Countdown to Camp: 61
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 61
Projected starting center Spencer Long is a key player this year. If he can stay healthy he should provide a significant upgrade over Wesley Johnson, hopefully elevating the whole line.
The Greatest
Bob Talamini was a six time AFL all-star and three-time all-AFL selection at guard. However, he achieved all of that before his lone season as a Jet. Nevertheless, he played a key role in their Super Bowl win, moving into the starting line-up at guard following tackle Sam Walton's benching and helping lead the way for Matt Snell's big rushing performance.
Here's Talamini in action:
The other 61's
John Roman, Roger Finnie, Adrien Clarke...
The '61 season
The Jets went 7-7 in 1961 under head coach Sammy Baugh, missing out on a winning record because they lost their last two games.
Al Dorow threw 19 touchdown passes and Bill Mathis racked up 888 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns as each was named as an AFL all-star along with lineman Bob Mischak. Mathis was also all-AFL, as was linebacker Larry Grantham.
Safety Dick Felt, whose pivotal pick-six helped the Jets move to 6-5 with a 21-14 win over the Bills was also an all-star.
Run for 61
Here's a nice 61-yard run by Thomas Jones. Impressively it was only his second-longest run of the game:
The Jets lost in overtime, despite Jones' 210-yards. Jones had just broken Curtis Martin's all-time single-game team record when the Jets opted to hand him the ball on 3rd-and-5 from the 24 in overtime. Ben Hartsock's totally unnecessary holding penalty pushed the Jets back 10 yards and they botched the ensuing game-winning field goal attempt
Let us know if there's any connections to 61 that we missed...