If injuries hadn't taken a toll (Walker, most of OL, most of NY Sack exchange, O'Brien, etc.) the Jets and Giants would have faced off in the SB in 1986. Even with the injuries (they did get Gastineau and O'Brien back) they took the Browns to double OT. Earlier in the season they knocked off Elway's undefeated 7-0 Broncos on Monday night.
I don't subscribe to the idea that we NEED to have an offensive minded HC. A good OC, I would think should be able to call plays as well as develop players and impart crucial knowledge about the system/playbook. Obviously an off. minded HC would go a long way to improving the play and performance on that side of the ball. But I also think a HC that can put the right structure in place can have a similar effect. offensive or defensive minded aside, I just want a CS that can put points on the board and stop teams from scoring. Teams have come up with different ways to do this over time, and that's part of the fun. I do agree that we need to be better on offense, and the path to that is a sound QB and good players around him. I also agree that a high flying fast paced offense, would fit the name and be a fresh site after the years of soggy "balanced" or "ground and pound" offenses we have been subject to as a fan base.
Setting aside the 2006 draft (Brick and Mangold), when was the last time a defensive minded head coach allowed our GM used high draft picks to build the offensive line for the Jets?
I would say that you can still do it with a mediocre QB. You gave Sanchez as an example, we had an unbelievably good O-line protecting him and we were first in the league in rushing. Defenses had to respect that. Then all Sanchez had to do was a play action and he'd have a wide open receiver somewhere. We've ignored our O-line for a while now and its showing. Giving offenses an extra second to throw makes a HUGE difference.
I've been saying the same thing! Offense wins in the regular season. We need an offensive minded coach!
See, I've heard this sort of explanation about the 1986 team before (The mid 80s teams are a little bit before my time - I started watching in 93/94), and I totally get it. But, what happened after 1986? I get that the strike happened in 1987, which screwed a lot of teams up. But, after that? When you look at all of the talented players they had, it just seems like a real quandary to me. Was Joe Walton that terrible of a coach? It just appears like the 80s Jets teams collectively shit the bed with the talent they had.
To get a good idea of what went wrong, take a look at this site: http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/fulldraft?teamId=3430&type=team and you'll see all the horrific draft picks. In the '80 draft, the Jets took the infamous Johnny "Lame" Jones with their #1 pick (an all-time bust). Their #2 pick was Darroll Ray. I don't remember if he was any good. Someone with a better memory could fill you in on him. IMO they only got two serviceable players out of that draft, the awesome Lance Mehl and a backup C in Guy Bingham, although Ray may have been, I just don't remember. In the '81 draft, they got Freeman McNeil and Marion Barber with their 1st two picks, and it was downhill after that. In the '82 draft, they got Bob Crable, Reggie McElroy, and a backup TE Rocky Klever who hung around for several seasons. In the '83 draft, the Jets took O'Brien, Hector & Townsell with their first 3 picks, and added Bobby Humphrey later, but the rest were trash. In the '84 draft, the Jets had two #1 picks and used them on Russell Carter and Ron Faurot (one of the worst all time picks). They did get some good/decent players out of the draft like Kyle Clifton, Jim Sweeney, Tony Paige and Harry Hamilton, but the rest was junk. When you miss as badly on two 1st round picks as the Jets did, it kills your team. The '85 draft, was actually pretty good. They took Toon, Lester Lyles, Rich Miano, Troy Benson, Kerry Glenn. The '86 draft was a backbreaker. They took Mike my aching back Haight with their #1 pick, and a bunch of players who I don't remember aside from Nuu Faola. I don't know if any of them made the team or contributed, they might have but weren't even good players as I recall (but may be mistaken). The '87 draft was another trainwreck. In order they took Roger Vick, Alex Gordon, Onzy Elam, Kirby Jackson, Tracy Martin, Gerald Nichols, Eddie Hunter, Mike Rice, Ron McLean, Sid Lewis, Kirk Timmer, and Bill Ransdell. Nichols was a decent player. Gordon may have been as well, but Vick only lasted a couple of seasons (maybe only 1), Elam wasn't on the team for long, and I'm not sure if any of the rest even made the team out of TC. In the '88 draft, they blew the 1st pick on Dave Cadigan, got a decent DE in Paul Frase, an OG in Ralph Tamm, and a handful of DBs including James Hasty & Erik McMillan. The latter two were the best players from that draft. The '89 draft was a little better. They took Jeff Lageman, Dennis Byrd, Ron Stallworth, Tony Martin and Marvin Washington. The '90 draft was pretty awful. They drafted the immortal Blair Thomas with their #1 pick instead of Junior Seau, Emmit Smith, Richmond Webb, Cortez Kennedy, or several others. They followed that up with Reggie Rembert, Tony Stargell and Troy Taylor. The only decent players they got out of that draft were Roger Duffy, Dwayne White and Terance Mathis. They added Rob Moore in the supplemental draft, I think. So that should give you some idea what happened. There were too many busts taken with their #1 & #2 picks, and too many blown draft picks altogether. Actually, it's pretty miraculous that the Jets wound up as good as they were. That's a tribute to the quality of the players that they did hit on.
