I've been a Titans?Jets fan since 1960. I remember the first HC who was Sammy Baugh. The first game I attended was at the Polo Grounds Titans vs. Dallas Texans (who became the Chiefs. HC was hall of Famer Clyde "Bulldog Turner. My father bought season tickets to the Jets when they went to Shea. The game was held on a Saturday Night.They drew 45.000 fans. We had season tickets on the second level around the 40 yard line. The season tickets were $10 a game for a total of $70. Dick Wood was the QB and the defensive star of the game was professional wrestler Wahoo McDaniel. Biggest thrill beating the Raiders for the AFL championship. I pray for one more before I leave this earth.
Actually, I think it's the opposite. I read and post on 2-3 Jets fan sites, and for the most part, both there and here, it's the older fans who are more optimistic and more willing to be patient. It's the younger fans who are the darksiders and very impatient. But in every age group, there are both pessimists and optimists and those in-between. I don't think one accurately break it down by age. I will say that the MOST negative and cynical are some of the longer-term Jets fans, and I think that some of them have gone from being fans to hating the team, and now they're like rubber neckers at a wreck on the highway...they can't stop looking, and they get some kind of perverse satisfaction in predicting that things will go wrong and then having them go wrong. Those fans, if they post something themselves are always critical of the team. Nothing they say is positive, and some of them only post to insult and criticize those who are more optimistic. I've been a Jets fan since 1964. That's 59 years. I'm an optimist. One has a choice. One can let one's experience sour them, and become negative, cynical, and pessimistic, or one can choose to not let the past influence one heavily and take a more balanced view of things. I'm no longer the sunshiner, eternal optimist I was, but I'm also no longer the negative, bitter cynical fan I had become when Gase was the HC. It was the hiring of Joe Douglas that helped turn things around for me. Those who say they have no choice are wrong. They do, they just can't make that choice. I've already made up my mind that if JD can't fix the OL next year and he winds up getting fired, that I'm done with the Jets. I will find other things to spend all the time and energy that I have been spending on the Jets, especially over the last 20-30 years.
All I remember is sitting at a bar in St. Augustine, FL, 21 years of age, with my best friend at the time who was a pats fan. I was drinking jack and coke and had on my AL Toon Jersey, enjoying the atmosphere and hoping to enjoy a Jets victory over the Pat's. Then MO Beta, MO beta, MO Lewis, knocked Bledsoe out of the game. I blacked out after that and have no clue what happened.
Wow...read back through that and it strikes me as to how much changes yet so many things stay the same. One thing has NEVER changed, though. The NY Jets drafting record has been HORRID, in general, and well below average at best. Every 5 or 10 years we have a blow out draft, like last year's but, in general, our drafting really REALLY sucks! This, in my opinion, is what separates the NY Jets from organizations like the Steelers. That team has been drafting well since the 70's. Another observation, The NY Football Jets have NEVER EVER been able to develop a QB. EVER!!!! ALL of our "real" success has come at the hands of hand me down veterans. The two lone exceptions are the first two Sanchez years but then he had a defense so good that a fence post could have basically steered the "ship" to the AFCCG. Of course, once the defense started to disband we "broke" Sanchez too. The brief Pennington years fall in the category of "he was as good as he was going to get when he got here." His physical limitations were too much to overcome by his superior leadership. My goodness. Had Pennington had the arm of someone like Brady and a bit more luck in the health dept. he could have been something special. One final point when comparing the Steelers and the Jets. (I saw some folks mention Pittsburg throughout the thread) The Pittsburg Steelers have had THREE, let that sink in, THREE head coaches in, what, 50 years? We're on our 4th since 2010!!! Continuity That word is about as foreign to the NY Jets as is water on the Moon. Stability is where success is generated. This team will NEVER be more than it is now until we figure out a way to have some continuity. That and we really need to figure out why we draft so poorly in general. Just a few thoughts to chew on. Oh, BTW, I'm over 30 years when it comes to the Jets. Been rooting for this head case of an organization a lot longer than some and not nearly as long as others.
Well i might as well chip in. In my 80's. Jets fan since before they were born. They were titans. Expanding on the point above. It seems to me those franchises that are always in top have ownership that is extremely invested in the team being great. Every owner wants the team to win, but for many the team is really a secondary interest and not the focus if their lives. WJ has quite a few political things going on, and who knows what else. He is not selling. He is not divesting himself of other interests. So if we want continuity we should plan on the current staff staying long-term. And if ZW shows capability by the end of the season...getting us a winning record and maybe into playoffs, then the team should resign him. But many posters will say that us stupid. Get new staff. Get new QB. A quandry. Now personally i am not a big fan of Saleh. But if the team does get into playoffs than i say extend him. Rodgers will.play next year baring injury and if wilsns shows this year he is capable successor thay could have continuity going forward. How douglas will juggle all the cinracts needing resigning will be interesting
With regards to the bold, I'm not convinced that Woody wants the team to be great. I think he does, but his ego won't let him realize that his having to butt in and pressure the GM to make certain moves actually hurts the team in its pursuit of greatness, and in the past, his hires almost certainly prevented it. I believe that they have a chance to achieve greatness with JD if Woody will just stay out of the way. I agree that he isn't going to sell the the team. He loves wearing the Jets cap and chain that Sauce gave him too much. Continuity and stability are two things that have truly escaped the Jets in its history. Of course, in order to achieve stability one must have competent leaders in one's GM and HC and talent. All too often they have had neither of those (competent leaders or talent). We all know how absymal the Jets' draft history has been with precious few exceptions. When they have had to change the leadership, it seems like that every single time the new leadership has gone with totally different schemes which resulted in having to turn the roster over. If the Jets make the playoffs this season, then Saleh should be kept and Zach extended because the job that Saleh did to keep the team playing hard in the loss of Rodgers and the growth and improvement that Zach will have had to have shown means that they both should come back. IMO it then depends upon what happens with Rodgers and the Jets in 2024. If Rodgers is the QB, they underachieve and don't make the playoffs (barring major catastrophic injuries on both sides of the ball), then I'd say that the Jets should bid adieu to Saleh and Rodgers. We have the talent in place on both sides of the ball. Of course there are position groups that are in need of upgrading (OT, OG, WR, DT and S mainly), but this team should make the playoffs. Overall, I think Ulbrich has done a pretty good job except for better utilizing the talents of Sauce and Reed and allowing them to use press coverage at the LOS and play man coverage against certain opponents. If Zach has proven himself, then I think he should be consulted as to whether he finally feels confident and at ease in the WCO or if he thinks he would play better in a different offense. If changes are made, we need to be sure to hire a HC and Coordinators who aren't rigid, but who will either create schemes or adapt schemes to fit the talents of the Jets players and what they do well. I'm fed up with Jets CSs trying to shove square pegs into round holes, ignoring the strengths and weaknesses of the players, putting scheme over the players, and not putting the players in a position to do their best/succeed. Douglas does have his work cut out for him next offseason. Not only does he have a bunch of FAs, and little cap space with which to work, but he needs to re-sign both Huff and Becton, and neither will be cheap. If Zach shows that he can play at a high level consistently, he will need to be extended. The OL still needs upgrading. If Mitchell doesn't prove that he can handle RT, then the Jets need to add a competent RT. They need to keep AVT at RG, but they need to upgrade the depth at OG. An OL of Becton, Tomlinson, Tippman, AVT and whomever, could be well above average, but we don't know what Warren has, Turner should be replaced/upgraded, and possibly Schweitzer as well. McGovern can stay as the backup C.
