flgreen Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Flash Points: Jets' defining moment May, 11, 2011 May 11 1:00 PM ET By Tim Graham What key event significantly changed the fortunes of the Jets -- for better or worse? Give us your take and we'll give you our definitive moment on May 26. SportsNation How many defining moments can a franchise have when it has won a single championship, and that was 42 years ago? The New York Jets won Super Bowl III after quarterback Joe Namath made his famous guarantee. That moment didn't make my short list because the Super Bowl didn't necessarily change the Jets' fortunes; it was the Jets' fortune. The pivotal development to get the Jets to their lone championship was Namath eschewing the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals and taking a chance on the upstart AFL. Broadway Joe became the face of the league and remains a transcendent New York icon. In four decades, no other Jets player has come close to matching the impact Namath made. Highlights have been minimal in the years since, but the New York Sack Exchange of Mark Gastineau, Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons and Abdul Salaam provided the franchise milepost of the 1980s. The Jets made a splash when they hired Bill Parcells as general manager and head coach in 1997. His arrival sparked a Jets-Patriots rivalry that has grown into one of the NFL's best, featuring Curtis Martin's jump to the Jets out of loyalty to the coach. Although he has been with the Jets only two seasons, I don't think it's premature to include head coach Rex Ryan's arrival as an option for the defining moment. The culture under Ryan is a stark contrast to the organization under predecessor Eric Mangini. The Jets have gone to back-to-back AFC Championship Games and are considered a hot destination because free agents want to play for Ryan. Submit your vote with the SportsNation poll. If you vote Other, please give us your suggestion in the comments area below this article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleedin Green Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 If this current experiment works out, as strange as it is, it could be the trade for Brett Favre. The trade for Favre set the following items in motion: Release of Chad Pennington 2008 fast start and major hype followed by the late season collapse, which resulted in: Mangini being fired Rex Ryan being hired Mark Sanchez being drafted I would bet any amount of money that NONE of those things happen if Tanny doesn't pull off the Favre trade. If the Ryan / Sanchez tandem bring this team a Super Bowl victory, that will be what started it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbyjet69 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Bill Parcells Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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