First of all it's Brien, not O'Brien, and Chad was playing with a torn rotator cuff. Santana Moss got us the PR for a TD and we were in position to win the game on the road vs a 15-1 team in January elements. I realize you hate Chad but give credit where it's due. There's a time to try and be a hero and a time to try and manage the game to victory, we lined up for the game winning kick twice. The kicker has to make the kick, period. One reason Tom Brady is considered such a hero is that his kicker always made the kicks and saved the day--the snow "tuck" game, two Super Bowls, countless others. It's a team game.
That last part is so true..Vinateri was a bigger 'hero' in so many of those playoff games....without him, the Patriots don't even get to let alone win three Super Bowls.....Italian Seafood, I think the reason the Brien kick is mentioned so many times as a 'candidate' in this post is because it's so recent and so many posters here don't go back as far as a few of us do..yes, that Steelers game was traumatizing, but while it would have been a very satisfying (I hate the Steelers) and huge road upset, it most likely would of ended there, the chances of a second upset in Foxborough without your starting QB were nil to none. As I mentioned in an earlier post, besides 1998 and 1999, I, as well as you, could go all the way back to 1982 when a single dropped INT not only cost the Jets a game, it wound up changing the whole AFC seeding (a different format that year because of the strike) and the Jets never would have played in the 'Mud Bowl'. That 1982 team was more talented than the 2004 team and they whipped heavyweights Cincinnatti and the Raiders on the road as the #6 seed. Imagine if they had been the #2 seed and may not have had to play a road game at all! It would have amounted to a Super Bowl appearance and a much fresher team to face the Redskins....IMO
actually didnt santana moss call time out the play before the kneel down? we had 2 timeouts after lamont ran for 2 with 6 seconds left. here is the play by play after the barrett int NY Jets at 1:46 NYJ PIT 1st and 10 at PIT 36 Curtis Martin (NYJ) rushed up the middle for 2 yards. 17 17 2nd and 8 at PIT 34 Pittsburgh timeout; 01:37 remaining 4th quarter 2nd and 8 at PIT 34 Chad Pennington (NYJ) pass left side complete to Curtis Martin (NYJ) for 8 yards. 1st and 10 at PIT 26 Curtis Martin (NYJ) rushed left side for 1 yard. 2nd and 9 at PIT 25 LaMont Jordan (NYJ) rushed left side for 2 yards. 3rd and 7 at PIT 23 Jets timeout; 00:06 remaining 4th quarter 3rd and 7 at PIT 23 Chad Pennington (NYJ) rushed up the middle for -1 yards. 4th and 8 at PIT 24 Jets timeout; 00:04 remaining 4th quarter 4th and 8 at PIT 24 Pittsburgh timeout; 00:04 remaining 4th quarter 4th and 8 at PIT 24 43 yard field goal by Doug Brien (NYJ) is no good. 1st and 10 at PIT 24 End of the 4th quarter.
^ I think that argument about the "kneel down" (which was really more like a QB sneak, trying to center the ball) is so silly.... Say we handed the ball off up the middle, for 2 yards. Now it's a 40 yarder instead of a 43 yarder. Did anybody SEE how Brien missed the kick? It wasn't that he didn't have enough leg on it. He hooked it, bad. I think the previous miss (the short one) got into his head, and he tried to over compensate. 2 or 3 yards wasn't going to change that. Besides, he had already made a 42 yarder in the game, and he was 10/11 from 40-49 yards on the season. 40 yards, 41 yards, 42 yards, 43 yards, 39 yards, it doesn't matter. He was rattled, and he wasn't making that kick. It had nothing to do with ability (he had proven himself more than capable of making a 43 yarder). I guess it's just universal Herm hatred that leads people to blame the miss on the previous play, but anyone who, looking at the kick in context, really thinks 2 or 3 yards would have made a difference is crazy.
Totally agree. And Doug Brien certainly belongs high on this list, it's only a few times in all these years we've gotten that close. There's the two AFC Championship games, then three other times in the second round--1986, 2002 and 2004.
the first kick he missed was a 47 yarder that hit the cross bar. Brien himself said he tried to kick it extra hard to make sure it had enough leg for the 43 yarder. so if its a 40 yarder instead of a 43,does he try to put extra leg into it?
