The Tragic History of New York Jets Quarterbacks

The Tragic History of New York Jets Quarterbacks

[Music] in 1969. The New York Jets shocked the world as massive underdogs in the biggest game of the year, Super Bowl 3. Jets quarterback Joe Nameoth guaranteed a victory and over 40 million people witnessed that prediction turn to reality. It catapulted Broadway Joe Nameoth into superstardom and the Jets were seen as likely Super Bowl contenders for the foreseeable future. But shockingly, that’s pretty much where the good times ended. Holding his leg on the ground is Vinnie. I’ll do whatever it takes to win for Brett Favre, a member of the New York Jets. On first down, take left over. Oh, right away, Jim. right away. You got a busted play here and then Ches gets hit. The ball is loose. Breaking news. Eno Smith is out 6 to 10 weeks with a broken jump. And if something gets something back [Applause] [Music] [Applause] second sack on him and that’s knocked down. We talked about the frustration of the the Jets fans. It’s been 11 years since they saw any postseason action. Protection breaks down and time runs out. Down goes Rogers in the sack for Leonard Floyd. And now Rogers sits down. The Jets have never reached another Super Bowl and have had what many would call a tragic history of quarterbacks. Es what’s going on everybody? Last year I did a video on the Chicago Bears and their history of tragic quarterbacks. Like the Bears, the Jets have had one Super Bowl and a whole lot of heartbreak besides it. So, in today’s video, we’re going to take a look at the history of Jets quarterbacks and see exactly what’s gone wrong. But before we dive into that, this video is brought to you by Home Chef. Home Chef offers a weekly meal server subscription called Tempo that serves fast, feel-good, single serving meals. Their chefdesigned, ready to eat meals cook in just 2 minutes. All their meals are made with real ingredients, are nutrient-rich, and are dietitian approved. What’s awesome about Tempo is it has 24 plus options on the rotating menu each week. The best part, honestly, is that they really do taste great. And the fact that they are done in just 2 minutes means that you could get one of these out of the fridge, microwave it, and be back on the couch all before the commercial break ends. Save yourself the stress during game day, and try Tempo from Home Chef by clicking the link in the description or scanning the QR code on screen. Use code KTO60 to get 60% off your first Tempo box. So, first things first, let’s give the Jets their flowers. This team really helped change the landscape of the NFL. This was right before the merger and it really helped solidify the credibility of the AFL and a year later the merger happened. Broadway Joe Nameoth had become a superstar and for the following years, he was pretty much the most popular player in the NFL. Obviously, the Super Bowl took his fame to the next level. And if you want to know how much time has passed since the Jets have been in a Super Bowl, this was the copy of Sports Illustrated back after they had won the Super Bowl. And on page four, I believe you can see what computer football looked like at the time. Man, this thing was so realistic. As it says, it plays like the real game. Excitement, suspense, action. It’s apparently more enjoyment than you could have ever dreamed for a home football game. A kickoff, a return, and it’s first and 10 on the 45. Now what? A quick opener, an end round, the bomb with computer football, you call the plays, you make the decisions. Here’s your chance to prove you’re the master strategist you’ve always claimed. Anyways, to get back to the Jets, as fast as they had soared, they came crashing back to Earth. The rest of Nameoth’s career post 1969 was brutal. In fact, they became one of the worst teams in the NFL. Nameoth had his moments following the legendary Super Bowl, but injuries hampered him. The team went 23 and 38 with him under center after 1969. Following the 76 season, the Jets hadn’t been good in 8 years, so they decided to make a pivot away from Nameoth. It was a tough yet necessary move to make, and Nameoth would play in just four games for the Rams in 1977 before retiring. They replaced him with another quarterback from Alabama, first round pick Richard Todd. These quarterbacks were about the same height and weight, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end. Broadway Joe Nameoth had become a larger than-l life persona, and the Jets were sick of it. As this SI article puts it, quote, “Ever since Nameoth limped off into the LA Sunset in 1978 for an ill- fated last fleeing before retiring, the