Tag: Joe Namath

Josh Johnson records first 300-yard game 12 years after NFL debut

Josh Johnson couldn’t finish an improbable comeback against the Colts, but the Jets’ journeyman QB had the game of his career Thursday. He also joined a club with Joe Namath.

Josh Johnson’s comeback bid came up short against the Colts, but the Jets’ journeyman quarterback played admirably in relief of the injured Mike White on Thursday.

White exited after New York’s second drive of the 45-30 loss with a forearm injury. Johnson, playing in just his second NFL game since 2018 — his first came last Sunday in a brief relief stint — took over from there. Things started off slow as the 35-year-old practice squad call-up adjusted to teammates he hasn’t taken many reps with, but Johnson kept the score closer than the game ever was due to a shoddy Jets defense.

Johnson admitted to feeling “butterflies” when he entered, but he ultimately went 27-47 for 317 yards and three touchdowns. His late interception ended an improbable comeback attempt, but New York would have never hung around if not for the veteran.

“I thought he did an awesome job,” Robert Saleh said of the third-stringer. “He ran the offense the way it should be run. He hit receivers and moved the chains.”

Johnson first entered the league when the Buccaneers used a fifth-round draft pick on him in 2008. Thursday was the first time he ever threw for 300 yards or three touchdowns. It was his 35th NFL appearance.

Johnson, who has bounced all over the NFL and some other leagues, became the first Jets quarterback to throw three touchdowns in a game he didn’t start since Joe Namath did it in 1971, per The Associated Press’ Josh Dubow. The Jets, meanwhile, have now had two different passers throw for over 300 yards in consecutive games for the first time in franchise history, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini.

White threw for 405 yards against the Bengals.

One of the best performances of Johnson’s winding career didn’t end the way he wanted it to, though. Rather than focus on personal accomplishments, he noted that “this league is about wins and losses,” and New York didn’t win.

“You just try to go out and show the team can rely on me when need be,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t do enough.

[listicle id=670864]

[listicle id=663473]

[listicle id=663432]

Former Jets Super Bowl TE Pete Lammons dies at 77

Lammons was 77 when he tragically died after falling into a lake at a fishing tournament.

Pete Lammons, a former Jets tight end who helped New York win Super Bowl III, died in a boating accident Thursday, according to a statement released by Major League Fishing.

Lammons, 77, fell into the Sam Rayburn Reservoir near Brookeland, Texas, while participating in the MLF Toyota Series tournament, according to the statement. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department recovered Lammons’ body Thursday afternoon and was unable to save him. Lammons’ nephew, Lance Lammons, said his uncle had been recovering from multiple surgeries before the event.

Lammons played for the Jets for six seasons after being drafted in the eighth round of the 1966 AFL draft. He went to the Pro Bowl in 1967 and caught six passes for 65 yards and a touchdown in the 1968 postseason – including two catches for 13 yards in the Jets’ 16-7 win over the Baltimore Colts.

Lammons finished his career with the Packers in 1972 and tallied 185 receptions for 2,364 yards and 14 touchdowns.

The Jets had no 4,000-yard passers in the 16-game era

Beyond Joe Namath’s early production, the Jets have been cursed with bad quarterbacking through most of their history.

It’s interesting that for a team whose best-known player is a former quarterback (Joe Namath, of course), the New York Jets have been living in QB purgatory for a very long time. Of course, if you’re a Jets fan, it’s less “interesting” and more “disgusting,” but we digress. Namath was the first quarterback in pro football history to throw for over 4,000 yards in a season, which he did with the American Football League’s Jets in 1967. But since then, no other Jets quarterback (including Namath) managed to do it, even when the NFL increased the number of regular-season games from 14 to 16 in 1978.

