I don't think the Marino one is all that bad. You guys KNOW] that had the Jets taken Marino, we'd be here today talking about why the Jets took Marino and passed on all-time leading passer, Ken O'Brien. Its just the luck o' the Jets!
Maybe. Maybe not. Even if our O lines were not as good as Miami's during that time, I don't believe Marino would have endured the relentless punishment that Kenny ("Oh my God! They sacked Kenny! You Bastards!!!!) O'Brien did simply because the speed of both his decision making and release were lightning quick whereas KOB either refused to throw a ball away when he thought his receivers were covered or simply couldn't make decisions quickly enough. I believe a great percentage of the countless sacks (and resulting fumbles) were Kenny's fault. Of course I hated Marino when he was in Miami but I think he would have had more success as a Jet than a Dolphin. I also believe that Toon would most likely have had the HOF career his talent merited as he would have remained in the game longer and have been much more productive. How many of Toon's concussions were a result of his own extra efforts as opposed to his being hung out to dry by KOB? I have at one time or another wistfully imagined how much of an improved statistical impact Marino would have had on our team's record as well as a great number of our offensive players such as Walker, Shuler, McNeil, Harper, Terance Mathis (a virtual Clayton/Duper clone who blossomed after he left the Jets) and Rob Moore just to name a few. No doubt past defenses would have benefited greatly too. I also think with Marino at QB, the 1986 team doesn't suffer its season ending meltdown and we quite probably beat the Browns and the Broncos in the playoffs for a trip to Pasadena.
Fair enough. O'Brien can never be considered a bust. He can, however, be viewed as a poor selection based on the fact that we could have had a much better QB who would have been viewed by fans as the second coming of Broadway Joe.
Whatever you're smoking, dude, please send me some. With all due respect, I can't see how you can compare O'Brien with the three HOF players mentioned above. Are you suggesting that had Kenny's career lasted longer, he would have made the Hall? I wonder if I still have my old bong....
So could 26 other teams as he was taken at #27 that year and the 6th QB in that class. So to think that the Jets FO should have been so much smarter then anyone elses is ridiculous. You might as well say the same thing about Brady. He was taken in the 6th round so that makes every FO in football stupid 6 times over. Or Chrebet or Gates who were undrafted walkons. That makes every FO stupid 7 times. Sometimes people just get lucky.
Thomas's biggest problem is that he fumbled way too much and at very critical points in the game. Plus, he never really exhibited the running abilty he had in college.
my 10 in no particular order 1. brady over sapp 2. blair thomas 3. lam jones 4. alex van dyke--first pick in round 2 in 96 5. bryan thomas over reed 6. 3 picks for robertson 7. dave cadigan 8. terry williams--2nd rounder in 88 9. schlegel 10. mike haight
How can you say Schlegel already? At least give him a couple of years or wait until he's out of the league!! Plus being only a 3rd round pick he could hardly crack the top 10.
What sucks about the Alex Van Dyke pick is that Armani Toomer and Mushin Muhammed were picked right behind him.
I agree completely - blaming O'Brien for not being what Marino turned out to be, when he actually was quite decent, is IMO not fair. I would rate O'Brien above Eason also (Eason only had two decent years, and the SB year wasn't one of them), so it seems to me that it's the Pats (and of course the Chiefs) who should be kicking themselves. And while Marino was not put in the best situation for him to win, he was certainly put in a better position than O'Brien was.
The reason the Jets passed on Marino is the same reason a bunch of teams did. They all thought he'd be a partyer not a player. They were all wrong. The reason the Jets took O'Brien is because he was a hard working cleancut guy. Leon Hess suffered from the delusion that many corporate moguls have that offbeat personalities are always counterproductive and clean cut guys are always preferable. Walt Michaels and Dan Marino would have won a Super Bowl together but both were just a bit too offbeat for Hess so we're still waiting 25 years later.
I would think it'd be Blair Thomas...but who in their right friggin' mind would pick a FB in the 1st Round??? Vick slightly over Thomas.
It has to be a first round pick. Second round picks and later round picks are supposed to have some warts. My pick is Mike Haight. A safe pick at #22 and at OG. A guy who only started because of injuries. Strangely was also the 5th OG taken in the first round that year. Tom Newberry(OG) was taken after him as was two of my all time fav. LB's PepperJohnson and Pat Swilling.
Hey I don't agree with it, I said I was suprised no one has named him because everyone hated him after he wrote "give me the damn ball". I already said I think it's a toss up between Kyle Brady and Browning Nagle.
It has to be Roger Vick Blair Thomas was a sure top 5 pick(by every expert)-that busted out so alot of people were wrong Kyle Brady actually had alot of promise coming out. was he a better pick than Sapp at the time, No!! but he was still a top 15 the Jets overdrafted I think Johnny Mitchell was a worse pick than Brady Lam Jones was before my time. I started watching the Jets in 85 but it looks bad O Brien is not a bust I think some QB's taken before him were worse picks and we had a crappy oline and our running game was adequate but Roger Vick has to be the worst 1st: nobody had a clue who he was before the draft 2nd: He is probably the 2nd to last FB ever taken in the 1st rnd(Tommy Vardell Browns 9th overall I think is the last) Who the hell takes a FB 3rd he did nothing. sometimes you go WHO, then all of the sudden the guy is the next great, but Vick did nothing for us or anyone.
I can't think of any people that the current front office has cut or refused to sign due to offbeat personalities. As to clean-cut I think Nick Mangold pretty clearly defines the kind of long-haired free spirit that the Hess administrations shied away from after Michaels had got the team back to respectability. Mangold, Coles, Barton, Schlegel all are guys that would have been considered non-Jets material during the Spanky Walton days. The Jets drafted two players in the first 3 rounds with long hair last year. When was the last time that happened?