Jets have vowed to bury the star system.” Richard Todd was much more reserved and low-key, which honestly led him to living in Nameoth’s shadow during his career with the Jets. He struggled dealing with the scrutiny of being a New York quarterback. In his first five seasons, he threw more interceptions than touchdowns and was booed by fans and criticized by the press. He’s also known for an incident in which he shoved reporter Steve Serby into a locker after Serby supported backup quarterback Matt Robinson as starter instead of him. Then there was a moment in 1981. The Jets finished 105 and one off the back of their dominant defense, which was nicknamed the New York Sack Exchange, as well as Todd improving dramatically. After an 11-year playoff drought, the Jets had finally returned to the playoffs. Even though they lost to the Bills in the first round, this was promising for their future. The team had some positive momentum, which continued into 1982. During the NFL strike season, Todd once again showed improvement, posting a higher quarterback rating than in 1981. And once again, the Jets made the postseason. This time around, they found their playoff stride. They beat Cincinnati in the wild card, then narrowly escaped the ruthless Raiders in the infamous Lo helmet throwing game. All of a sudden, the Jets had found themselves in the AFC Championship game. On that fateful day, the brutal, rainy, and muddy conditions made it nearly impossible to throw the ball effectively. Todd threw five interceptions and the Jets were shut out by the Dolphins 14 to zero. Here’s another excerpt from that SI article. Quote, “When Todd walked out of the dressing room after the Miami game, he at last saw a friendly face, that of his wife Lulu, who grabbed his arm, looked at him dead in the eye, and said, “What was wrong with you? Why did you play so badly?” Months later, the outspoken Lulu explained, “Richard will never be accepted in New York and he’ll never make it in New York until he wins a Super Bowl like Joe Nameoth.” Just 17 days after that loss, shockingly, the head coach of the team, Walt Michaels, resigned. Reportedly, the team’s owner pressured Michaels into resigning due to his temper. And if you needed proof that he had a bad temper, later that day, he got into a shoving match with the bus driver at the airport. to replace him. The team decided to promote their offensive coordinator, Joe Walton. And in the 1983 NFL draft, they made this move. Jets take the first round selection quarterback, Ken O’Brien of California Davis. When Ken O’Brien out of UC Davis was selected, it was a shocker. Everyone fully expected the Jets to draft Pittsburgh quarterback Dan Marino. Everybody said if Marino was going to be around at that time, they think Marino. Obviously, the Jets know something that, you know, the people up here don’t. Don Shula, the Dolphins head coach who ended up drafting Marino, famously asked, “Who’s he?” in regards to the Jets drafting O’Brien. Clearly, he was brought in to replace Richard Todd. But at the time, Todd sort of brushed it off and said something along the lines of, “Well, he ain’t John Elway, so I’m not worried.” Well, Todd’s performance took a nose dive in 1983, and the team felt it was time to move on. His final game as a Jet was horrible. He threw two pick sixes and got an unsportsmanlike penalty for throwing the ball at a player. 1984 started off on a surprising note. Backup quarterback Pat Ryan actually did really well and they started out 6 and2. But after a brutal three-game stretch, the team decided to replace him and bring in the young quarterback Ken O’Brien. Still in the playoff hunt, O’Brien struggled, losing four of his five starts. Meanwhile, the quarterback that everyone expected this team to draft was lighting up the NFL in Miami. Dan Marino went on to win league MVP in 1984 in what was the most dominant statistical season by a quarterback people had ever seen. Honestly, it might still be the most impressive season ever by a quarterback considering the era. And for the Jets, Marino’s success had cast a shadow over Ken O’Brien. But O’Brien was no slouch. He figured things out by 1985, helping lead the Jets back to the playoffs and ended up leading the league in quarterback rating, but still Marino was better. These two quarterbacks were forever tied together, especially considering the fact that they were in the same division playing each other twice a year. This meant that Jets fans had two reminders at least per year that this was the guy they could have had. But on September 21st, 1986, these two quarterbacks would have one of the greatest duels the NFL has ever