Now that the 16-game season appears to be a thing of the past in favor of a 17-game campaign in 2021 and beyond, it behooves us to mention that the Jets are one of two teams to never have a quarterback throw for 4,000 yards in the 16-game era. The Bears, of course, are the other. Now, the Bears haven’t had a franchise-defining quarterback since Sid Luckman’s last good season in 1946, so that’s an entirely different quarterback curse. The Jets’ quarterback curse is one in which one quarterback set the standard for passing yards, and after that, nobody else could come even close.

It helps to mention the guys who were responsible for this statistical no man’s land from 1978 through the present, because it explains a lot.

Matt Robinson, Richard Todd, Pat Ryan, Ken O’Brien, Browning Nagle, Boomer Esiason, Frank Reich, Neil O’Donnell, Vinny Testaverde, Ray Lucas, Vinny Testaverde again, Chad Pennington, Brooks Bollinger, Brett Favre (for one season), Mark Sanchez, Geno Smith, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Josh McCown, and Sam Darnold.

Fitzpatrick came the closest with 3,905 yards in 2015 — a season in which he also threw for 31 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. This is most likely the best quarterback season in Jets history, such as it was. Sadly, Fitzmagic finished his season with a 181-yard, three-interception performance against the Bills. Perhaps some things were just never meant to happen.

If Fitzpatrick’s 2015 wasn’t the best quarterback season in franchise history, Ken O’Brien’s 1985 might have been. That year, O’Brien threw for 3,888 yards, 25 touchdowns, and just eight interceptions. His primary issue that season was that he had to face the ’85 Bears defense in Week 16, which resulted in a 19-6 loss in which O’Brien completed 12 of 26 passes for 122 yards. Not that any other quarterback fared any better against Buddy Ryan’s guys that year.

And there was Vinny Testaverde, the NFL’s ultimate stat collector, who in 2000 threw for 3,732 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions. Which sums things up nicely.

Richard Todd and Mark Sanchez had their moments, respectively, with 3,478 yards in 1983 and 3,474 yards in 2011. And then, there was Brett Favre, who played one year for the Jets (2008) in his time between the Packers and the Vikings. In 2007, his last year with the Packers, Favre amassed 4,155 passing yards. In 2009, his first year with the Vikings, Favre amassed 4,202 passing yards. In 2008 with the Jets? 3,472 yards, and a league-leading 22 interceptions. Oof.

Of recent note is Sam Darnold, who has been confined to his own offensive coach hell in the NFL with Jeremy Bates, Dowell Loggains, and (horror of all horrors) Adam Gase overseeing the entire disaster. Darnold has broken 3,000 yards just once in his three NFL seasons, the Jets might be moving on without him, and though the presence of new offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur augurs well for the Jets’ QB future… well, how many times have we said that before with different guys in charge?

Even Namath was never able to match his historic season again. In 1968, the season that ended with the Jets beating the Colts in Super Bowl III, Namath threw for just 3,147 yards, had a six-game stretch with no touchdown passes, and didn’t throw a single pass in the fourth quarter of that historic game. Due to injuries, Namath’s passing yards would plummet over the next few seasons — from 4,007 in 1967, to 3,147 in 1968, to 2,734 in 1969, to 1,259 in 1970, to 537 in 1971. He did manage a few more high-volume seasons, but more and more, he was the guy leading the league in interceptions more than anything else.

As we have noted, some teams just have a quarterback curse.

Joe Namath: Deshaun Watson is ‘sensational,’ but Sam Darnold could be around for ’15 years’

Joe Namath believes Deshaun Watson to be superior to Sam Darnold, thinks Darnold will be around for the next 15 years as a long-term starter

Joe Namath is no stranger to offering his thoughts on the state of the Jets, let alone the quarterback position.

Namath has often come to the defense of Sam Darnold, but he’s changed his opinion of the 23-year-old quarterback. Namath believed Darnold would step up entering the 2020 season but, just a month ago, he changed his tune, claiming that Darnold isn’t a “gifted passer.”

Now Namath believes that Darnold will be in the NFL for a long time. He just might not be with the Jets.

