Yep, it was either 78 or 79 that the rules started to go in to effect. they weren't the first rules of the 70's that helped the passing game, but they were among the most effective in changing how the game was played. Prior to those rule changes, which included the 5 yard bump rule on recievers and allowing O-Linemen to use their hands when blocking, the most influencial rule change had been moving the goal posts from the front to the back of the endzone. One of the most common endzone passing plays of today of dragging a receiver across the goal line from one side to the other under the linebackers was impossible back before then, your reciever would have run head long in to the goal post. Back then the goal post actually acted like a 12th and 13th defender near the goal line effectively taking the middle of the endzone out of the passing equation. it's why it irritates me when people try to compare statistics from now to back then with QBs, the rules have changed so much you really can't do a straight comparison, you can only compare them through comparison to their peers who played, or plays, at the time.
I remember it differently. The fans were stunned that Michaels was let go, we didn't see it coming (at least I didn't, being only 12 years old) and had reservations about Walton. I remember it more like this. Walton was a sad sack who was a great OC but somehow lost his balls as a head coach.
The thing that really drive me nuts about Sanchez isn't the Picks, or the fumbles, or the low completion percentage, it's that he's so damned inaccurate, even when he completes a pass it rarely hits the reciever in stride, the reciever usually has to reach back, leap, or dive to get the catch, often leaving himself vulnerable to a big hit. And the really sad part is in the case of players like Todd and them many of their picks came on passes down the field, most of Sanchezs come on passes of 15 yards or less, often under 10 yards. You can afford turnovers if your QB is averaging 8-10 yards per attempt, but when your QB is averaging under 7 it's a death nail because it means he's a nickle and dime QB that turns the ball over in a ball control based offense. Turnovers can be lived with if your a big play QB.
Yeah, I was 21 but I also saw it as a strong leader being replaced by a technocrat who didn't have that gut instinct to lead. I also thought Michaels had been undermined by Walton and that was part of the process. The Jets went 10-5-1 and 6-3 and made the playoffs Michaels last two years as The Sack Exchange became the Jet's identity. They went 7-9 in Walton's first two years as the offense of all things declined. Joe Walton was a weak head coach almost from the moment he took the job.
There was no worse ending to a season than watching Richard Todd throw that interception against Buffalo in 1981. We were on such a roll heading into the playoffs, probably the best team in the league at that time. We come all the way back only to lose in such heartbreaking fashion. I remember writhing on the floor in agony when Todd threw that pick. :sad: Why??? Why did you throw that pass??? If I remember correctly, he could have ran the ball into the endzone. grrrr I think 1981 prepared me well to withstand the horrific onslaught of Jets related nightmares that followed since the Bills game in 81. If you lived through Richard Todd, then Mark Sanchez is a relaxing stroll in the park. I was looking at our schedule in 1981 and didn't even realize we only played two games against the NFC back then. We played the AFC West home and away. One game I remember that I was at in 81 was against Seattle. That was the worst experience I had at a Jets game because we had bleacher seats in the endzone, it was cold and rained all game long. To top it off we lost 19-3. Not fun.
I really hated Joe Walton from the moment we hired him. Just hated his offense. He was much more conservative than Walt Michaels and I guess I just couldn't shake getting abused by the gun slinging reckless style of Richard Todd. I needed that Richard Todd adrenaline rush. Not so with the vanilla Joe Walton. Yuck.
I remember (when signs were allowed in stadiums) that in Shea Stadium, some people brought signs that said "Re-Todd" and there were others that said "Todd is G-d".
That loss to the Dolphins had to be the worst Jet's loss of my life. I'll never forget how Don Shula made sure the field wasn't drained from rain in order to slow down the Jet's high powered offense.
Todd was G-D was after the '81 Dolphins comeback:wink: I've been been reading all these posts about the early 80s Jets In some ways, as has been pointed out here, Todd & Sanchez have similarities. But Todd was not as despised as Sanchez until the '82 Championship fiasco. '83 was very disappointing as well, and then the Jets cut bait and got rid of him. To be honest, I am more optimistic about Rex turning it around and learning from his mistakes, than I am of Sanchez developing as a Jet.
There were 28 teams in the NFL then with three divisions in each conference. Two divisions had 5 teams and one had 4. The schedule rotated as it does now. An AFC team in a 5 team division played 8 games against division rivals (2 vs each), 4 against the top 4 teams from another division in the AFC (again on a rotating basis) and 4 against to top 4 teams in an NFC division (on a rotating basis). A team that finished in 5th place in a division (as the Jets did in 1980) played a 5th place schedule in those days - 8 games in division, 4 against the 4 team AFC division (the Central - Pitt, Clev, Cin, Hou) 2 against the other 5th place finisher in the AFC West (Seattle) and one each agains the 5th place finisher from the NFC East and Central (NYG and GB).
This line sums up everything about Sanchez. Most starting QB out there that can approach Sanchez level of turnovers also have the big play ability to win games. Sanchez gives you the bad without the good. Sanchez gives you high turnovers but his ceiling is game manager who hides behind strong defenses & strong running games. His upside just doesn't justify all the drama he brings to the field.
Thanks for the info! Amazing even back then the NFL was trying to go for parity. Your screen name reminds me of Billy "White Shoes" Johnson. I was at the game at Shea when he came back and beat us in the second half. It was raining heavily, but we had seats in the Loge under the deck and were dry. The Billy White Shoes Johnson game was another memorable Jets debacle.
Yes, I agree about that being ultra-painful. It was my first full season following the team and I got so into it after the 0-3 start. The only loss the Jets had in the latter part of the season was to a shitty Seattle team. At that time they had never beaten Seattle, even though they were only in the league for like 4-5 years at the time. But yeah, after being down 24-0 in the 2nd quarter and coming all the way back with a real chance to win late, that game is the one I remember most out of all the painful games that were to follow. Well, the schedule was set up differently then. The 5th place team in the 5-team divisions played the last place team in the other 5-team division twice, and the only inter-conference games they played were the other 2 last place teams in the 5-team divisions. Back then, last place teams really did get last place schedules and hence a big advantage by being bad. This was before free agency and teams couldn't rebuild in a year or two like they can now.
They were a much better team than the Dolphins, I expected so much going into that game. It's like I KNEW we were going to the Super Bowl. To not be able to score a single point, and have Todd hand them the game ala Sanchez was so frustrating. The Jets of 1981-82 were the one of the two times in my life as a fan that they were a legitimate powerhouse that SHOULD have won and was expected two in - the other being 1998-99. Just like the 98-99 team, they never got it done.
16-15, Jerome Barkum. Never will forget the falling catch in the endzone. The Jets were magical that year.
