I swear to god, you guys are giving me agita about this game. I started my senior year of high school with all the grades/college pressures and wanted the Jets to make it easy on me that year. They didn't.
Nice stuff guys. I remember the winless Saints in 1980, they were 0-13 and playing the last game of the year at Shea. The Jets had the lead and the ball under 5 min. left. All of a sudden, it got dark, the wind picked up and it started to snow. Todd and the Jets went 3 and out and as soon as the Saints got the ball, it cleared and the wind died down. The Saints drove the ball down the field and won the game and went 1-13. For some strange reason, I was hooked and in 1981 I became a season ticket holder to this day. A sane person would have taken the hint and run from this team, I guess I am martyr.
The Jets shot themselves in the foot numerous times that day kind of like the Browns game. That's the only way the 1980 Saints could have won a game they were so bad. A long TD pass to Walker was nullified by a penalty, Leahy missed a chip shot FG, the Jets were stopped on a 4th and 1 deep in Siants territory ( probably afraid to send Leahy out), and I believe they turned the ball over a couple of times in Saints territory. Even after the Saints took the late lead the Jets had another shot but Bruce Harper cut inside instead of towards the sideline and was tackled inbounds which allowed the clock to run out. Had he gotten out of bounds the Jets would have had the ball around the 35 yard line with 14 seconds left. Another quick pass and Leahy would have had a shot to win......another disgusting loss.
I listened 200 miles up north, my freshman year at college. What a year. Jets weren't even being shown on all the games that year. No TV upstate. Radio only.
Game was at Shea.....I was sick that day. Watched from my Aunt's house on Long Island. Sick.....sick....sick. You know, certain games just stay with you......33+ years later, I remember that one. Others from that year don't but I do remember the revenge game won vs. the Pats (replacement kicker) and losing to Baltimore and Curtis Dickey (pissed me off so much I f***** up my Ivy League admissions interview the next day).
Fucking hell. Jets-Colts, c 79 or 80. Jets down a couple points with like a minute left. They force Baltimore (yes, kids, Baltimore) to punt from their own end zone. Bruce "don't bring me down" Harper returns the punt into FG range. Jets poised to win...!!! BUT... Donald Dykes flagged for roughing the punter. Game over. First remote control I ever smashed.
I always find it strange hearing the old stories about Pat Leahy. I started watching the Jets in '83 when he was pretty reliable (and for several seasons afterwards). I still find it curious that the hire-'em-and-fire-'em Jets would persevere with a kicker that wasn't even clutch at extra points.
He seemed to get more clutch later. I remember the Steve Nelson Miss of 1978. He also missed a PAT during a game vs. Oakland in 1977 where Todd threw for like 400+ yards. He missed only a few end-of-game clutch FG's but had some others earlier in games, too. It may also have been poor ST play (snap, hold, whatever). I would be interested in knowing what Leahy's career FG % was in the Q4 at the end of the game, do-or-die with the game on the line. And maybe Q4 FG % overall vs. Overall FG %.
Game wasn't like today. Waiver wire was nonexistent. Not that many players to get to during the season. In 1979 they needed a replacement FG kicker and they had to scrape the bargain bin.
That was the '79 at Baltimore game. They lost 10-8. That game, the Browns game, and the home Bills game that year cost them the AFC East title....all wins flushed down the toilet.
Leahy seemed to improve tremendously after the move to the Meadowlands. It was tough kicking at Shea but he missed some doozies in the 70s.....heck I even remember a slump of his during the '82 season. He nearly cost them the Green Bay game by missing 2 xps and a FG but did hit the eventual game winner just inside the post. He had a not so good game against TB in the snow and then who could forget his meltdown in Miami missing an XP and a short FG (along with Bobby Jackson's dropped INT with :50 remaining) allowing Miami to drive for a game-winning FG and better playoff seeding that strike year. Leahy didn't even convert a FG 50 yards or longer until 1984 - his eleventh year in the league! But from them on he was pretty much gold until the MNF miss against the Bears. He wasn't the same the rest of that season and then he retired.
Yes the game has changed in many many ways over the past 20 or so years. I can remember a Jets game vs the Oilers at Shea in 1980. I have the DVD somewhere I bought a few years ago. The Jets were heavy underdogs but took a big early lead. The Oilers came back and forced OT with 28 points in the fourth quarter. The Jets eventually won. The point is that during that game the two teams each turned the ball over four times, were each penalized at least 10 times, it was a rough,dusty dragged out game. The announcers didn't instantly criticize either side for a turnover or a penalty. In today's game those mistakes are so magnified if one team turns the ball over you may hear.." Team A is losing the turnover battle...this doesn't look good - they have been preaching all week to protect the ball"... or something along those lines. Back then it was good entertaining back and forth football. can you imagine if a team turns the ball over today four times? That would be among the first things mentioned in a highlight show. Teams today want to account for every second on the clock. Another thing I notice is the field conditions these days. When was the last time we saw one of those mud games? Even in the regular season? Even when it does rain or snow a player may slide and get right up. There is no dirt or mud except in the rare instance a team is playing with a baseball diamond like in Oakland in September....
