New York Jets

The Jets finished 6-10. For many years, some stations paid substantial royalties to show a colorized version as it was viewed as more profitable to show the colorized versions than the black and white original. Pennington came back midway through the season, but it was too late. They are often held up by opponents of colorization as an example of the flaws associated with the process. Testaverde, thought by many on the downside of his career, was forced to take over. Two colorized versions have since been produced; they are widely considered to be of inferior quality to the black and white original. The Jets lost several players to free agency in the off-season (mostly to the Washington Redskins), and a pre-season injury to Pennington submarined the Jets in 2003. The film's public domain success is often cited as a reason to limit copyright terms, which have been frequently extended by Congress in the United States.

The Jets cruised through the opening playoff game with a 41-0 blowout of the Indianapolis Colts, but collapsed in the second half against the eventual AFC champion Raiders in the divisional playoff. The film's warm and familiar ambience gave even isolated scenes the feel of holiday "comfort food" for the eyes and ears. Pennington threw 22 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions, and a win over the Green Bay Packers in the final week gave them the AFC East title at 9-7. For several years, it became expected that the movie would be showning multiple times on at least one station and on multiple stations in the same day, often at the same or overlapping times. It was a common practice for American viewers to jump in and out of viewing the movie at random points, confident they could easily pick it up again at a later time. Testaverde was benched early in the season with the team at 1-4, and replaced with Chad Pennington, who proved to be the spark the Jets needed. In the 1980s (the beginning of the home video era) the film finally received the acclaim it didn't receive in 1946, thus becoming a perennial holiday favorite. The AFC East proved to be even more competitive in 2002, with all four teams in the race well into December. It entered the public domain and many television stations began airing the film free of charge and royalties.

The results were different in the playoffs, with the Raiders cruising to a 38-24 win. The film was panned by some critics and was not a box-office hit upon initial release (placing 26th for the year, one place ahead of another Christmas movie, Miracle on 34th Street), although it did receive five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor. It was only after its copyright was not renewed in 1974 that people began to take a second look at this film. The team managed to salvage a wild-card with a 53-yard game-winning field goal against the Oakland Raiders in the final minute, forcing a rematch with the Raiders in the opening playoff game. The film premiered on December 20 1946. Under new coach Herman Edwards, the Jets were streaky through the 2001 season in a highly competitive AFC East. Filming started on April 15, 1946 and ended on July 27, 1946. Groh resigned after his first season to coach the University of Virginia team. When he considers committing suicide, believing that he has achieved nothing worthwhile, an angel gives him a view of what the world would have been like if he had never lived.

It was the highlight of the season, but they only won 3 of their last 9 to finish at 9-7 and out of the playoffs. James Stewart plays George Bailey, a man who sacrificed his dreams to help his town. Down 30-7 entering the fourth quarter, the Jets exploded for 30 points in the last 15 minutes, and John Hall kicked the winning field goal in overtime. It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 Frank Capra film, released originally by RKO Radio Pictures. The Jets won 6 of their first 7 games, capped by the biggest comeback in Monday Night Football history against the Dolphins. Thomas Mitchell as Uncle Billy. The team finally settled Al Groh to lead the team for the 2000 season. Frank Albertson as Sam Wainwright.

His handpicked successor, Bill Belichick also resigned after one day on the job and ended up taking the job with the Patriots. William Edmunds as Martini. Parcells resigned his coaching position in early 2000 after disagreements with owner Woody Johnson. Sheldon Leonard as Nick, bartender. The Jets collapsed to an 8-8 record. Henry Travers as the angel Clarence Oddbody. The Jets' hopes for the 1999 season were dashed in their first game against the New England Patriots, when Testaverde injured his Achilles tendon. Charles Lane as the rent collector.

Testaverde threw two late interceptions and Denver running back Terrell Davis burned the Jets for 167 yards and a touchdown, and the Broncos won 23-10. Frank Faylen as Ernie Bishop. New York looked bound for the Super Bowl with a 10-0 lead in the third quarter of the AFC Championship against the Denver Broncos. Gower. Earning a first-round bye, the Jets survived a scare from the Jacksonville Jaguars in their divisional playoff game, winning 34-24. Warner as Mr. The Jets won 10 of their last 11 games and finished the season 12-4. H.B.

