Mark was the one of the best pass rushers in NFL history. And should be 100% in HOF with Klecko. They were generational talents. Too bad we couldn’t get a SB, they were unstoppable. He got criticized for his sack dance, but now common place. Made sacks a statistic. Changed the NFL. To me he is the GOAT pass rusher. And favorite Jet all time. https://nflfootballjournal.blogspot.com/2021/07/mark-gastineauflawed-yes-but-great-at.html Nice article on Mark. Happy Birthday! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I’m not old enough to ever see him play although I understand that most people (including Jets fans) acknowledge that he’s a massive asshole. But it seems like he’s gotten the Albert Belle treatment. Which is always amazing to me because the media has no issue with putting lifelong scumbags in the Hall of Fame but they won’t put in guys that didn’t want to talk to them at press conferences.
If Lawrence Taylor is in the HOF then Mark Gastineau belongs in HOF as well. No one was a bigger loser in his personal life than LT. Mark did what few players have been able to do, changed the game for players that played his position. He was a feared pass rusher and was often doubled and triple teamed, that’s a level of respect that few defensive players have ever received at the NFL level. I don’t care what the media says about him, I watched him play and his presence was noticeable all the time, same as White, Strahan, Bruce Smith, and other great DE.
Even TO got in the Hall! Mark was tame compared to him. Mark has professed his mistakes, and has changed. Dealing with some health issues. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I loooooved Gastineau, he was fun as hell to root for, but he's not one tenth the play LT was, come on. LT was head and shoulders the best player in the league the day he was drafted. And stayed that way for most of his career. PS. Fuck Brett Favre and Michael Strahan where they breathe. That is all.
The very reason I’m a jet fan is 99 He should be in the hall Woody should retire his number. He was an absolute beast.
He was as dominating as they came in his position, unfortunately his antics with the dance along with his refusing to go out on strike in 87 lead to being despised by fellow players in the league. When the whole league has a coast to coast problem with you and your fellow teammates are not defending you in any way you are well on your way to seeing your talents put in the backseat for a very long time. They will never let him in before Klecko gets in, it could be the reason Klecko is not in, they don’t in any way want to hear about hey what about Gastineau. Talent, he deserves it, popularity highly doubtful he ever gets a sniff of the hall.
I'm 52 years old. Longtime Jet fan. My father had season tickets to Shea & first took me when Richard Todd was in his 2nd season. What I last remember about Gastineau is while leading the AFC in sacks at the time in the middle of the 1988 season, - he quit the team for a lousy lying piece of ass. Sorry, but I am withholding my HOF vote. Just like most of his teammates who were in the locker room the next day after his "retirement".
I’m not saying Mark was better, and I think White was the best defensive player ever, even better than LT. However Mark is still considered one of the best pure pass rushers in NFL history. John Abraham and some other DE are ahead of Mark in sacks, since they started being counted, however when you look at the list of guys ahead of him, there are only a few that I would take over Mark as pass rushers. We are also talking about DE not OLB, as a DE he should be in the HOF.
Speaking of Abraham, it’ll be interesting to see if he eventually gets it. I imagine Suggs, Julius Peppers and DeMarcus Ware all get in so that would leave him and Jared Allen as the only two in the top 20 all time that aren’t in.
I was thinking the same thing, in your opinion, is Abraham a HOF player? I don’t think Abraham is a HOF player, I understand what the numbers say but I never felt he had a presence on the field like other great pass rushers. The other aspect of this is, when does this stat become a stat of accumulation versus a stat of domination?
Gastineau had his issues off the field, but was definitely a force on the field. He was a character who brought a lot of notoriety to himself and the team. I wouldn't put him ahead of LT n either regard though. That being said, I'd like to see him in the HOF, but not before Klecko.
Maybe you can chalk this up to nostalgia, but I don't think Abraham was ever anywhere near as dominant as Gastineau.
Of course he belongs in the hall. He held the sack record for over a decade and had a 107 career sacks.
I always wonder why jets have hard time to get in HOF… Namath changed the league, so did this guy. Even folks say Namath didn’t belong. It is obvious why he is in HOF. Should be same with Klecko and Mark. Would be best jet day ever if they got in together. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I don’t think he is either. He never dominated although he was a very good player. But to your bottom point, I’ll play devils advocate and say, isn’t there a certain “elite” skill set to be able to play long enough to compile so many stats? It’s amazing he had such a long career after he wouldn’t suit up with a sprained knee or whatever in that playoff game for us.
I might be wrong, but I kind of remember that they didn't keep sack records until after Gastineau started piling up numbers. I'd have to go back and look it up, but I think they went back over old films, and revised his career totals. Is the 107 total that you mentioned after they did that? The other thing was the BS with Strahan. To this day, I change the channel whenever he comes on.