THE MOST TORMENTING MOMENTS IN JET HISTORY

[GLH222]

Hello JetNation-

Some of you may know me, some may not. My name is Gregg Hayim and I contribute editorials for the site. I am in the process of writing a full-featured book tentatively titled "Tales From the Dark Side: Counting Down the 8 Most Tormenting Moments in New York Jet History". My hopes are to incorporate an element of "the fan" into each chapter and figured there would be no better place to look then here.

Should you have any vivid, colorful, funny, sob-storied, etc. memories about any of these moments, I would love to hear from you. My hopes are to incorporate your memories, heartaches, quotes, etc. as a prelude to each chapter and then use my own research to retell these moments in team history. Please find the 8 chapters below. Regardless of whether your quotes are used or not, your name will be included in the books credits, should you decide to help.

I would like to thank our friend JetCane for already taking the time to lend his expertise and I look forward to hopefully hearing from all of you!

I can be reached via PM (glh222) or by email at ghayim@gmail.com. If it's easier, you can just post in this thread.

Thank you all in advance!

(Not in Countdown Order)

1. 1969 Playoff Game vs. Chiefs  (December 20, 1969)
   
2. 1982 AFC Championship Game  (January 23, 1983)
   
3. 1986 Gastineau Game  (January 3, 1987)
   
4. 1998 Championship  (January 17th, 1999)
   
5. 1994 Spike Game  (November 27th 1994)
   
6. Vinny Goes Down In Opener (1999)
   
7. Belichick Departure  (January 2000)
   
8. 2004 Divisional Championship  (January 15th 2005)
   

[The Gun Of Bavaria]

Every Last Week of the season for the past 38 years

[James Hasty]

I am still haunted by the damned clock play.

[Arsis]

The most vivid and most recent one in my memory would be the two missed field goals against the steelers. Man, the ending to that game sucked royally, I almost cried.

[Bugg]

The Steelers game is bad. But my top 2 are Denver in January, 1999 and Cleveland in 1986. They were both ridiculous losses with bizarre plays,and when you consider the rest of the playoffs played out, the Jets were as good as anyone left. They would've probably beaten the the Broncos and then the Phil Simms Jints and no question would've spanked the Jamal Anderson Falcons.

[Pragmatic Bus]

The most vivid and most recent one in my memory would be the two missed field goals against the steelers. Man, the ending to that game sucked royally, I almost cried.

yeah man that was a crazy game i remember vilma was a rookie and he stripped the ball out of jerome bettis's hand. and i screamed YES!. but then doug brien laid an egg

[4HCrew]

The loss to the Ravens on Christmas Eve still annoys me...capped off by the Testaverde int for a td right before half

[PeterNorth09]

There are so many tormenting moments I made a Top 5:

1. When Vinny ruptured his achilles tendon in week 1 (1999)

2. Day Rich Kotite was hired (1995)

3. Day Herm Edwards was hired (2001)

4. The 2000 season. We start 4-0, end up missing the playoffs and Al Groh trades Keyshawn Johnson before he weasels out of town.

5. We pass up Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler at #4. (2006)

[nyjunc]

I don't agree w/ the fake spike game. yes it was a horrible loss but we weren't that good anyway and that loss set off a chain reaction that led us to Bill Parcells and being less than 30 mins from the SB in Jan of 1999. That loss started a 5 game losing streak to end the season and then brought us Kotite who made us so bad Hess had to do something drastic. I think if we win that Miami game we would have been stuck in the same cycle we were in for many years which was maybe we'd be good enough to make the playoffs but never good enough to win a game or be a threat. By starting off the chain reaction that led to Bp turning us around it led to the best Jet team post '68 and led us to the best stretch of Jets football in our history from '97-current.

[nyjunc]

The Steelers game is bad. But my top 2 are Denver in January, 1999 and Cleveland in 1986. They were both ridiculous losses with bizarre plays,and when you consider the rest of the playoffs played out, the Jets were as good as anyone left. They would've probably beaten the the Broncos and then the Phil Simms Jints and no question would've spanked the Jamal Anderson Falcons.

IF we had beaten Denver we would have been crushed by the Giants in 1986, if we beat Den in '98 we would have beaten Atl in the SB, I also think we would have beaten wash in '82.

[GREENLANTERN]

No Offence but Bellichick should not be at #7. That was not a tormenting moment. Dennis Byrd's Injury I feel would qualify for tormenting moment as we all didnt know for a long time if he would walk again. Thanks Lantern

[fastmover]

for me it is the 98 loss in the playoffs, soo close to the bowl, completely deflating. then when you have just gotten over it, vinny goes down in the season opener. horrible way to end a season and start the next season. there seemed to be so much excitement for the jets in 98 and that season turned us around for the better.

Semper Fi.

[MikeJetsWord]

Steelers game in '02. I can't believe you guys haven't named that. We didn't deserve to win, but still to get so many breaks and come up that short... that was the worst.

