To me he was just a speed rusher who ran around the tackle. The league ran alot more than they do now and teams with good running attacks would game plan for the huge openings he'd leave. He was poor against the run and the weak link on the d-line; the opposite of Klecko, a great pass rusher who was even better against the run. To me the biggest black "mark" (heh heh) against him was the sack dance, the first "look at me" moment I can recall in the NFL. Because of him we have to see buffoons strutting around after tackling a RB for a 2 yard loss while their team is losing by 3 touchdowns.
Klecko and Lyons hated this guy. So did I. Classic ME player. Looked like an idiot doing his sack dance. He and MeShawn... the only 2 Jets I ever hated. I blow farts at his permed hairdooooo. And yes, he did cost us a trip to the AFC Championship game on what might be the most idiotic penalty any player in the history of this franchise ever got. That is his legacy, and an appropriate one at that. Could not, WOULD NOT play the run. ALWAYS took the outside rush even on a 4th and one. Gave up tons of big rushing plays. All so he could do his little dance. One of the most selfish players to ever wear a Jets uniform. Ask Klecko...
The "Sack Dance" was FUN to watch...and the crowd went crazy when he did it. It's only NOW,over TIME, that it is looked at in a negative way by Jets fans. It was lots of fun back in the day.
Sorry but it is not only NOW that it is looked at a negative. I and most of the Jets fans I know thought it was an embarassment at the time.
Absolutely - I was very much among the majority of my friends and family who were Jets fans hating it at the time.
Never got to see Gastineau play. Judging by the stats he was a definite beast; seems like a total douchebag, though.
Love him or hate him, he was one of the best pure pass rushers the game has ever seen. He gave Ken Anderson the worst beating of his career in the '83 playoff game. It was as brutal as anything you'll ever see and I believe it was against HOF'r Anthony Munoz in his prime...
I'm only 19 gonna be 20 years old in January, and obviously never got to see him play, but my father ever since I was young has told me stories of him, good and bad, and has shown videos and i've seen vidoes, and he was athletic, and a great pass rusher. He was a fucking moron and a dickhead. The dance was too "mememe" and I know Klecko hated it, there was an interview that he said he told his son Danny, "If you ever think of celebrating after a tackle or sack, I'll be right there to hit you in the mouth" or something to that effect..
I loved Gastineau. When I was young (like 6 yrs old) I went to a game in Foxboro and I'll never forget hearing another fan scream "Gastineau take your belt off and whip them!". Being 6 I thought that was the funniest thing ever. Then I got a pack of football cards on the way home and got my first Gastineau card! He was my favorite player growing up
If Gastineau was playing in the NFL today, he would be nothing more than a rotational pass rushing specialist. Part time player. He gave up so many big runs on his side with that outside pass rush it was pathetic. He didn't care about winning. He only cared about his sack totals. Ryan would not even have an idiot like that on his roster. As one dimensional and selfish a player that the NFL has ever seen. A stain on this franchise. An embarrassment. Became a drug addict after he could no longer do his sack dance at the expense of his team. Do you ever see the Jets invite this guy back? If he was so good, why will he never ever be in the ring of honor? Because to a man, his old team mates want nothing to do with him. That is his real legacy. Unwanted, unwelcomed, untouchable, and not in a good way.
You contradict yourself. Your first paragraph says Gastineau wasn't any good as a player. Your second paragraph seems to indicate that the only reason he isn't in the ring of honor is that he is a dick (not because of talent). Just because a guy was your favorite (or in this case least favorite) player doesn't mean he was (or wasn't) great on the field.
No contradiction at all. Some posters seem to think he was a "beast", etc. My point being, "If he was so good..." he WASN'T so good. If he were as good as some seem to think he was, why is he never invited back by the Jets? And you don't get the point of the first paragraph either. He was good at ONE thing, and exploited that at the expense of the team and winning football games. He did have a great pass rush, but was a detriment to the team because he refused to play as a part of the team. As long as he got his sacks, he didn't care if the Jets won or lost. He didn't care that taking the outside pass rush might end up in a 40 yard TD run by a running back through the hole he was supposed to contain. Much more than the sack dance, this is why Klecko, Lyons and the rest of his team mates hated the guy.
Since the Jets won a lot of games while Gastineau was playing my guess would be that the other guys were grousing about having to cover the holes while Gastineau got to rack up stats. I am not sure an analysis of the actual games would show all or most of the long runs were on Gastineau's side of the field. Is this something you can prove or is this heresay? If you don't have proof it sounds again like more of the problem was the guy's personality than his play on the field. If I was a teammate I would be pissed too but it sounds like the guy focused on what he did best.
