New York Jets

The Jets lost on a 33 yard field goal by Pittsburgh kicker Jeff Reed, as they fell just short yet again. The opening of the new ballpark brought hope to fans, but the hope has quickly faded as general manager Ed Wade has once again been the target of criticism as the team has failed to meet expectations in the '00 decade. This one sailed wide left, forcing the game into overtime. A series of terrible managers and general managers was briefly interrupted by 1993's magical run. Brien was saved by an interception of Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on the next play, and soon lined up for a 43 yard attempt. Since the 1980s, team management has been consistently criticized as being cheap and uninterested in winning. It fell just short. This is mainly due to the fans' appreciation of players who give maximum effort; many of the Phils' most popular players have not necessarily been the best or most talented, but rather the scrappiest.

With the score tied at 17-17 late in the fourth quarter, kicker Doug Brien lined up for a 47 yard field goal attempt that would have put the Jets up. While some players have openly complained about a segment of fans who routinely boo their own team, it must also be said that Phillies fans are among the most loyal in the major leagues, turning out to support the team despite a multitude of losing seasons. While the offense struggled, producing only a field goal, a punt return and interception return kept the Jets in the game. Phillies fans have endured a reputation for generally rowdy behavior (an old saying was "Phillies fans would boo a wedding or a funeral"), but the stereotype of them as rampant hellions is far overblown. In the divisional round, the Jets hung tight with the heavily favored Steelers. There are only fifteen times that this has happened. The Phillies have had three batters with four home runs in a game, this is more than any other team, past or present. The game sent the Jets to the divisional round against the 15-1 Pittsburgh Steelers. A rare distinction in baseball is to have hit four home runs in one game.

In a classic bout which was a rematch of week 2 the Jets prevailed with a Doug Brien field goal in overtime. The Phillies' recent failures have contributed a resurgence in the belief of the Curse of Billy Penn. Herm Edwards' team faced the AFC West champion San Diego Chargers in the opening round, a team that featured Pro Bowlers Drew Brees, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Antonio Gates. This collapse is widely known as one of the most notable collapses in all of sports history, only surmounted by the Boston Red Sox blowing a 14-game lead to the New York Yankees during the month of September, 1978 and by the play-off collapse of the New York Yankees to the Boston Red Sox in 2004. Despite struggling down the stretch, the Jets finished with a 10-6 record and earned a wild card berth. Manager Gene Mauch was criticized for panicking down the stretch. Pennington was healthy again for the start of the 2004 season, and the Jets started the season 5-0 before losing 2 of their next 3. During this stretch, the Phillies found new ways to lose.

The Jets finished 6-10. The Cardinals won that last game, and the Phillies had lost theiur chance at the National League crown. Pennington came back midway through the season, but it was too late. It was not to be. Testaverde, thought by many on the downside of his career, was forced to take over. Louis Cardinals had lost on the final day, the Phillies would have been included in a tie (along with the Cincinnati Reds, forcing an unprecedented 3-team playoff for first place. 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. Then they started to win again, and if the St.

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. Up by 6 1/2 games with 12 left to play, the Phillies dropped 10 consecutive games, dropping behind. 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. And of course, the famous collapse in 1964 is legendary. 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. His explanation: "I was released by the Phillies!" If the cartoon had been done a year later, it would have said "Mets", as the Phillies were starting to improve while the Mets lost 120 games in their first year. The AFC East proved to be even more competitive in 2002, with all four teams in the race well into December. In a 1962 baseball magazine, there was a cartoon showing a ballplayer arriving at a French Foreign Legion outpost.

The results were different in the playoffs, with the Raiders cruising to a 38-24 win. The small size of Baker Bowl used to be blamed for their problems, but the continuation of their losing ways after moving to the normal-sized Shibe Park undercut that theory. 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. From 1919 to 1947, a stretch of 29 seasons, the Phillies finished last 17 times and next to last in 7 of the seasons. Under new coach Herman Edwards, the Jets were streaky through the 2001 season in a highly competitive AFC East. One hallmark of the Phillies throughout history is losing and inept management. Groh resigned after his first season to coach the University of Virginia team. Indeed, following their 1983 World Series loss to the Baltimore Orioles, the team neglected to post back-to-back winning seasons until finally doing so in 2003 and 2004; the 2004 team also was second in the NL East, only the third time the Phillies have finished that high since the 1994 realignment (including a joint second-place finish with the New York Mets in 1995).

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. But with that season's (1994) players' strike, most of the Phillies' fan base was greatly offended, and since then the Phillies have had little success either on the field or at the gate - the realignment of the Atlanta Braves into the National League East in 1994 having had a negative effect on both as the Braves have won the division every year since joining it, often by lopsided margins. 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. The team was often described as "shaggy," "unkempt" and "dirty." The previous year, noting the presence of the clean-cut Dale Murphy, Kruk himself described the team as "24 morons and one Mormon." Their character endeared them to Philadelphia, and attendance records were set the following season. The Jets won 6 of their first 7 games, capped by the biggest comeback in Monday Night Football history against the Dolphins. Losing to the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series, giving the Canadians two consecutive World Series titles, was nonetheless disappointing. The team finally settled Al Groh to lead the team for the 2000 season. Beloved by the city of Philadelphia, this team with names such as Darren Daulton, John Kruk, Lenny Dykstra also known as Nails, and Curt Schilling surprised the city and the nation with their achievements.