And, like many, Namath is a big fan of disgruntled Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. Namath believes there’s an evident talent gap between Darnold and Watson but wouldn’t go as far as to say that he would make a blockbuster deal for the latter. Instead, he deferred to Joe Douglas and New York’s front office.

“He looks sensational,” Namath said of Waston during an appearance on ESPN NY’s DiPietro, Canty & Rothenberg. “He’s further along than most of the quarterbacks, including Sam, no doubt about it. Those guys are going to make the decisions in that [front] office up there, and I hope they make the right decision. I want to see us win. I want to see us start being happy after the game and happy during the game.”

Although Watson would be a premium addition under center, Namath also brought up a good point: the Jets having multiple needs other than quarterback. They’re going to need some draft capital to fix those issues.

“I don’t know what the Jets are planning to do with him,” Namath said of Darnold. “We need help in a lot of places. Sam has been playing on a team that was pressing to try to get that victory and try to get it done. It remains to be seen what Joe Douglas feels what he can do with him. Sam’s going to be around. I believe he’s going to be around for 15 years.”

Namath doesn’t seem to be opposed to running it back with Darnold, who he suspects can be a long-term starter in this league. It’s just not his decision to make.

Joe Namath takes aim at Adam Gase, criticizes Jets coaching staff

Jets legend Joe Namath questioned Adam Gase’s leadership abilities and believes that New York has to do something about it.

Never one to shy away from sharing his opinion, Joe Namath voiced his concerns about Adam Gase this week.

Appearing on Showtimes’s “Inside the NFL,” Namath was quick to blame New York’s 1-13 record on the team’s coaching staff. A former player himself, Namath stopped short at blaming those within the locker room, but rather those who are supposed to be leading it.

“You’ve gotta question the daily leadership,” Namath said, per NJ.com. “The leadership, the coaching staff in its entirety has to be looked at. Because I believe the players try hard every play. They’re getting evaluated, and in the locker room, teammates can look around that locker room and know who is focused in the meetings, in practice and in games. They can recognize the guys that really want it … It’s the leadership, they have to do something about that.”

To Namath’s point, the Jets’ effort was on full display in the team’s upset win over the Rams in Week 15. Namath added that he didn’t think Gang Green would win at all this season.

Namath didn’t single Gase out by name, but it’s obvious who he was referring to when he talks about leadership and the coaching staff. As the head coach brushed off questions regarding his future with the organization on Wednesday, it’s evident that Namath believes a change should be on the horizon.

Joe Namath to be guest picker on ESPN’s College GameDay before Iron Bowl

Former Alabama QB Joe Namath will be the guest picker for ESPN’s College GameDay in Tuscaloosa before the 2020 Iron Bowl between Alabama…

Tomorrow, before the 2020 Iron Bowl, ESPN’s College GameDay crew will be stationed in Tuscaloosa, Alabama doing all things pre-game and making their picks for games all over the country.

Like every week, the crew brings on a guest picker to help make picks for all the different, highly-talked-about games. This week, it’s former Crimson Tide star quarterback Joe Namath.

Namath, who quarterbacked Alabama in the early 1960’s, won a National Championship ith the Crimson Tide in 1964, and went on to have a very succesful career with the New York Jets in the NFL – which will be forever remembered with a Super Bowl win, as well as a spot in Canton, Ohio at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

I wonder who he’ll be picking between Alabama and Auburn…

Avoid the Jets? Why Trevor Lawrence would be wise to ignore the idea

The Jets are in line for the No. 1 pick and Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence, but that doesn’t mean he wants them to draft him.

It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which Trevor Lawrence isn’t the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft, regardless of which team owns the selection. But if it’s the Jets, as projections indicate, many wonder if the Clemson quarterback will do whatever he can to avoid joining a franchise that hasn’t been kind to the development of young quarterbacks in the past decade.