seen. The eventual 51 to 45 victory by the Jets saw a combined total of 927 yards and 10 passing touchdowns. O’Brien threw for 479 yards and four touchdowns. This was the spark of what turned into an incredible regular season for the Jets. O’Brien would dazzle on multiple other occasions, including when he threw for 431 yards versus the Seahawks, which resulted in a perfect quarterback rating, the first time in NFL history. O’Brien led the Jets on an amazing 10-1 start with nine consecutive wins. By all accounts, this was the year that they were going to make it back to the Super Bowl. And later in that season, they faced off once again versus Miami with another shot to prove, hey, this O’Brien guy may be pretty good. Let’s see what happens. However, the Jets simply ran out of fuel. Miami crushed them 45-3. Marino threw for four touchdowns while O’Brien had zero in a forgettable performance. O’Brien’s play took a nose dive for the rest of the year as he was dealing with a sore arm. They lost their final five games of the regular season and O’Brien’s arm had bothered him so much that backup Pat Ryan started the team’s wild card game. Amazingly, they won and Ryan started the divisional round against the Browns until he got hurt. This forced the banged up O’Brien to try and make things work and the result was a gut-wrenching double overtime loss. Going back to that first duel of 1986, O’Brien may have won the battle, but Marino won the war and in the end he became a Hall of Famer. He had nine Pro Bowl appearances. He made it to a Super Bowl and they were a regular playoff contender. For O’Brien, his play peaked in the middle of 1986 and for the rest of his career with the Jets, it was mediocre. They weren’t a very good team. By the time it was all said and done, the first round of the 1983 draft produced the greatest quarterback class of all time with three Hall of Famers who played in a combined 10 Super Bowls. Although O’Brien was pretty solid, he never won a single playoff game that he started in his career. In 1992, O’Brien played in just three games and the Jets went 4 and 12. It was a disaster and following the season, they decided to move on from O’Brien. This is where we see an interesting shift where the Jets bring in a MVP level player and a guy who’ played in a Super Bowl, Boomer Asiasin, as the most accomplished quarterback the Jets had acquired since Nameoth. Asaiasin was one of the transformative passers of the late8s. Most famously in 1988, the Bengals no huddle offense dominated opponents as Asiasin won MVP and the Bengals reached the Super Bowl before losing to the NerS. Although his best years were behind him and ultimately the Bengals had been pretty bad at the end of his time there. However, to spin it positively for the Jets, they had reunited Asiasin with his former offensive coordinator, which was the guy who had helped him reach his 1988 MVP season and make it to the Super Bowl. For the first year, things went okay. The Jets had gone from four wins to eight, and Asiasin was a Pro Bowler, but they fell apart after that. The team went 6-10 in ’94 and 3-13 in 95 with the worst scoring offense in the NFL. The nail in the coffin for this era was when Bruce Smith lit up Asiaasin so brutally on a dead play that it left Asiasin with a severe concussion and he was released after that season. In an effort to help improve the offense in 1996, the Jets drafted Keshan Johnson number one overall in the draft. He’s the last wide receiver taken number one in the NFL. And even though he was a good prospect, this team had so many more problems offensively and he did not patch those holes. The 1996 Jets ended up being one of the worst teams in NFL history. They won just one game and they lost by an average margin of 11 points. During that season, they had three different quarterbacks, all of whom weren’t very good. However, things began to change in 1997 when the Jets hired Bill Parcels. Parcels was one of the top coaches in the game. He had led the other New York team, the Giants, to a pair of Super Bowl victories in 1986 and 1990. Then in 1996, he led the Patriots to a Super Bowl appearance before losing to the Packers. The reason he was even available was because of an internal battle between Patriots owner Robert Craft and Parcels over how much power Parcels could possess. But in order for the Jets to acquire Parcels, it was not going to be simple because Craft wouldn’t release his contract. That’s when the Jets pulled off the ultimate trick. Parcell’s longtime defensive coordinator, Bill Bich, was brought in by the Jets to be their head coach, and Parcels was brought in by Bellich to be