I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that Jets and Raiders games are always special to me possibly because of the rivalry we had back in the day when we had Joe and they had Lamonica. Namath: "There was a lot of bad blood between us, we just didn't like each other." I've always loved to hate the dopey Raiders because they were cheap shots, They used every trick in the book to win, late tackle specialists, they made trying to cripple the QB a science. Lets be fair they had great players over the years, Marcus Allen..... the rest I forget or choose to forget. But what about the roll of muggers they have had on their rosters- Ike Lassiter, Verpianoshitforbrains, can someone tell me his real name I forget. Rather than trade insults with some dopey trolls, lets remember some of the great games or infamous games, (Heidi Bowl), between us over the years and list the players you loved to hate. With respect, God rest his soul, I'm sure Gene Upshaw would approve of this type of thread because he was the very fabric of this nasty "The world hates us and we don't care" organisation.
Great thread. The playoff game in LA in Jan. 83, following on the heels of the stomping of the Bengals in an icy cold Riverfront stadium, is probably the time I was proudest about being a Jets fan. I particularly remember a 'roid raging Lyle Alzado ripping Chris Ward's facemask off. A very physical game. More here: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/30/sports/football/30jets.html: The Jets and the Raiders, two of the original American Football League teams, have been playing each other since 1960. The rivalry began to sizzle in the late ?60s. The Raiders? Ike Lassiter broke Joe Namath?s cheekbone in 1967. The following season, on their way to winning Super Bowl III, the Jets beat the Raiders in the A.F.L. championship game at Shea Stadium as Namath threw three touchdown passes. Earlier that season, the Jets and the Raiders played in the famous ?Heidi? game. The Jets took a 32-29 lead with 65 seconds remaining when, at 7 p.m. in the East, NBC cut to the start of ?Heidi,? the made-for-television movie scheduled to begin at that time. Viewers screamed in disappointment as they missed witnessing two stunning touchdowns by the Raiders, who won, 43-32. As a result, the N.F.L. changed its television contracts to guarantee that games were shown in their entirety. So in a sense, every football fan should have a soft spot for the Jets-Raiders rivalry. ?That?s right,? Tannenbaum said with a laugh. The rivalry took on a renewed edge during a playoff game in Los Angeles in January 1983, when the Jets beat the Raiders, who by then had relocated to Los Angeles. Jets Coach Walt Michaels received a prank phone call at halftime of the game and was convinced it was the Raiders? owner, Al Davis, disguising his voice. The call turned out to be from a bartender in Queens who had bet on the Raiders. Afterward, Michaels ranted about Davis even though the Jets had won.
phil villipiano Fu**in' raiders had some excellent teams and players. Stable, Branch, and Belitnikoff with a helluva OL including Upshaw and Otto. Defensively, Jack Tatum is the prototype for a killer in the secondary. Other hitters too back there. Ever since they came back to Oakland, they're a shell of what they were. Their fans are pathetic.
My all time favorite Jets raiders game within my years of really following the team was Glenn Foley come back in 97 . We were barbequing for that game and almost burned down his patio with the grille flames.
They did have some great players over the years but to me if he didn't get injured Bo Jackson may have gone down as one of the best running backs to ever play the game. He was one of those special players. I wasn't around in the 60's and 70's but I remember the story about Walt Michaels when he swares that Al Davis called him in the locker room at the half in the playoffs.
I really want to hear some stories about the raiders/Jets matchup from the 60s. I wasn't much of a fan back then but I understand the Raiders are to the real old timers what the fish are to me. The mortal enemy. People who think we have a rivalry with the patsies just don't understand.
Great memories. Walt Micheals was incensed after this game I recall the hatred for Davis was tangible.
The Bo Jackson story is one of fairy tale stuff, the guy was just an out an out athlete. Who knows what he could have acheived if he staked his all to the NFL. He was a special player and it pains me to say it as I picture him in that dirty colour with shiny grey.
I hate the Raiders now but I used to admire their teams from the '80's. Lester Hayes and Marcus Allen are 2 of my favorite players.
We won the game but lost the war in early 83: Michaels' rant eventually led to his firing and Joe Walton's years of futility. Next season the Raiders won the Super Bowl.
Good Bo highlights here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxnf5Tq-AcY EDIT: In the video, you can see Bo run over Ronnie Lott and make "The Boz" into his bitch at the goal line in that famous Monday Night game.....