[GLH222]

I thought long and hard in regards to including Dennis Byrd as a chapter. However, I did-and still do- think of the accident as an extremely unfortunate injury with effects that no man should have to endure. The odd feeling in the stadium that day has been well documented and it really just came down to my belief that a terrible injury, like the one dennis suffered through, does not qualify as a tormenting moment, but rather a sad one. But I do understand your point of view.

Thanks everyone for the help, I look forward to hearing more feedback.

[JetCane]

The Mud Bowl was the most tormenting game i ever sat through. I was going to go to the game with my then boss, but he called me that morning and said the weather was too atrocious, and he wanted to watch it in his house, same ritual where we had watched the two preceding playoff wins against the bengals and raiduhs.

He lived in Plantation, Fla, which is only about 30 miles from the Orange Bowl. Had i not been down there that day, i never would have appreciated just how horrible the weather was that entire weekend. We were shocked to learn that the field had remained uncovered the previous night.

The whole game was like sitting on the terlot trying to get something to come out, but nothing ever happened. Just cramping and stopped up for three solid hours. Tormenting.

I rooted as hard as i could for Riggins and the Skins to knock off the fish in the SB, and at least got some measure of revenge against the dolphans with whom i lived and worked.

The second half of the 98 AFC CG was pretty bad, too.

[ALGROH]

The loss to the Ravens on Christmas Eve still annoys me...capped off by the Testaverde int for a td right before half

Al Groh Baby! that was painful we had a 14-0 lead and ended up giving that defense 21 points

[Jetfan13]

not sure what year it was but a 45-3 shellacking on a Monday night IN Miami was no fun at all...I think we were 10-1 at the time, or something like that, and we lstt out the remaining games. I thought I was gonna get thrown over the wall at The Orange Bowl that night

[JetCane]

not sure what year it was but a 45-3 shellacking on a Monday night IN Miami was no fun at all...I think we were 10-1 at the time, or something like that, and we lstt out the remaining games. I thought I was gonna get thrown over the wall at The Orange Bowl that night

I'm pretty sure that was in '86, but it could have been '85.

[GLH222]

Indeed it was 86 and the team was 10-1 at the time. The team still squeeked into the playoffs and had a real good chance of going...then Mark Gastineau happened

[chad2colesin06=---]

1) stoink and wide left

2) 98 collapse

[Jet Moses]

for me it is the 98 loss in the playoffs, soo close to the bowl, completely deflating. then when you have just gotten over it, vinny goes down in the season opener. horrible way to end a season and start the next season. there seemed to be so much excitement for the jets in 98 and that season turned us around for the better.

Semper Fi.

Yeah, the '99 season opener with Vinny getting hurt for the season was devestating. Also one nobody mentioned yet was the Monday night game against the Bears where Blair Thomas fumbled the ball- set the ball rolling right into the Kotite era.

[BP]

Yeah, the '99 season opener with Vinny getting hurt for the season was devestating. Also one nobody mentioned yet was the Monday night game against the Bears where Blair Thomas fumbled the ball- set the ball rolling right into the Kotite era.

And Leahy also missed a chipshot in that Bears game..Thomas didn't really fumble,he let a defender rip the ball right out of his hands,which made it even worse.

[BP]

I'm pretty sure that was in '86, but it could have been '85.

'86

[BP]

I was at the 1981 playoff game against the Bills..Shea was rocking at kickoff,you couldn't hear yourself think..and then the Jets fumble the opening kickoff and the Bills run it in for a TD ..you could hear a pin drop in Shea after that.

The Jets were down 31-10 late in the 3rd quarter of that game,and made a furious comeback to make it 31-27..only to have Todd throw an INT in the endzone with 15 seconds left..that game was an emotional roller coaster.

[NY Jets Guy]

I was at the 1981 playoff game against the Bills..Shea was rocking at kickoff,you couldn't hear yourself think..and then the Jets fumble the opening kickoff and the Bills run it in for a TD ..you could hear a pin drop in Shea after that.

The Jets were down 31-10 late in the 3rd quarter of that game,and made a furious comeback to make it 31-27..only to have Todd throw an INT in the endzone with 15 seconds left..that game was an emotional roller coaster.

The Bronco's loss is by far the most tormenting moment that I can remember. I think they held Curtis to 13 yards rushing or something horrible like that... ugh.. makes me sick thinking about it.

How about going 4-12 two seasons ago when a lot of people had originally thought we had SB potential... i still think that was a pretty good team... but 90% of the players were on IR and Herm was still the coach. Huge let down season.

[#27TheDominator]

I was at the 1981 playoff game against the Bills..Shea was rocking at kickoff,you couldn't hear yourself think..and then the Jets fumble the opening kickoff and the Bills run it in for a TD ..you could hear a pin drop in Shea after that.