His handpicked successor, Bill Belichick also resigned after one day on the job and ended up taking the job with the Patriots. After Mike Schmidt retired in 1989, the Phillies had a decade of losing seasons, save for a World Series berth in 1993. Parcells resigned his coaching position in early 2000 after disagreements with owner Woody Johnson. The Phillies franchise historically had four strong winning periods:. The Jets collapsed to an 8-8 record. So, Phillies it was, and Phillies it remains to this day for the National Leaguers. The Jets' hopes for the 1999 season were dashed in their first game against the New England Patriots, when Testaverde injured his Achilles tendon. The time-honored team name in the city had been "Athletic of Philadelphia", but that name was already taken by the American Association entry and would later be adopted by the new entry in the American League.

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. Reach was the man to give the Phillies their name. 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. Their initial owners were John Rodgers along with Al Reach, the sporting goods magnate and the first ever professional baseball player according to many definitions. Earning a first-round bye, the Jets survived a scare from the Jacksonville Jaguars in their divisional playoff game, winning 34-24. The name has absolutely nothing to do with horses, even if contemporary sportswriters sometimes called them "Fillies" just to be funny. The Jets won 10 of their last 11 games and finished the season 12-4. However, the team was not relocated - the Worcesters were expelled from the league, and the new Phillies were given their spot.

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. Named for a verbal shorthand of their city of residence ("Philly"), the Phillies replaced the Worcester, Massachusetts Brown Stockings in the National League. 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. Founded in 1883, the National League's Philadelphia Phillies are the longest standing, one-name, one-location team in all professional American sports. The Jets finished 9-7, but still out of the playoffs. They play in the Eastern Division of the National League. 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. The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The results were immediate. Gulf Coast League Phillies. 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. Clearwater Threshers
Lakewood BlueClaws
Batavia Muckdogs. The draft picks the Jets received set the stage for a quick turnaround in the late 1990s. Reading Phillies. 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. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons.

Carroll was fired after only one season, but his replacement Rich Kotite proved to be even worse. National League
. 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. Pitching saves: José Mesa, 45 (2002). 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. Pitching shutouts: Pete Alexander, 16 (1916). Optimism was high for the 1994 season when the Jets started the season 6-5 and played Miami in late November. Pitching ERA: Pete Alexander, 1.22 (1915).

Coslet was fired as head coach and replaced by Pete Carroll. Pitching strikeouts: Curt Schilling, 319 (1997). 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. Pitching wins: Kid Gleason, 38 (1890). With the Nagle experiment over, longtime Cincinnati Bengals QB Boomer Esiason joined the team for the 1993 season. Strikeouts: Jim Thome, 182 (2003). Remarkably, he walked again within two years. Walks: Lenny Dykstra, 129 (1993).

Tragedy struck the Jets in November when defensive lineman Dennis Byrd was paralyzed in a game against Kansas City. OPS: Chuck Klein, 1.123 (1930). 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. On-base percentage: Billy Hamilton, .523 (1894). In their opening-round playoff game, the Jets fell 17-10 to the Houston Oilers. Total bases: Chuck Klein, 445 (1930). They won a wild-card playoff spot by beating the Miami Dolphins on the final weekend of the season. Extra-base hits: Chuck Klein, 107 (1930).

In 1991, with Brad Baxter having a career-high 11 touchdown receptions, the Jets improved to 8-8. Slugging average: Chuck Klein, .687 (1930). Ken O'Brien was on the downside of his career, and the team finished 6-10. Hitting streak: Chuck Klein, 26 games (1930-twice). Bruce Coslet, hired to lead the team for the 1990 season, let most of their stars from the 1980s go. Stolen bases: Billy Hamilton, 111 (1891). The team went into a tailspin in 1989, finishing 4-12 and causing the firing of coach Joe Walton. Triples: Sam Thompson, 27 (1894).

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. Doubles: Chuck Klein, 59 (1930). In 1987 the Jets again stumbled through December, but this time they missed the playoffs with a 6-9 record. Singles: Richie Ashburn, 181, (1951). 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. Hits: Lefty O'Doul, 254 (1929). Pat Ryan was named the starting quarterback for the playoffs, and they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs handily in the first round. Runs: Billy Hamilton, 192 (1894).

The team slid through December, losing five straight to finish 10-6. RBI: Chuck Klein, 170 (1930). Wesley Walker caught 12 touchdowns, with second-year player Al Toon catching 8. Home runs: Mike Schmidt, 48 (1980). 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. Batting average: Ed Delahanty, .410 (1899). The Jets made the playoffs with an 11-5 record, but were stunned in the first round by the cinderella New England Patriots. Harry Kalas (2002).

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. By Saam (1990). In addition to a new stadium, Ken O'Brien took over at quarterback; but the team stumbled to the same 7-9 record. Ford Frick (2):