I'm not old enough to remember the Namath vs Lamonica matchup, but I live in LA and have to deal with Raider fans all the time, like when I'm being robbed. I won't be satisfied with the Raider downfall until Matt Millen is named GM.
I remember 1 game I was at when the Raiduhs missed like 3 or 4 FG's one of which we blocked and Ray Mickens caught it on a hop and was GONE for the GW TD.. The Raiduhs did own us that day but they still lost! EDIT: Just looked it up. It was 1997 and was a 72yd Return. :up: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199709210nyj.htm Look @ the Stats. Jeff George 374yds + 3 TD's Tim Brown 10-153 James Jett 5-148 N.Kaufman 126yds Rushing
After the loss to the Jets, the Raiders were called "the greatest 1-3 team in NFL history". In Week 1, in a game played in August, the Raiders lost in overtime in Memphis to the Tennessee Oilers. Eddie George ran for 216 yards. In Week 2, the Raiders led the Chiefs 27-22 late in a Monday Night game. Elvis Grbac hit Andre Rison with a touchdown pass in the final moments. The Chiefs won 28-27.
We are down 19-14-2 against the Raiders overall. As the Titans from 1960-62 we were 5-1. 16 of our games against the Raiders were decided by 7 points or less. 13 games were decided by 3 points or less!! And of course there were the memorable matchups. The Heidi Bowl, 1968 AFL Championship, 2001 Week 17 John Hall's GW 53 yard FG. Even the first ever matchup between the two teams was a classic. A 28 - 27 win by the Raiders after scoring 14 points on two JD Smith TD runs in the 4th quarter, the second was a 9 yard game clincher. That was the only time the Raiders would be the NY Titans. The next matchup went to the Titans 31-28 five weeks later when Al Dorrow threw the clinching TD pass to Dewey Bohling. In both games Art Powell went over 100 yards receiving for the Titans. In the second game he scored two TDs. Powell would go on to be a 4 time AFL All Pro with the Raiders and in my opinion should be seriously considered for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Namath vs. Rai-duhs The Jets/Raiders rivalry was probably at its most intense in the late 60s. In a 1966 or '67 game, Joe Namath nearly died (literally!) on a drenched Frank Youell Field. He had his face pushed down into the soggy turf during a pileup and inhaled mud, which clogged his windpipe. Dr. James Nicholas had to reach down Namath's throat and pull out mud before Namath could breathe again. Nicholas said Namath very nearly suffocated. We all know about the broken cheekbone in 1967, courtesy of Isaac Lassiter. Ben Davidson always seems to get the credit (or blame, depending on your point of view), however. Lassiter complained that had he been properly credited (or blamed), he would have become a star in the Miller Lite commercials instead of Davidson. Namath refused to acknowledge either of them for his swollen cheek, claiming to have bitten into a tough piece of steak. The less said about the infamous 1968 "Heidi Game", the better. Well, I must say a few things about it. The game ran long, due to a lot of pass plays and penalties. That's why the game ran into the scheduled time slot for the NBC movie, "Heidi". Weeb Ewbank was so incensed at the dirty tactics(even by Raider standards) of Oakland, he showed the game film to some writers. They witnessed Dan Birdwell punching Namath in the balls (no flag) and numerous other indignities inflicted on the Jets. They also saw Jets' safety Jim Hudson erroneously flagged for facemasking Hewritt Dixon. Hudson protested vociferously (and profanely) to the official and was ejected. But not before drawing another flag, this one for unsportsmanlike conduct. He then "saluted" the Oakland fans as he left the field to a chorus of boos. The Jets were fined $2000 ( a huge fine in those days) by Pete Rozelle for criticizing the officials. A few weeks after "Heidi" caused mass yodels of protest from deprived football fans, the Jets and Raiders met again. This time, the AFL championship was at stake. Sometime during the second quarter, Namath had his bell rung and sustained a concussion. Also during this contest, Namath had his middle finger yanked out of the socket during a pileup. Fortunately for the Jets, it was his left middle finger, not the one on his throwing hand. Trainer Jeff Snedeker popped it back into place on the sideline, and then taped it to his ring finger. At halftime, he injected it with xylocaine. He could do nothing for Joe's right thumb however, which had been bruised for the fourth time that season. Injecting it with painkiller was out of the question, as Namath needed his "feel for the ball". It seemed the Raiders always saved their worst for Namath, but Namath always saved his best for them. Namath's trademark toughness was never more on display than in his clashes with the men in black. He could take whatever they dished out. "That was the beauty of Joe," Ben Davidson remarked in admiration.