The Jets were down 31-10 late in the 3rd quarter of that game,and made a furious comeback to make it 31-27..only to have Todd throw an INT in the endzone with 15 seconds left..that game was an emotional roller coaster.

Was that the last game at Shea? Only time I ever wanted to kill Bruce Harper.

[BP]

The Bronco's loss is by far the most tormenting moment that I can remember. I think they held Curtis to 13 yards rushing or something horrible like that... ugh.. makes me sick thinking about it.

How about going 4-12 two seasons ago when a lot of people had originally thought we had SB potential... i still think that was a pretty good team... but 90% of the players were on IR and Herm was still the coach. Huge let down season.

Yep,having a 10-0 lead going in at halftime against the Broncos and losing that game still kills me also..the Meggett botched kickoff and the fumbles..uuugghh..that was our super bowl year.

I just brought up the Bills playoff game because nobody mentioned it yet...I hate these kind of threads.lets just put a period on the end of these memories and move on.

[Arsis]

The 98 game sucked so much because we did great in the first half and were winning at halftime then got spanked in the third quarter. I was all happy "YEAH!!! WE'RE GONNA WIN THIS!" boy was I wrong.

[BP]

Was that the last game at Shea? Only time I ever wanted to kill Bruce Harper.

No.

The last game at Shea was in 1983..Eric Dickerson had a 96 yd td run against the Jets at Shea that year (my last game ever at Shea) when he was with the Rams

[JetCane]

The 98 game sucked so much because we did great in the first half and were winning at halftime then got spanked in the third quarter. I was all happy "YEAH!!! WE'RE GONNA WIN THIS!" boy was I wrong.

That second half, and the opener when Vinny went down both felt like Twilight Zone vibes were happenin'.

The Mud Bowl otoh was like being strung up and left there hangin', waiting to die.

[Jet Moses]

Hello JetNation-

Some of you may know me, some may not. My name is Gregg Hayim and I contribute editorials for the site. I am in the process of writing a full-featured book tentatively titled "Tales From the Dark Side: Counting Down the 8 Most Tormenting Moments in New York Jet History". My hopes are to incorporate an element of "the fan" into each chapter and figured there would be no better place to look then here.

Should you have any vivid, colorful, funny, sob-storied, etc. memories about any of these moments, I would love to hear from you. My hopes are to incorporate your memories, heartaches, quotes, etc. as a prelude to each chapter and then use my own research to retell these moments in team history. Please find the 8 chapters below. Regardless of whether your quotes are used or not, your name will be included in the books credits, should you decide to help.

I would like to thank our friend JetCane for already taking the time to lend his expertise and I look forward to hopefully hearing from all of you!

I can be reached via PM (glh222) or by email at ghayim@gmail.com. If it's easier, you can just post in this thread.

Thank you all in advance!

(Not in Countdown Order)

1. 1969 Playoff Game vs. Chiefs  (December 20, 1969)
   
2. 1982 AFC Championship Game  (January 23, 1983)
   
3. 1986 Gastineau Game  (January 3, 1987)
   
4. 1998 Championship  (January 17th, 1999)
   
5. 1994 Spike Game  (November 27th 1994)
   
6. Vinny Goes Down In Opener (1999)
   
7. Belichick Departure  (January 2000)
   
8. 2004 Divisional Championship  (January 15th 2005)

Not really keeping with the general theme, but as an added twist:

The 4-12 Jets with Browning Nagle at QB actually beat the SB bound Bills twice that season. And I've always felt that Bills team was one of the greatest NFL teams ever.

[nyjunc]

Not really keeping with the general theme, but as an added twist:

The 4-12 Jets with Browning Nagle at QB actually beat the SB bound Bills twice that season. And I've always felt that Bills team was one of the greatest NFL teams ever.

Actualy we beat Buf once the year w/ Nagle. That was 1992 and it was the week after Dennis Byrd was injured and Buf would go on to lose the SB 52-17. We beat Buf twice in 1994 when Boomer was our QB and the '94 Bills missed the playoffs.

[nyjunc]

No.

The last game at Shea was in 1983..Eric Dickerson had a 96 yd td run against the Jets at Shea that year (my last game ever at Shea) when he was with the Rams

The ED run was in 1983 and 1983 was our last year in Shea but the last Jets game in Shea was a loss to Pittsburgh.

[Jet Moses]

Actualy we beat Buf once the year w/ Nagle. That was 1992 and it was the week after Dennis Byrd was injured and Buf would go on to lose the SB 52-17. We beat Buf twice in 1994 when Boomer was our QB and the '94 Bills missed the playoffs.

Wow. I'm very impressed with your memory.

I could have swore it was Browning Nagle who was the QB during the 4-12 season the Jets beat the Bills twice. I stand corrected.

[Jet Moses]

The ED run was in 1983 and 1983 was our last year in Shea but the last Jets game in Shea was a loss to Pittsburgh.

What was the last playoff game? What was the last playoff win?