Tag: Mark Gastineau

New sack numbers released for Jets legends Mark Gastineau, Joe Klecko and others

The NFL didn’t record sacks until 1982, but a new unofficial tally gave Jets legends Mark Gastineau and Joe Klecko a boost.

A couple of Jets legends earned a boost in sacks this week.

The statistics website SportsReference.com added unofficial sack totals from 1960-1981, courtesy of researchers John Turney and Nick Webster. The duo compiled sack numbers missing from the NFL archives after reading official play-by-plays, coaches’ stat books and watching game film.

Sacks were not recorded by the league until 1982.

These additions affected some of the biggest players in Jets’ history, including three members of the New York Sack Exchange. Mark Gastineau, Joe Klecko and Marty Lyons all saw major increases in their sack totals.

Gastineau now has 107.5 total sacks after 33.5 were added. Klecko is up to 78.0 and Lyons is at 29.0. Gastineau is still the Jets’ all-time sack leader, but he moved up 50 spots on the NFL’s all-time list from 87th to 37th. Klecko became the Jets’ No. 2 leader in sacks and Lyons comes in at No. 10 now.

Even more interesting than the leaderboard changes ks the potential historical significance of Gastineau and Klecko’s magical 1981 season. These new stats reveal the two both tallied at least 20 sacks in one season (Gastineau with 20 and Klecko with 20.5), a lone occurrence in NFL history.

If the NFL recognizes these new numbers as legitimate, it could alter Gastineau and Klecko’s Hall of Fame resume.

The biggest beneficiaries of these changes were Verlon Biggs, Gerry Philbin and John Elliott, who all played before sacks were officially considered a stat and formed a menacing trio in the late 1960s and early 1970s, especially during the Jets’ 1969 Super Bowl run.

Biggs, a three-time Pro Bowl defensive end who played for six seasons from 1965-1970 after being drafted in the third round, now ranks fifth on the Jets’ all-time sack list with 58.5. His 15 sacks in 1967 are the fifth-most in a single-season in team history and he tallied at least 10 sacks over four consecutive seasons from 1966-1970.

Philbin joined the Jets in 1964 as a third-round pick and tallied 65 sacks in nine seasons. He ranks fourth now on the Jets’ all-time sack list and was a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro.

Elliott, a seventh-round pick in 1967, had 38.5 sacks during his seven-year career, all with the Jets. Elliot also made three Pro Bowls and was named to the All-Pro team once.

[listicle id=641341]

Can Joe Douglas buck Jets’ second-round curse?

The Jets have drafted two future Pro Bowlers out of 37 second-round picks since 1979. Joe Douglas can’t repeat history in his first draft.

The second round hasn’t been kind to the Jets in the past 40 years.

Only two of the team’s 37 second-round picks in the past 41 years have made a Pro Bowl. Defensive end Mark Gastineau, who was drafted in 1979, did it, as did return specialist Justin Miller, who was drafted in 2005.

Joe Douglas already has the 11th overall pick to work with, but he’ll make or break his first draft as the Jets’ general manager in the later rounds. 

The second-round bar is low for Douglas after a plethora of failures since the Jets drafted Gastineau. A brief glance at the recent second-rounders includes 18 players who started fewer than 20 games for the Jets, nine of which started fewer than five games. Meanwhile, only seven started more than 60 games in their career.

Not a great group.

The Jets’ success stories from the second round are few and far between.

Linebacker David Harris is probably the Jets’ best second-round pick after Gastineau. He played 10 seasons with the Jets and wracked up over 1,000 tackles in New York.

The jury is still out on safety Marcus Maye, who’s started all 38 games he’s played in since the Jets took him 39th overall in 2017. He’s been a complement to Jamal Adams in the deep secondary but is also injury prone.

The busts, meanwhile, are plentiful. 

Quarterbacks Geno Smith and Christian Hackenberg, as well as receivers Devin Smith and Stephen Hill, are the most recent notable mistakes. Hackenberg never even saw the field in the regular season despite his high selection, while Smith and Hill combined for 60 receptions, 842 yards and six touchdowns in 43 games.

The Jets have drafted mostly wide receivers, offensive lineman and defensive backs in the second round. Ironically, all are still positions of need. Douglas will have his pick of a deep receiver and lineman class and many mocks predict the Jets will take one of those two positions with the 48th overall pick. The other position will be the first-round pick. Players like tackle Isaiah Wilson and receivers Laviska Shenault and Michael Pittman Jr. should be among the Jets’ second-round targets.