Both paid immediate dividends: Testaverde threw 29 touchdowns, Martin ran for 1287 yards and 8 touchdowns, while both Keyshawn Johnson and Wayne Chrebet had 1000 yards receiving. Gloria Grahame as Violet. Parcells grabbed Patriots running back Curtis Martin and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Vinny Testaverde in time for the 1998 season, which turned out to be the most successful for the team since the 1960s. Bailey. The Jets finished 9-7, but still out of the playoffs. Beulah Bondi as Mrs. Neil O'Donnell, formerly of the Pittsburgh Steelers, threw for 17 touchdowns in his only full year as the Jets' starting quarterback, and Adrian Murrell ran for 1000 yards. Ward Bond as Bert.

The results were immediate. Potter. Wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson was picked #1 overall, and New England Patriots coach Bill Parcells abandoned that team to take the Jets' coaching job for the 1997 season. Lionel Barrymore as Mr. The draft picks the Jets received set the stage for a quick turnaround in the late 1990s. Donna Reed as Mary Hatch. During Kotite's two-year term in New York, the Jets won only four games: a 3-13 record in 1995, and 1-15 in 1996, in both cases the worst in the NFL. James Stewart as George Bailey.

Carroll was fired after only one season, but his replacement Rich Kotite proved to be even worse. The play came to be known as "The Fake Spike," and the Jets never recovered, finishing the season 6-10, last place in the AFC East. But in a game against the Miami Dolphins, quarterback Dan Marino fooled the Jets into thinking he would spike the ball to stop the clock, then threw the winning touchdown to Mark Ingram for an inprobable victory. Optimism was high for the 1994 season when the Jets started the season 6-5 and played Miami in late November.

Coslet was fired as head coach and replaced by Pete Carroll. A mid-season winning streak gave Jets fans hope, but they missed the playoffs at 8-8 with a loss to Houston in their final game. With the Nagle experiment over, longtime Cincinnati Bengals QB Boomer Esiason joined the team for the 1993 season. Remarkably, he walked again within two years.

Tragedy struck the Jets in November when defensive lineman Dennis Byrd was paralyzed in a game against Kansas City. Browning Nagle took over O'Brien's starting QB job for the 1992 season, but the Jets disappointed fans again with a 4-12 finish. In their opening-round playoff game, the Jets fell 17-10 to the Houston Oilers. They won a wild-card playoff spot by beating the Miami Dolphins on the final weekend of the season.

In 1991, with Brad Baxter having a career-high 11 touchdown receptions, the Jets improved to 8-8. Ken O'Brien was on the downside of his career, and the team finished 6-10. Bruce Coslet, hired to lead the team for the 1990 season, let most of their stars from the 1980s go. The team went into a tailspin in 1989, finishing 4-12 and causing the firing of coach Joe Walton.

Gastineau shocked the team by retiring midway through the 1988 season, one in which the Jets finished 8-7-1, short of a playoff spot in the competitive AFC wild-card race. In 1987 the Jets again stumbled through December, but this time they missed the playoffs with a 6-9 record. A late comeback by the Cleveland Browns in their divisional playoff matchup led to a double-overtime winning field goal by Mark Moseley that broke Jets' fans hearts. Pat Ryan was named the starting quarterback for the playoffs, and they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs handily in the first round.

The team slid through December, losing five straight to finish 10-6. Wesley Walker caught 12 touchdowns, with second-year player Al Toon catching 8. The Jets looked to improve on that mark for the 1986 season, with the team winning 9 straight games to start the season at 10-1. The Jets made the playoffs with an 11-5 record, but were stunned in the first round by the cinderella New England Patriots.

In 1985 O'Brien threw 25 touchdowns (seven to Mickey Shuler and five to Wesley Walker) and eight interceptions, and four different rushers combined for 18 touchdowns on the ground. In addition to a new stadium, Ken O'Brien took over at quarterback; but the team stumbled to the same 7-9 record. In 1984 they moved from Shea Stadium (where they were second fiddle to baseball's New York Mets) to the Meadowlands of East Rutherford, New Jersey (where they played second fiddle to the New York Giants). Joe Walton was the new coach for the 1983 season, and he led the team to a 7-9 season.

