jetfuel Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Here is an article I wrote in honor of one of my all-time favorite Jets: James Hasty All-Time Favorite Jets: James Hasty For the third installment in my, randomly ordered, All-Time Favorite Jets series, I am going to shift to the defensive side of the ball. In today’s up-tempo, wide-open game, in which the aerial assault is so heavily emphasized, the importance of a team’s defensive secondary is far more recognized than it was in the late 80’s and early 90’s. The game was a lot more balanced with an abundantly greater priority placed on the run game. These were still the days of Barry Sanders, Marshall Faulk, Emmitt Smith and Thurman Thomas, when the running backs carried the load and determined the outcome of games, more often than not. With the exception of names like Deion Sanders, Darrel Green and Rod Woodson, cornerbacks of that era did not garner the amount of credit that they earned covering superstars such as Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin, Cris Carter and Andre Reed. As a Jets fan during those years, I had the pleasure of watching James Hasty, who was as close to the definition of a shutdown corner as anyone to wear the green and white up until that time. Selected in the 3rd round of the 1988 NFL Draft, the Washington State University product started out his career with the Jets by recording five interceptions and three fumble recoveries along with 58 tackles in his rookie season. In his second year with the team, Hasty added another five interceptions, two fumble recoveries and 63 tackles as well as a touchdown. During his seven years with the Jets, Hasty totaled 24 INT’s, 18 FR’s and 491 tackles. They did not officially record passes defensed in his day, but if they did, the number would have been quite substantial. After the 1994 season, he moved on to the Kansas City Chiefs, where he worked alongside Dale Carter, forming one of the deadliest cornerback duos in the league. In six years with the Chiefs, Hasty recorded another 21 INT’s, 6 FR’s and 355 tackles, including a career-high 7 INT’s with two touchdown returns in 1999. He also added in ten quarterback sacks during his 13 seasons in the league. Over the course of his professional career, Hasty was selected to the Pro Bowl twice (1997 and 1999) and was named as an All-Pro in 1997. Prior to the days of Aaron Glenn, and more recently Darrelle Revis, patrolling the perimeters of the field, James Hasty was the man with the plan, shutting down the opposing teams’ top receivers. To accentuate his importance to the Jets at the time, he became the highest-salaried defensive back in the National Football League in 1993, when he signed a two-year contract worth close to $2 million a year. Miniscule by today’s lofty contract standards, that was more than Jets starting quarterback, Boomer Esiason, was making at the time and essentially equal to what Deion Sanders made in 1992. While he may not be considered to be one of the greatest cornerbacks in NFL history, Hasty was certainly among the best of his era and easily one of the best DB’s to ever lace up the cleats for the New York Jets. When Hasty was manning the cornerback position for the Jets, quarterbacks usually preferred to attack the other side of the field, as throwing towards #40 often led to incompletions and turnovers. I am not going to attempt to put him on the level of Revis, or even Aaron Glenn, but Hasty absolutely belongs in the conversation of the greatest Jets cornerbacks in the history of the franchise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nyjunc Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 hasty was very underrated b/c he played on mostly bad Jet teams. No he isn't Revis, no one is but he was absolutely better than Aaron Glenn who, I think, gets overrated by Jet fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetfuel Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 4 minutes ago, nyjunc said: hasty was very underrated b/c he played on mostly bad Jet teams. No he isn't Revis, no one is but he was absolutely better than Aaron Glenn who, I think, gets overrated by Jet fans. I can't say that I agree that Glenn was overrated, but I can see where you are coming from. Aaron was a pretty damn good corner, especially considering his size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetdawgg Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 James Hasty was more physical than Cover Man Glenn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nyjunc Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Hasty couldn't wait to get out of here, he hated losing and b/c we stunk he never got any respect. when he went to KC they did make the playoffs a coupe of times(although they were one and done w/ top seeds) and he was finally being recognized as a top corner. I loved hasty as a Jet, had his jersey as a kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetfuel Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 9 minutes ago, Jetdawgg said: James Hasty was more physical than Cover Man Glenn. Absolutely ... he was also 6'0 210 and Glenn was around 5'9 180. Totally different styles of play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clementi49 Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Marcus Coleman. DB #42 because he was the intensity of the secondary in the early 2000s David Barrett. DB #36 because he had 2 ints in a playoff game vs Pitt Jim Leonhard. DB. #36 because he was the glue to the secondary in 2 Afc championship runs Brandon Marshall is slowly taking the current thrown. He hasn't just taken it. He's grabbed it and ran away with it. Nothing but good things to ever say about him. Scary to say but the Jets got the good Brandon. A mentally healthy Brandon. The best he's ever played in his career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetfuel Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 7 minutes ago, nyjunc said: Hasty couldn't wait to get out of here, he hated losing and b/c we stunk he never got any respect. when he went to KC they did make the playoffs a coupe of times(although they were one and done w/ top seeds) and he was finally being recognized as a top corner. I loved hasty as a Jet, had his jersey as a kid. He had Marty Schottenheimer, the King of one-and-dones, as a HC in Kansas City, so it is not surprising that he never got to win it all despite being on some great teams there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nyjunc Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 12 minutes ago, jetfuel said: He had Marty Schottenheimer, the King of one-and-dones, as a HC in Kansas City, so it is not surprising that he never got to win it all despite being on some great teams there. Marty was such a great reg season coach, just couldn;'t get over the hump. he did make 3 title games which people forget but just couldn't quite make it. I remember reading how pissed Hasty was when we went into Arrowhead in 1998 and beat the Chiefs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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