The irony of this story is that as paranoid as Michael's was (and he was indeed very paranoid about opposing teams, coaches and owners, not only Davis, but Shula as well) he neglected to send somebody down to Miami ahead of the team to keep an eye on the Dolphins. If they had been a little more suspicious, they would've seen the unprotected turf at the Orange Bowl and been able to get it covered, or at the very least, game plan better for a muddy field. I think the Jets lost that game because Michaels was surprised by the field conditions and just panicked. He failed to adapt and doomed the team with a game plan suited to sunny southern california.
I wasn't alive for the 60s and 70s, so I missed out on the majority of the great matchups. For me, the biggest part of the rivalry came because I was living in the Bay Area during college. I was in school fall of 1998 to spring of 02, and stayed there another 2 years. During that time, I made it out to 7 games...the 98 opener in San Francisco, which was a fantastic game right up until Garrison Hearst ended it by tearing off 99 yards...and 6 of the 7 games at Oakland over the next 5 years, including the playoff games after 2001 and 2002. I remember Oakland coming back in the 4th to beat us during that disastrous 99 season. I remember getting revenge on a long ass FG from John Hall in 2001...which was, not coincidentally, the worst time I've ever had trying to get out of a stadium alive. I remember the Jets having to come back to Oakland that next week for the playoff opener and keeping it close but never looking like they could hang with the Raiders. I remember the Jets having to fly to Oakland twice AGAIN the next season and thinking that we were on a high going into the game only to get destroyed in the second half. I remember starting to wonder why the hell we had to fly to Oakland 6 times in 4 seasons, only to be rewarded with yet another trip, and only the second Jets victory, in 2003. Seriously, who the hell thought it was a good idea to make a team fly out division, across country, to the same stadium, for 5 straight seasons? The playoffs were coincidence, but that was insane. At least it meant I got a game a season, but I'd have taken that ANYWHERE but Oakland.
I can remember us blowing a 27-14 lead at Shea vs Oakland in 1977 and losing 28-27. Of course you guys mentioned the playoff game in 1982-83, a great win for the Jets. In 1985 they killed us 31-0 in the opener, then we went 11-4 the rest of the way before New England knocked us both out at home in the playoffs. In 1989 they beat us on MNF, Art Shell's first game as Raider coach, I think the first game in history coached by a black man. Dennis Byrd crushed Jay Shroeder on one paticular play. 1993 was the blown game vs backup QB Vince Evans, aided by the clock stopping for no reason, allowing the Raiders to get the last play off and score the game winning TD. The 1995 Sunday Nighter was a low moment even for Rich Kotite, assigning a college QB named Vance Joseph to play CB vs Tim Brown. I was at the 1997 Jet win you guys discussed, lifting us to 2-2 on the Mickens return. The 1999 loss was one of the Rick Mirer games in the aftermath of Vinny's injury. John Hall in 2001 was as clutch a FG as you could possibly make and he did it. I just about jumped through the roof, although we knew the odds of going back and doing it again the next week were slim. The 2002 MNF loss interrupted the surge we were on with Chad en route to the division title. I think that was the game when they had a ridiculously long delay to honor Tim Brown setting some sort of record. Of course the playoff game the following month was no better. The 2003 game was one of Doug Brien's only good moments as a Jet, the SD playoff game being the other. 2005 was a rare good game for us, Ty Law and John Abraham both played well, knowing neither would be a Jet for much longer. Tui started that game for Oakland. The 2006 finale was a great day to be a Jet fan. We locked up a playoff bid at 10-6, turned out to be a last hurrah for Chad as a Jet, wrapping up the Comeback Player of the Year. I was at the 05 and 06 games.
I saw the playoffs in 82-83 as the turning point when the Raiduhs became the ex-rival and the fish took over. Back in the day there were fewer teams so we used to play the west coast more frequently. As a result we so infrequently play the Raiduhs anymore that the old hatred really fell away. We need more stories from the 60s and 70s. RickS had a great start on that, we need more.