Douglas himself has had mixed results in identifying and drafting talented players in the second round.

Tight end Dallas Goedert and running back Miles Sanders were great pick-ups for the Eagles during Douglas’ time as vice president of player personnel with the Eagles, but defensive back Sidney Jones and receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside haven’t panned out yet. As a scout with the Ravens for 14 years, he helped Ozzie Newsome grab players like Torrey Smith and Ray Rice in the second round. The Bears also drafted defensive tackle Eddie Goldman – who only has 12.5 sacks in five years – when Douglas was the director of college scouting for Chicago in 2015.

The best use of a Jets’ second-round pick in the past five years was actually the trade that landed New York the No. 3 overall pick in 2018 that resulted in Sam Darnold. The Jets moved up from No. 6 to No. 3 by giving the Colts their second-round pick in 2018 and their two second-rounders in 2019. Darnold still has a ways to go before becoming the franchise quarterback the Jets hope he can be, but he’s still better than what the Jets probably would have used with those three second-round picks.

With so many holes on the roster, the second round will be crucial for Douglas and the Jets. They can’t whiff again if they want to see Darnold progress. Douglas’  background in scouting and experience with successful franchises gives him a leg up on the Jets’ past general managers, but it’s impossible to predict how the draft board will fall and how the players will fit on Adam Gase’s team.

Jets great Mark Gastineau says he’s NFL’s sack champ: ‘It’s my record’

Jets legend Mark Gastineau believes he holds the NFL single-season sack record.

Jets great Mark Gastineau believes he holds the NFL’s single-season sack record, not Michael Strahan.

Gastineau recorded 22 sacks for the Jets in 1984, setting the single-season record, which he held for 17 years. Then, in 2001, Strahan recorded 22.5 sacks for the Giants. Strahan’s last sack, however, was marred by controversy, and now Gastineau is making his true feelings over the record known.

“It’s my record, and I want it to be known that it’s my record,” Gastineau told ESPN. “I’m not going to say, ‘I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings.’ It’s my record.”

Gastineau — and many others — think Strahan’s final sack in the final game of the 2001 season was a gimme. The Giants played the Packers that day, and some thought Brett Favre intentionally went down on the play to give Strahan the record-breaking sack.

Gastineau has had no public qualms about the record in the past. However, his health has declined in recent years due to colon cancer and now he wants to set the record straight.

“Being nice and being a good sport, that’s good, but it’s not real,” Gastineau said. “In fact, I’m kind of a liar in a way. I feel like there’s just something wrong.

“This is on my head all the time. It goes through my head all the time. I want to clear things up.”

Gastineau has every right to believe he should still be the record-holder, but the stats are what they are. Quarterbacks in today’s game are giving themselves up so they don’t have to take a hit, especially the older ones.

Regardless of who the history books recognize, Gastineau had a historic 1984 season. It’s not the end of the world that he doesn’t have the single-season sack record, but he clearly feels he is the deserving holder.

“It’s a good record and it took me a long time to get that,” he said. “It took a lot of work, a lot of work to get that record. So many years I worked my butt off to get it, and I finally got it, and it shouldn’t have been cheapened like it was. It’s like a tarnished record.”

Former Jets’ Mark Gastineau on NFL single-season sacks mark: ‘I want it to be known that it’s my rec

Former New York Jet Mark Gastineau believes he was cheated out of the NFL’s single-season sacks record, and now, he wants it back.

Former New York Jet Mark Gastineau believes he was cheated out of the NFL’s single-season sacks record, and now, he wants it back.

Former Jets’ Mark Gastineau on NFL single-season sacks mark: ‘I want it to be known that it’s my rec

Former New York Jet Mark Gastineau believes he was cheated out of the NFL’s single-season sacks record, and now, he wants it back.

Former New York Jet Mark Gastineau believes he was cheated out of the NFL’s single-season sacks record, and now, he wants it back.

Mark Gastineau wants sack record back from Michael Strahan: ‘It’s cheapened’

New York Jets legend Mark Gastineau says he wants the NFL’s single-season sack record back from Giants legend Michael Strahan.