on an advisory role during that time. Ultimately, Robert Craft was pissed about this and threatened legal action. Long story short, they ended up making a trade happen where the Jets sent a couple of picks over and Parcels did end up becoming the head coach of the Jets and Bill Bichc was the team’s defensive coordinator. This proved to be well worth it for the Jets. They immediately saw a huge improvement going 9-7 in 1997 with Journeyman Neil O’Donnell under center. Then in 1998, they brought in another journeyman quarterback, the 35-year-old Vinnie Testa Birdie. Turns out this was the match made in heaven. This team was absolutely dominant. Bichc’s defense was top five in the league and arguably the best in football and the offense was no slouch. They were also a top 10 unit and Testaverdie was one of the best quarterbacks in football. He had rock solid numbers. He was second in quarterback rating and the team went 12- one in his 13 starts. They had blown out six of their opponents on their way to a 12-4 finish. They locked up the number two seed and this team looked like a serious Super Bowl contender. In the divisional round, they handled business versus the Jags, which meant that the Jets were back in the AFC title game for the first time in 16 years. They faced off against the heavily favored Broncos in Denver. And on a cold, windy day in Mile High, the Jets came out to play. In an ugly defensive battle, the Jets took a 10 to zero lead early in the third quarter, but they couldn’t hold the advantage. The Broncos scored 23 unanswered as the Jets on their final eight drives had four punts and three turnovers. This loss was crushing, but the fact that they had made it this far was incredibly promising. They had the structure in place with the coaching staff, and the team had a group of skill position players and the quarterback that they liked. So, overall, they looked like a team ready to compete for the foreseeable future. Here’s Martin again. Lost the football and covered it again. All right, here we go. And holding his leg on the ground is Vinnie Testy. Well, the way he’s beaten that turf, it’s not good news for the New York Jets. Talk about heartbreak. The Jets star quarterback went down in the first game of the season with an Achilles tear. You just don’t see this kind of thing happen. What’s also crazy about this game was the Jets backup quarterback was their punter, Tom Tupa, who ended up doing pretty decent that day. But to focus on the bigger picture here, this test of birdie injury really changed the landscape of the NFL in a massive way. The team ended up going 8 and8 with backups at quarterback. And following the season, Parcels decided to retire from the head coach spot and move into a GM role. And Bill Bich was going to take over as the team’s head coach. He was introduced as head coach on January 4th, 2000. Then shockingly one day later he resigned instead opting to take the Patriots job. So just like that the Jets went from one of the strongest coaching staffs in the league to zero. The Jets ended up bouncing back and after Testy recovered they went 9-7 in 2000 and following that they hired Herm Edwards in 2001. Although they did make the playoffs in Herm Edwards first season this was all overshadowed by what was going on with their division rival the Patriots. Bellichc had somehow someway made them a Super Bowl champion in his second season with them. To make matters worse for depressed Jets fans, the surprised young quarterback of the Patriots, Tom Brady, came out of nowhere after Drew Bledo got hurt, which happened against the Jets. This situation is different than the Dan Marino one, but in some ways it’s similar. Two times a year, the Jets had to watch a quarterback in Dan Marino who reminded them of who they could have had and what their team could have looked like. And ultimately, this situation was really similar. This was the coach they could have had in Bill Bich and the quarterback, which I mean, no one was thinking Brady was going to be good, but he wasn’t even going to play until your guy knocked out their quarterback. It’s not really the Jets fault that that happened. It’s just an insane couple of facts. For the next few years, the Jets had success. The 39-year-old Test of Birdie handed over the reigns to firstrounder Chad Pennington, and the team was pretty solid, making the playoffs four times from 2001 to 2007, and they also won two playoff games in that span. They were a good, not great team who had a couple years where they fell off. Meanwhile, the Patriots had won three Super Bowls and Brady had won MVP. Once again, even when the Jets were decent, they