Chad was on hyperoverload in the Oakland game in 02. Herm, should've sat him down after halftime (at least for a couple of series to collect himself) and see if Vinny could put together a couple of drives. Oakland was not the offensive machine they were the year before and that game was there for the taking. Vinny could've hit a few long balls and stoleit. Than the Jets could go back to Chad the next game. Remember in 2001, Brady didn't play every game, he sat most of the AFC championship game in Pittsburgh with a minor injury and Bledsoe won that game. I'll bet Beli sat him for more than just injury reasons. At some point, the magnitude of the playoffs must overtake these young QBs and they need a chance to catch their breath. If we had a better coach, with his finger on the pulse of the team, maybe Vinny could've saved the day.
2004. If we had Mike Nugent a year sooner we would've at least been playing the AFC Championship Game against New England.
retarted kicker? i am sick of people blaming that game on brien it was all herm. no kicker had made a kick from that distance in that stadium and brien while he was great under 45 didnt have a long leg. if we wanted to win that game we should have gone for it instead of taking a knee on 3rd done. herm lost that game nobody else
Chads first career start in 02 was home vs KC. The 2004 team was better but the 02 season in general was a better ride just because of the Packers and Colts game.
I stopped reading your post right here. Are you kidding me? Because Chad was overwhelmed he should of been BENCHED? The guy who brought the season out of misery to lead them to a Division title and he should of been benched? So with the score tied at 10 at the half you think the Jets should of put in Testaverde?! I mean come on this is horrible logic.
I say the '02 team. I actually think we were the 2nd best team in the AFC that year behind Oakland. If Cleveland didn't blow that huge lead to Pittsburgh in the Wild Card round, we would have played Tennessee in the Divisional round and I'm pretty sure we would have beat them and played Oakland for the AFC Championship.
What do you mean by best? Best record? 2004 by going 11-7. Best talent? Probably 2004 edging 2001. Best coaching? 2006 by far. Best in being the biggest disspointment? 2004...because of stupid Herm "I play to not win the game" Edwards? I almost don't even blame Brien anymore. He really was set up to fail by Herm when Herm didn't even try to move the ball closer. Heck, at the time, no visiting kicker had a successful FG try on that end of the field longer than 45 yds. What made Herm think that Brien could do what better kickers hadnt been able to do?
2004. Chad Pennington led the league in passing until he tore his rotater cuff vs Buffalo. Played with the rotater cuff tear after missing a few games/ Jets were 6-1 until the tear. Curtis Martin led the league in rushing and Vilma was the defensive rookie of the year. Donnie Henderson led the defense to a 7th ranking and the Jets defense had the fewest penalties of all defensive units in the NFL.
The answer is 2002, no question. Pennington and coles were playing unbelivable and we were killing legit teams. I thought we were going to the super bowl for sure. 2004 we had no business being in that game vs. pittsburgh. The only thing worse than our offense in that game was big ben. Pennington was inconsistent at best after his injury. Herm's a dumb shit, but he coached both teams so that cancels out.
for the record, in '04 that second field goal was Herm's fault for not trying to get closer. It is a typical idiotic Herm move made worse by the fact that san diego made the same mistake the previous week. 4th round pick was a steal for that clown
2002 for me, mostly because of Chad - in that year he was IMO one of the top 5 QBs in the league. He wasn't anywhere near as good in 2004, especially after he hurt his shoulder. And while he had a good game in SD in the first playoff game, he was awful in the Pittsburgh game, leading the team to exactly 3 points on offense.
People keep talking about the 2002 and 2004 team in the beginning of the season.. saying that we would've won more games if chad started all the games doesn't matter. Chad finished the season and we lost. In 2004 Chad finished the season injured and we lost. I'm gonna say 2002 and 2004 were equal teams. 2004 had more talent without a doubt, but Chad wasn't the same after his injury (and still isn't).
At the end of the 2002 season the Jets were clicking like I have never seen them click in my entire life. They beat two playoff teams (Green Bay and Indy) in a row by a combined score of 83-17. Give me a break here. That's the best two game run by the Jets any of you have ever seen. Then they wound up in the black hole, which was a nightmare place for them at the time.
Our 2002 squad got dominated by the Raiders on both lines. In 2004, we came seconds from knocking the eventual SB champ out of the running and advancing to the AFC Championship game. 2004 was he best squad since 1998 and it isn't even close.
Not to beat a dead horse but it was terrible play calling both times the Jets got into Pittsburgh territory when Doug missed those kicks. 40+ yarders in Heinz Field is no gimmie.
This is an interesting thread and it seems to be split right down the middle between 2002 and 2004. Well, somebody above mentioned that he had never seen the Jets clicking the way they clicked at the end of 2002 and I have to agree. But, I voted 2004 because I felt the Jets had a better defense, although Pennington was injured at the end. Had either FG been good in the Steeler playoff game, the AFC championship would have been played at Foxboro during a major blizzard as someone above pointed out. I doubt the NFL would have changed the date of the game because of the snow - they didn't postpone the Oakland/NE playoff game in 2001. The blizzard could have worked in the Jets favor creating alot of favorable turnovers. What has not been mentioned and would have worked against the Jets was the fact that Pennington would not have played, since his torn labrum was discovered the day after the Pittsburgh loss. We'll never know who would have won a Jets/NE title game in '04 but I'd still have to say NE......
The best playoff team of the bunch was the 02 team. They just completely manhandled the Colts in the first round. Its too bad they ran into a buzzsaw like the Raiders.
