rival, Miami picked Marino after we picked O'Brien. Under the rules of the day Marino was arguably the best QB in football and O'Brien wasn't remotely in the same class. While we had a mediocre to bad O line, O'Brien was a statue with very little natural feel for where the rush was coming from. Marino with McNeal, Toon and Walker would have put up sick numbers and been a beloved legend in this city. O'Brien legacy is tied to the hip with a draft mistake of epic proportions. A decent not great QB who could never overcome that.
Please don't ever bring up the Browns playoff game ever again. That was the worst loss in my sports life. I will never get over that game. Worse then the mud ball, the Bears on MNF, Broncos or Steelers Championship game. Nothing pisses me off more. I can't even watch a highlight of that game. SOB!!!
I can't help but believe had the Jets picked Marino over O'Brien his career would have run a similar course. Danny was fortunate he had a HC like Don Shula to realize that keeping him protected in the pocket was the organizations top priority and he always had a rock solid O Line. I can imagine Marino with the Jets having 3-4 good years and injuries and a dysfunctional organization dooming him to a footnote in Jets history.