were completely overshadowed by a division rival. One of the big whatifs during this era was Chad Pennington’s health. He had multiple shoulder surgeries during his time in New York and still played well postsurgery, winning 2006 comeback player of the year. However, because of a rough 2007 season, the Jets began searching for other options and they made massive news during the 2008 training camp. He’s the newest member of the New York Jets. Number four, Brett Favre. Acquired in a trade from the Green Bay Packers. Coming off a rough 2007 season, the Jets shocked the football world when they acquired Brett Favre. Favre had been an icon in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers for the better part of 17 years. And now that he was a New York Jet, the team released Chad Pennington that same day. I was in the latter part of my career and I’m still, you know, in practices looking like, man, that’s Brett Favre. I, you know, I used to watch Brett Favre like tear it up. Like when I was in high school and college and here he is my quarterback. I think once you get past the awe of having a first hall of famer, you just know going into this situation that we got a chance. We got we got a legitimate chance along with everyone else out there. Big rush. Far gets away, lobs it in the air. Someone’s there. Oh, it’s caught at the goal line for a touchdown. 2008 got off to a remarkable start. Favre was dominant and the team sprung out to an 8 and3 start which included hanging 47 on the Rams and 56 on the Cardinals. But then the ghost of 1986 Ken O’Brien appeared. Brett Farb had torn his bicep tendon and his throwing arm and tried to play through it. The results? The team lost four of their last five and missed the playoffs. Meanwhile, the guy they cut, Chad Pennington, was balling out in Miami. He was the runner up for MVP that season as the Dolphins won the division. Favre was released by the Jets after the season. After just one year of FARF mania, the Jets reset the franchise by firing head coach Eric Manini and they hired Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan. See that, man? I mean, that’s when you know you’re handsome. Rex Ryan was the son of legendary Buddy Ryan, who was a defensive mastermind in the NFL. And with the first pick of the 2009 draft, the Jets decided to address the quarterback position, and they selected Mark Sanchez. Sanchez had come out of a long line of 2000’s USC quarterbacks that got drafted. He was praised for not only having elite physical tools, but also for being a very cerebral player. There were analysts who felt that Sanchez was the best quarterback in the class, even over number one pick Matt Stafford. Do you really see Matt Stafford as being a better quarterback than Mark Sanchez? Uh, to be real succinct, no. If I had to make the pick, I would without hesitation take Mark Sanchez from USC. Walter Football.com compared him to Aaron Rogers when he was at Cal. Well, in 2009, Mark Sanchez looked awful. He threw 12 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. Honestly, he didn’t look ready to play, but it really didn’t matter because the Jets defense was so dominant that season. Their defense went from below average the previous year to the number one defense in the NFL and their running game, headed by Thomas Jones, led the league in yards and carries. They found an old school formula that worked and they found themselves in the first round of the playoffs. In Cincinnati, the underdog Jets surprised the Bengals controlling the game on the ground, not making mistakes, and playing good defense on their way to a victory. Sanchez wasn’t asked to do too much, but he did have his best performance of the season, completing 80% of his throws and produced an outstanding 139.4 QB rating. But as great as this victory was, they now had to face a real juggernaut, the San Diego Chargers. Well, in an absolute stunner, the Jets shocked the Chargers by completely stifling their offense. Also, their kicker choked on some field goals. The Jets defense forced two interceptions and limited Leenian Tomlinson to just two yards a carry. The Jets offense was pretty limited, almost relying entirely on their running backs. Sanchez threw for just 100 yards and also an interception, but they won the game. Just like that, the Jets had found themselves in the AFC Championship for the first time in the 21st century. Once again, the Jets were heavy underdogs. And this time, they were taking on the mighty Indianapolis Colts, who had started 2009 14-0 before arresting their starters. Well, shockingly, the Jets came out throwing haymakers. And this time, it was led by Mark Sanchez. He threw two touchdowns in the first half, and the Jets were up at one point 17-6. But it all fell apart. The Colts found their rhythm and the well of fortune the Jets had had on offense had dried up. And just like that, their Cinderella 2009 season came to a close. Let’s make sure we play like the New York Jets. Do we understand what the I want to see tomorrow? Let’s go to eat a damn snack. 