That's right, he was traded for Dan Pastorini, who then got hurt in Oakland, which opened the door for Jim Plunkett's comeback.
You're right, Pastorini was the Oilers QB in 1979....and of course I should of remembered Stabler was still with Oakland in '79 because the Jets really teed off on him that year...they intercepted him 5 times at Shea and won again. In back to back games against Minnesota and Oakland the Jets defense recorded something like 9 interceptions....I think that lucky one point win by Oakland in 1977 (Thanks to Leahy's bad game) was the only time Stabler ever did beat the Jets..
The Minnesota game was a Monday Nighter at Shea, one of the few ever there. That was the early stages of the Sack Exchange, Lyons and Gastineau were rookies, Klecko in his third year.
That Minnesota game was the first ever MNF game played in the NYC area...the Jets only played two MN games at Shea in their history and won both against Minnesota and then Miami in 1980......the 1982 strike wiped out a MNF game against Buffalo.....Really strange if you think about it. I know the Jets and Giants were bad in the 1970s but you would think there would have been at least one home MNF game in that span between the two teams..the Jets were somewhat decent in the early 70s and still had Namath..the Giants were a good team in 1970 and 1972 and just missed the playoffs, plus they had the rivalries with Philadelphia, Dallas, etc......
If I remember right, fan behavior was a big issue in those days and MNF preferred to have their games in the south and west. Especially the west where it was earlier and people were less drunk and hostile.
Just to be anal about it, Bubba Franks was a pro-bowler. Its like counting Monk as one of our best receivers, Pepper Johnson as our great LB, Wilbur Marshall, Lott, etc. But the thing is, if we strike gold with the guy, in another year or two, his inclusion will be a no-brainer. So there!
According to my research, the double triple has happened 30 times. Joseph Addai is not the most recent player to accomplish the feat. I'll put something together in the History & Trivia forum soon.