Yes. He was shaken up. His previous kick would have EASILY been good from 43. The number wasn't the issue. It was his mindset. It was f'd up. 2 or 3 yards (as we can see- the 4 yard difference from 47-43 made no difference) wasn't going to change anything.
What sucks is that he won the game the week before at San Diego in OT, so you'd think he'd have a little confidence even after missing a kick. What sucks even more is that John Hall or Mike Nugent likely makes one of the two kicks.
I have to agree with the general idea though. Even is Brien made the kick our chances of beating NE next week were pretty slim. It was a big disappointment - but we have had bigger ones.
Curtis Martin and Lamont Jordan not being able to put up more than 1-2 yards on the ground to get us closer really killed us. Also, remember Heinz Field is murder on kickers from 40 yards and out. That's the hardest field to kick on and hardly anybody made it from that distance (maybe they've replaced the turf since)
^^ I agree with that. We were a very good team in '04, but we had a QB with a torn rotator cuff, and were by no means the AFC's best. That's why I went with the '99 team. After the after-shock of the Vinny injury went away, that team was STILL, arguably, the best team in the AFC over the final 8 or 9 games of the season, with Ray Lucas at QB. In my opinion, that was a 12-14 win team, easily, had Vinny not gotten hurt. It aint easy being green.. :shit:
True, they finished 8-8 even after the injury and the 1-6 start with Mirer. Recently NFLN reran the first round playoff game from the year, Miami at Seattle--the Jets had beaten both handily in the last month of the season, Miami twice and Seattle the week before the playoffs. The other AFC teams were really hoping the Jets wouldn't get in.
What people fail to remember though is that the AFC Title Game was held in Pitt. Had the Jets beaten the Steelers the game would have been in Cheatsboro with 2 feet of snow on the ground. Now Chad would never outplay Brady but I can say with a pretty good feeling of certainty that Curtis and Lamont would have outplayed Corey Dillon and Kevin Faulk. The reason I don't pick the Brien play is because we probably lose to the Eagles in the SB. I don't pick the late hit on Kosar because like junc said there is a good chance we get beat by either Denver in Denver or the Giants in the SB. The Vinny play happened in week 1 so who knows maybe he gets hurt in week 15? I gave serious consideration to the Dennis Byrd play which I witnessed that day but I've read quotes from Dennis who is a very religious man and he feels it was God's divine will that caused that to happen to him. Obviously the man losing his ability to walk is devastating but in his mind he has become more of an inspiration to people off the field than he ever could have been on it. The play that came in 2nd was the Al Davis halftime lockerroom phone call to Walt Michaels. Now I was only about 2 when it happened but my dad and uncle always talk about Walt just losing his mind over this call. It was the end of one of the few quality coaches that roamed the sidelines for this team. Who knows what would have become of these guys had Walt been at the helm instead of nose picker. The one play I picked isn't even a play. It took place on April 26th 1983. With the 24th selection in the draft; The New York Jets select, QB........ Dan Marino out of Pitt. Now just like everything else there is no guaruntee of Marino or the Jets winning anything or even being better than they were with Kenny O but it's the thought of what could have been had they drafted Marino. Would they have won a SB? The Jets were better than Miami in almost every facet. Walker and Toon were better than Duper and Clayton. Freeman was better than Lorenzo Hampton and later Tony Paige. Maybe they don't make terrible picks like Mike Haight or Dave Cadigan or Roger Vick. The entire course of Jet history could have been changed if they had taken Marino over Kenny O. That being said I did like Kenny but he was nowhere to the level of Marino.
and he barely missed the 47 yarder, if he kicks the ball the same way he hits it from 43. It was silly to take a knee but the K, NOT the decision to take a knee, cost us that game. He really struggled the 2nd half of '04, he was never really consistent.
Being a young Jet fan myself the play i would change is the Doug Brien missed field goal, i cried after that.
You'd have to be a Chad Fan to excuse a Qb only leading his team to three points and then blame the kicker for missing a 43 yarder at Heinz Field. I am not one, and don't. On Vinny going down, again, I totally agree that was one of the most depressing plays in Jet history, but it's too difficult for me to assume the Jets would have otherwise made the SB that year. Too many other variables. That's why I pick the 98 Champ game, and the McCaffery pass in particular. I remember that game, and the pass totally deflated the Jets and got the Denver fans back in the game.
Most of us are Jet fans, and since Chad was/is our QB, are Chad fans. Maybe you should root for another team then.