2010 saw an improved version of what we saw in 2009. Mark Sanchez did take a step in the right direction that season, although he was in the bottom half of the league statistically, but to be fair, he wasn’t turning the ball over, so that’s just pretty much what the Jets needed him to do at the time. They won 11 games, enough to make their second straight playoff appearance, but not enough to play a single home game. To start the wildard round, the Jets found themselves where they had tragically lost the previous season, playing the Colts in Indianapolis. Early on, the Colts looked like they were going to cruise to an easy victory, but the Jets scratched and clawed their way to give themselves a chance. The Colts took a two-point lead with 53 seconds to go. Then Rogers Cormardi made a huge play on the kick return to give the Jets good field possession. And despite a rough showing for Sanchez at that point, he made the throws when it mattered most. And the Jets won with a walk-off field goal. But of all the Jets stunning victories of this era, none were more shocking than what we witnessed the following week. In a game most felt like the Jets would get absolutely crushed, Sanchez and company played the game of their lives. Sanchez in Foxboro threw three touchdowns with a 127.3 QB rating. Somehow he had done it. He outdooled Tom Brady in New England. and the Jets found themselves advancing to their second straight AFC Championship game. In those two playoff runs, they had won on the road versus Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers, Pton Manning, and Tom Brady. This was the stuff of legend. However, reality would smack them in the face the following week. On a frigid day in Pittsburgh, everything that could go wrong went wrong as they trailed 24 to nothing at one point. Even though the Jets had a decent comeback attempt in this game, it was too little too late. And sadly for Jets fans, they have not experienced a playoff game since that day. Hey, we already talked about it. We already know what’s going to be written, right? Three home teams advance and the [Applause] [Music] years ago we talked to Tom Moore then in Indianapolis, the offensive coordinator. You got a busted play here and then and then Sanchez gets hit. The ball is loose and it’s alive. I have never seen this before in my life. This play has been immortalized. The Jets had missed the playoffs in 2011 and were on their last legs in 2012 when Mark Sanchez infamously ran into his own lineman and fumbled the ball. In my lifetime, no low light has ever been shown more or overshadowed a player’s career quite like this. There’s Dan Orlovski’s running out of the end zone and Cam Newton not diving on the fumble in the Super Bowl, but the butt fumble is in a league of its own for the pure hilarity of it. And of course, it came against the Patriots of all teams. After this moment, Sanchez only started four more games in New York. And in those games, he threw one touchdown and eight interceptions as the team finished 6 and 10. Mark Sanchez never developed into the quarterback the team had hoped. and by 2013 he had lost all favor with the organization and fan base. The Jets found his replacement in the second round of the 2013 draft by selecting Gino Smith. And after Sanchez injured his shoulder in the preseason, he was placed on IR and would never play for the Jets again, which meant that this was Gino Smith’s team. The Jets fought to an 8-8 record in 2013 with a rookie Gino Smith. The formula was the same as their 2009 squad, just worse. And then it was a disaster in 2014. This officially was the end of the Rex Ryan years and they replaced him with Todd BS. Entering 2015, the Jets were hoping that Gino Smith, who had been a bust to that point, could turn things around. That’s when this happened. In Jets training camp, Gino Smith is out 6 to 10 weeks with a broken jaw. Just another wacky story involving the Jets. It just never ends. but their quarterback was sucker punched by a backup linebacker that is now no longer on the team. So Gino’s career with the Jets was pretty much summed up by this moment. In his absence, the team was expected to be one of the worst in the league. Yet they got off to a surprising 2 and 0 start with