That whole defensive unit was largely overshadowed by Namath, but was a big reason for the Jets success in 68. I was debating on Biggs at DE but I liked Philbins game abit better, Elliott I debated hard with vs Klecko but I think Klecko was better overall, not taking anything away from Elliott. I would say though that 68 unit was probably the best all around defense the Jets have had up until this past year... Jet's 68 linebacker corp was pretty solid as well.
Your right, I dropped the ball on that one, I don't know why I was thinking he was a safety, guess cause of his physical play....I'll claim senality and one too many beers on that one.
I don't care what anybody says Joe Willie was the man, everytime he threw a pass I was on the edge of my seat. He flicked his wrist and he threw a 65 yard spiral not more than 15 yards high in the air, amazing! I miss Merle Harmon's radio calls "Joe Willie barks the signals, Joe Willie drops back to pass, he looks, he throws and it's caught by Bake Turner..."
TE- I forgot about Shuler, for now I have too pick him over Keller, Keller is going to be a great player this year. QB- No question Namath, he played in the day of football when QBs where marked men, they werent protected like they are now.
I shudder to think what his numbers would of looked like if he'd played a decade later. His knees probably would have been in better shape for one thing.
QB - Ken O'Brien (Chad a close second) HB - Freeman McNeil WRs - Al Toon TE - Mickey Shuler OL - Marvin Powell DL - Abe (Not a lot of love for him in this thread..surprising....). Klecko a close second LB - Mo Lewis CB - Revis S - Erik McMillan (Surprised no one mentioned him...)
True, they get protected better today. However, back in earlier eras quarterbacks, particularly the stars, were not as unprotected as many fans seem to believe. The day after the Rams and Colts played to a 24-24 tie on October 15, 1967, this quote from Deacon Jones appeared in the Los Angeles Times- "I'm distressed because I believe the officials protect Unitas. If you get even close to him, it's a flag. They have got their hands right on their hip pockets. We had to let up on Unitas because of this. You do things you normally wouldn't do."
My fondest Riggo memory was the '72 Colt game, when after the Colts used 13 plays to go up the field, and after the KO, Joe Willie hit Riggins with an 80 yard bomb down the left sideline...
That's probably your ONLY memory of Riggo as a Jets player because that's the only Jets game with Riggo playing that has an "NFL Game of the Week" highlight film. And NO, I'm not a fan of Matt Robinson. He almost took the starting QB job away from my beloved Todd back in '79.
You liked Todd good for you, I liked Matt! Watch the Bronco game from '78 again and you'll appreciate Matt , too!
Actually, Mr. Robinson, I wish I COULD watch that game. It's not one of the ones in my DVD library. Is the quality good? I don't have ANY Robinson games, but I DO remember him having a few solid games for us in '78. There was sort of a hipe about him for a short time. To be honest, I never had anything against Matt....but I was a Todd guy. Matt ultimately didnt have the goods. He was awful for Denver as I recall. His career highlights were with us in '78.
Todd had a good year in '82, especially the Raider playoff game, but he spit the bit against the Dolfags...
His BEST year was '81. And yes, his 5 picks DID suck against the Dolphins in the Championship game in that mud bowl.
My favs: Offense: QB - Ken O'Brien RB - Curtis Martin/Freeman McNeil FB - Tony Paige TE - Mickey Shuler WR - Al Toon WR - Wayne Chrebet OL - Kevin Mawae OL - Jim Sweeney OL - Dwayne "Road Grater" White OL - Jumbo Elliot Defense: DL - Joe Klecko DL - Marty Lyons DL - Shaun Ellis LB - Lance Mehl LB - Mo Lewis LB - David Harris CB - James Hasty CB - Darrelle Revis S - Victor Green S - Erik McMillan K - Pat Leahy P - Louie Agiular (Since we are picking one)
