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| Photo: Getty |
Peter Solari Follow @4PeteSakeNY
The New York Jets will roll out their third "franchise quarterback" since 2009 on Sunday against the Rams, as Bryce Petty will make his first career start under center, replacing the injured Ryan Fitzpatrick. Petty is the sixth quarterback the Jets have started in that span.
The Jets traded up in the 2015 draft to select Petty out of Baylor, in the fourth round. At Baylor, Petty had a big two years as the Bears' starter, amassing over 8,000 yards passing, 62 touchdowns, and only 10 interceptions. In his senior season, he threw for a Cotton Bowl record 550 yards and was named the offensive MVP in a game his team lost to Michigan State. While he fell to the fourth round of the NFL Draft, it's not all that uncommon anymore, for teams to find good to great quarterback talent in the later rounds. Look at Tom Brady and Russell Wilson, drafted in the sixth and third rounds respectively. Those two guys have a combined eight Super Bowl appearances, five of which they've won. And perhaps you've heard of a guy named Dak Prescott in Dallas? Like Petty, Prescott was drafted in the fourth round. And the Jets certainly had high hopes for him, evident by the fact that they traded up to grab him, as they've done twice before, in their eternal search for a franchise quarterback.
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| Mark Sanchez and Geno Smith |
The Jets traded up to draft Mark Sanchez out of USC in 2009, with the idea that he would be their signal caller for years to come. His career got off to a great start, as he led Gang Green to back-to-back AFC Championship games. However, those Rex Ryan teams were defensive juggernauts, and Sanchez merely had to manage the offense, as opposed to leading the team. This became evident in the seasons following 2010, as the Jets' defense came back to earth. Sanchez was exposed as sub-par quarterback, and by 2013, the team had found themselves their next "franchise quarterback." Sanchez was released at the end of that year, and spent two seasons in Philadelphia. He now finds himself backing up the aforementioned Prescott with the Cowboys.
With it now apparent that Sanchez wasn't their answer at quarterback, the Jets thought they'd finally found their guy in the 2013 draft, one of the weakest quarterback drafts in recent memory. Though they didn't trade up to draft Geno Smith in the second round, they certainly tried to. Fortunately for the Jets, Smith was still available and the team swiped him up with the 39th overall pick, and the fans immediately called for him to replace Sanchez as the starter. The Jets' faithful wouldn't have to wait long to get their wish, or so they thought. After Sanchez suffered a shoulder injury in the preseason, the rookie Smith was named the starter. Smith showed some promise in his tenure as the #1 QB, but his immaturity, on and off the field, and his inability to stay healthy, quickly wore out his welcome in New York. The Jets brought in Fitzpatrick in 2015 to be a stopgap, and re-signed him before this season, for the same purpose.
With Fitzpatrick now on the mend, it's Petty's turn to step in and show what he's got. While there are certain similarities between how the team handled Petty coming out of college, compared to Sanchez and Smith, there's one glaring difference that I notice. Unlike Sanchez and Smith, the Jets didn't throw Petty to the wolves. He's spent a season and a half learning and being groomed. That should help him as he rises to the top of the team's depth chart. It is worth noting, however, that if Petty doesn't work out, Gang Green did draft another QB, Christian Hackenberg out of Penn State, in the 2016 draft. But for the team, and especially their fans, let's hope the Jets have finally found their pilot, in Bryce Petty.
News of Petty's start got me thinking about the Jets' long history of mediocre quarterback play. Everyone knows Joe Namath, but outside of him, who is the best signal caller in team history. And now I know that research, does little to answer that question.
Namath is, without a doubt, the team's best quarterback ever. He's the only Jets QB to win a Super Bowl, and the only one in the Hall of Fame, but even Namath's career wasn't eye-popping. He has a losing record as the team's starter (60-61) and threw 45 more interceptions than touchdowns (170-215). Without the win in Super Bowl III, Namath might not be a Hall-of-Famer. But stats don't tell the whole story with Namath. His guarantee to win Super Bowl III, and delivering on said guarantee, was as instrumental in the NFL-AFL merger, as Namath's signing with the Jets in the first place was. When Namath signed the most lucrative deal in football history to join the Jets in the AFL in 1965, , the NFL knew they it had to move quickly. A merger was announced a year later. When Namath and the Jets beat Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl, it put the AFL on the map. So there's no debating that Namath is at the top of the Jets' list of quarterback, but who's number two? That's a difficult question to answer.