journeyman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. We’re just out there playing. My helmet came down on me. Uh this led Todd BS to roll in with Fitzpatrick even when Gino was ready to play. And the success surprisingly continued. Late in the season, Fitzpatrick outdoled Tom Brady. It was the stuff of legend. The game was pretty infamous because the Patriots decided to kick in overtime, which was a surprising decision, and it ultimately came back to bite them because the Jets went on and scored and moved on to 10 and five. Fitzpatrick finished with almost 300 yards and three touchdowns. The performance had been indicative of how his entire season had gone. It was really a surprise that no one expected. Fitzpatrick’s season was so impressive that it ranked him second all time in single season passing yards in Jets history and first all time in touchdowns thrown, becoming the first Jets quarterback to throw for over 30 touchdowns. With one game left in the regular season, the Jets needed to win to find their way back into the playoffs. But once again, disaster struck. Fitzpatrick threw three interceptions and the Jets lost to none other than Rex Ryan and the Buffalo Bills. Despite the disappointing end of the season, this team really felt like they had found something. So in 2016, they ran it back with Fitzpatrick. But the Fitz magic, if you will, was gone. The team went from 11th to 30th in scoring, and Fitzpatrick threw more interceptions than touchdowns as the team finished 5 and 11. Just like that, for two years, the Fitzpatrick era went up and down and it was over. During that season, Gino got back into the action after Fitzpatrick was benched, but he tore his ACL in his first start. The team didn’t resign him after the season, and it was back to the drawing board once again. With the upcoming 2017 NFL draft, the Jets had a chance to maybe select a future quarterback, which included guys like Patrick Mahomes and Deshun Watson, but ultimately they opted to take the safe route and build their defense up by selecting Jamal Adams. For quarterback that season, they brought in journeyman quarterback Josh Macau, who ended up doing pretty well, but the team wasn’t very good. Then in the following draft, they addressed their future at quarterback. With the third overall pick in a quarterback heavy draft, they decided to address their future at the position with Sam Darnold. Darnold was a big playmaking quarterback out of USC and he even drew comparisons to Andrew Luck. Now entering Darnold’s rookie season, this roster was one of the worst in the NFL. They were seen as having one of the worst O lines in the league and their offensive weapons were headed by Isaiah Crowell and Robbie Anderson. This was Darnold’s first career pass. As evidenced by that first play, Darnold’s first season as a Jet was turbulent. The team decided to fire Todd BS after the season and they brought in Adam Gays. And looking at his opening press conference, it worked out exactly like you would have thought. Although there were some good moments in 2019, it was mostly a disaster. Especially late in the season against the Patriots where they got shut out 33 to zero. And infamously, that was the game where Sam Darnold was caught saying, “I’m seeing ghosts.” This was a meme that really has stuck with Sam Darnold ever since. While there had been a little bit of promise at the end of 2019, 2020 season was the nail in the coffin for Darnold and Gays. Darnold was just too reckless with the ball and ended up being one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL. The Jets traded him to Carolina for a few picks, which meant it was back to the drawing board. Moving on from this era, the Jets hired a defensive-minded head coach, Robert Salah, and in the 2021 NFL draft, they once again addressed the quarterback position. Zack Wilson was a playmaking maestro at BYU. But what really left scouts and fans in awe was this throw at the combine. Oh my goodness, that is just a silly foot. By this point, the Jets had restarted their franchise multiple times since the Rex Ryan era, and even going into that season, they were expected to be in the midst of another rebuild. They were expected to be one of the worst teams in 2021, and that’s just what happened. Zack Wilson started 13 games, and his most notable stat was he led the league in most yardage lost on sacks. He also finished dead last in passer rating, just one spot behind Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold. The following year, the Jets defense improved tremendously, but Zack Wilson was terrible. They tried to help him out by drafting Garrett Wilson