I agree. That's why I think drafting a stud RB would be the right way to go...unless you can revamp the O-line completely, which I don't think is going to happen overnight. A RB who can make his own holes and break any play for big yardage/TDs keeps the defense honest, and helps the O-line because they don't have to pass block every play. Sanchez did well as long as he had a good O-line, and good supporting weapons, but once they left (FA, Injury, retirement) they weren't replaced - Rex focused on "D", and ignored restocking the offense, and "all of a sudden" The Sanchize went into the toilet. I do think the surest path to a SB is with an elite QB, but you can get there and even win, with an above average one as long as the rest of the offense is superior. Whereas an elite QB can elevate an above average offense, so in that sense the path can be shorter IF you can get that elite QB. For now, the Jets don't know what they have, but they absolutely must improve the offense. Yes, everyone is calling for the drafting of OL, and I agree, but I would grab an elite RB first if possible, and then go OL in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, and also look at FAs.
I think the most important part, is to find players up and down the draft board, who can play football. Until we do that, we'll always be bringing in expensive vets or scrubs to fill holes.
A good summary. It makes me think: Are the Jets particularly poor at drafting, more so than most teams? Or has it been more the case of poor coaching? Certainly there's a combination of both going on, but is their lack of success over DECADES due to some persistent shortcoming, and if so, what is it? I suspect that "common denominator" is ownership, although I can't say exactly how. But clearly the Jets have established a "losers" mentality ever since Joe Namath left - "SOJ" is a well earned title. My belief is that Jets need to bring in somebody that has a clear vision of how to build a winning team, and who will draft/sign players whose main attribute is winning - this must be secondary to any physical traits IMO. The old saying, "Winners never quit; quitters never win" is as true a formula as anything in sports. I think this is why the Patriots win consistently - "Winning is the ONLY thing", as St. Lombardi said. I don't think the Jets have ever taken this approach, but until they do, they're doomed to be the SOJ.
I think it definitely stems from the owners. I forget who the good owner was when the Jets won the SB, but think it was Sonny Werblin. Whoever it was, he was good, but didn't have enough money and was forced out by his other partners, which I think included Leon Hess. While Hess was supposedly a tiger in the business world, he was a complete boob with regards to football. He made one bad hire after another. Until he hired Parcells, he had never hired a quality football man. I don't know/remember if it was because he was just that stupid or was too cheap to hire an experienced HC or what, but he was the root of the problem. Woody Johnson has only been marginally better. He at least isn't cheap, but has failed to find the right people to lead the team, and then step back and let them run the show. It could be that if he did find someone who did a great job running the team, he would step back more and let them call the shots. I think he did this to a pretty good extent with Rex. I've been as guilty as anyone of blasting Johnson for failing to hire an experienced professional football man to run the team, but in reality, who is that guy? I'm sure there must be some out there. I frequently see in articles by the media that it hurts Woody that he isn't an "insider" in the owner's circle. I don't know if that's by choice or not, but if it's by choice, he needs to befriend some of the owners and get some of that "insider" knowledge. As for the clear vision, what is that vision? I suspect that there's no one way to build a football team, and it depends upon vision, knowledge, discipline and a lot of luck. We all know that a franchise QB makes it a lot easier on teams. He makes their HC and GM look a lot better. But they're hard to find and it takes both luck and skill in finding them. One can't wait until one finds one to start building the team. While I think it would be better in some ways to build the team around the QB, one can't suck for years until one finds that QB. That means one has to start building the team (the OL, offensive and defensive skill positions, and the front 7 of the D, and find a QB that is at least average or a little above average to get some stability at the position, and then hope and pray one can find the right QB to plug into the team. Lots of teams are and have been in the same position as the Jets. Anyway, unless Woody can become an insider or somehow find that right football man to run the team some other way, and then let him do his job, or sells the team to someone more knowledgeable, I don't hold out much hope that the Jets will ever become a team like the Pats.
I had seen it all several times before as well as when it actually happened, so it didn't bother me quite as much as it has in the past, but yes, it is truly soul-sickening.
To answer your question, I think it's placing WINNING first and foremost. I think the teams that repeatedly win - the Patriots, the Steelers, the Cowboys, the Broncos - these teams place winning first. They cut guys who on paper are top players, but if they don't put out they get dropped. Again, I don't know how Woody makes decisions, but if he insisted on playing Revis because of the big contract, that would be an example of putting his checkbook above winning. Or if it wasn't Woody, then Macc or Bowles have to take the blame for continuing to play him when he obviously can't get the job done. Is that because of his fat contract, or misplaced loyalty, or just wishful thinking? But whatever the reason, allowing players to play when they can't or won't give 100% sends a very bad message.
