Countdown to Camp: 88
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 88
Charles Johnson was an interesting signing, but it's not certain that he'll make the roster after he missed all of last year with a knee injury. He has an interesting combination of size and athletic ability and should have some good chemistry with his former teammate Teddy Bridgewater in camp.
The Greatest
TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON:
As a bonus, from his college days, here's one of the coolest trick plays you'll ever see:
Of course, we can't mention Al Toon without also mentioning the curse of 88. Since Toon retired, these are the players who've worn that jersey:
Tony Sweet TE 1987 Montclair State
Stevie Anderson WR 1994 Grambling
Curtis Ceaser WR 1995 Grambling
Kyle Brady TE 1996-98 Penn State
Quinn Early WR 1999 Iowa
Anthony Becht TE 2000-04 West Virginia
Doug Jolley TE 2005 BYU
Sean Ryan TE 2006-07 Boston College
Bubba Franks TE 2008 Miami (FL)
Patrick Turner WR 2010-12 Southern California
Konrad Reuland TE 2013 Stanford
Jace Amaro TE 2014-15 Texas Tech
Sheesh. Just retire it, Jets.
The other 88's
Rich Caster, Becht, Brady...
The '88 season
The Jets ended 1988 with a rare winning record at 8-7-1 and - although they missed the playoffs - the season ended on a high with a last-minute win over the Giants.
Ken O'Brien led threw the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter four times, including twice to Wesley Walker, but the team dropped out of playoff contention with a 9-6 loss in Buffalo in December and then a loss against the Chiefs the following week where they let slip a 10-point fourth quarter lead.
The Jets actually had multiple pro bowlers in this season - for the last time until 1998. Toon, safety Erik McMillan and tight end Mickey Shuler all went to Honolulu. Toon had a career-best 93 catches for over a thousand yards, Shuler caught 70 passes for over 800 yards and McMillan intercepted eight passes, returning two for touchdowns. Freeman McNeil chipped in with over 900 rushing yards and Johnny Hector rushed for 10 touchdowns.
Finding gems at 88
The Jets had a nice run of success when picking at 88 in the draft, picking up Dedric Ward, Sione Po'uha and Chris Baker with the 88th overall pick between 1997 and 2005. All three were solid contributors for several years.
Let us know if there's any connections to 88 that we missed...