If Lawrence doesn’t want to play for New York, he has one of two options. 1) He can either stay at Clemson for his senior season – something former NFL wideout Roddy White advised him to do. 2) He can say he’ll refuse to play for the Jets if they draft him, as Eli Manning did to the San Diego Chargers in 2003 and John Elway did to then-Baltimore Colts in 1983.

When it comes to Lawrence, however, staying at school would be an absurd choice and shouldn’t be on the table, even if he doesn’t want to be a Jet. Lawrence has already won a national championship with Clemson and could risk a career-threatening injury by playing in college for free for another season. There have been too many horror stories and there’s too much money on the line for Lawrence to wait. 

The Manning and Elway moves, while possible, are also unlikely.

Manning and Elway refused to play for the teams who had the top pick because they didn’t like how the organizations were run, particularly when it came to developing young quarterbacks. Manning allegedly heard about the mismanagement of Drew Brees and Ryan Leaf, while Elway saw a Colts team with no direction. Elway also had the added leverage of being drafted by the Yankees to play baseball; then-owner George Steinbrenner was quite high on the outfielder’s major league potential.

The Jets have earned a similar rep with young quarterbacks since Woody Johnson bought the team in 2000. Rookie quarterbacks like Mark Sanchez, Geno Smith and now Sam Darnold were never really given great tools to develop thanks to bad coaches and/or rosters around them. The team itself has teetered between mediocrity and flat-out awful in the past decade.

It’s understandable that Lawrence wouldn’t want to subject himself to the future, but that’s only if you look at the past as a means of interpreting what’s to come.

Joe Douglas has tried to convince the football world that better days are ahead for Gang Green. The general manager created salary cap flexibility, accrued draft picks and laid the groundwork for a massive rebuilding plan with shrewd moves that hindered the Jets’ in the short-term but could be massively beneficial in the long-term. If he fires Adam Gase and most of the coaching staff after a 2020 horrific season, he’ll essentially give the next coach a blank canvas to work with… as well as a generational talent in Lawrence. That should be appealing for the Clemson quarterback.

It’s similar to the situations the Cardinals and Dolphins gave Kliff Kingsbury and Brian Flores, respectively, in 2019. Kingsbury joined a Cardinals team armed with the top pick that turned into Offensive Rookie of the Year Kyler Murray, while Flores and the Dolphins had a bevy of draft picks to use over a two-year span. Miami has built a well-rounded roster that could be competitive as early as this season.

The idea that the Jets are the worst-case scenario for Lawrence is also a little unfounded. 

There are currently six other teams with a first-round selection that have a minimum of one win, and only the Giants, Jaguars, Falcons and Washington are potentially in the market for a new quarterback. Of those teams, only the Falcons have a definitively better roster than the Jets, but they’re also projected to have the third-worst cap situation in 2021, per Over The Cap. They will see a lot of turnover with a new coach next year. The Giants, Jaguars and Washington all have talent deficiencies and none – except for maybe the Giants – can claim to have a better organizational structure.

The Jets, meanwhile, could have as much as $82 million in cap space next season and a new coaching staff if Douglas cleans house. That should be an enviable spot for a young quarterback, depending on who the Jets hire. If Gase somehow stays, then Lawrence should absolutely run for the hills. But otherwise, his situation with the Jets is no worse than any of the other teams with a shot at the first pick. 

Darnold remains the final obstacle for a potential Lawrence-Jets marriage. While it’s certainly the most awkward of situations, it’s the easiest to get around. Darnold is still young, shown promise and has at least one more year on his rookie deal after 2020. It wouldn’t be hard for the Jets to find a trade partner for Darnold if Lawrence – or another quarterback – is their target at the top of the draft. The Cardinals traded Josh Rosen for a second-round pick a year after taking him 10th overall. Darnold would surely fetch a similar price, if not more.

Yes, the Jets are a dumpster fire right now. Yes, they don’t have a franchise identity or an obvious plan to be competitive. But that doesn’t mean they’ll still be this bad come April. By that point, Douglas will likely have a new future to pitch to Lawrence, or whomever the Jets take in the first round of the 2021 draft.

