Countdown to Camp: 65
As we look ahead to training camp in late July, we're going to take a daily retrospective look back at some random people, moments and games from Jets history...
The Current 65
Dakoda Shepley, an undrafted rookie from Canada, seems to have good character and measurables but, beyond that, not a lot is known about him. We'll look forward to learning more about him between now and camp.
The Greatest
Yesterday we talked about Randy Rasmussen, a 12th round pick who was a Jet for 15 years, but offensive lineman Joe Fields was perhaps even better value. He was a Jet for 13 years after getting drafted in the 14th round. Fields was also a three-time all-pro, playing most of his career at center.
See how he puts the nose tackle on rollerskates here:
The other 65's
Brandon Moore, Sam DeLuca, John Hudson...
The '65 season
The Jets ended up 5-8-1 for the third season in a row, but this was where Joe Namath exploded onto the scene as an AFL all-star in his rookie season. Namath was third in the AFL in quarterback rating, fourth in touchdown passes and sixth in passing yards, despite only starting nine games.
The team started off 0-5-1 before winning four in a row, only to then lose three straight.
Don Maynard had over 1,200 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns, joining Namath as an all-star. Punter Curley Johnson and safety Dainard Paulson - who led the team with seven interceptions - were also all-stars. Matt Snell contributed over a thousand yards from scrimmage.
With the 65th pick
Shonn Greene had a career path not unlike that of recent Jets' signing Thomas Rawls. After the Jets moved up to take him with the first pick of the third round, Greene rode the bench early on in his rookie year but then had some huge games later on in the season and into the playoffs. Unfortunately, his production waned away over the next few years.
65 to the house
Here's a couple of 65-yarders from the Jets. First of all, one of Wesley Walker's record four touchdowns against the Dolphins in 1986:
Then a touchdown from Braylon Edwards against the Falcons in 2009. However, that was the only Jets score in a 10-7 loss which looked to have wrecked their postseason hopes:
Let us know if there's any connections to 65 that we missed...