I didn't read through all the posts, but I would pick the kickoff in the AFC Championship game against the Broncos. The kick got caught up in the wind and the Broncos recovered and completely turned the game in Denver's favor. We win that game, we win the SB.
That kickoff was what sticks in my mind the most.....I could smell the SuperBowl that day and it slipped out of our hands
To me, it was the mudding of the field for the 1982 AFC Championship on January 23, 1983 in Miami's Orange Bowl by that f***r Don Shula that is the one thing I'd love to see taken back and redone. Apparently many Jets fans on this board weren't alive way back then to see that game, but the Jets had a triumphant march through the playoffs to that point. Everyone knew that they were the best team in that strike-shortened season:, and we had so many great players: Freeman McNeil, Joe Klecko, Al Toon, Gastineau, etc. We had it all going on. And then... WHAT? The Jets have to play in the worst field conditions of all time? Because the Dolphns "didn't bother" to cover the field the night before? I always thought that this game should have been played in an neutral site after the Dolphins betrayed the rules of good sports and stacked the deck against the Jets with the muddy field. In fact, I still feel that someone (i.e. the NFL Commissioner) should have stepped in and taken that AFC championship from the Dolphins. And then I wonder... How many youngsters who post stuff against me on this board because they think I am "a troll" were even alive back then??? I would wager: "Not many."
While I agree in part with the 'neutral field' idea, it would never happen. The real mishap for the Jets that season, as I mentioned earlier, occured during the Jets regular season game in Miami. The Jets had a two point lead in the final minute, the Dolphins were deep in their own territory and sputtering. QB Don Strock threw a pass right into the chest of CB Bobby Jackson. He simply dropped the ball. This gives the Dolphins life. They drive into Jets territory. Von Schamman, who missed a 23 yarder just a little earlier, kicks a 47 yard field goal inches over the crossbar for an unlikely victory. Because of this loss, the Jets finish with the # 6 seed and Miami gets the # 2 seed. This is why the Jets had to venture back out to Miami on Jan 23, 1983. Had it been a dry field, sure, I think the Jets mop the floor with Miami. They were too good of a team to get beaten three times by the same team in a single season. But it wasn't a dry field. So in my opinion, although alot of people blame Shula for cheating, which technically he did, he also was able to do that because he had the home field advantage. Why did he have the home field advantage? A simple dropped INT by a usually reliable CB, who incidently had no problem hauling in an INT for a 75 yard TD the very next week in Minnesota. It just wasn't meant to be I guess.....
Who knows what would have happened if the Jets didn't lose that regular season game 20-19. If they won that game and everything else played out exactly as it did in the regular season, the AFC seeding would have been- 1. L.A. 2. Cincinnati 3. N.Y. (Bengals were 6-2 in AFC; with a win over Miami, *Jets would have been 3-2) 4-6 Miami, Pittsburgh, San Diego (too late and not important enough for me to figure out the tiebreakers there) 7. N.E. 8. Cleveland It is likely that the Jets would have won their home game in the 1st round and then would have proceeded to play at Cincinnati in the 2nd round. Instead of playing at CIN, at LA, and at MIA, the Jets would have hosted MIA, PIT, or SD, and then would have likely played at CIN and LA. *The Jets were 2-3 in regular season conference play that year. That is such a strange record for a conference finalist. Obviously, the shortened season caused it. The Jets went 4-0 against the NFC that year.
That was a strange season made even stranger by the strike. The Jets also blew their last regular season game that year on the road vs a bad Kansas City team which cost them a home game and better seed. Their last three regular season games were all on the road, then three playoff games. When was the last time you saw a team play six straight on the road in one season? Probably that Jets team. In fact the regular season game you are discussing was the first of those six, they actually went to Miami twice without ever playing at Shea again.
I was just assuming the Jets and Dolphins would have had reversed seeds, just for fun. If that was the case, the Jets would have hosted New England and then San Diego, while Miami would have gone to Cincinnatti and then the Raiders. At worse case scenrio figuring the Jets won their two homes games, they may have ended up in Los Angeles or Cincinnatti or back at Shea to play Miami for the AFC Championship. But you're right, who knows what could of happened along the way...
In addition to the bigger plays, there are a couple of recent ones that could've changed history. If not, they were just purely frustrating. They're a little vague in my mind so feel free to correct if you don't think I got it right. -2002 Divisional game at Oakland: Chad had been on fire the three previous games and beat Brady, Favre, and Manning back to back to back, throwing something like 10 TD's and 0 picks. The scores I think were 30 - 17, 42 - 17, and 41 - 0. But we had to go to Oakland again for the divisional game and I think the game was tied at 10. Raiders were driving and they fumbled, John Abraham could've dove on it for safety or take a risk and pick it up in hopes of a return TD. He tried to pick it up but failed and the Raiders recovered. They ended up scoring that drive on their way to 20 unanswered. That wasn't the greatest Jets team but they started 2 - 5 and won the division, the only time that the Pats didn't win it since Brady became QB. Chad just couldn't beat the Raiders then. -The Steelers game in 04 Everything was going our way. We were up 17 - 10 and the Steelers were driving and Bettis fumbled! For the first time in over a year! We got it back and had a 3rd and 5. Moss ran a crossing pattern underneath and was wide open and had lots of space around him but Chad threw it behind him and Moss dropped it. Steelers got it back and tied the game with the shovel pass. We still had 2 FG attempts to win it but that 3rd down pass was really frustrating.