2021 NFL Draft order: Ravens move back 4 spots after Week 6 win

As the only winless team in the NFL in 2020, the New York Jets currently own the 1st selection while the Baltimore Ravens moved further back

As it nears the middle of the season, the 2021 NFL Draft order is beginning to take shape. The bad teams are now measuring their need to win games against the possibility of a better draft pick, while the best teams are going all-in on getting into the postseason for the hope of playoff glory.

The events of Week 6 have seen significant movement in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Both the New York Giants and the Atlanta Falcons recorded their first wins of the season, lifting them up in the draft order. The only winless team left this season are the New York Jets, who now thanks to their 0-6 start to the season would own the first overall selection if the draft were tomorrow.

Let’s take a look at the full 2021 NFL Draft order, thanks to Draft Wire.

2021 NFL Draft order:

Selection Team Record
1 New York Jets 0-6
2 Washington Football Team 1-5
3 New York Giants 1-5
4 Jacksonville Jaguars 1-5
5 Atlanta Falcons 1-5
6 Minnesota Vikings 1-5
7 Miami Dolphins (from Houston Texans) 1-5
8 Los Angeles Chargers 1-4
9 Philadelphia Eagles 1-4-1
10 Cincinnati Bengals 1-4-1
11 Detroit Lions 2-3
12 New England Patriots 2-3
13 Denver Broncos 2-3
14 Miami Dolphins 3-3
15 Carolina Panthers 3-3
16 San Francisco 49ers 3-3
17 New Orleans Saints 3-2
18 Las Vegas Raiders 3-2
19 Dallas Cowboys 2-4
20 Cleveland Browns 4-2
21 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4-2
22 Indianapolis Colts 4-2
23 Los Angeles Rams 4-2
24 Buffalo Bills 4-2
25 Arizona Cardinals 4-2
26 Green Bay Packers 4-1
27 Kansas City Chiefs 5-1
28 Baltimore Ravens 5-1
29 Chicago Bears 5-1
30 Pittsburgh Steelers 5-0
31 New York Jets (from Seattle Seahawks) 5-0
32 Tennessee Titans 5-0

The Jets have picked first overall twice in their history. The first player they took with the first pick in a draft was quarterback Joe Namath out of Alabama in 1965. Namath spent 13 seasons with the Jets, earning the nickname “Broadway Joe” along the way. He famously guaranteed the AFL Jets would beat the much-fancied Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, a guarantee that he and the stifling Jets defense delivered upon in one of the greatest sporting upsets of all time.

Namath still owns the Jets franchise records for most pass attempts, yards, and touchdowns, ending his time with Gang Green with 27,057 yards and 170 touchdowns from 3,655 attempts.

Namath finished his career with a one-year stint with the Los Angeles Rams. When he retired, he had passed for 27,663 yards and 173 touchdowns. But he also tossed 220 interceptions. Namath was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.

The Jets would have to wait until 1996 before they got the chance to take the first player in a draft. The player they took when they got the chance was wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson. Johnson is one of only two wide receivers ever selected first overall, with Irvin Fryar in 1984 the other.

Johnson spent four seasons with the Jets, catching 305 passes for 4,108 yards and 31 touchdowns. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 1998 and 1999 after gaining more than 1,100 receiving yards each year. But he wasn’t always a happy camper in New York, angering the team after penning a book called “Just Give Me the Damn Ball” after his rookie season. His receptions and yards are both good for 12th all-time for the Jets.

He went on to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with whom he won a Super Bowl after the 2002 season, the Dallas Cowboys and the Carolina Panthers. All told, Johnson caught 814 passes for 10,571 yards and 64 touchdowns in his career.

The Ravens have dropped from the 24th spot last week down to No. 28 in this latest order. The Ravens have used the 28th overall selection just once in their history, and it was in their most recent draft. They used the pick in 2020 to take LSU linebacker Patrick Queen.

[vertical-gallery id=54528]