Retired New York Jets defensive end Mark Gastineau sat in silence for years but, apparently, has decided that now is the time to speak up. And he’s coming in hot, demanding the NFL recognize him — not New York Giants legend Michael Strahan — as the true sack king.

Gastineau told ESPN on Monday that he wants the single-season sack record back, claiming that Strahan’s sack of Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre in 2001 shouldn’t count and has cheapened the significance of the record.

“It’s my record, and I want it to be known that it’s my record,” Gastineau said. “I’m not going to say, ‘I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings.’ It’s my record.

“It’s a good record and it took me a long time to get that. It took a lot of work, a lot of work to get that record. So many years I worked my butt off to get it, and I finally got it, and it shouldn’t have been cheapened like it was. It’s like a tarnished record.”

Gastineau, like many others, believe Favre took a dive for his good friend Strahan, ultimately giving the Giants defensive end 22.5 sacks and the record in the final game of the season.

“I just want to be recognized for the record,” Gastineau said. “You wouldn’t want your son getting a record like that. I don’t think it’s good for the NFL. It was never good for the NFL, and I’m surprised the NFL didn’t step in.”

The extremely sour Gastineau, who recently had a battle with colon cancer, may have a point when it comes to the sack of Favre, but like so many others, forgets that Strahan was robbed of a sack earlier that season against Washington.

Strahan has addressed the controversy over the years, saying during an episode of “The Football Life” that the record hardly seems worth it due to the controversy.

“The sack record is great, absolutely phenomenal, but I almost feel like in a sense it was diminished because everyone goes, ‘Oh, Brett Favre gave you a sack,’ ” Strahan said.

“I caught so much flak over it. … It’s not worth it, because everyone looks as if one sack that they question is the defining moment of my career.”

At the time of the sack, Favre said slipping on the turf was not intentional, but his offensive linemen have come out over the years and claimed the original call was a run, but that the quarterback changed it to a roll-out at the last second.

Despite that, Strahan has maintained a healthy respect for Gastineau.

“I love Mark Gastineau. I appreciate him,” Strahan said in “A Football Life.”

The record belongs to Strahan and rightfully so. If Gastineau and others want to nitpick, then they have to re-watch every play of the 2001 season and credit Strahan with the sack(s) that were stripped from him. Either way, he ends up with 22.5 or more.

[lawrence-related id=640497,640459,640449]

Antonio Brown vs. Logan Paul? Seems more and more likely

Former NFL receiver Antonio Brown has begun training in boxing for a possible fight against internet personality Logan Paul.

Many former football players have tried to make the transition to boxing. And many have failed.

Is Antonio Brown next on the list?

First of all, Brown has the time now. The All-Pro receiver had an acrimonious departure from the NFL and no one seems to be interested in signing him even though he’s only 31, at least not at the moment.

And he might have a foil if he decides to actually exchange blows in the ring. Logan Paul, the YouTube personality who lost to counterpart KSI in an official fight in November, told TMZ Sports that he and Brown have already begun talks to fight one another.

That makes perfect sense. Paul knows fans would buy into a fight with a former NFL star. And he has an advantage: No one would describe Paul as a skillful boxer but at least he has been training for a while.

That doesn’t seem to be the case with Brown. Check out the video of Brown hitting mitts that DAZN USA posted on its Twitter account. DAZN, which streamed Paul-KSI, presumably would do the same with Paul-Brown.

Brown appears to be fit in the video. And we know he’s quick and athletic. However, it appears he never threw a punch in his life.

Of course, football players-turned-boxers such as Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Mark Gastineau, Alonzo Highsmith and Seth Mitchell fought genuine boxers in their careers. Brown would be fighting another novice.

The best football player-turned-boxer? Probably heavyweight Charlie Powell, who was a remarkable athlete in the 1950s and early ’60s. He played minor-league baseball out of high school and then became the youngest NFL player ever at 19. He lasted five seasons as a defensive end and linebacker.

Powell (25-11-3, 17 KOs) made his pro boxing debut during his NFL career, in 1953. He went on to knock out No. 2-ranked Nino Valdes in 1959 and later fight Muhammad Ali and Floyd Patterson, getting stopped by both. He never fought for the heavyweight title but was capable enough to share the ring with future Hall of Famers.

With a little work, Brown might become capable enough to fight an internet personality.