I agree with this. The team was so hot then after the 2-5 start and not just winning but destroying good teams. If they had gotten past that Oakland game you never know what might have happened, like the Giants this past year.
That pass was not underthrown. Moss dropped it, just like he dropped a ton of other passes while on the Jets. It hit him right in the hands.
You mean go back to Vinny in the Oakland game? I don't know, they were totally on a roll with Chad, that's how they got there. I don't know that you give up on that in the course of one game. Vinny was my guy, I thought he was getting a bad rap when they replaced him with Chad but I was wrong. I mean in hindsight we lost the game, so any move looking back could be worth a shot. I'd take my chances with Vinny leading a comeback over Chad any day of the week, but I don't know how a coach benches a guy who had been on that kind of a roll. Changing QBs in an NFL game is a big deal, that's why coaches are always slower to do it than the fans wnat them to be. Except for me, I was the last guy on board for the Vinny/Chad switch, so it's a good thing they didn't listen to me. :grin:
To those who say the Jets would have definitely lost to NE in the 2004 AFC Championship, I say that is a bunch of crap. How many upsets do you have to sit through? How many people gave the Giants a chance to beat NE or NE to beat the Rams in 01? Or better yet, I'll turn the tables on those of you who think that picking the Brien FG as the play to change is worthless because the Jets would have lost the next week to the Pats. Let's change history a bit. In the 1968 playoff game against Oakland, the Raiders were losing 27-23 and were driving towards a winning score very late in the game. Raider QB Lamonica threw an incomplete swing pass that ended up being a lateral that was recovered by Ralph Baker. Jets win and go to SBIII and we know the rest. Let's just say, for argument's sake, that Baker tried to pick the ball up (which is what half the players in today's NFL would have done) and missed and the Raiders recovered and then scored to win the game. Tons of people on this board who remembered back that far would put the "Baker non-recovery" on this list. Then there would be the response by the know it alls who would say that play doesn't belong because the Jets would have lost to the Colts in SB III anyway. Sound familiar????
This kind of post just baffles me. I just don't understand the bitterness and hatred of a player that just doesn't seem warrented. I can see taking the position that Clemens or somebody else should be the QB or that Pennington is not the answer. What I don't see is how or why some Jet fans just exhibit pure hatred for the guy. Let's put some things in perspective. He was a QB on a team that went to the playoffs three times. All three were not expected or predicted. He is a QB that has won as many playoff games as any QB in Jet history. He is not a QB that caused a stacked team to underachieve. In addition, he has exhibited nothing but class throughout his career. He has not criticized management or his teammates ever. He has accepted whatever role he has been put in. He patiently waited three years for Testaverde's tenure to end. He played hurt in 2004. He battled back from what people thought was a career ending injury in 2005 to lead the team to the playoffs in 2006. He did not complain when he had to earn the job in 2006. He did not complain when he had to take less money after his injuries. He did not complain when he was benched last year nor is he complaining this year. Contrast that with 99% of today's NFL players, or some former Jets. Pennington is hated, but Kendall is revered by some. Explain that to me. What Kendall pulled last year was destructive, unprofessional, and absurd. But is he hated? How about Baker this year. Does anybody really care if Baker is on the team or not? But he has support and is not hated. How about what Keyshawn Johnson pulled in 2000? How about Coles leaving the team in 2003 for more money and critisizing the entire franchise on the way out the door. And then asking for more money when he was rescued by the Jets and brought back? And there are many other examples of Jet players demonstrating extreme selfishness that hurt the franchise or Jet players that underperformed in the clutch. How about players on other teams, like Owens, Moss, Johnson etc. These are players to dislike. So while I know that I'm not going to change your opinion of the man, it just doesn't make any sense to label him a divisive force and to list him as the cause of all Jet misfortunes of the past 6 years. We can argue as to whether he should be the starter this year or not. But to deride his accomplishments, ignore the effort he put in to resurrect his career, and ignore his class is just plain wrong. I'm not saying to accept mediocrity or that you should root for Pennington to win the job and be happy about it. What I am saying is that you should reserve your hatred for people who deserve it. People cannot control their physical limitations, but they can control their effort and the way they behave. You should saveyour hatred for those whose behavior deserves it, not those who do what they can (or more) with what they have and carry themselves admirably while doing it.
