Its a close call between Curtis Martin and Wayne Chrebet but I'll go w/Martin. His work ethic and quiet modesty are things we should all aspire to.
I met and got autographs from Ken O'Brien and Al Toon at a sports shop when I was a kid which is what made me a Jets fan because of how cool they were but Chrebet is without a doubt my favorite Jet and maybe my favorite athlete of all time
<===== The guy I got the autograph from (even before I got it). He was cool and classy, and a great player. Second place is ... no, not JWN, but Joe Klecko. A great great player and great teammate. It is criminal that he is not in the Hall of Fame.
Al Toon, on a better team and with a bit of luck he would have easily been a Hall of Famer. Aaron Glenn a close second, when Ottis Smith stopped trying to be Superman it was great to watch those two shut-down everyone.
It's always been Ken O'Brien for me - the first Jet who really stood out to me when I started folllowing the team in 1984. I love the way he threw the deep ball and when he was on song he was unstoppable. His problems with holding the ball too long and lack of mobility also contributed to the sacks that took such a physical toll on him, but those flaws only made him more human. Who the hell wants a goody-two-shoes, never-makes-a-mistake robot like Tom Brady? O'Brien was a real human being! There was a time I could have cheerfully punched Coslet in the nose for the way he treated O'Brien, most notably in giving Esiason the No.7 shirt when Kenny was still on the team. Utterly classless. What's O'Brien up to now?
Just like Jetcane, I too, must go with Namath. Namath was special. He had an incredible arm, was awesome with play action, and he also had a unique charisma about him that that really made him stand out with the times. Obviouisly, he along with his team, won SB III with a superlative performance against the heavily favored Baltimore Colts. His famous statement before the game, "I guarantee victory!", will never die as part of the game because he was up against seemingly off-the-charts odds and he proved everyone wrong. He also gave the then AFL their very first Super Bowl and in convincing fashion. Namath helped put the AFL on the map. It was tough to watch his knees start to betray him over time, but he will always stand out in my mind as a truly legendary Jet.
I'm not old enough to have seen Namath, so I can't say him. All of the guys mentioned were big favorites for me, but one guy stands above all the rest: Aaron Glenn. Like Chrebet, he was "too small" to play his position effectively, yet, not only did he play it well, he was Pro-Bowl caliber. I can't even begin to mention how angry I was when the Jets left him unprotected for the Texans. Other guys who deserve mention are Coles, Martin, Green, Lewis, Bryan Cox, Kenny O, and Keyshawn Johnson. Yes, I said Keyshawn Johnson. I adored Chrebet, but Johnson wasn't exactly wrong. Keyshawn was talented. Very talented. It was stupid for the Jets to not keep him his entire career. Imagine if Chad had had Coles and Keyshawn to throw to his whole career?
Victor Green is my close 2nd, also. i met him, and his wife, (a little before she was car jacked)when they did that "monday night jets", at the garden city hotel, on wfan. i sat and talked with his wife, the whole night, she was so nice, and he came and took a picture with me. he was a very underrated player, and should have made many pro bowls. i went to miami, in 96, for the regular season game, when he intercepted fiedler, and almost ran it all the way for the TD!! Definatly one of the best moments of my career as JETS fan. i wanted to die, when he became a PATRIOT!!!!!!!!
That was in 2001. I was on my way back from the Pro Football hall of fame listening to that on the radio. Aaron Glenn took one to the house in that game too,.
Me too, KennyO represents my first Jet memories in 86. Chad would be a close second followed by Al Toon.
Klecko No showboating, no trash talking....just straight up mauling people 2,3,4 at a time. Reminds me of my dad. I miss his blue collar play style.
my bad. just looked at a copy of the south florida sun sentinal,april19,2001. awesome shot of Victor running it back, with Fiedler chasing! according to the paper, it was a 63 yard td!GOD, MY MEMORIES SHOT.
Wesley Walker. How can you not love a world class football player who's blind in one eye? To me he is the Jets in a nutshell: heartbreakingly talented with a fatal flaw.
I've got to go with Joe Namath for obvious reasons. I was kid in the 70's and used to go up to Hofstra nearly every day to watch. I remember while all the players had to stay in the dorms he had a rental in Garden City. I remember writing down the license plate number of the red caddy he was tooling around in at that time. You could get so much closer to the players in those days. I recall peering into his Caddy and seeing a button attached to the steering wheel that read "Number 12 in our program but number 1 in our hearts." Cool. My other 2 favorite players are Rich Caster and Jerome Barkum. They didn't mind that I used to get their autographs almost every day.
Mickey Shuler. I always remember as a kid emulating him whenever I caught the ball. Always wanted to be like Mickey!
Grew up in the 90s watching Jets. Id have to go Mo Lewis, Marvin Washington, Lagerman. Offense gets the glory but Defense wins the game.