A look at the Jets' long history of signal callers reveals that the team's current search for a franchise quarterback, is nothing new. However, there are a few names that stick out to me, three in particular. I'll leave it to you to rank them however you see fit, but here's my list of the top four quarterbacks in Jets history, in descending order:
A look at the Jets' long history of signal callers reveals that the team's current search for a franchise quarterback, is nothing new. However, there are a few names that stick out to me, three in particular. I'll leave it to you to rank them however you see fit, but here's my list of the top four quarterbacks in Jets history, in descending order:
4. CHAD PENNINGTON
Chad Pennington is one of those guys who will always leave us wondering "what if?" Drafted 18th overall out of Marshall in 2000, Pennington had a tough time staying healthy for Gang Green. In six seasons as the starter, Pennington only started more than 10 games three times. However, in those three seasons, the Jets went 26-15 with him under center, and the team made the playoffs all three times. Overall for the Jets, Pennington appeared in 69 games, starting 61,and threw for 13,748 yards. He went 32-29 with 82 touchdowns and 55 interceptions. While he may not have lived up to the hype the Jets had put on him, Pennington was a very solid quarterback for the team, and could have been so much more, if he stayed healthy. He's in good company, though, as countless potentially great careers, have been halted by injuries over the years.
3. VINNY TESTAVERDE
Vinny Testaverde was the top overall pick in the 1987 draft, and bounced around the league for more than a decade before joining Bill Parcells and his hometown Jets as a backup in 1998. Injuries would hoist Testaverde into the starter role and the Jets never looked back. The team went 12-4 on the year, and winning the AFC East before falling to John Elway and the eventual world champion Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship. That year, Testaverde resurrected both his career and the Jets franchise. Testaverde spent three seasons as the team's primary starter, and the team won at least nine games in all those seasons. The Jets, who up until then, were perennial bottom feeders in the NFL, have remained quite competitive, despite the absence of a franchise QB, ever since. Overall, in seven seasons as a Jet, Testaverde appeared in 65 games, starting 61 of them. His record of 35-26 marks the most wins by any Jets quarterback with a winning record, ever. With Gang Green Testaverde threw for 77 touchdowns and 58 interceptions.
2. KEN O'BRIEN
Ken O'Brien has the misfortune of being the player the Jets drafted three picks ahead of future Hall-of-Famer Dan Marino in 1983. Because of this, Jets fans immediately disliked O'Brien, and let him know by booing him at the draft. Regardless, O'Brien had some good years for the Jets, especially by their standards. In seven seasons as their primary starter, O'Brien went 48-49 and led the team to three playoff appearances. O'Brien was the highest rated quarterback in the league in 1985, and had the lowest interception rate in 1985, 1987, and 1988. He was also the first quarterback in history to throw for over 400 yards and earn a perfect NFL rating of 158.3 when he torched the Seahawks for 431 yards in 1986. Overall, in nine seasons as a Jet, O'Brien was 50-55-1, giving him the second most wins in team history, behind Namath. He threw for over 24,000 yards with 124 touchdowns and 95 interceptions. No, he wasn't Marino, but O'Brien's impressive stats and his longevity are enough to make him the second best quarterback in Jets history.
Obviously, the list of great Jets quarterbacks is thin, but all of that could change beginning today, as Bryce Petty steps in to take his chance. For Petty, the Jets, and their fans, I hope he's very successful, but if not, we can all take solace in the fact that the shoes he's been tasked to fill, weren't very big to begin with.
1. JOE NAMATH
Obviously, the list of great Jets quarterbacks is thin, but all of that could change beginning today, as Bryce Petty steps in to take his chance. For Petty, the Jets, and their fans, I hope he's very successful, but if not, we can all take solace in the fact that the shoes he's been tasked to fill, weren't very big to begin with.
