Very good analysis, I agree with all of that. Both QBs were tough and good in their own right. Todd got better in the last few years before we traded him, I'd like to have seen him be able to stick around and play with those 1985 and 86 teams. As good as O'Brien was for a season and a half, Todd by that time was a seasoned playoff QB. I realize he came back as an emergency QB in 1986 and never saw the field, hard to count that.
Todd stunk in the last few years. All of his completions seemed to be when the Jets were far behind and the opponent played PREVENT and let him dink and dunk. He was so stupid he took the bait every time. He was anything BUT tough! Choker! Stutter in the huddle... How can ANYONE call Todd a "Great" anything? Certainly not a great Jet nor an "Icon>>>"
Well then I guess the Miami win with the broken rib and on one ankle never happenned. Was Todd great? No, but to make it all personal like that isn't right either.
His last few years as a Jet? His best years were 1981 and 82, his last with the Jets was 1983 where, as junc pointed out, a lot of games were lost mainly on defense. Some in the end and some by getting skewered for 200 yards on the ground. Even in the Rams game we won in OT, Eric Dickerson torched us for a huge day.
As you pointed out Italian Seafood, Green Guy really doesn't know what he's saying. Aside from his last year in 1983, 1981 and 1982 were excellent years for Todd. The stats and playoff wins prove that. So two out of his last three years were his best seasons. That 1983 game where Dickerson ran over the Jets for 200 yards--the Jets won that game because with McNeil hurt, Todd had a great game and threw for over 400 yards.
"Green Guy doesn't know what he's saying?" I was there - saw the man with my own two eyes. He STUNK! It's only personal because the moron gave all Jet fans in Shea the Finger! His best years, big deal! Is he an all time Jet Icon or all time Jet Star or a Great Jet? None of the above! Did he have his moments, sure...but he was a mediocre at best QB who was (as one writer put it, I forget who) "Todd is/was like the girl with the girl, when he was good, he was very very good, and when he was bad he was awful!" Isn't consistency the mark of an all time great or an icon or a star?
It figures, I see Kronenberg is from Chapel Hill - where ANYONE who's a Tar Heel is great and everyone else stinks! I was in Chapel Hill my "friend" so I know what I'm talking about here too...
Nassau Drops Todd Case SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES Published: November 17, 1981 Denis Dillon, the Nassau County District Attorney, has decided not to act on the criminal-assault charges filed against the Jets' Richard Todd by Steve Serby, a reporter for The New York Post. ''The District Attorney has decided this doesn't belong to the criminal-justice system,'' Ed Grilli, a press relations officer for Mr. Dillon, said today. ''There was no physical injury.'' The reporter and Todd got into an argument in the Jets' locker-room on Nov. 4. Several witnesses told the police they had seen Todd push Mr. Serby into a locker. Mr. Serby's lawyer, Ira Lee Sorkin, said he would not comment on the decision, because ''we are studying other alternatives.'' Presumably, a civil action could be undertaken. The Jets' president, Jim Kensil, said he planned no disciplinary action, although he said he had told the players at a team meeting, ''We don't condone what Richard did.'' A National Football League official said that Commissioner Pete Rozelle was out of town for a few days, and would review the case when he returned. Goodell would have suspended him and rightfully so!
The words of a LOSER - from a 1998 SI Article "If I could do it all over again, maybe I'd be a backup quarterback," says Todd. "Everybody likes them." The guy was drafted #1, paid big bucks to be Namath's successor, and all he ever did was cry that it was too hard and too tough...the press, the fans, etc. Do you hear my violin playing for this guy???
Kicking a writer's ass...big man football star - can't take the pressure and cracks. Should have been suspended instead of fined. If any NFL player had done that today under Goodell, he's on the suspended list case closed! You think what Todd did was acceptable? Is that what we want to teach our kids - that it's ok to shove someone into a locker when you don't like or agree with what they say? Grow up people!
All Time Passer Rating - Richard Todd #122 @ 67.57% Boomer Esiason #34 @ 81.1% Ken O'Brien #38 @ 80.44% Vinny Testeverde #74 @ 75.18%
25th WORST quarterback of all time (since 1970) is Richard Todd... See this excellent statistical article click the link: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/blog/wordpress/?p=138
from Cold Hard Football Facts: Only one team in the Super Bowl Era has managed to win after tossing more than three INTs in a playoff game. That team was the 1981 Bills, who earned a 31-27 wildcard victory over the N.Y. Jets. But there’s a very good reason why the Bills were able to overcome this dreadful four-INT performance by Joe Ferguson: Jets quarterback Richard Todd also tossed four INTs that day.
Green Guy - you make alot of valid points about Todd. If I remember correctly, though, Serby had it coming. True, Todd was pissed at an article he wrote but I'm pretty sure Serby mouthed off to him right before he was thrown in the locker. It's one thing to be pissed at someone but if the same guy says something to your face that you don't like you're going to snap at some point....In my opinion, Todd had all the talent in the world, something happened to him, he was a mental basket-case for one thing, not alot of confidence - and the crappy Jets teams in his first couple of years didn't help matters - he just never grew mentally. I have the tapes of the Bengals and Raiders playoff games. How depressing to see a great team like that and know that they never got to a Super Bowl. Todd ruined Michaels grand plan IMO.......
A very depressing day....Todd got off to a shaky start and recovered later only to throw that INT at the end. The rest of the team didn't help much, Harper put them in an immediate hole when he fumbled the opening KO, Gastineau had three chances for a gift TD on a Ferguson fumble by dropped the ball THREE times, Leahy missed 2 FGs I think, etc etc.....alot of jitters for a young team
The TD he threw in the Raider game to Walker was pure gold. What ever you want to crucify him for, on that beautiful day he took us to a game from the SB something only 3 QB's in Jets history have done.
In four playoff games, Todd threw four touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. The Jets did go 2-2, however. 78 of 140 for 1026 yards with 4 TDs and 12 INTs post-1978 is bad.
I really hope the people calling Todd a great Qb aren't the same people that constantly bash Pennington..