The Dolphins won 14-0, and Walt Michaels took a job in the short-lived United States Football League. In a strike-shortened 1982 season, the Jets finished 6-3 and upset the defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the playoffs, followed by another upset of the Oakland Raiders in the second round. In the AFC Championship against the rival Miami Dolphins, Richard Todd's reputation of throwing costly interceptions came back to haunt him: he threw three. A late comeback in their first playoff game, against the Buffalo Bills, was stopped when Todd threw an interception deep in Bills territory in the final minute, and the Jets went home empty-handed. Finishing 10-5-1, the team made the playoffs for the first time since 1969 on Richard Todd's 3231 yards passing and 25 touchdowns, most of them to Wesley Walker and Jerome Barkum.

That 1981 season was the Jets' first winning season since joining the NFL. Mark Gastineau and Joe Klecko anchored the "New York Sack Exchange" and combined for more than 40 sacks by 1981. One of the Jets' bright spots in the late 1970s was their defensive line. Todd imploded with a 30-interception season in 1980 and the team went down with him, finishing 4-12 and last in the AFC East.

Richard Todd took over under center for the 1979 season and did even better, but the Jets again finished 8-8. The Jets were rejeuvenated for the 1978 season, with quarterback Matt Robinson throwing for 2000 yards and the team finishing 8-8. Namath left the Jets after the 1976 season, playing one year with the Los Angeles Rams before retiring. Walt Michaels was hired for the 1977 season and stayed with the team for six years. After a late-season surge to finish 7-7 in 1974, the Jets finished 3-11 each year until 1977.

The Jets went through three coaches for the next three seasons. After another disappointing season in 1973, coach Weeb Ewbank retired. Namath was back for the 1972 season, leading the team to a respectable 7-7. Another injury to Namath before the 1971 season submarined the Jets that year as well, with Bob Davis and Al Woodall leading the team to a 6-8 record.

In their first season after the merger, Joe Namath broke his wrist in October and had to sit out the rest of the year, with the Jets finishing 4-10. The Jets did not live up to expectations after the AFL and NFL merged in 1970. The Jets' first game in the NFL was also the first-ever Monday Night Football game, a 31-21 loss to the Cleveland Browns. This victory showed that the AFL was capable of competing with the NFL.

In the week leading up to Super Bowl III, Namath famously "guaranteed" a victory and the Jets went on to complete one of the greatest upsets in football history by defeating the Colts 16-7. At the time, the AFL was considered to be inferior to the NFL and most people considered the Jets to be heavy underdogs. They were pitted against the "best team in the NFL", the Baltimore Colts. Under Namath's guidance, the Jets rose to the top of the AFL and in 1969 represented that league in the Super Bowl.

In 1965, the Jets signed Alabama quarterback Joe Namath after the NFL passed on Namath in the amateur draft. When a group including Sonny Werblin bought the team from Harry Wismer in 1963, the team was re-named the New York Jets. The Jets began as the Titans of New York, a charter member of the American Football League in 1960. The team is also being courted by its current landlord, the New Jersey Sports and Exhibition Authority (NJSEA), to remain in the Meadowlands as part of plans to construct a new Giants Stadium.

It would also be the site of Super Bowl XLIV. The NYSCC West Side Stadium project in NYC, still under consideration, would expected to be the home of the Jets by 2010 if built. The New York Jets are a National Football League team that plays its home games in East Rutherford, New Jersey, but is based on Long Island. Johnny Johnson.

Johnny "Lam" Jones. Jeff Lageman. Dennis Byrd. Pat Leahy.

Aaron Glenn. Marvin Jones. Kyle Clifton. Wesley Walker.

Ken O'Brien. Lance Mehl. Freeman McNeil. Sonny Werblin.

Jim Turner. Al Toon. Vinny Testaverde. Bob Talamini.

Matt Snell. Mickey Shuler. George Sauer. Paul Rochester.

Gerry Philbin. Babe Parilli. Adrian Murrell. Erik McMillan.

Wahoo McDaniel. Bill Mathis. Ronnie Lott. Mo Lewis.

Joe Klecko. Keyshawn Johnson. Winston Hill. James Hasty.

Larry Grantham. Mark Gastineau. Boomer Esiason. Verlon Biggs.

Randy Beverly. 73 Joe Klecko. 13 Don Maynard. 12 Joe Namath.

Erik Coleman. John McGraw. Shaun Ellis. Justin McCareins.

Eric Barton. Jonathan Vilma. Chad Pennington. Laveranues Coles.

Kevin Mawae. Curtis Martin. Jay Fiedler. Wayne Chrebet.

John Abraham. Ronnie Lott. John Riggins. Joe Namath.

Don Maynard. Weeb Ewbank.