and Bree Hall in 2022, but Wilson could only muster six passing touchdowns in nine starts. Again, Wilson finished dead last in passer rating. And in just two years, the fan base was ready to see a change under center. So again, the pressure Robertson Harris is there again. Well, the crowd impatient. Guys are only able to score three points. The defense only lets up three points. I mean, do you do you feel like you let the defense down at all? No. By this point, Jets fans had been suffering for decades. The Rex Ryan days were long in the rearview mirror, and the Super Bowl victory felt like a tall tale to younger fans. They hadn’t had a Super Bowl caliber quarterback on their team since they signed Brett Favre back in 2008. Well, it was time for a little deja vu in 2023. We have breaking news here in Kansas City. The New York Jets have agreed to terms on a trade for Aaron Rogers. The hype surrounding the Rogers trade to the Jets was immense, guys. This is across the field on the back shoulder. Look at this. I don’t know if there’s there’s any other human on earth that can make that throw. He’s our quarterback. He’s ours. He’s ours. Rogers was just two seasons removed from winning his fourth MVP. With a defense that was top five the previous season, having Rogers immediately hoisted this team into playoff conversation and for some even Super Bowl talks. Hard knocks covered the Jets that off season. And as time creeped closer to opening kickoff, the anticipation was getting out of control. Because of this trade, the Jets were sought to open their season in front of the entire country on Monday Night Football versus the Buffalo Bills. Rogers came out of the tunnel with the American flag. For a brief moment, Jets fans were happy, but within minutes, it was all over. Down goes Rogers, the former first round pick of the Bears. And now Rogers sits down. Seeing Rogers carded off the field had to have been gut-wrenching for fans. Of course, nobody knew how serious the injury was, but to have an aging quarterback being sent to the locker room on a cart, it was not a good sign. Once the injury was confirmed, a seasonending Achilles tear, the team had experienced a deja vu that they weren’t expecting. Instead of a Green Bay Packers quarterback coming in and playing really well to start the season, they had a star quarterback go down in week one with an Achilles tear, which was the same thing that happened to Vinnie Testa Birdie. Let me paint a picture for you from a comment I found on the Aaron Rogers injury video because I think it encapsulates exactly what it’s like to be a Jets fan. Imagine you’re a Jets fan. You got caught in a little traffic headed to the game. You missed kickoff, but it’s fine. You get to your seat and you look at the clock. There’s 11 minutes left in the first quarter. You’ve only missed 4 minutes. You get fired up and you look down at the field and see Zack Wilson about to take the snap. Where is Aaron Rodgers? You ask the guy sitting next to you. He hurt his ankle and was helped off the field. He’s in the locker room right now. It slowly begins to settle in. You were 5 minutes late to the game and you’ll never see Aaron Rogers in a Jets uniform. Well, the end of that didn’t end up being true. After suffering through another year of Zach Wilson, Rogers recovered and was ready to play the following year. And shockingly, it went worse than the previous two seasons. Now, granted, the quarterback play was better. Rogers certainly was the best quarterback the team had had in many years, but he wasn’t as good as they hoped and the defense fell apart. They even made a desperate trade mid-season for Devonte Adams, which didn’t result in more wins. Robert Solo was fired after just five games and after two years of Aaron Rodgers, the team decided to move on. So, both times that they had Packers legends, things did not go as the team hoped. Ultimately, the Jets are a prime example of a team who it doesn’t really seem to matter who they put under center. Something’s going to go wrong. And unfortunately, as a Browns fan, I know exactly what that feels like. And it goes beyond just seeing quarterbacks fail on your team. It also includes watching them leave and often do better elsewhere. The most recent example of this is Sam Darnold. The dude was a certified bust who was seeing ghosts in New York. Then just a few years later, he became a Pro Bowler in Minnesota, throwing for more yards and touchdowns in a season than any Jets quarterback ever. [Music] Third and long for Darnell. Taking a shot for Jameson. [Music]

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Outro- The Fix by Aldous Young